We had the pleasure of organising Emma & Stuart’s wedding in Cyprus on 27th October 2016. They had their ceremony at Paphos Castle followed by a catamaran drinks reception and then wedding breakfast at a local taverna in Paphos. Here they share their story:
Tell us about the proposal?
Stu proposed on the 3rd February 2015, whilst we were on a city trip to the beautiful city of Prague, no one was more surprised than me , as marriage was something that neither of us were bothered about. The actual proposal was meant to be carried out by the medieval chiming clock in the old quarter and Stu was rushing me to get out of the hotel to see the clock chime by 7pm, however we didn’t make the 7pm chimes and ended up in a traditional restaurant and Stu being a matter of fact sort of bloke..as he pushes a box across the table said, “let’s get down to business , how do you fancy being the next Mrs Ohren in the family…”
Why did you decide to marry in Cyprus?
We both knew we didn’t want the circus and pomp that usually goes hand in hand with a UK wedding, and wanted something small, low key and fun with close family and friends. We started looking at locations, we knew we didn’t want the usual hotel/beach wedding, and starting thinking outside the box for an alternative location , and found the medieval castle in Paphos, we both love history and knowing this beautiful old rustic building has stood for centuries overlooking the Med, it stole our hearts.
Tell us about the theme for your wedding?
We didn’t have an exact theme for the wedding, Stu and I wanted to keep away from the traditional as much as possible, and were both very keen to make sure we kept the day personal to us. So we opted for no bridesmaids, no speeches, no first dance, we just wanted to have a fun day with our family. I have a love for shoes and bright colours! Whilst looking for my bridal shoes, I knew I would never wear ivory satin shoes again so decided almost immediately that I wanted coloured shoes and found my beautiful burnt orange shoes and as my favourite flowers are gerberas for their bright colours … it came to a natural conclusion we were going to have a theme of “celebration of colour”… with the accent colour being orange.
Stu being a massive fan of star wars /sci-fi and Lego had always joked about having our guests dressed as storm troopers, naturally I wasn’t very keen on this idea, but he stumbled across some Lego storm trooper cufflinks and so that part of Stu’s personality for the wedding theme was born and we ended up with “celebration of colour vs lego” as our theme.
The Lego theme continued with our cake design. The very talented ladies at love Island cakes were able to take some ideas and produce a cake of two halves with part traditional /Lego and we also had commissioned customised Lego cake toppers too to match our exact wedding attire.
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding?
Once all our guests had arrived in the resort, we paid a visit to the wonderful suite 48 bar for food and cocktails and it just set the pace for the rest of the holiday and the build up to the wedding. All very relaxed and chilled. The morning of the wedding, Stu and I had breakfast together and then he and some of the male wedding party went off to have a traditional shave at a local barbers. After our wedding Stu and I wanted to have a meal out on our own as Mr & Mrs and we re-visited the restaurant where we had our reception.. and were greeted like old friends ?
What was the best moment of your wedding and why?
We have so many amazing memories, we didn’t stop laughing and smiling throughout the day, but one of our special memories was arriving by the
vintage bus at our reception venue and finding we had a raised guard of honour of light sabres to walk under… all this was carried out in secret by Stu’s sister in cahoots with the wedding co-coordinator to arrange it.
Another amazing memory for us was being able to watch the sun set whilst on our private cruise.
And here is the testimonial they sent us after their special day:
We booked with Ionian Weddings after researching other companies, and found Ionian Weddings were the only company to listen to our initial remit of requirements as we wanted a low key fuss free wedding. They took our initial ideas and created a tailor made package that suited us and our budget. Also the very helpful friendly, personable, and approachable team helped in our choices.
Our local co-ordinator was amazing and a real go to girl , making sure everything ran like clock work from arranging guests to ensuring our venues were decorated to match as per our wishes. We cannot not thank the Ionian team enough for allowing our ideas and dreams unfold into such a wonderful wedding day, creating many happy memories for us and our guests. We wanted something fairly low key but stepping away from the big hotel weddings.
