Inspiration

I can totally see why Eleanor & Wayne wanted to get married in Santorini. Just look at the blue sky and those picture perfect views. You can literally feel the warmth radiating from the page. With a little help from wedding planner Maria from Tie the Knot in Santorini, they added simple gold details and olive trees to the already gorgeous Rocabella venue, so as not to detract from the surrounding beauty. Enhanced only by the bright coral maxi dresses of the Bridesmaids, sharp blue suits of the groomsmen and Bride Eleanor's stylish Jesús Peiró bridal separates. If you haven't considered a destination before, you just might now. Enjoy.

Dress

Eleanor The Bride: I was convinced I would suit a traditional, thick, heavy, corset kind of dress at first, but after trying on what felt like 100 dresses, I quickly realised this wouldn’t really work in the Greek heat, however, a crop top and skirt combo was definitely not what I expected to fall in love with! As soon as I put the top and skirt on, I was beaming from ear to ear and definitely had ‘the dress’ moment! Aside from being the complete opposite to what I was looking for, it was much more playful, modern and most importantly I felt like it was more me. I kept my jewellery relatively simple with a silver bracelet and a diamond necklace wedding present from my husband. My heels were from Nordstrom. Luckily, I have two very talented and patient friends who offered to do my make-up and hair for me on the day, thank you girls! As my something old, new, borrowed and blue my Mum bought me a garter (new) and sewed on an old coin, a blue ribbon and part of her own gold heart necklace (borrowed).

The Girls

Finding a dress for 6 bridesmaids that was A) comfortable and not too hot to wear B) made every girl look smoking and C) preferably something they could keep and wear again, seemed like an impossible task. ASOS came to the rescue with peach maxi numbers that at first, I was worried would be too bright, but out in Santorini where you have to wear sunnies 24/7, they were perfect!

The Groom and Boys

My husband found his blue suit in Ted Baker, very last minute too (1 month before the big day!). For a pop of colour he opted for bright pink socks for the ushers, the dads and for himself. The best part was his peach bow tie bought from etsy to match the bridesmaids dresses (major heart eyes!). ASOS came to the rescue again with blue waist coats and trousers for the ushers and dads.

The View

Choosing to get married overlooking the Aegean sea from a cliff top in Santorini was an easy decision to make. We didn’t want to get married in a church or registry office so having our loved ones with us for 3 days in the beautiful Mediterranean sunshine, without having to go to work the day after – no brainer! The venue Rocabella was also an easy decision to make, even though we booked it online, without visiting it beforehand (big gulp!). After a flying visit a few months before the big day, we realised we’d made the right decision, the hotel was stunning and that view…! We also chose it for the menu - fresh feta, truffle and parmesan risotto, lots of red wine and wedding cake (what more do you need at a wedding?). The day before, we organised a private boat to take everyone around the island and to see the hot springs which was a really good opportunity for guests to meet each other before the big day!

The Décor

Speaking of views, we didn’t want to distract from that, so we went for simple decoration of olive trees and branches, white flowers and a touch of gold sparkle. Maria our wedding planner was fantastic and knew exactly what would and wouldn’t work (If you’re thinking or marrying abroad I would recommend a wedding planner, especially if you don’t speak the language). We had little olive trees to line the aisle and for the table decoration we added olive branches to everyone’s napkins. For table favours we chose little Santorini shaped bottles of ouzo which went down a treat and on each table we left selfie sticks. We also had 200 church candles placed on the tables, around the pool and around the edge of the reception area which created the most magical lighting in the evening! We had little baskets filled with panama hats and sunnies to shield guests from the sunshine. As decoration was kept fairly simple, we decided to add a bit of ‘fun’ into the place names using gold animals. It was hilarious seeing which guests ended up with which animals!

The Blooms

The flowers by Betty Flowers Santorini were incredible – we opted for white piaget roses for the buttonholes and for the bridesmaids bouquets. The bridal bouquet was made up of white and peach piaget roses, olive leaves and lavender (for scent!) wrapped with peach ribbon that fell from the stems and blew in the wind (dreamy!)

