You might think there is a lot of stress when it comes to getting married abroad but booking a destination wedding has never been easier. If you are thinking about hosting your wedding abroad and making it a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for you and your guests, TUI can make that dream a reality. We found out all about Emily’s TUI wedding to Rhys, which happened in July 2019 in Kallithea Springs, Rhodes.
Speaking about why they chose to get married abroad, Emily said: “When we pictured ourselves getting married, we wanted to be surrounded by our closest family and friends in a beautiful but simple venue that had lots of flowers and natural light. Living in the UK, weather can be unpredictable, so we wanted to increase our chances of getting married in the sunshine by choosing to get married abroad.
“We had also been to a few destination weddings previously and absolutely loved the atmosphere. We also found it really hard to find a suitable venue in the UK as a lot of the venues we liked required a large number of guests which we didn’t want.”
TUI cater for large and small destination weddings with many ceremony options so planning the perfect wedding abroad to suit you has never been easier!
Let the planner do the planning
Once Emily and Rhys decided to get married in Rhodes and had their wedding date confirmed, the couple started planning with the wedding planner based in Rhodes. “They pretty much organised most things,” said Emily. “The only things we organised were our legal documents, and personal touches like our wedding favours.”
“We were assigned our wedding planner a month prior to our departure, and that’s who was with us on our big day. The wedding planner was great – we met with them a few days prior to the ceremony and handed over our favours but they arranged absolutely everything for us. We didn’t have to worry about a thing!”
As the wedding couple were getting married in Greece, they wanted their wedding day to reflect that. With 34 people in attendance, Emily and Rhys held their ceremony in a local venue and their wedding reception at a local family-run Greek taverna. “We chose this based on handy recommendations from our wedding co-ordinator,” she said.
“Our tables were set up under a wooden gazebo that faced the sea. As we were getting married in Greece, we wanted our wedding day to have the little things that reflected the culture so we opted for a Greek BBQ menu with traditional meze for dinner and had local Greek dancers as well.”
The Weddings team at TUI know everything there is to know about their many wedding destinations and will be able to give you expert advice so you can get involved with the planning as little or as much as you like.
No stress
If Emily had one tip for wedding couples, it would be to get married abroad and don’t stress. She said: “My piece of advice would be to not stress about the planning process.
“Getting married abroad is very different to getting married in the UK. It’s quite normal to be starting the process a few months before departure. It doesn’t sound like a long time but trust the process as the planner will arrange everything for you.
“If you want to plan as much as you can then I’d recommend getting dates in to talk with your wedding co-ordinator – ours was amazing! I would 100% recommend booking your wedding abroad with TUI, especially in Kallithea, which was just beautiful.”
TUI’s experienced advisors will talk you through potential destinations, wedding types, dates, budget and how many guests you want to have so there’s no stress on your part.
Extra special touches
“We bought extras like a photographer, floral decorations, table decorations, hair and makeup, and a Greek barbeque menu for our wedding meal. We also upgraded bouquets for myself and bridesmaids, ordered button holes for the wedding party, and champagne for our guests.
“And for the evening, we booked some local Greek dancers. Everything was perfect from start to finish – it’s really hard to choose just one highlight.”
TUI wedding packages always include a wedding cake and 5kg of extra luggage each for the wedding couple as a standard but you can always upgrade like the wedding couple above. For more information on booking your wedding abroad and to find out how to start planning the day of your dreams, visit the TUI weddings section.