From day 1 the team at Ionian Weddings were on hand via the phone and email with the prompt responses and answers to our questions , never leaving us fretting or concerned about anything. I’ve looked at other couples who have got married in the UK etc, and we’ve been left wondering what all the stress is about , as Ionian Weddings took all that away from us, leaving us to enjoy the run up to the wedding and allow us to enjoy some holiday time before the big day.
Thanks again to all of you who created our day. Don’t change what you do, it works !
Emma & Stuart
Inara & Steve’s Tuscany Wedding
Inara & Steve contacted Ionian Weddings in May 2016. They wanted a simple wedding for just the two of them in Tuscany. They had booked accommodation in the Cecina area for early September 2016 and wanted to get married whilst they were there.
We suggested the wonderful Medieval town of Volterra for their wedding as it was close enough to drive to and has a beautiful historic town hall (the oldest in Tuscany) where they could have their legal wedding.
We organised their wedding ceremony at Volterra town hall on 6th September 2016 in a beautiful room with original antique furniture and frescoes and we arranged two witnesses.
We booked our photographer for 3 hours so that after the town hall they could have a photo shoot around the stunning historic town centre and then in the Tuscan countryside, We then arranged a restaurant for a romantic meal afterwards.
What The Couple Had To Say
“Good morning Jane, Me and my husband Steve want to say big thank you for making our dream come true in Tuscany.
Everything was perfect and we couldn’t wish for better wedding day for us!
Big thank you to your local team as well. They were very helpfull and friendly. Photographers were brilliant and easy to work with as well.
Kind regards,
Mr & Mrs Roberts”
Lianne & Ollie’s Santorini Wedding at Le Ciel
Lianne & Ollie got married on 23rd August 2016 at Le Ciel in Santorini, organised by Ionian Weddings. Here is their story…
How did you meet?
We both worked for the same investment bank. I worked in the Scottish office and Ollie worked in the London office but we met when I visited the London office to do a presentation and then again when Ollie came to Scotland on business. Shortly after we met, I was offered a role out in India to do a 3-4 month project. Ollie came out to India to visit me and we did some sightseeing including the Taj Mahal! When I got back to the UK, I transferred to the London office! Bit of a whirlwind! : )
Tell us about the proposal?
Ollie planned a trip to New York and Las Vegas the year after we met. We both love to travel and see different things so were very excited about it. He bought the ring in New York. After NY, we went to Vegas. I was told on one morning, to get my things ready as we were going on a surprise trip! We were driven to an airfield and got on a helicopter. We stopped in the Gran Canyon and took some amazing pictures when we came back the pilot had set up a picnic and stood with a bottle of champagne…that’s when Ollie proposed!! It was very romantic!!!
Why did you decide to marry in Santorini?
It was important to us that we had a relaxed, fun and chilled out wedding. When we were looking at venues, we wanted somewhere that our friends and family could plan a holiday there too if they wanted and something to accommodate families and couples. We visited Santorini the year before we got married and knew straight away that it was the perfect location – the pictures really don’t do it justice! It was very romantic and just different, that’s why we loved it and we booked the venue there and then!
Tell us about the theme for your wedding…colours etc?
The theme of our wedding was ivory and gold. The bridesmaids had beautiful gold dresses on and this tied in nicely with my dress. The flowers were stunning hydrangeas and roses and matched in with the theme of our wedding. For the place name settings, we used Santorini’s rocks which had our guest’s names written on them. For favours, the kids had a games bag with personalised items in it depending on their age and if for a boy or girl. For the men, they had whiskey (Scottish, of course!) and ladies had a Jo Malone perfume to tie in with the ivory and gold theme. Other special touches included a harpist during the ceremony, Greek dancers during the reception and sparklers for the guests.
Where was your wedding dress from?