The Legal Part

I think it was due to nerves but we both couldn’t stop giggling during the ceremony. Putting my husband’s wedding ring on and finding his whole hand greased up with Vaseline ‘in case you can’t get the ring on’ might have started us off! We had 2 readings for the ceremony, ‘Love’ by Roy Croft from my husband’s sister and ‘Foxtrot from a Play’ by W.H.Auden from a bridesmaid. They were both such great additions to the ceremony with just the right amount of sentimentality and humour.

The Beats

Music wise, we had a local saxophone and guitar duo play during the day and a DJ who was throwing out tunes all night. A definite highlight of the evening, just as the last song was played, was seeing a few of the boys rugby tackle each other into the pool, and then have to get on the coach to go home soaked through! Our first dance was perfect, we chose ‘Hold you in my arms’ by Ray Lamontagne and guests surrounded us holding extra-long sparklers that seemed to sparkle for about 5 solid minutes. A moment we’ll never forget! My husband arranged fireworks half way through the evening too which was such a surprise and amazing to watch with the caldera view below.

The Pics

Choosing our photographer Anna Roussos was one of the first and best decisions we made throughout the whole planning process. She is a magician of light! Anna was so lovely which really put us both at ease, I highly recommend her!

Wise Words

Expect for things to go wrong… and then expect to be A-OK with it! To name just a few things that didn’t turn out quite right - I forgot to bring my bridesmaids cards and my husband’s wedding present, I didn’t actually walk down the aisle (the wedding party did, but with all the nerves and excitement of the day, my dad and I diagonally cut across the guests and we made a beeline for my husband!), and to top it all off, I fell flat on my face whilst running around in the evening, luckily only in front of 2 of my bridesmaids who quickly picked me up, dusted me off and ran me back to the dancefloor! (Wine may or may not have been the culprit for this one!). Don’t sweat the small stuff! No one notices the details that didn’t go to plan, and once the little niggly nerves have gone and that huge happy grin spreads across your face, they will be the last thing on your mind.

Wedding Planner

Maria Sila The Wedding Planner: Planning and designing with Elly & Wayne their beautiful Santorini wedding was so much fun!! They are this wonderful duo full of positive energy and love that make our work absolutely enjoyable!   I had an amazing time with them, not only during the wedding planning process but on the wedding day as well! Their emotional  wedding ceremony, which was held at one of the prettiest “caldera” locations was followed by a delicious dinner and  a GREAT party!! Everyone had a blast!  All guests, young and older, could not stop dancing! I think it was the couple’s good vibes that kept everyone constantly on the dance floor!   The ceremony and reception décor was simple but so pretty! We designed with Elly a modern and bohemian set up with a lot of Santorini/ Greek touches, like the olive trees that marked the aisle and the centerpieces. The Santorini shaped, ouzo bottles where the perfect Greek wedding favour! Everyone loved those :) Because the olive leaves go perfect with some gold elements, sparkly gold table numbers and gold animals name tags were added. Elly & Wayne painted the miniature animals themselves! One of my favorite  decorative elements of the wedding, were the hundreds of candles that were used around the pool and all over the wedding reception area! This atmospheric lighting looked fabulous and brought more magic to the night.   It was a day and night to remember! I wish we could do it over and over again!!
Lorna Shaw

Written by Lorna Shaw

Dress Designer: Jesús Peiró | Bridal Boutique: Miss Blush | Bridal Shoes: Enzo Angiolini | Makeup: The Foundation Beauty Studio | Bridesmaid Dresses: ASOS | Grooms Suit: Ted Baker | Groomsmen Suits: ASOS | Venue: Rocabella Hotel Santorini | Wedding Planner: Tie The Knot Santorini | Wedding Website: Sneak Digital | Rings: The Diamond Ring Company | Flowers: Betty Flowers Santorini | Cake: PetranArt | Stationery: Etsy | Sound & Lighting: Events in Santorini | Bridesmaid Gifts: Kate Spade | Ushers Gifts: Ted Baker

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