Julia & Steve's Corfu Wedding
Julia & Steve got married on the 1st June 2017 on the beautiful Greek island of Corfu!
We originally met at a party held by Julia’s mum back in 1985 and were together for 4 years. It didn’t work out and we both married other people and had 3 children each. I got a Facebook message from Steve 7 years ago with the line Remember Me? We met up and started seeing each other again.
Tell us about the Proposal?
We decided to go on holiday over Christmas and New year. We found a quiet spot in Gran Canaria where we could hike along the coast and completely relax. Steve proposed with a ring he had had specially made (after discreetly asking questions about my likes) All our children knew beforehand and kept it quiet.
What attracted you to Corfu as a wedding destination?
We had been to Corfu in 1986 as our first holiday together and stayed in Dassia. After getting back together we wanted to return to see what it was like. We stayed in the same resort but a much posher hotel this time. We then returned in 2014 and stayed in a lovely villa on a quiet beach. We had talked about getting married in the Lake District but on our first day back in Corfu I suggested to Steve that it would feel right to marry in Corfu. It gave us another excuse to go back in 2015 to look at wedding venues.
Did the venue meet your expectations?
The venue exceeded our expectations. We had a simple civil ceremony in the Town Hall followed by a blessing and reception at the White House Taverna in Kalami. All our guests commented on how beautiful it was and how stunning the views were. The local coordinators ensured our vision was met brilliantly and everything went perfectly.
What was most important to you both for your wedding day?
We wanted it to be relaxed and informal and for our guests to have a good time, without a strict timetable to follow.
Tell us about the theme of your wedding day?
It was quite simple. We kept it a white and green colour scheme. We wanted it to feel like a Greek wedding and researched on websites like Pinterest which had some great ideas. It was important to us to respect the traditions of Corfu and make it feel as Greek as possible. Corfu has lots of lemon and olive trees so we tried to use those in the decorations and tied it in with the bouquet and buttonholes. Even the cake had olive leaves as part of the décor. The White House Taverna is in such a stunning position in the bay, it doesn’t need anything to add to it. We decided against a flower arch as it would have impeded the view, and the view is incredible.
Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to your wedding?
We didn’t want our guests to feel like they were on our timetable all week especially as we had decided on their holiday destination. Most people stayed in Dassia with us and we had a whatsapp group so we could let everyone know where we were if they wanted to join us. We had some great nights all sat around tables with the wine flowing. Dassia has plenty of restaurants and tavernas so nobody felt like they were in each other’s way. We had also hired a villa in Nissaki for the week for some family to stay in and for me to use for getting ready on the day. We used this to host a barbecue the day before the wedding to help everyone get to know each other more. It was a fantastic day, everyone said they loved that there was no pressure to do anything and we all just relaxed around the pool. After the wedding all our guests said how much they’d enjoyed their time in Corfu, because of how we’d organised it. Now we just need another excuse to do it all again.
What was your favourite moment from the day?
There are so many. Our photographer entertained us with his attempts at English and was great fun which added to the relaxed atmosphere. Arriving by boat with our daughters and seeing everyone there was quite emotional. The ceremony was lovely, our children all played a part and we included Greek elements into it such as hand tying and sharing wine together. The reception was so relaxing everyone just chatted and enjoyed the views, dinner was spread out across the evening. We even forgot to do speeches! The Greek dancers we hired added that extra element and got lots of us up on the dancefloor. The time flew so quickly, we couldn’t believe it when we had to leave.
What advice would you give other couples thinking of having a wedding abroad?
Go for it! It was so easy to do. Everyone at Ionian Weddings took away any pressure or concerns we had. We had meetings with Helen in the Twickenham office who liaised with the local coordinator in Corfu so that when we arrived we only had to confirm the finer details. We also met with Daria at the White House who checked that we had everything we wanted and more. The work they did made the whole process up to and including the wedding more relaxed and enjoyable than we could have imagined.
On a final note, as we had booked the White House taverna we started watching the Durrells TV show. Our week was added to as some of the cast were staying in our hotel, we even saw a couple of them as we had our pre wedding lunch at the White House. Then at the airport on the way home, we met Lee Durrell, the widow of Gerald Durrell. This all added to the most incredible week of our wedding. Corfu is a stunning island, although we prefer the North East coast, and look forward to returning in a couple of years to celebrate some of our anniversaries.