It was from Fleur De Lys Bridal in Saffron Walden. The ladies in there are amazing. They took the time to understand what I was looking for and helped me find the right dress! I absolutely loved it!
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding?
I think the way it all just came together. Ollie and I agreed from the start that the wedding was about us and our friends and family…we just wanted to have a good time. Ionian Weddings were exceptional both in London and in Santorini – everything was being orchestrated in the background whilst we enjoyed the run up to it and the big day! Having Ionian Weddings played a massive part in that as they made it so enjoyable and it just turned out that everything was actually perfect and was so much more that we could have asked for!!!
What The Couple Had To Say
Anna, WOW WOW WOW! We had an absolutely amazing time in Santorini!!! You have been simply amazing to work with these last few months. My friends and family who have contacted you have said you were wonderful too.
Thank you so much for making this so relaxed and stress free – we have been in excellent hands with you.
It’s the simply things like responding straight away and always communicating updates to us that has made this so hassle free. It wouldn’t have been the same without your help.
Everyone was always asking if we were stressed organising things in the run up to it but there was absolutely no stress with this at all – we loved every minute of it When we arrived in Santorini, the local coordinator continued this excellent service. He had a brilliant handover from you so knew what to expect. Our pre wedding planning meeting helped us tie everything up and again made sure it was all relaxed. On the day, the local coordinator was always coordinating things in the background and making sure everything was to our liking.
They made suggestions to us throughout the day and was always there but never over fussing. He had things in hand – he is brilliant! We loved Santorini – our friends and family absolutely loved the venue. They were simply fantastic. Anna – thank you once again for all your help – you are amazing!!!!!! With love,
Lianne & Oliver
Laura & Alex’s Santorini Gem Wedding
Ionian Weddings were proud to arrange Laura & Alex’s Santorini wedding. They had their wedding ceremony on 6th October 2016 at Santorini Gem and their wedding reception afterwards at Pyrgos. Here they tell us all about their special day…
How did you meet?
Our younger brothers are best friends so we met through them
Tell us about the proposal?
We went to Rome where I had always dreamed of going and he proposed just as it was getting dark in front of the forum and colosseum, we then flew to Paris as a surprise a couple of days later!
Why did you decide to marry in Santorini?
We saw pictures of Santorini and once we’d seen it nowhere else compared!
Tell us about the theme for your wedding…colours etc?
Our wedding was very classic, just white and a few touches of light pink to match the bridesmaid dresses
Where was your wedding dress from?
My wedding dress was from Birds Bridal in Chelmsford
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding?
We went on a sunset catamaran boat trip the afternoon/evening before the wedding which was lovely!
What The Couple Had To Say
From start to finish we couldn’t fault the service we have received from Ionian Weddings, the planners and coordinators have been nothing but helpful and friendly. All questions have been answered promptly and we didn’t have to worry about anything! Everyone says how stressful wedding planning is but I can hand on heart say it has been the easiest experience for us and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend getting married abroad and using Ionian weddings to anyone.
Dina & Ben’s Cyprus Inn Wedding
We’re delighted to share with you Dina & Ben’s wedding in Cyprus. They got married at our Traditional Cyprus Inn venue on 9th September 2016. This unique venue is set in the heart of the Cypriot countryside yet only 20 mins drive from the resort of Paphos.
How did you meet?
We met each other in Sri Lanka where we were both surfing for a few weeks. We were staying in separate surf camps, and we probably wouldn’t have met if not a lucky coincidence. My colleague and friend from Moscow, Masha, stayed at the same surf camp as Ben. She decided to organise a trip to see the sunrise from Adam’s peak, a temple on the top of a peak reached by climbing up 5500 steps, in the central mountains of Sri Lanka. Over the course of the long journey there and back, the difficult climb and descent and the stunning sunrise from the summit we spent almost 24 hours together…so a lot of time to talk and get to know each other. When we arrived back to the coast, we exchanged numbers and agreed to go surfing together – which we did a couple of days later. We spent 2 days surfing, souvenir shopping and went to a Buddhist temple together- right before I had to leave the island. It was amazing and fun, and we obviously both felt attracted to each other, but also didn’t want to make a move because it just didn’t feel right to rush a 2 day holiday romance. So we both left Sri Lanka and continued messaging each other. Just 3 weeks later we decided to meet again somewhere in Europe – and that became the beginning of our long distance relationship.
