I have to say our wedding day was perfect from the gorgeous Ibizian weather to the amazingly scrumptious food, I enjoyed every second which has made this blog post one of my favourites so far.
The Dress
Grant didn't want your typical run of the mill suit with waistcoat and tie so opted for a nice tailored navy jacket which he had custom made from a shop in Billericay called Lewis Yates they also custom made a baby blue shirt complete with his initials on the cuff, we purchased Grants and the Groomsman's shoes from this shop as well as the Groomsman's white Eton shirts, the owner Lewis was really accommodating and helpful in guiding Grant in the right direction with colours and styles. Lastly the trousers we looked everywhere for a light grey/off white coloured chinos that had lining and found a style in Zara which suited.
The Dress
When I started my hunt for the perfect dress I actually had a Croatian designer in mind who I had worked with on a photo shoot many years ago, however logistically it just didn't work out so I decided to look for a designer with similar styles and came across Justin Alexander. Typically the dress I fell in love with was £3,000 retail and one of their signature styles so only stocked in a few bridal shops in the UK. All of the dresses I tried on I just couldn't get this one out of my head so I took my maid of honour and my mum to Shades of White in st Ives Cambridge I have to say the girl who looked after me Anna was extremely helpful and knowledgeable, unfortunately I only had a small window of purchasing as my wedding was so close. In the mean time the same dress came up for sale on eBay as an ex sample in my size (in the USA) I went for it purchased and had it delivered and it was perfect just a few alterations and it was good to go and all for the price of £500! Bargain. I finished the look off with a Daisy Day veil which had small diamante and scalloped lace, a jewelled headpiece which as 99p off eBay and of course the must have Jimmy Choos.
The Grooms Suit
Grant didn't want your typical run of the mill suit with waistcoat and tie so opted for a nice tailored navy jacket which he had custom made from a shop in Billericay called Lewis Yates they also custom made a baby blue shirt complete with his initials on the cuff, we purchased Grants and the Groomsman's shoes from this shop as well as the Groomsman's white Eton shirts, the owner Lewis was really accommodating and helpful in guiding Grant in the right direction with colours and styles. Lastly the trousers we looked everywhere for a light grey/off white coloured chinos that had lining and found a style in Zara which suited.
The Wedding Party
This was probably the hardest part deciding what the bridesmaids were going to wear I knew I wanted pink, tulle and sparkles but I just couldn't get dresses in that combination. I eventually found some on Asos and they fitted the theme perfectly I matched them with rose gold shoes from New Look and sparkly accessories. The Groomsman's attire was mentioned above but they also had suit jackets from Asos. Our two flower girls had gold sparkly dresses I found online at Frankie Lola and I got them little rose gold Spanish style shoes they looked so adorable. Seve and the other page boys had grey shorts and pale blue shirts from River Island with white leather converse shoes.
The Venue
We couldn't think of anywhere better than Ibiza it was where we had our first holiday together and many more since it holds a special place for Grant with his DJ connections and there is just something quite magical about the island that draws us back. Elixir was the first venue we looked at just after they opened in 2012 we instantly knew that when we where to set a date this was the venue for us, the owner Vickki has a great attention to detail and was so welcoming, Una was particularly discreet on the day and made the whole experience faultless such a brilliant team. Some of the things that sold the venue to us were the views you can't beat saying your vows overlooking the enchanting Es Vedra, the decor was very us the food menu looked really yummy oh and did I mention the view! It's set just above the beach in Cala Codolar on the western side of Ibiza. Food was also really important for us and Elixir didn't disappoint we chose the BBQ which was lovely to have small portions of different dishes my favourite was the Harrissa Lamb and the Steak, to finish off they did mini desserts of cheesecake and brownies.
Colour Scheme/Decor
I found it really helped plan the wedding when I had chosen a theme I picked 'Coco Chanel' for the elegance and colours Black, Pink, Gold & Pearl. For the ceremony I liked the idea of just lanterns along the back wall filled with sweet Avalanche roses and we had two larger ones where we stood I really didn't want anything to get in the way of the view! I also made gold hand fans out of wallpaper and little bags for the confetti (rose petals) with gold stickers saying 'throw me'. For the table centres the venue made me a vase filled with sweet Avalanche roses draped with pearls, we had black velvet ribbon for the cutlery with a gold glittered feather and each table had a Chanel quote printed in gold on black card. I made the table plan from a cheap plastic photo frame that I spray painted Gold and flew it out with us (only a hair line crack on arrival). Our favours were in keeping with strawberry and salted caramel macaroons in clear plastic boxes with a black ribbon bow and gold surround which I made from using a cutting tool and the wallpaper from the fans.
Ceremony
We had the lovely Emma Davies take our celebration we didn't want anything too formal and Emma had more of a spiritual approach which we loved, we spoke to Emma via skype and I instantly knew from her calming voice and persona she was the right person to do our ceremony. She made the ceremony very personal and included Seve which was perfect we also conducted a sand ceremony that was really beautiful. I walked into the venue to Boyce Avenue's version of A Thousand Years a lovely acoustic version and our recession song was Donald Byrd 'Love Has Come Around' a bit more upbeat.
Our amazing photos were by talented English Photographer Andrew Murley who kindly came to Ibiza to capture our wedding. We also had a videographer based in Ibiza Garry who I hardly noticed being there, every time I watch the whole video i cry it captured all the moments that seemed a blur.
For the evening we booked a saxophonist (Gabor) through the venue and hired photoboothibiza which was very fun and all our guests enjoyed it. We also hired Kids Ibiza which were fantastic they kept all the kids entertained which meant the adults could relax and enjoy the day.
Lastly I did my own hair and makeup which will be in another post. People thought I was crazy doing some of my bridesmaids makeup and hair but it actually kept me calm and made the morning fly by, it's one of my favourite things in the world to do so just felt right.
