Introducing Our Destination Wedding

We did it! We’re officially married! Wow, I literally can’t believe it. It was honestly the most magical and special day of my life and looking back over the photos, I’m reminded just how lucky Gareth and I were to have all our friends & family fly in to witness us get married on one of our favourite islands in Greece. I’m honestly so over the moon with it went, especially being a destination wedding. I’m not going to lie right now, but after 2 months of being home and seeing some of my favourite Bloggers & YouTubers get hitched, it’s safe to say that I’m experiencing those dreaded wedding blues.  

First of all, I want to thank each and everyone of you that have commented, liked and sent Gareth and I messages. We felt so much love from our online family. Thanks for patiently waiting to see the wedding pictures as I wanted to wait for our professional images before we posted anything online. So let’s get straight into it shall we? Who wants to see more?

After visiting Crete last year, Gareth and I knew straight away that we wanted to get married on this breathtaking island. After numerous searches for the perfect venue and tracking down past brides that got married on the island, we decided that Agreco Farm was the most special venue for us and we booked it straight away. It was literally the best decision that we have ever made! We of course wouldn’t have been able to prepare for this day without our incredible wedding planner Niki from NMEvents. Please feel free to message me if you would like more details about the venue. 

Last year Gareth and I stayed at the Palazzino Di Corina hotel and we loved it that much, that we decided to book the hotel for our wedding. If you love that boutique style with a Greek/Italian vibe with incredible customer service then this hotel is the one for you.We had so many of our guests stay with us at this hotel and everyone raved about it so much. Thanks to the incredible team for really taking care of us for the week. 

We had such an amazing week and the build up to the wedding, spending time with friends and family. I really did want to document every single detail but to be honest I was that caught up in the moment and I just forgot. Plus, I was very nervous and stressed the whole week! There are so many excursions, restaurants and bars to visit when you’re in Crete and I have touched on this within previous posts – that you can read here!

Makeup & hair trials all complete and it was time to prepare myself for the big day (makeup and hair post on destination weddings coming soon to the blog – make sure you subscribe). Gareth and I decided to keep it traditional and we slept in separate rooms before the wedding. Gareth went to join Byron which was one of his best men and his wife Mia came to stay with me. Honestly, Mia was so incredible in keeping me calm and taking my mind off being so nervous. 

Wedding Morning

I woke up to Mia bringing me breakfast in bed, although I couldn’t eat much that morning. Gareth was getting ready with his best men in the hotel, whilst my girls were coming to meet me and we had a taxi arranged to take us to the venue. A knock at the door and it was my wedding planner’s sister holding a box of sweet treats and props for the boys. One by one my girls arrived and off we went to the venue. I can’t tell you how many emotions I felt at this stage! None of my girls had seen the venue before and as soon as we arrived I could tell they had fallen in love with it just as I had the first time I saw it. Agreco Farm has a room upstairs where you can get ready and we were greeted with props and drinks which was such a nice touch. The hairdresser arrived and off my girls went to start getting ready, I just had to wait to for my makeup artist to turn up before she could start my hair. I went for the boho style loose curls and a natural makeup look. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all my bridesmaids & maid of honour for keeping me calm and making me laugh throughout the morning. Unfortunately we didn’t have many images whilst we were getting ready due to a few stressful situations that went down with hair and makeup but what my photographer did capture was so beautiful and so natural. 

The Wedding Dress

If I’m being completely honest, I never thought I would find “The One” wedding dress for me and I didn’t really feel existed until I found my stunning Essence Of Australia bohemian style wedding dress. I have been a fan of this designer for years now along with Grace Loves Lace. My wedding dress had a built in corset with lace detail placed all over the dress. It was literally so stunning! I decided against a veil as I felt it took a lot away from the dress, plus because I was having my hair down and with the heat, I don’t think a veil would have stayed in place.

The Shoes

Sticking with the boho style, the lovely team at Ipanema gifted myself and all my bridesmaids with our very own sandals. This brand is honestly so incredible and the sandals they have are so comfortable, which is what you need on your wedding day. All my girls were over the moon, thank you so much Ipanema, you really added to making my destination wedding perfect. I also wanted some shoes that I could wear over and over again and I have that with these, so I’m going to be taking them with me on honeymoon (even though I have no idea where I’m going and it’s meant to be cold) but I’m determined to get my use out of them. Watch this space! 

Time To Walk Down The Aisle 

The time had come for the most nerve-wracking, exciting and emotional moment of my life. My brother was giving me away and was keeping me super calm throughout, it was so nice to have that moment with him before we walked down the aisle. Walking down to the song “Broken Road” by Gentri, emotions were running high! Gareth looked so handsome and it was such a surreal moment knowing that in literally a few minutes we were going to become husband and wife. Unfortunately, our celebrant was sick which was such a shame however, Niki came to the rescue. We have some beautiful memories and imagery captured from this moment which I will cherish forever. 

Venue & The Food 

What can I say? I honestly couldn’t fault the food and the venue. Even when I think back to the venue, it literally takes my breath away. I couldn’t have imagined getting married anywhere else in the world, Agreco Farm had it all. The views were breathtaking, the food was delicious, the wine was flowing and the decor from NM Events was amazing. The food just kept on coming and all our guests spoke so highly about all the Cretan delicacies. The pictures really do speak for themselves. For our wedding favours, we decided on the traditional honey and air plane bottle openers as everyone had travelled far and wide to make our big day. I honestly couldn’t recommend a destination wedding enough. 

Destination Wedding Imagery

After the ceremony, Gareth I were taken off to have our photos done. I’m not going to lie it was so hot, I mean 30 degrees hot, so we were keen on having the photos taken pronto 🙂 To be honest, I loved every single minute. I really dislike staged, cheesy imagery, each to their own but it’s really not for me. I love when photographers capture you in the moment, that is really my favourite. When we received our images back, I was over the moon. They are just natural, nothing was staged, it was just a real account of our wedding day. Our photographers are friends of ours and they flew in all the way from South Africa to shoot our destination wedding and we’re so happy with the results.

  Destination Wedding Outcome 

Honestly, I couldn’t recommend getting married abroad enough. Our day was the most special day from getting ready in the morning with my girls, marrying the love of my life and spending time with our closest friends and family. Just remember this is your day, it’s not about anyone else, it’s about you guys. Some things might go wrong but don’t worry, the main thing is that you are going to be marrying your soulmate and that is truly the only thing that matters.