Tell us about the proposal?
Ben proposed me during a 3 weeks surf trip over Christmas and New Year in Portugal. We drove the few hours up the coast one day during a huge storm and visited Porto to walk around the gorgeous city, and as I found out later – get engaged! After exploring the city all morning and lunchtime we climbed up Torres dos Clerigos, a historic church tower in the Old Town of Porto, right to the top. It was very windy and heavy rain was pouring down, so the tiny platform on top of the tower was empty, and in this atmospheric setting Ben went down on one knee! It was super exciting and it felt like the intensity of the weather was in keeping with the intensity of the moment. Tears of happiness mixed with rain drops, and laughter was accompanied by the wind 🙂 After that we got warm and comfy in one of the nearest cafes, had some local 20 y.o. port and called our families to deliver the fantastic news.
Why did you decide to marry in Cyprus?
As we have families and friends living in different countries (UK and Russia), and it is quite a hassle for each side to obtain a visa to fly to the other country, we wanted to find a neutral place somewhere in between. And if having a wedding abroad, why not have it somewhere nice and warm? 🙂 So the Mediterranean and particularly Cyprus came to mind straight away, especially as my best friend had attended another wedding there not long ago and said it was lovely and easy in terms of a visa.
Tell us about the theme for your wedding…colours etc?
We didn’t have any particular theme for a wedding, but we wanted it to be cosy and rustic and traditional with our own twist – that is why we chose the Inn among all the options we explored. We wanted a colour scheme with soft mint/turquoise and blue colours as these are our favourite ones, and we wanted some references to the ocean and surfing- so we made name seat tags as engraved wooden surfboards, a whale as a welcome sign and hard a surf themed chalk board wedding cake! We absolutely loved the surprise of the two cats that live at the Inn, as we both have a cat each who now live together too, and they were very friendly with the guests and seemed to want to be part of the wedding!
Where was your wedding dress from?
I bought my wedding dress in Moscow in the Mary Trufel wedding shop. My best friend noticed this dress and suggested trying it on, which was definitely a good idea, as we decided straight away it was “my” dress. Moreover, it was very easy to fly with this kind of dress – it didn’t get wrinkled at all.
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding?
Yes, we did. Our families and particularly parents hadn’t met before, so we arranged the day before the wedding for our families to meet for lunch get acquainted. We helped them to communicate by translating from English to Russian and vice versa. It was easier with friends – as we all stayed together at a big rented villa outside Paphos. So after the day with both families, there was also a lovely evening spent with friends by the pool at the Villa. After the wedding we had a couple more days in Cyprus – we visited Coral Bay with all the guests for a day at the beach, and on our final day we visited the World Heritage site at Paphos Harbour.
What The Couple Had To Say
Jane, hi! As promised – writing you about our wedding. First of all – massive thanks to you and Ionian Weddings for your help in organising everything! It was absolutely fantastic 🙂 The venue itself is gorgeous – rustic in a very beautiful way and full of green, it exceeded our expectations and worked very well with the decorations we had brought. The food was also very very nice, and just the right amount! So overall we are completely happy with our wedding and the way it went, and if we are asked for advice by our unmarried friends we would definitely recommend your agency and this venue particularly 🙂 Love Dina & Ben
Jimmy and Louise’s Wedding in Zante
Ever dreamed of getting married in a magical setting? Jimmy and Louise made their dream reality with their beautiful wedding in Zante.
