‘It was honestly all so magical, I couldn’t pick one specific memory. ’ Wedding at Le Ciel
Venue Le Ciel, Santorini • Date 9th of September 2019 • Number of Guests 67 • Budget £££
Why did you choose to get married in Santorini, at Le Ciel in particular?
Josh is originally from Australia; his family and a lot of close friends are still there. I’m from the UK but have some of my family in Dubai, in addition to very close friends in other countries. We both have family and friends scattered across the world, so we knew from the very beginning that guests would have to travel to join us for our wedding. We thought the fairest way would be to have everyone travel, including us!
Santorini was the obvious choice for us, we had the most romantic holiday there a couple of years ago, to which Josh even said “If we were going to get married, I’d want it to be here”.
We chose Le Ciel because it was first venue we saw when searching online that we both turned to each other and said “Wow! That is perfect for us.”
How long in advance did you book your wedding?
Josh proposed to me on my birthday in June 2018 (on a private boat in the middle of Lake Como… He did good!), we knew we wanted to get married in 2019 and started researching wedding planners a few weeks later. We found Lisa and The Bridal Consultants and from there, Le Ciel. We started looking at the available dates were very lucky to get 9th September 2019.
I’m an Events Manager for a software company, so I knew that there was plenty of time to get everything planned once the venue was secured, but what really put me out of my comfort zone was not visiting the venue before we signed the contract! Lisa assured me that Le Ciel is even nicer in the person than the pictures and I trusted her and her professional opinion. After all, that’s why we invested in a wedding planner, for the knowledge of the best local suppliers and venues. We booked a site visit and our menu tasting for October 2018 which really put my mind at ease. Le Ciel really is more beautiful in person, we were so happy!
How many guests did you invite to your wedding and how many accepted and attended?
We had to manage our invitation process quite carefully as there was a capacity limit if we wanted to ensure we could have a sit-down wedding breakfast rather than a buffet. We were amazed to have 67 guests join us for our day.
Tell us about your dress.
It took me quite a while to find my dress! I went to 7 bridal shops with no set idea as to what style of dress I wanted; I enjoyed the process of trying on all of them and seeing what I did and didn’t like. Then I came across a Justin Alexander dress online and knew I had to try it on. It was exactly what I was looking for, modern, elegant and effortless, with a little something special.
And your accessories?
I love my shoes! I wanted a pair of shoes I could wear again after the wedding so went for Rosalind in rose gold from Sophia Webster, which matched the wedding colour palette.
My mum passed away when I was young, so I wore her eternity ring to have her close to me. I borrowed some beautiful diamond earrings from my Aunt and she and my Uncle also gifted me a stunning bracelet from Tiffany.
And the groom?
We bought Josh’s suit from Hugo Boss, it looked amazing on him. The groomsmen suits were a nightmare! Hiring wasn’t really an option as the groomsmen are scattered all over Australia, in the end we found a style we liked from Next and sent them out to them. They all looked great on the day.
Tell us about the bridesmaids gorgeous dresses.
I went for grey multiway dresses from Oasis. All the girls felt comfortable and happy in them which to me was the most important thing. They all looked stunning!
Tell us about your bouquet
The flowers were everything I wanted. I had a hand tied bouquet made of white avalanche roses, white Eustoma and greenery, which was primarily eucalyptus leaves, tied with long neutral colour ribbon. I loved how romantic they were.
What was your wedding theme? And why did you choose this?
We always knew the wedding would be modern, romantic, effortless and elegant. The views and Santorini itself are so beautiful, we didn’t want to take anything away from that. The colour scheme was all about greys and whites in a marble effect with hints of rose gold, which matched our invitations.
Tell us about the smaller details you added to personalised your elegant, romantic Le Ciel wedding in Santorini?
The details were my favourite thing to plan. Everything aligned back to our marble and rose gold colour scheme and the elegant and effortless feel. We had lots of candles lit throughout the day to remember my mum and other loved ones we’ve lost, with a poem in a marble floor frame to let our guests know the significance of them. Following on from the candles, we had sparklers for our first dance and floor fireworks. This really made it for us, and the guests were all surprised when the floor fireworks went off!
We had the guest’s names written in rose gold on acrylic hexagons at each of their table places which people loved and took home with them. Our favours were “worry dolls” attached to marble and rose gold cards that matched our invitations. It explained how Josh and I were given a worry doll on one of our first dates and why we were giving them to our guests on our wedding day.
We had a two-tier wedding cake with marble effect icing and gold foil details. One layer was vanilla with fresh cream and fresh strawberries and the other layer was chocolate with vanilla cream.
Everyone loved the food at Le Ciel! It was delicious! We went along the Greek theme and it went down incredibly well with everyone.
Did you stick to your original budget or go over/or even stay under?
We went slightly over budget, but this was to be expected! The best decision I think we made was to add videography about a month before the wedding. We had originally decided we weren’t going to, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it and in the end, we decided to make it happen. We’ve not once regretted it!
What’s your best memory from the day?
It was honestly all so magical, I couldn’t pick one specific memory.
What do you think makes a wedding abroad stand out from a wedding in the UK?
For us, it was so amazing to have all our friends and family on this beautiful island for a long weekend, rather than just celebrate for one day. We organised a welcome drinks reception at a wonderful cocktail bar called PK in Thira on the Saturday night and everyone loved being able to meet each other before the wedding. We also met up the day after the wedding to nurse our hangovers! The guaranteed sunshine, stunning views and holiday vibe made it all feel so special.
What advice would you give to future brides and grooms who are getting married abroad?
Go and familiarise yourself with your venue before the wedding if you’re able to. It really puts your mind at ease and helps enormously to meet the suppliers. It will allow you to truly envisage your day and help you with every element of the planning process.
Any time the planning process feels stressful rather than fun, leave it for the day and pick it up again another time with a glass of wine! All of those little things you worry about, will come right, so relax and enjoy the process.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about this romantic Le Ciel Wedding in Santorini, for a list of suppliers the bride mentions please scroll down.
To view all of our venues in Santorini including Le Ciel please click here
We hope you enjoy reading about Alana and Josh’s romantic Le Ciel Wedding in Santorini, here are some of the suppliers involved in the day.
Photographer | Phosart | Brides Dress Justin Alexander | Shoes Rosalind in rose gold – Sophia Webster | | Grooms Suit Hugo Boss | Bridesmaids Oasis
Budget Key | £ – 10k and under | ££ – between 10k and 20k | £££ – over 20k.
