21 Guests
12th July 2024
‘I’d say to enjoy every single moment, as it goes so fast. It will be perfect. Our day was for sure. Also, take some time for yourselves on the day, to soak it all up.’
Joe and I spend a lot of time in the Lake District, and we always said that we would like to get married there. We had shortlisted one venue in particular, but as we both only have small families, the venue wanted at least 80 guests for the time of year that we wanted to get married. After this, we decided to just go abroad, so we turned to looking at destinations. I’d always known that if I was to get married abroad, Santorini would be the place, based on the amazing sunsets and picturesque views.
We started looking at possible venues, and we came across The Bridal Consultants. They showed all the venues in Santorini, and at first, we were torn which venue to choose from. We knew that Santorini has a hilly nature and a lot of steps in places, so we managed to rule out some venues pretty much straight way, as some of our guests would have struggled with the steps. Also, some of the venues were hotels, and we wanted somewhere private and to ourselves, and that’s when we found Santorini Gem. It was perfect for us, and we were so happy with our choice. The venue was stunning, and the views over the Caldera are amazing
We invited only our immediate family to the wedding, and a few family friends. There was initially 26 of us, which was a perfect number, as we only ever wanted a small wedding anyway. However, one of our family friends couldn’t make it, and Joe’s uncle and cousin, from Australia, sadly couldn’t make it on the last minute, which was a shame, as we have not seen them in so long. In total, there was 23 of us, including 2 children. It was the perfect number of guests for us, and we were so grateful that our family were able to make it. It made it extra special.
I picked my dress during my first fitting. My dress was called ‘Summer’ by Enzoani. I bought my dress from Emma Louise Bridal in Bolton. I had an idea of what style I wanted and tried quite a few dresses on. I initially wanted a dress with straps, but I managed to rule a few dresses out, as the underskirts were a bit too dark for my liking.
With my dress, the straps were removable, and you could have them up on your shoulder, down by your arms, or you could take them off completely. I eventually decided to have my straps on my shoulders, and I’m so glad I did. I felt amazing.
I ordered my shoes from JJ’s House. I wanted to wear flat shoes, so managed to get some flat ivory sandals from there. They were so comfortable.
I bought my veil from Lace and Favour, which was an elbow length veil, with jewels scattered on it. I knew I didn’t want a long veil, so this was perfect. I also wore small pearl and diamond stud earrings, and a matching necklace, which was also from Lace and Favour.
When deciding what to wear, Joe was looking at colours, and we were considering initially having cream-coloured suits for Joe, my dad, and his dad. However, we decided against that and then went to looking at a blue colour. After some research, Joe decided that he wanted to wear a Tux, and he looked great in it. So did my dad and Joe’s dad. The suits were from M&S
I decided not to have any bridesmaids, and Joe didn’t have any of his friends there either. It was just family. However, his dad stepped up and was his best man. He presented the rings to the celebrant, which was a nice touch 😊
We wanted a classy and elegant theme, and wanted white flowers. As the venue was all white, we thought a hint of baby pink would be nice too, as it would be nice to add a hint of colour, which would go nicely against the white gazebo and tulle and would also look nice against the backdrop with the blue ocean. It was definitely the right choice for us.
I had always wanted white peonies, and whilst these were a tad expensive, we managed to get a perfect arrangement of local flowers, mostly white with a hint of pink and some greenery. I was so happy with my bouquet and the flowers, even on the welcome sign and the table plan. It was perfect.
We brought a variety of decorative items with us from home. I had designed some personalised fans for the guests, with the order of the day on the back. All our guests loved them and kept them for the rest of the holiday as it was very hot!
We also bought some small shot bottles of ouzo when we arrived in Santorini, as our guest favours, and before the wedding, I ordered some personalised tags saying ‘take a shot, we tied the knot’ with our names and the date of our wedding underneath. That was a nice touch and special keepsake.
We ordered menu cards and matching name cards, which were white with a hint of baby pink to match the colour theme.
We wanted to children to feel involved too, so we bought a personalised activity box for the little girl who is 5 years old, which she was made up with, and we bought a baby sensory item for the 10-month-old.
As my nana is sadly no longer with us, I wanted her to be there on my wedding day in some way, so I purchased a charm with a photograph of my nana inside, and I attached this to my bouquet. It was captured well by the photographers too, so I’m so happy that my nana was a part of our day. We also ordered a chair sign, in memory of those who could not be there, and left a seat empty at the end of the aisle. I put my bouquet on when I got to the end. This was a special moment.
It was easy for us to bring all these items with us, as they fit easily into our hand luggage, with the documents we needed to take with us too.
There are so many amazing memories of our day, as the whole day was just perfect from start to finish. However, I’d say, it was when I finally saw Joe waiting for me at the end of aisle, that was a special moment for me. I’ll never forget the look on his face, and when I reached him, it was just a moment of bliss and elation, that we had finally got to this point after months of waiting and were about to finally get married.
The weather is definitely something that made us decide on an abroad wedding. We absolutely love our wedding photos too, and they say it all, as the views of the Caldera are breathtaking. We are so lucky to have got married in such a beautiful place, and it will be something we will remember forever. All of our guests thoroughly enjoyed the day too, and it’s also nice to get a holiday out of it. We stayed for 2 weeks, and got married early on into the holiday, so we had the rest of our holiday to spend with family and enjoy time on our own too. It was perfect.
Honestly, just go for it! It was the best day of our lives, and to have been able to celebrate it alongside our family, in such a beautiful destination, made it so much better.
I’d say to enjoy every single moment, as it goes so fast. It will be perfect. Our day was for sure. Also, take some time for yourselves on the day, to soak it all up.
It may seem a bit overwhelming to organise a wedding, especially abroad, but having Lisa as our wedding planner was one of the best decisions we made, as she took all our stresses away, and made sure that we got what everything we wanted. She made it the perfect day we had dreamed of, and we can’t thank Lisa and all her team enough.
Photography by the incredible https://benjwyatt.com/
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