Vasilikos Sands was their venue, with its large, landscaped gardens and glorious sandy beach. Their ceremony took place on the beach, a stones throw away from the clear, turquoise waters. Once announced man and wife under a stunning gazebo the reception, celebrating their marriage, could start.
I first met jimmy in February 2008 around Valentine’s Day when we were set up on a blind date by our friends, who were already a couple. We went for a meal in a local Italian restaurant, the date itself was slightly awkward at first seeing as we had never met before! However the mood was soon lightened by our friends when one of the spilt their drink on the other one! I wasn’t going to go on the date until the last minute and I later found out that Jimmy wasn’t going too either! We were soon an item & I moved in with Jimmy.
We had been together for four years when Jimmy proposed to me, we were on holiday in Mexico in a hot tub when he pulled out the ring! I had a feeling it was coming but not whilst we were in there! We had an engagement party when we got home to celebrate with our friends & family. I think we both knew that we would always get married abroad, partly because of the cost & also because we both love being in the sun! In the mean time of being engaged I fell pregnant with our daughter so this put the wedding on hold for a while, but it also gave me more time to plan our perfect day & get my perfect beach style wedding dress! I liked the idea of a Mama Mia! Style wedding, and after talking to a work colleague about her wedding that was in the beautiful Santorini Greece, I decided to get in contact with the company she used, Ionian Weddings.
From that very first (of many) phone calls I was very confident we had made the right choice to use them! We ended up choosing to have a beach wedding in the lovely vassilikos, we liked the idea of our ceremony & venue being in the same location & after going on a ‘wrecky’ holiday to check it out we knew it was the place for us! It was the perfect venue for us for many reasons, mainly because we had nearly 60 guests attending. We were very confident after our pre wedding meetings that the day was going to be amazing, Clare & the team just got all of our ideas & settled all our worries,(and I am a worrier!). The team out in Greece are absolutely fantastic, they got everything spot on, we literally can not fault them. We were staying out in Greece for a few days before the wedding which was lovely to chill out with all our friends & family and catch a nice tan! The day of our wedding was just amazing, from start to finish! We literally wouldn’t have changed a thing, we were looked after so well. Ionian Weddings literally think of it all, all the little details were perfect. We had a beautiful ceremony on the beach with the most amazing decorations, the food was great the music was great & we had a lovely firework display when it got dark!
We had a few days left after the wedding to relax before we flew home to do it all again at our party back in England to celebrate with the rest of friends and family that couldn’t make to Greece! It truly was amazing.
Sue and George’s wedding in Cyprus
Sue and George were married at an award winning venue in Cape Grecco, Cyprus. The stunning, panoramic deck terrace with spectacular views of Cape Grecco was the location for their wedding ceremony. Their reception also took place at this versatile venue, with the wedding party eating a mouth-watering Cypriot meal complete with sunset views across the Mediterranean Sea, perfect for a relaxed wedding. The couple added thoughtful details to the reception such as serving delicious welcome drinks which kept guests refreshed.
How did you meet?
We met on an online dating website. We both had been married once before.
Tell us about the proposal?
We had been together for 5 years. The proposal was at 1 minute to midnight on New Year’s Eve 2013. It was inside a fortune cookie with the words will you marry me? My daughter and her boyfriend were present both as they were serving us our meal at my daughter’s boyfriend’s parent’s Chinese restaurant.
Why did you decide to marry in Cyprus?
Decided on Cyprus as Georges parents are Greek Cypriot and his mum still Iives there. Therefore it has special meaning to us. Plus the obvious reasons such as weather and scenic location.
Tell us about the theme for your wedding…colours etc?
No theme for wedding as such but we wanted a small intimate ceremony with immediate family only. The colour scheme was ivory and mint green. Our daughters were the lovely bridesmaids. My 2 and one of Georges daughters.
Where was your wedding dress from?
My beautiful wedding dress was Ronald Joyce
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding?
