Can you tell us why Le Ciel was your perfect venue?

After falling in love with Santorini on our first visit 6 years ago, we both joked that if we ever got married it would be here! After our engagement we viewed the majority of the wedding venues in the North West but we knew Santorini had our heart.

We come across Le Ciel on Instagram and instantly fell in love with the incredible views which were even more breathtaking when we got to experience them in person.

Due to travel restrictions earlier in the year we were unable to visit Le Ciel until our pre wedding meeting which was a few days before the big day and WOW it didn’t disappoint.

We may be bias but it is the most beautiful venue on the island with the best seats in the house for the famous sunset!

The staff and food at Le Ciel were out of this world. Our guests are still talking about how amazing the food was and the incredible service we received from the team.

How many guests did you invite and how many joined you?

We loved the idea of a smaller micro style wedding and invited 28 guests to join us. We were very lucky that they all accepted and joined us for our wedding week.

We are glad we chose to do a micro style wedding as we were able to relax and enjoy more time with our guests.

Tell us about your gorgeous dress?

I always knew that I wanted a long dramatic cathedral style train. When I found my dress on Elysee, I instantly fell in love. I was so pleased to find that Along Came Eve in Chester stocked the dress and i went to try it on. It was the first dress I tried but I knew it was the one.

I did try on a few different styles but I kept going back to my dress so I knew it was the one! I decided to go for a tan undertone rather than pure white to fit in with the Santorini vibe and show off all the incredible detail on the body.

Despite the length of the train and walking through volcanic ashy sand for our photos, the dress remarkably stayed clean!

& your shoes and accessories?

The shoes were by Mach & Mach. I had the same pair for my hen party and they were so comfy. I would highly recommend them for any future brides especially if you are getting photos in a hilly location like the domes in Santorini.

I went quite plain with my jewellery but my earrings were a gift from my mum and my bracelet was a gift from my friend. It was also my ‘something blue’!

My veil was my ‘something borrowed’ from one of my bridesmaids and was a royal cathedral length with some delicate jewels that sparkled perfectly in the light. It was also lightweight which was useful when the wind picked up on the cliff edge!

The Groom:-

Paul, the Groomsman and my Dad all wore a three piece black tux with dickie bows. They were made by a tailor close to home. They all looked very smart but I think they were glad to escape to Le Ciel’s aircon after the ceremony!

The Bridesmaids:-

After ordering many colour options, we settled on our original idea of a light mauve pink. As our theme was all white, we wanted a subtle colour to blend in well with the flowers and the tan colour of my dress. The dresses were from the ASOS design range and fitted the girls beautifully.

The flowers

I always knew that the classic all white flower theme would be the one for us. I wanted a mix of modern elegant white roses, gypsophilia and hydrangeas with a touch of greenery. I can’t thank Eleni and her team at paperflowers enough for bringing our designs to life.

Did you bring any decorative items from home?

We brought a fair few suitcases with us (not so fun getting through the airport!) to bring over some extra items. We brought some printed menus, table place settings, wooden hand fans, flip flops, a guest book and more importantly, our shot favours! We filled these up with Ouzo when we arrived and our guests loved them. It was a great start to the party!

Best memory:

The whole day was perfect and it’s hard to pin point our favourite part. If we had to chose it would be standing in front of the venue watching the sunset together while our amazing team shot photos and videos around us.

What do you think makes a wedding abroad stand out to a UK wedding?

The main stand out factor for us is we had a ‘wedding week’ with our guests rather than just one day. We made amazing memories at our pre-wedding drinks and after parties. It’s very rare that you will be on holiday with all your family and friends so it was an amazing experience. Our guests have already been talking about a reunion trip next year!

We actually had the best of both worlds as we had a big wedding celebration when we returned home. It was a fantastic night but it went so quickly so I can imagine a full UK big day would fly by.

What advice would you give future brides and grooms who are getting married abroad?

I would 100% recommend getting married abroad. It was an incredible experience to share our ‘wedding week’ and create memories with all of our guests. I would highly recommend Lisa and her team, both the UK and Santorini team, who looked after us so well. A special thanks to the team over in Santorini who couldn’t do enough for us.

Our advice would be to enjoy every second and don’t stress the little things as it will all be perfect on the day.

If you are thinking of getting married abroad then do it! It may seem overwhelming but having a wedding planner like Lisa to organise every perfect detail takes away all of that stress. We can’t thank you and your team enough Lisa.