Laura & Paul had a gorgeous, relaxed beach wedding on Lindos Beach in Rhodes, Greece, on the 4th August 2017
How did you both meet?
We met both working at the same school in 2010. I was the reception teacher and Paul was a teaching assistant in the juniors, we didn’t really speak much at first, just the occasional “Hi” walking through the hall. Paul then left in the July to go and train to be a teacher.
At Christmas he came to our Christmas do and that’s when we started to chat and continued to message each other until another works night out in June 2012, when we started to date.
Tell us about the Proposal?
As part of my Christmas present in 2015 Paul had booked us into Crabwall Manor in Chester on New Years Day. We spent the day having afternoon tea and enjoying the hotel spa.
In the evening we went into Chester for a meal and on the way back to the car we walked by the Cathedral, which had fairy lights all over the trees and Paul got down on one knee in the pouring rain! Obviously the answer was yes! What a great start to 2016 that was!
What attracted you to Rhodes as a wedding destination?
In 2010 I went to my cousins wedding on Cameo Island organised by Ionian Weddings and knew from then I would love a destination wedding. Once we were engaged Paul really was keen on a beach wedding. We both absolutely love being on holiday. We started to look on Ionian Weddings website, as you came highly recommended, knowing we wanted a ceremony on the beach.
A couple we know had recently come back from Rhodes and told us how lovely it was. So yourLindos Beach Wedding ticked every box. We also heard nothing but great things about the town of Lindos, a stunning village with something for everyone. We could not have picked a better venue.
Did the venue meet your expectations?
Yes it was amazing. Everything about it was perfect. The setting and colours of the sea were stunning. The hotel was gorgeous and the staff were absolutely fantastic. They could not do enough for us and were very helpful to our guests with dietary requirements. The food at the reception was delicious and my family, who love good food, were saying things like “Best wedding food I’ve ever had” and “Had two plates full, it’s so good!” We did not want the day/evening to end. The whole experience was more than we could have wished for and provided us and our guests with some fabulous memories to treasure.
What was most important to you both for your wedding day?
Obviously marrying each other was the most important part but apart from that it was about having the family and friends we spend most of our time with there with us and that everyone felt relaxed and had a good time.
Tell us about the theme of your wedding day?
For our wedding we went very much with a beach theme, we had quite relaxed wedding outfits from my dress, bridesmaid dresses and men’s outfits. I knew I wanted a floaty, lightweight dress to fit the setting, I fell in love with the dress as it had a Grecian style to it and the back was a major selling point.
For the men we wanted linen trousers in pale grey and collarless shirts, so no need for ties, they also wore Toms rather than shoes. The colour of the bridesmaid dresses is called ‘coastal’ so straight away fit with our theme and what a gorgeous colour it was against that backdrop!
We had many other beach touches to our wedding with fans, sunglasses, shells, pebbles, message in a bottle name paces and slogan parasols.
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to your wedding?
We tried to spend time with all the guests throughout their time in Rhodes doing different things, from fun in the pool, to climbing up the Acropolis and touring the Island. As a big group we went for a night out a few days before the wedding once everyone had arrived, Lindos was a good night out. Then the night after the wedding with people were still in Lindos we all went for a meal.
What was your favourite moment from the day?
It is very hard to pick a favourite moment as there are so many. From walking down the aisle and seeing each other and saying our vows in front of that amazing backdrop to the fabulous comments we got from our guests about our fantastic choice of venue.
One moment that will stick in my mind is dancing, rather than walking, back down the aisle with our bridesmaids and groom’s men behind us to Ed Sheeran and Christina Perri, Be My Forever. We decided we wanted an upbeat, beach style song to end the ceremony.
What advice would you give other couples thinking of having a wedding abroad?
Do it! It is the most amazing experience. You get to celebrate your wedding for more than just a day. You can enjoy the build up with your guest and continue celebrating afterwards too. It’s a fantastic holiday altogether as well as a wedding. Also having your wedding abroad is also so much more relaxed and stress free.
The whole atmosphere is calm and peaceful. You don’t get a setting like this anywhere in the UK with the guaranteed weather too for brilliant photos. Honestly is the best decision we made, our friends and family are still all talking about what a great time they had and want us all to go back for our 5 year anniversary. So getting married abroad provides fabulous memories for everyone not just the bride and groom.