We didn’t do anything special leading up to the wedding as such. Although 2 days before we had separate stag and hen parties for the whole wedding party in Protaras for the men and Ayia Napa for the girls.
Debbie and Richard’s Rhodes Wedding
Panoramic views of the stunning, crystal clear sea and a traditional Grecian white walled chapel sets the scene of Debbie and Richard’s Pefkos chapel wedding and sea view reception.Their reception was held on a terrace overlooking azure blue waters with access to Pefkos Beach. This wedding was the perfect, picturesque Greek Island wedding.
Stunning decor added a personal flair and pretty details to this wedding. Extras the couple had asked Ionian Weddings for including more bouquets, Greek dancers, a violinist and accordion player and also a glass bottom boat. All these added extras made their wedding unique and bespoke.
We asked the happy couple some questions about their big day and here’s what they had to say:
How did you meet?
We met at work around 18 Years ago. Richard came on placement for his studies as a Mature Student. We got on really well, and could chat about anything & everything, after a few months Richard plucked up the courage to ask me out!
Tell us about the proposal?
We were staying in Mijas Spain for Debbie’s sons wedding, which was just a fantastic weekend! Everyone left on the Monday, but we did not leave until the Tuesday, so we spent the day on the beach! We left the beach early evening, got an ice lolly on the stroll back to the apartment, I was having trouble with my lolly,when half dropped to the floor, at the same time “Richard said will you Marry Me”. As I was not really listening to him I said you know I would ( could not decide whether to pick my lolly up!) Richard then said will you listen to what I’m asking you! WILL YOU MARRY ME? Not would you…..I think I went into shock as I was totally surprised as I had no Idea that was coming! Obviously I said yes, if we could get married in Greece! We went back to the Apartment and Richard phoned my children and then my Mum to tell them the news and if it was OK with them! They all were so pleased and excited and told him about TIME!
Why did you decide to marry in Greece?
We have been to Rhodes a few times and love Pefkos and Lindos and how everyone is so friendly, that’s why we decided to get married at St Paul’s Chapel in Lindos,and our Reception at the Beach Taverna in Pefkos. And Ionian weddings made our wish come true with ease.
Tell us about the theme for your wedding…colours etc?
Richard Chose the colour theme as I kept changing my mind! We had pale blue and ivory. Richard had a pale blue jacket and Debbie’s daughter was Maid of Honour and wore a pale blue dress.Debbie’s six Grandchildren were flower girls and pageboys, the girls wore Ivory dresses and carried pale blue butterfly wands and the boys all wore Navy Chinos, Bermuda shorts and waistcoats and Granddad shirts. As the reception was over looking the beach we chose blue & white striped miniature deck chairs with miniature bottles of Ouso and Metaxa as wedding favours. We left the rest of the decor to the restaurant and it was beautiful. We had also made donations to Alzheimers and the British Heart Foundation as it is something that is very close to us, and had baskets of Alzheimers badges and heart shaped tins of mints which our guests could help themselves to.
Where was your wedding dress from?
I got my wedding dress from Catwalk 09 in Exeter, Devon and it was by Venus.
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding?
We arranged for us and our guests to meet up at the Peacock bar in Pefkos a few days before the wedding. Also my son had a BBQ at the villa he was staying in, and we all had a brilliant time in the pool with all the grandchildren. On our wedding day we had breakfast with a couple of friends, then Richard and I went our separate ways to get ready for our special day! After the Wedding a lot of guests came back to our Hotel until about 4 am! when we eventually got back to our room the Hotel had decorated it with floor lanterns, Champagne and a heart made of flowers on the bed. Also they had been asking Richard what our colour theme was, and had tied ours towels in pale blue Ribbon. We had breakfast with a few guests, sat by the pool, had a lovely evening meal on a terrace in a lovely restaurant in Pefkos on our own, as everyone had decided to leave us alone!
