Claire & Mark’s Lindos Wedding

From the moment we walked down into the secret little world of Lindos we were in love! I remember being lost in the 40c heat looking for our meeting point with Karen and when we finally found her, I just knew straight away she was going to be fabulous. She was so passionate, warm and welcoming. Karen has planned many weddings, but she makes you feel like yours is so special like it’s the only one that matters, she has great ideas and enthusiasm.

Everything from the first meeting was a dream. Karen showed us round a venue called Melenos and it just blew us away with its uniqueness and beauty that we didn’t need to look any further. It has a truly breath-taking setting and nestled into the side of the famous Acropolis with panoramic views of the Aegean Sea.  We choose to have our ceremony at a small white chapel (after Mama Mia) just a stone’s throw away from the reception venue.

My dress was by Maggie Sottero was probably a bit bigger than what you would expect for abroad, but I felt amazing in it. My shoes were by Aruna Seth and were a splurge at £500! Nude pink patent leather with Swarovski crystal butterfly on the front. I was in love with them but it’s amazing how you change because I wouldn’t have picked today.

Looking back now I would definitely choose a different dress, but I don’t think will ever regret my hair - I loved it and luckily a good friend was also my hairdresser. I used to get messages off future brides asking about my hair for a long time. I just wore a simple flower clip from Accessorize, the hair was kind of enough on its own. I did buy a veil, but my hair was so fabulous I didn’t want to cover it up. I did my own make up as a beauty therapist I was more than confident. I didn’t actually wear that much it was even before lashes were a big thing, so I had quite a natural look luckily it actually looked really nice.

We had a colour theme of dusky pink and floral. The men wore pink floral ties from Marc Wallace and shirts to match they were beautiful. My flowers I just wanted to be simple I had a bouquet of white and greenery I’m not even sure what flowers I had I was quite laid back.

I was so nervous about walking through Lindos village to get to the chapel, but I loved it holding my Dad’s hand walking with my bridesmaids while a Greek violinist played it was magical. It did feel like a long walk I remember getting to the steps of the chapel and my legs were literally like jelly, I’m not sure how I made it up them steps in the shoes. I could see Mark my husband to be and I couldn’t wait to get to him.

The ceremony was short and sweet - my cousin did a reading that brought a tear to everyone’s eye. I’m a really emotional person so I was worried I wouldn’t be able to hold it together, but I was fine. The violinist played as we signed the register it really added to the atmosphere it was starting to turn to dusk and the views were just spectacular. We went off to have pictures taken by the amazing Antonis Giannelis while our guests enjoyed a welcome drink of Pimm’s.

We sourced our photographer independently which was a bit of a risk really as Karen only recommends working with trusted suppliers, but we loved his work so much we went with it! It certainly paid off for us our pictures were amazing, and Karen now works closely with Antonis.

We had a 7-course traditional Greek tasting menu which was delicious, featuring stuffed vine leaves to start and of course moussaka was in there too.  We also had unlimited wine for our guests. We had asked our guests to choose a song to be played during the wedding breakfast, something that reminded them of us or something that meant something to them.

After the meal the whole wedding party walked through the village to our next venue where we would party the night away. A traditional little café that we had filled with pretty fairy lights, it was open air and had the typical pebbled Lindian floor. We wanted something different to your average UK wedding, so we hired a Greek band and dancers which was one of the best decisions we made regarding our wedding. Everyone had so much fun and the dancers were very encouraging, getting everyone involved. We ended up dancing in the street and we had the best night. Sadly, it was a bit like being Cinderella as all the music had to end at midnight.

A rather random end to the night, my new husband carried me through the streets of Lindos (because my feet hurt so much from dancing) to get a taxi. His back hurt for days while half the wedding party ended up having to flag a farmer down to get home at sunrise!

We have been lucky enough to visit Lindos every single year since our wedding and we take our picture at the same spot (wonder how long we can keep that up for). Last year I was pregnant and this year we will take our baby boy as we’ve planned our 10-year vow renewal, with Karen at Lindos Weddings.

Lindos will always have a special place in our hearts and for some reason it seems to capture everyone that visits.”