Hi Lisa
Firstly, Thank You for organising such a fantastic Wedding Day for us.
As far as the wedding goes…..where do I start??
I suppose the beginning is the best! I wanted to write quite a detailed account of our experience because, during the planning stage of our wedding I struggled to find any really relevant reviews of our chosen location. Hopefully this will help any couples embarking on a Destination Wedding in Zante, particularly when considering Vardioli in Kypseli as the venue.
When we booked our holiday to Zante, we tried to book our wedding through the travel company. After several hours on the phone to call centres I absolutely knew I could not put such an important day of our lives in the hands of staff who had never even heard of our hotel, let alone the wedding facilities.
Then we found you!! Immediately we relaxed as you gave us guidance on the legal requirements, dates to complete documents and the choices of venue, ceremony and reception. I can honestly say that from your first e-mail the whole experience has been fantastic. Most importantly you gave us a confirmed wedding date which our travel company was unable to do.
We arrived in Zante on Sunday afternoon and had a meeting booked with Frances for 11am the following day. Being a bit of a control freak myself, we attended the meeting armed with questions, uncertainties and more questions! We spent almost 2 hours with Frances and I cannot believe the detail that had been communicated. Some of guests had babies and she had the correct number of high chairs plus the vegetarian meal we had requested. We left the meeting (having asked no questions whatsoever!) and called in a local bar for a drink. Stephen and I let out a massive sigh of relief and knew then that we could not be in better hands. We had absolutely nothing to do except relax, get a suntan and be ready on the day.
The following Monday our Wedding Day arrived and we had a really relaxed morning around the pool. The hairdresser, Kate, arrived at 1pm and I had a lovely afternoon getting ready with the bridesmaids. Meanwhile, Stephen was greeting our 40 guests who had no idea where they were going (we decided secret location was best!). Their only instruction was to be ready for collection by coach at 5pm.
Frances collected me, my Dad, Stephen’s Mum and the bridesmaids and drove us to the Vardioli. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we arrived! Lukas (photographer), Michelle (videographer) and the Greek Serenaders (fantastic!) were all waiting at the car. Then I saw the decorated chairs, the arch and the beautiful flowers set against a magnificent backdrop of a small beach and clear blue sea. It really was like a dream; Stephen was waiting, ready for the ceremony and the guests were totally blown away by the setting.
The ceremony was short but perfect and photographs followed whilst our guests enjoyed a relaxed drink at the private beach bar. We then cut the cake and everyone sat down to dinner. The Meze meal we chose was fantastic and so much more in quality and quantity than we had expected. The Greek live band started to play and the Greek dancers appeared! Next, it was time for our first dance which was lovely and as the song ended the lights and music stopped. In perfect timing the fireworks started – our last surprise for the many guests that had travelled to spend the day with us. Even my Grandad who is 84 and has been all over the world was completely speechless!
The disco (Andy was great!!) started at about 9pm and the whole party was dancing well into the night. We were collected by coach at about 12.30am when sadly, the day was over.
Your attention to detail in the UK was fantastic and Frances never took her eye off the ball for one second during our lovely day. We just cannot thank you all enough.
With best wishes
Andrea & Stephen Brearley
Married 23 August 2010
