Let’s meet our couple
I am from Liverpool but now live in Greater Manchester with Rob.
I work in HR for the NHS and also graduated from John Moores University with my HR and Business degree in July 2017. However, I am currently on maternity leave since having our beautiful baby girl Matilda in December 2017. Rob is part owner/director of his own Kitchen Business called Portfolio Kitchens in Manchester and we will have been together 2 years in December this year. Everything happened really quickly from the time we met, but our love for each other just grew and grew and I think when you meet the right person, you just know it’s meant to be.
How did you meet?
Rob and I met on a random night out in Manchester over the Christmas holidays, but we didn’t go on our first proper date until the 28th December, after the Christmas hangovers had all worn off ha ha
How did he pop the question?
We took Matilda on our first family holiday in June this year to a little island near Portugal. It was my birthday whilst we were there so Rob had arranged for us to go for a lovely family meal at a Panoramic restaurant which meant I had no idea that we were about to get engaged. I love Ed Sheeran and his song Perfect came on just after we had finished our main meal and the champagne was bought out, I didn’t realise even at that point what he was about to do, but he just said “We’re perfect together aren’t we” & asked “what would you do if I was to ask you to marry me right now”. In my Scouse nature & because I was completely in shock, I told him to “shut up” and said “stop messing around”. At that point he was on one knee & had pulled the most beautiful ring out of his pocket and asked me to marry him. That’s when I knew he was being serious, so I started crying, he started crying & the whole of the restaurant started crying/applauding. It was the most romantic and amazing yet super cheesiest time of our lives and I’m so happy that Matilda got to share in that special moment with us.
What made you chose to get married abroad over a UK wedding?
I’ve always wanted a wedding abroad, the sun, the sunset the views & a holiday for everyone too were we can all make lots of memories together. However, it was hard trying to win Rob around at first as he was set on a UK wedding, but after discussing it further & showing him some photographs of weddings I’ve seen and also been to abroad, he came around to the idea and now he couldn’t be happier with choosing Santorini for our wedding.
How did your families react when you announced you were getting married abroad?
It was a tough decision for me because I’ve always wanted a wedding abroad, but I knew my Nan & Grandad wouldn’t be able to come and I would love nothing more than for them to be there. But, my dream was to marry in Santorini and we just couldn’t justify spending all of our budget and possibly more by planning on the once in a lifetime wedding of our dreams in a place that we just weren’t in love with.
It wouldn’t be the same to have a UK wedding if our hearts aren’t in it, and they totally understand that. We’re having a wedding party back in Liverpool once we’re back home to celebrate with anyone who couldn’t make it & before the week of the wedding, we will be taking my grandparents out for a meal to make them feel more involved before we go too.
Sadly, both of Robs parents are no longer with us so it was just my family and our close friends that we had discussed this with before making any final decisions. They were all extremely supportive which helped make this decision easier for us. My family is quite big & we’re all very close so I am lucky that I have them & I’m so happy that Rob has been welcomed in with open arms so that he gets to share in and be part of a close family too.
You’ve chosen to get married in Santorini, was this an easy decision or did you look at several other destinations before choosing?
I’ve always wanted to go to Santorini. I’ve seen lots of photos & I know quite a few people who have visited Santorini and I’ve been stalking wedding websites too and for some reason my heart is just stuck there. Santorini just has the most romantic, beautiful settings I’ve ever seen, so it was my first choice for our wedding. However, trying to be open minded, we talked about other places such as Ibiza and Croatia, but our final decision was that both of our hearts were with Santorini. After showing Rob Le Ciel and the Bridal Consultants website, he too has fallen in love with the venue and the island.
The Santorini views are out of this world and we just can’t wait to be able to have the wedding of our dreams in such a beautiful place. To be able to share our special day with lots of our family and friends is just going to be priceless
