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The little things in life... Our Mamma Mia Wedding #1 The planning

I mentioned in my first blog post about our wedding in Lindos, Greece and shared a little photo of me and Ben on our wedding day. I am asked quite often about our wedding and what it was like getting married abroad so thought I would write a little post for you all about it, also because I love re-living it time and time again! We always knew we would would get married abroad but it was just a case of when and where. The Caribbean had always been a thought but to get our family and close friends over there was just a little too much to ask but also we wanted something that didn't just feel like we were  just at the beach for the day.
 
When we finally got engaged (after almost 10 years!!) we started to plan straight away, we always said when we got engaged it would be to get married and not just think about it for a few years! we looked at different countries and places but Greece really stood out for us and when we came across Lindos we knew it would be perfect for us! We were really lucky and stumbled across Lindos Weddings, a wedding planning company run by a British couple but who lived out in Lindos. We booked our wedding date, chapel and venue without actually seeing them for real! It was always our plan to see these places for the first time on the wedding day with our family and friends, it was risky but with Lindos Weddings putting us at ease and seeing the photos etc it just made it more exciting! However, about six months before the wedding we were looking for a last minute holiday and a last minute cheap deal to Lindos popped up - so off we went!
 
We really were not disappointed and as soon as we saw the venues then we just knew that we had done the right thing and it made us even more excited for May 2012! When we sent out invites we really didn't expect anything more than our direct family mums, dads and sisters and brothers to be able to come, we appreciated that it was expensive to go on a holiday and that asking people to attend was a big ask, but we just had the thought that it was what we wanted, we didn't want a huge wedding and we would be thankful for those that could come and join us. We were really surprised with the RSVPS that we got! we had pretty much 40 people attend, almost everyone that we had invited! It was really touching to know that so many people would be joining us in Greece for our special day.
 
 
Planning the wedding was better than I ever imagined, I had a few stressful moments when I couldn't find the right bridesmaid dresses that I wanted, I couldn't decide on my wedding dress, I couldn't find wedding shoes, all quite small issues in the grand scheme of things! But the big things like the venue - we chose a quaint, tiny little chapel over looking the bay (Agios Demtrios) rather than one of the more busy places on the island, the evening venue (The Melenos) and the venue for dancing (The Village Cafe) were really easy decisions. We saw them and knew it was just what we wanted!
 
My wedding dress was a La Sposa, Pronovias Lace dress. It was perfect - exactly what I had in mind. Travelling with the dress was an experience as I really didn't want it to be put into the hold on the plane with all of the suitcases - what if they lost it?! So I packed it into a small hand luggage case and just hoped they wouldn't weight the case as it was pretty heavy!  I also packed in my shoes and jewellery, I couldn't risk being a bride without these things!
 
 
I got my bridesmaid dresses made in the end by my nan, I just couldn't find a dress in the style I wanted (Think Grecian, one-shouldered goddess) and in the colour I wanted. Although it was tricky fitting in fittings and I am sure it was a nightmare for my nan the end result was just what I had dreamt! It was really important that me and all the girls felt comfortable, bearing in mind it was Greece and although it was late May it was still hot, hot, hot! I think the dresses did the job perfectly for them, although at the end of the night I have some brilliant photos of them tucked in their knickers so they could dance more freely!!! hehe! One thing I was unsure of when choosing my own dress was whether I went for a "beach style" dress, short and light or if I went for exactly what I had always loved. One piece of advice I'd give is you only get one (most of the time!) so don't compromise! I knew my dress was very figure hugging down to the thighs and heavy. But I am so glad I did it, yes I was hot at times but I just hitched it up to get some breeze around my legs when the opportunity came! (Very lady like!)
 
 
The wedding planners did most things for us, they sent us lots of photos and literature to look through and we were also able to do our own research and send over any ideas we had. It was so easy because they did all the hard work for us! I chose the flowers, the cake, the decorations, the seating plans, the reading at the service, the music etc etc and they just did it all for me! The only thing I actually did was the favours, and I just got traditional sugared almonds in little bags and took them with me to give them when we arrived. This was the exciting bit - especially all of the decorations! I wanted it pretty and romantic and slightly vintage - Think Mamma Mia! Our venue where we had the wedding breakfast was a beautiful Bedouin tent style terrace at a little boutique hotel, The Melenos and it looked out onto the bay of Lindos. The time we had our meal was perfect as we saw the sun go down and at one point some of our guests shouted that there were dolphins out in the bay leaping around! It was like someone had put them there just for us! It really was magical.
This is the view the following morning from the hotel:
 
 
At the time of looking at photographers we came across some gorgeous photos on facebook, when we asked Lindos Weddings if he was on there list of suppliers he actually wasn't at the time but they were completely happy for us to use him as they knew him and his photos are out of this world! He now is their recommended photographer and I can see why! There were various packages on offer and after some consideration we just wen for it and went for one of the most expensive packages, we wanted to capture everything we could possibly afford! Apart from the wedding breakfast this was the most expensive investment of the wedding. We are so glad - I love our photographs! They are more than I could ever have imagined, he really captured not only us but some great moments of our guests that we can keep forever. Apart from the obvious posed photographs we would never have known he was there, he really was worth every single penny to us. I love looking at his website http://www.giannelis.com/en/
 
 
 
 
On my next post I will talk about the actual day and how it went and not just the girly details like this post! I felt it was a bit much to do all at once, I don't want to bore you all to death!
 
Lots of Love,
Hayley xx
 





2 comments

  1. OMG it all looks so gorgeous! I went on holiday to Pefkos with my boyfriend last year and we made quite a few visits to Lindos, it's so beautiful! One of the ladies at my work is actually getting married there in September, I'm hoping she can sneak me into her case! I'm looking forward to your next post about your special day x

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  2. Thank you, it was so beautiful! We stayed in Pefkos when we have stayed there actually, that's a nice area to holiday in! :) x

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