‘We had the best day and everyone involved in the day was just amazing’
Venue Dana Villas • Date 6th of Sept 2022 • Number of Guests 28 •
Can you tell us why Dana Villas was your perfect venue?
We both individually had a dream of getting married abroad. I also had a dream of Santorini because it just always looked so amazing in the photos! Dana Villas was also recommended to us from a friend who got married there a few years ago and said it was amazing. When we researched more, Dana Villas was the more traditionally Greek venue when we compared to the other venues. It was also all outside which appealed a lot to us. It also suited the number of guests we planned to invite.
How many guests did you invite and how many joined you?
We initially invited 28 guests, then including us made the total number of guests 30 people which was the maximum number of guests Dana Villas can hold. 26 guests, plus us 2 ended up attending (luckily that was the number we had accepted and no-one was impacted by covid)
*Dana Villas has now reduced it’s capacity to 24 guests in total.
Tell us about your gorgeous dress?
I actually bought my first dress in one of the shops that offer off the peg dresses. However when it came in my size, it wasn’t the one so I sent it back. I probably went to about 5/6 dress shops in total before finding the one. I went with a Justin Alexander dress from Bellissima and it was nothing like I had imagined in my head. I said I didn’t want strapless, and it was strapless. I said I didn’t want particularly tight, and it was quite figure hugging. The one thing I did have what I had in my mind was a lace train which I loved.
& your shoes and accessories?
My shoes were from Charlotte Mills. It is a little of a novelty, but I loved the fact it has the something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue all in the shoes. I had a little clutch bag from Katie Loxton which had the secret bride message inside. I also got the bridesmaids and both mothers the same clutch bags as a little present on the wedding day. I was also given a little present on the day from the groom with tiffany dangly earrings to wear on the day.
The Groom:-
He bought his suit from Boss. This took quite a long time to find because he knew he didn’t want the traditional black suit. As we had a destination wedding, he was very keen on pale blue, light grey or beige suit. After trying on all of them, and also considering a tailor made suit (some very very expensive), he decided on pale blue suits and the exact same ones for the 2 groomsmen as well. We went relatively casual with no waistcoat and no tie. We also went with matching shoes for all of the boys which were smart looking trainers.
The Bridesmaids
The bridesmaids dresses were from the same shop as my dress. We went around a lot of shops before going back to my wedding dress shop. All of the girls decided they liked the same dress which was a blossom pink long dress with an open back.
The flowers
The main wedding theme colour we went with as blossom pink with accents of greenery throughout. We just thought the colours would look good against the white building background, and we were very happy with the outcome on the day! We actually didn’t go with any additional flowers on the day, we decided that the scenery was incredible enough as it was that it didn’t need flowers, and luckily it turned out perfectly on the day without them.
Did you bring any decorative items from home?
We brought quite a lot of items across from the UK. We had a full suitcase full of decorative items. We brought a welcome size A2 size which fitting in our suitcase. We also brought a guest book with a polaroid camera for the guest book which went down well. We brought table signs and wooden stands for them. We also brought small favours for the tables which were cardboard suitcases filled with a handwritten note and personalised love hearts. We also made the programme fans for the guests to have whilst waiting for the ceremony to start, which went down very well!
Best memory:
Groom: Seeing my bride walk down the aisle for the first time. It is so surreal. You are in an incredible setting, with all your closest friends and family, and then I was caught of guard when Beth walked around the corner was just amazing
Bride: Our first dance! We had spent a few months ahead of the wedding having online dance lessons which none of our friends and family knew about. We had also arrange floor sparklers (the extended ones which are 1 minute in length), which came on half way though the song. Everyone was in absolute shock and it all worked out perfectly. To capture the look on everyone’s faces was the best moment. We can’t wait to get the rest of our photos and video back from the day!
What do you think makes a wedding abroad stand out to a UK wedding?
We essentially had a huge celebration all week which was great. It was so good to be with everyone for the week. We had a hen/stag party out one night ahead of the wedding, and also hired a boat a couple of days after the wedding with everyone to keep celebrating. A wedding abroad is a lot more intimate and you don’t feel like you are pulled between the different guests. We are actually having a UK wedding reception back home a couple of weeks later, to let the celebrations continue! It is also very relaxed. As the ceremony is not until 4.30pm ish, it is a nice relaxed day getting ready wit hair and make up.
What advice would you give future brides and grooms who are getting married abroad?
Just do it! We don’t regret it at all. All of our guests haven’t stopped talking about what a great time and week they had, and how it was the wedding week to remember. Enjoy every moment… because the wedding ceremony starts a little later in the day because if the heat, it does go really fast! Make sure you factor in 10 mins to just chat between the 2 of you just to check in with each other.