# My Little Greek Wedding Sep 2013



## Natasha2605

Finally a place for my ramblings and random ideas to be kept under wraps. My OH is being driven insane listening to me say ''oh babe, look at this colour... look at this dress''. He's a man. Does not care.

So I'm Natasha (21) and my OH is Craig (20). We have two little girls, Summer (3 in May) and Maci (1 in Febuary). We got engaged on my 21st birthday last August. He proposed by painting one of Summer's tshirts with the words ''Marry My Daddy'', put it on her and surprised me. Was beautiful. Then he gave me Lady Gaga tickets so that sealed the deal. In June we'll have been together four years. So that's the relationship specs explained :thumbup:

We were originally wanting to wait until 2014 to wed abroad. We are estranged from his family, they are trouble makers so he didn't feel comfortable getting wed here and for his own peace of mind we have chosen to go abroad. 

My nana is 87 ish and feels this year is her last chance at going abroad, she's getting old(er) and tbh when the winter hits isn't in the best of health so we're not even sure she'll make it through next winter. I _need_ my nana to be there as she means the world to me and I'm the only grandchild she'll be likely to see getting married. These are our reasons for it being next year. Before christmas we'd decided to chance it and leave it till 2014 for financial reasons but I'm not 100% comfortable with that decision so it's all go for this September.

Booking up by the end of next week but going to the travel agents tomorrow I think to talk through room availability etc, there are roughly 21 of us going, all family.

We are going here (unless things change again) :

https://www.firstchoice.co.uk/holiday/accommodation/overview/Faliraki/Hotel-Sun-Palace-013885

and our ceremony will be here

https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=...A&biw=1024&bih=499&sei=MQ3vUMqyE8jZ0QWEjoCQCA

Hope that links work :haha: Pictures don't do it justice, it's beautiful.


----------



## Lauren25

Congratulations on deciding when to get married!
The place where the ceremony will be is gorgeous, it looks so so beautiful!

Can't wait to read more :)


----------



## Natasha2605

Thank you, just need to get finally booked at then I can relax a bit.

So far me and OH have priced up the extras I'd like for the wedding day. My parents are paying for the standard package which includes everything here :

https://firstchoice.inbro.net/seein...4:-November-Edition/Greece/Rhodes/pages_72-73

On top of that our extras are photographer, 50 photos ( although for an extra 50 euros we can choose 100 photos so still debating that one), my hair trial, hair and make up on the day and the hair of my two bridesmaids which are my two young sisters, my bridal car and our marriage certificate translations. All my extras come to about 1000 euros which isn't too bad I don't think!

My sisters are 12 and 14 and will be my bridesmaids but by god they are already driving me insane about dresses. They are so so so picky and have such different tastes, although the both like this style of dress.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/33085078...eName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

As for Summer and Maci Im not sure what kind of dress I'd like. I was originally thinking little white flower girl dresses but with the heat etc I don't want them to be overheating and flustered in a fussy dress so I am think maybe just nice colourful summer dresses. I think that would look nice with the contrast of my white dress. Just got to wait for bright summer dresses to hit the shops now.

Call me insane (and maybe stupid) but last night browsing I seen this dress on ebay for myself.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27111089...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

And I've just bought it. For £50. I kept going back to it last night, thinking about how nice it was, and practical for the heat. Not sure what the style, fit and quality will be like but for £50 I'm not overly fussed, if I don't like it it's not a massive deal to shop about again for something I like better. On page, I love it.

I've got a bridal appointment at a shop next Sunday afternoon if I can get off early from work which I think I'll go to just to try things on and for a browse of accessories etc.

So that's the dress thoughts covered for now.


----------



## Natasha2605

Some hair styles I like :

https://www.lovehair.co.uk/wedding-hair-gallery/half-up-half-down-with-curls/6569472

https://www.lovehair.co.uk/wedding-hair-gallery/half-up-half-down-with-curls/6569473

My hair is dark and hoping to just get trims between now and September to allow time to grow to a good length. Will pop any more hair links on this post to keep track!


----------



## DonnaBallona

beautiful plans! congratulations and good luck! x


----------



## lozzy21

Im a little bit jealous, that bay looks amazing.


----------



## Lauren25

Love the dress and what an absolute bargain, I hope it's as nice as it looks in the pictures :)
Your hair ideas look nice too!!


----------



## Tasha

This all looks beautiful. Not long to go either :happydance:


----------



## Natasha2605

Thank you! 

So the dress from China arrived yesterday, about 12 days after I first purchased, brilliant service. And the dress is stunning! Pity I gotta lose some lbs to do the zip up but that was the idea behind getting it in a size ten!

Not much else to report really, getting a bit frustrated with wanting to book when everyone else has a lot going on, but my mum and aunt were saying they want to go to the travel agents on Friday for final prices and will hopefully be booking up by the end of next week. Just hate the uncertainty atm.

Spending my evenings browsing for nice dresses for Summer and Maci to wear that fit for the weather etc.


----------



## Lauren25

Wow that was quick, glad you like it :)

I hope you can get it booked soon, will be a weight off your shoulders I bet when it is!

Do you know what your want for the girls ?


----------



## lozzy21

That was quick! Glad you like your dress, i have heard different things about dresses from china but most have been positive.


----------



## Natasha2605

lozzy21 said:


> That was quick! Glad you like your dress, i have heard different things about dresses from china but most have been positive.

I was a little sceptical but for £46 I wasn't too fussed if it was crap, nothing ventured nothing gained I guess :) Just gotta lost some weight so I can try it on properly !