Kelly and Paul’s Skiathos Wedding
Kelly and Paul had their beautiful wedding at the stunning Bourtzi overlooking amazing sea views. Their reception took place at Koukounaries Terrace, a traditional Greek taverna, also showcasing wonderful views.
With their magical venues creating the perfect backdrop to their big day they could begin to focus on the finer details with the help of Ionian Weddings. For example once the 38 guests tucked into their delicious meal, drinks were passed around perfectly timed for the speeches to commence. Royal blue, yellow and green provided the colour palette, with the flowers reinforcing this cheerful, bright theme.
How did you meet?
“Me and Paul met on Friday 25th September 2009 in our local night club, we started chatting and having a good laugh, we ended up discussing surnames at some point during the night, and by coincidence we ended up having the same surname, I jokingly said to Paul “hey at least we wouldn’t have to get married” and we laughed. Ever since that night we haven’t been apart.
Tell us about the proposal?
Our little girl Sadie had just turned one and Pauls mum and dad invited us to join them on a holiday to Skiathos for 2 weeks, it was my birthday whilst we were there, and on that day the 26th July 2012 Paul got down on one knee and handing Sadie a box to give to me, and there and then proposed, being overwhelmed I cried. It was the best holiday, on the most beautiful island for getting engaged.
Why did you decide to marry in Skiathos?
We chose to get married in Skiathos as we both could not think of any where more perfect to do it, it just seemed so right, we made the right choice too as it was perfect for us, we got engaged there, had our first family holiday there, and the majority of our family have been before and absolutely adore the Island.
Tell us about the theme for your wedding…colours etc?
Well we chose royal blue for our colour for the wedding, not only is it like the Greek blue, but it’s Paul’s favourite colour, and I wanted him to decide on that bit… The theme was quite obviously travel, we made passports for all our guests for the invitations, and I did lots of decoupage on all the wedding decorations, which I did myself, I even made the coat hangers for the bridal party.
Where was your wedding dress from?
My dress was from Dan Kerr brides in Preston Lancashire, they were extremely helpful and very patient, I tried on about 15 dresses, with a style in my head what I liked which just didn’t look right on me at all, they chose a dress for me which fitted my needs, it was perfect and not one that I would of picked out myself but when I tried it on it was amazing, my mum cried and my little girl told me I looked like a princess, that then made me realise this was the dress, it was beautiful.
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding?
Leading up to the wedding we had hen and stag dos, I went to Benidorm and Paul went to the races, we had nights out in Skiathos too, us girls went out for cocktails and to watch the ever so famous Mamma Mia in the open air cinema ‘fantastic’… On return from skiathos we had an evening wedding reception at our local hall, it was decorated professionally with chair covers and table decor, we had a cake and a hog roast for sandwiches, complete with drinks on arrival, everything was just so perfect for us and best of all, I got to wear my wedding dress twice!
Hazel & Matthew’s Sorrento Wedding
Hazel & Matthew had their wedding ceremony in the historic Cloisters in the heart of Sorrento’s old town.
Ionian Weddings arranged a guitarist & mandolinist to play some beautiful music including Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years
Their private reception for 42 guests took place at our Vesuvius View Villa, a short walk away.
On arrival guests were welcomed with drinks and canapes then sat down to dinner whilst watching the spectacular sunset over the sea and Vesuvius
How did you meet?
We met in a bar in Wimbledon. I was out for dinner with one of my close friends and Matt was out for a drink with two of his best friends. One of Matt’s friends decided to sit down at our table after having a few too many drinks and Matt came to ask if he was bothering us and apologised. We all started talking and at the end of the night Matt refused to let me and my friend get a train home and insisted on paying for a taxi. We exchanged numbers and the rest is history.
Tell us about the proposal?
