‘Enjoy every moment and don’t stress the small stuff on the day it won’t even matter I promise!’
Venue Dana Villas, Sunset Wedding • Date 18th of May 2018• Number of Guests 16 • Budget ££
We absolutely love your Sunset wedding, tell us why you chose Dana Villas in particular?
Early on after getting engaged we both knew we only wanted a small intimate wedding with our closest friends and family present and after being unable to find our perfect venue locally, we decided upon a destination wedding. After looking at different venues in different countries we couldn’t help but keep going back to Santorini, we both fell in love with the breathtaking scenery and incredible sunsets, and after seeing the beautiful Dana Villas on Pinterest we knew it was the one. Not only did the setting feel intimate and special which is exactly what we wanted but the views were picturesque and were even better in person.
How long in advance did you book your wedding?
We booked the wedding 18 months in advance.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding and how many accepted and attended?
As we only wanted a small wedding we only invited 16 of our closest family and friends and we felt so lucky that all 16 accepted and attended. We were so appreciative that they were able to fly out to Santorini to share our wedding day with us and they all truly made our day special, it definitely wouldn’t have been the same without them!
Your dress is beautiful! What make was this and how did you know it was ‘the one’?
My dress was Pronovias and as soon as I tried it on I knew it was my dream dress, there is honestly never a time I’ve felt as good as I did when wearing it. It was ivory with an illusion neckline, I loved the lace detail on the back and how understated and simple it was.
I found my dress surprisingly quick especially as I am the most indecisive person ever, it was from the first shop and the fifth dress I tried on, as soon as I saw my mum’s face I knew I didn’t have to try another one on!
Can you tell us about your shoes and accessories, where were these from?
My shoes were another Pinterest find, as soon as I saw an image of them I knew I had to find them! They are made by Badgley Mischka and were ivory to match my dress with an embellished heel, I instantly fell in love with them and never wanted to take them off! My veil was floor length with lace edges which I felt perfectly complemented my dress. My jewellery I wanted to be simple, I went with Swarovski earrings and ring.
Daniel looks very smart in his attire! Where was this purchased?
The Groom, Best Man and Father of the Bride’s suits were all from Next. It was the last place we had looked after finding it a challenge to find a suit to fit all the different heights and sizes. However they were amazing quality and fit so perfectly. They were in a bright blue colour with a matching waistcoat and trousers. The thing we loved most is the ties which were Ted Baker and were in the most perfect dusky rose colour with hearts, perfect for a wedding.
What about the bridesmaid dresses? Where were these from and why did you choose this particular dress?
The bridesmaid dresses were a real find, we wanted something timeless and loved the dusky pink colour, so much so we chose our colour scheme around them. We found them at Debenhams and accessorized them with an embellished belt from ASOS which we thought added something that little extra along with simple silver sandals. Most importantly for us we wanted a style our bridesmaids would feel beautiful and comfortable in, and they definitely did even with the heat!
Your bouquet, what flowers did you choose and why?
The bridal bouquet was made up of cream roses and gypsophila – my favourite flowers. I also wanted something simple and timeless that wouldn’t date. To decorate the venue we included light pink and quicksand roses and added greenery, we couldn’t have been happier with the result! They were even better than we could ever have imagined.
Did you theme your wedding?
We didn’t really have a theme, we just wanted everything to be simple and timeless. We didn’t feel we needed to add much to the incredible setting and scenery.
What about the smaller details you added to your sunset wedding at Dana Villas.
It was really important to us to make our wedding day as personal as possible, we wanted to add little extras and brought quite a few items of decorations with us. We had personalised menus and favour tags and had wooden place names sprayed silver, our guests loved them and took them with them as a memento of the day. We also wanted our favours to remind our guests of Santorini and bought bottles of Ouzo shaped like the beautiful island itself which definitely went down a treat, especially during the emotional speeches.
For additional decorations we bought an abundance of silver and clear candle holders, these were lit as sunset approached which looked beautiful. We also knew we wanted something special to remember our loved ones who were no longer with us and this was set up with so much care and love, better than we could have imagined.
For our ceremony we’d always dreamed of having a harpist and Lisa at The Bridal Consultant made this possible, I can’t even begin to explain how special this was against the beautiful Santorini backdrop. Our guests even commented on how memorable she made our ceremony.
Our wedding cake was simple with fresh floral decoration and of course a sparkly silver cake topper. We made sure we had personalised cake boxes and napkins so our guests could take the cake away with them and enjoy as we were so full from the incredible food!
Our wedding food was out of this world, we wanted traditional Greek cuisine and decided on Spinach Pie to start, Lamb Kleftiko for main and cheesecake for dessert. Dana Villas were amazing and catered to everyone’s needs especially as we had guests who were Vegetarian, also I need to mention the staff were amazing we never had an empty glass and they added personal touches making us feel truly special!
How did you find the planning experience from booking to the big day?
The whole experience was perfect and stress free, we are both natural born worriers but Lisa was amazing, always so reassuring and professional and answered all our questions no matter how small or silly which put us instantly at ease. She was always at the end of a phone or an email away, we felt in safe hands and we knew we made the right choice in choosing The Bridal Consultant and would 100% recommend them – they truly know their stuff. We have to add that the team based in Santorini were truly amazing! They were with us every step of the way from seeing our venue and going through our wedding day schedule, being present on our wedding day and even helping us with the legalities at the Town Hall, we will be forever grateful!!
We genuinely can’t thank Lisa, The Bridal Consultant and the team based in Santorini enough for the most perfect day, we are so truly grateful from the bottom of our hearts, it was such an emotional day and one we will remember forever.
What’s your best memory from the day?
It’s hard to think of just one special memory, the whole day was simply perfect and better than we ever could have envisioned but it would definitely have to be sharing treasured memories with our nearest and dearest and as cheesy as it sounds it has to be marrying my best friend.
What do you think makes a wedding abroad stand out from a wedding in the UK?
There are so many factors such as the weather and unmissable scenery but for us it definitely has to be how close we became with our guests. As a small wedding party and being in Santorini for 10 days before we got married it allowed our guests (especially those who had not met before) to feel more comfortable and relaxed. Another factor definitely has to be sharing the special and truly romantic island with our loved ones, especially the caldera at sunset, a memory we will never forget!
What advice would you give to future brides and grooms who are getting married abroad?
Enjoy every moment and don’t stress the small stuff on the day it won’t even matter I promise!
We hope you enjoyed this Dana Villas Sunset Wedding, for a list of suppliers please see below.
Or to view other venues in Santorini for your own sunset wedding click here
We hope you enjoyed reading about Lauren and Daniel’s Sunset Wedding, for suppliers that made this day so special, please see below.
Photography – Ben Wyatt | Flowers – Wedding Wish Bride’s Dress – Pronovias | Bride’s Shoes – Badgley Mischka | Bride’s jewellery – Swarovski | Groom’s Suit – Next | Groom’s Tie – Ted Baker | Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Debenham
Budget Key | £ – 10k and under | ££ – between 10k and 20k | £££ – over 20k.
