We love this stunning destination wedding in Zakynthos, Greece – just look at that backdrop! Bride Emma shares the details of her beach-themed celebration…
How did Sam propose?
“You will not believe it, but we WON a holiday around the world, stopping off at Dubai, Singapore, Sydney, Fiji and LA! He proposed on a stunning jetty at LikuLiku Lagoon, a small island off Fiji, just after we’d visited the world famous Cloud 9 floating bar. It really was a perfect day. He’d asked someone to take a photo of us and then suddenly proposed! Luckily the camera was flipped straight to camera mode and the whole thing was caught on video.”
What dress did you wear?
“I wore the original Hollie dress by Grace Loves Lace. Since the second I first saw it, it was ‘The One’, and despite trying on other dresses I kept coming back to it. When Grace Loves Lace announced they planned to discontinue it, I took the plunge and ordered it from their website before I lost my chance. It was definitely a risk buying a dress I had never tried on all the way from Australia, and a bit nerve-wracking, but they were fantastic in keeping in touch and answering queries. When it arrived, it was just perfect!”
And the accessories?
“I searched for ages for the right hair accessory, and eventually decided on a hair chain. My very talented friend Rosy Appleton made the piece for me, incorporating seashell hair clips and a row of pearls to tie the chain in with my shoes and the beach setting.
“For the ceremony I wore ASOS sandals, and also delicate foot chains with pearls and an anchor given to me by Sam when we booked our beach wedding. For the reception I wore the most wonderful mermaid heels by Ironfist. For jewellery, I wore a seashell necklace given to me by Sam and bracelets on my wrist that I’ve gathered from our trips and adventures over the years.”
What did Sam wear?
“The trousers were a tailored grey slim fit design from Gaff, which is in the centre of Bath. Sam wasn’t looking for a full suit due to the climate in Greece. To fit with the coastal theme, he chose sky blue Ralph Lauren Casual shoes, bought at a snippet of the RRP from TK Maxx, and teamed it with a short sleeve white shirt with sky blue sleeve detail from New Look. He also wore navy blue braces from New Look and a sky blue bow tie with an anchor pattern from Dick Beau.”
How did you feel when you saw him up the aisle?
“Cameo Island has a lot of stairs for you to walk down to get to the ceremony area, so I was trying to concentrate walking down them without falling over my dress! Once I saw Sam though, I couldn’t stop looking at him and smiling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that look on his face before – it makes me smile every time I think about it!”
Who were your bridesmaids and what dresses did they wear?
“My older sister Rachel was my maid of honour and my oldest friend Rosy was my bridesmaid. They wore beautiful dresses from TFNC at ASOS. They were mint green maxi dresses with scalloped sequins to the top half and a cut out back. Everyone commented on how beautiful they looked, like mermaids!”
What was your wedding theme?
“Since we’d booked such idyllic locations we really didn’t want to overly decorate them, and instead let their beauty speak for itself. The day had a beach theme running throughout, with a mint green and coral colour scheme. Shells covered the reception tables and the men wore starfish and seagrass buttonholes. Nods to flamingos and mermaids kept an element of fun throughout, as we didn’t want anything overly traditional or overdone.”
What was the highlight of your day?
“Aside from the ceremony itself, one of my favourite memories of the day was our first dance. We chose There Will Be Time by Mumford and Sons. The song is beautiful and starts off slowly, but gets much livelier towards the end of the song, at which point a few friends knew to get everyone to join us on the dancefloor to dance with us. Dancing in a huge circle with all our friends singing along is a memory we will never forget.”
What was your best buy?
“One of our favourite buys was one of the favours – white heart shaped paper fans for all of the guests during the ceremony. They helped with the heat, looked great in photos and cost around 50p each from ebay! Definitely recommended for a destination or Summer wedding! We also created a temporary tattoo bar with sea-themed tattoos, which went down so well and was fairly cheap to do.”
What’s your saving tip?
“We decided on a budget and what we could save each month fairly early on. Whilst I’d be lying if I said we stuck to budget, we did commit to the saving, and made small changes like not buying each other Christmas presents or having a holiday. There’s many years ahead after the wedding, so it’s worth making the commitment to give yourselves the day you want.”
The Details:
Date: Saturday 27th May 2017
Venue: Cameo Island and Akrotiri North in Zakynthos, Greece
Photographer: Menelaos Gkotsopoulos
Emma’s dress: Grace Loves Lace
Sam’s attire: Gaff and New Look
Bridesmaid dresses: TFNC at ASOS
Shoes: ASOS and Ironfist
Accessories: Rosy Appleton