We had been to Lake Garda to attend our friends’ wedding and decided to extend the trip. We travelled to Venice and then on to Rome which is one of my favourite cities in the world. Matt had never been to Rome before and we had planned that on the Friday night (6th June) I would take him to one of my favourite restaurants in Piazza Navona. When we arrived at the restaurant he decided that it was quite busy and noisy. We spent the next half an hour looking for an alternative restaurant. Matt kept disappearing inside and then coming out and saying not this one, I really did not have a clue, I thought he was just being picky. Finally he chose one. After sitting down and having a glass of wine Matt said that there was something he had been wanting to ask me. He then got down on one knee and proposed! I was completely shocked. During the proposal the waiter came over to our table to try to serve our starters. Matt asked him to give us a minute as he didn’t seem to initially understand what he had just interrupted. Once he realised he quickly retreated back to the kitchen looking quite embarrassed. In the meantime I had been stunned into silence and Matt had to ask me again whether the answer was a yes as I hadn’t yet said anything. After I finally said yes Matt ordered a bottle of bubbly and we finally got back to our starters! It made a special place for me even more special.
Why did you decide to marry in Italy?
We decided quite quickly that we wanted to get married abroad. We wanted the day to be an intimate celebration with our closest friends and family and by going away we felt we could spend quality time with our guests, both before and after the ceremony. Italy is such a beautiful, laid back, family orientated country and a place which we have both fallen in love with. Sorrento is an absolutely stunning setting. It offered sightseeing, shopping, beaches and a great mix of restaurants and bars, which could be enjoyed by all of our guests.
Ionian Weddings arranged for us to look around venues in Sorrento and as soon as we arrived we knew it was an idyllic setting for our special day and with their help we found our perfect venues.
Tell us about the theme for your wedding…colours etc?
As we were getting married abroad in July we knew the weather would be hot, so this played a massive part in choosing colours for the wedding party. Matt had said that he didn’t want a black or grey suit and when we started looking for suits he quickly decided on shades of blue for him and his best men. This fitted in perfectly with my ideas of azure/aquamarine for my bridesmaids.
The colour suited all of their different skin tones and hair colours and they all looked absolutely stunning on the day. We chose plain cream bouquets with azure diamante pins for the bridesmaids as we didn’t want to take anything away from their dresses or the setting and this was equally the same for the buttonholes.
My bouquet was cream, pastel pinks and blues to match in with the colour theme of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. We continued the pastel colours for our flowers in the Cloisters and Villa however, we didn’t have too many as the venues were stunning in their own right. The table colours at the Villa were their own pale greens and whites which matched the table decorations perfectly and gave a very elegant feel to the occasion. It was important to us that we kept the decoration simple as we did not want to distract from the amazing outlook over Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples.
We decided that we wanted our wedding cake to be a little bit different as we were not going for the traditional ‘at home’ ceremony.
On our previous visit to Sorrento we had tasted the regional ‘Delizie al limone’ and thought it would be a brilliant idea to have these tiered as a wedding cake instead of the traditional iced fruit or sponge. The Villa provided us with a beautiful stand for these and we were thrilled with the outcome. The cake not only looked but tasted amazing and was a real talking point.
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding?
The beauty of getting married abroad was that our family and friends were all together both before and after the wedding. In total we had 42 guests the majority of who were staying with us at the Hotel Carlton International. Guests were arriving throughout the week but we decided that it would be a lovely idea to get everyone together the night before the wedding for dinner. Ionian Weddings recommended Café Latino in Sorrento as this was a great family restaurant with outside areas for our younger guests to enjoy whilst the adults were able to socialise and enjoy their evening. It was a really good way for everyone to get to know each other as well and automatically put everyone at ease before the wedding. On the Monday after the wedding a group of us took the boat to Capri and met up with some other members of the wedding party who had decided to do a private boat trip.
What The Couple Had To Say
We had an absolutely amazing time in Sorrento. We made memories which will stay with us forever and we were so honoured to have all of our closest family and friends with us. We were blown away by the love and support we received and want to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in our perfect start to our happy ever after!