Lauren I'm thinking nice thin summery dresses. I did originally plan for your 'traditional' dress that flower girls or whatever would wear but I think for the climate I'm more warming towards nice summery dresses. Preferably white with fushia pink somewhere on them. It's just a case of watching out for shops summer ranges coming into stores, I can't find much online atm. 

I keep seeing pretty shoes online but they all seem to come with 10cm heels. What the hell! I don't ever wear heels and am shocking at walking in them but I need to find a pair I love, buy them, and learn to walk in them. Don't really fancy heels for the heat it will be but I'd feel a bit weird in flats. My shoes also have to have straps across them, for my own safety haha!

Right now I love these :

https://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wc...umb=Home~Women~Shoes+&amp;+boots~Bridal+shoes


----------



## Lauren25

Yea I don't blame you for going for something a bit thinner, at least then they'll be more comfortable and won't be getting upset for being too hot!

Those shoes are soooooo nice! As much as I love all the heels I never wear them and can't walk in them either so I'm wearing glittery toms :) you could always go for a flat flip flop/sandal with getting married abroad, you can get bridal ones I'm sure I've seen them!


----------



## lozzy21

Have you thought about buying a "cheep" pair and decorating them yourself?


----------



## hannah22

*new stalker* !!

Love all your ideas so far I'm super jealous! Me and my oh have been together 6 years, got engaged September and I would just love a greek wedding!! We love greece and have always holidayed there but our favourite island has been Corfu. You seem to be really organised! Unfortunately we aren't in a position to spend on a wedding yet but I'm looking forward to hearing more about yours :D x


----------



## Natasha2605

Lauren25 said:


> Yea I don't blame you for going for something a bit thinner, at least then they'll be more comfortable and won't be getting upset for being too hot!
> 
> Those shoes are soooooo nice! As much as I love all the heels I never wear them and can't walk in them either so I'm wearing glittery toms :) you could always go for a flat flip flop/sandal with getting married abroad, you can get bridal ones I'm sure I've seen them!

I'm really short so I think if I could walk in them I'd feel more confident in myself, not sure if that makes much sense ? I think I'm gonna order these in the next two weeks, gives me plenty of practising time for September.

Lozzy I wouldn't know where to start with customising so that's a no go. Painting with Summer is about as creative I can be haha!

So last night I took the dress over to my mums, and IT FITS!!!! Zips and laces right up.still want to lose the weight I planned too though, more so because come September ill be in a bikini in front of 20 odd family members! I showed my mum and sisters and they all said it looked beautiful. Very happy with it :) 

Still waiting on any Info for booking although I'm giving a final booking date of February 15th. Absolutely want it booked by then!


----------



## Natasha2605

Lauren25 said:


> Yea I don't blame you for going for something a bit thinner, at least then they'll be more comfortable and won't be getting upset for being too hot!
> 
> Those shoes are soooooo nice! As much as I love all the heels I never wear them and can't walk in them either so I'm wearing glittery toms :) you could always go for a flat flip flop/sandal with getting married abroad, you can get bridal ones I'm sure I've seen them!




hannah22 said:


> *new stalker* !!
> 
> Love all your ideas so far I'm super jealous! Me and my oh have been together 6 years, got engaged September and I would just love a greek wedding!! We love greece and have always holidayed there but our favourite island has been Corfu. You seem to be really organised! Unfortunately we aren't in a position to spend on a wedding yet but I'm looking forward to hearing more about yours :D x

Hey, I've never been to Greece although my mum and sisters took Summer there last June and summer still goes on about it even now, everyday she will ask to go back . Looks so beautiful though. We looked at Corfu, aqualand village and sidari town hall, it's still out second choice if needs be :) 

When do you plan to get married?


----------



## hannah22

Ah bless she must have had a great time! Where did they take her? We went to sidearm in Corfu! Saw the town hall it was very pretty! Sidearm itself is a really great family place. Really caters for kids and adults so not too rowdy but not boring :thumbup: we are hoping 2015 which just seems ageeeeeess away :nope: xx


----------



## hannah22

Haha auto spell *sidari not sidearm :dohh:


----------



## lozzy21

Keep an eye in debenhams for summer dresses, got some lovely ones last summer.


----------



## Lauren25

So glad your dress fits!

Next also usually do some nice dresses for LOs in the summer which are nice and light weight!

Glad you've sorted a final booking date too, not long to go :)


----------



## Natasha2605

Thanks all

They took her to Rhodes, stayed in Kiotari and loved it. They went on a day trip, seen Paul's bay and my mum told me how beautiful it was, not realising I'd already seen it online and fallen in love way before she mentioned it!

Thanks for the dress suggestions, BHS have also been suggested so will watch and see what comes out in the next couple of months.

So my mum and aunt went to first choice yesterday. Had to change the dates to Sat 14th Sep as we couldn't all get on the 11th flight. Price was originally £22000 for all 20 of us and my mum talked it down to £15000 so far. Amazing. Hoping to book on Saturday, so excited!


----------



## Lauren25

Yea I don't think you'll struggle to find nice summer dresses for them once the summer clothes come in the shops!

Wow that's a fab saving, bet your dead happy with that :) how exciting about booking it up too :happydance:


----------



## aly888

That's a fab saving! And also a scary amount of money!! It will feel amazing once you have it booked :happydance:


----------



## Natasha2605

We are now BOOKED! So excited! First £200 paid off today. We fly out on Sep 14th, have requested the 23rd,24th or 26th as wedding dates, although we will not hear back until April as that is when wedding co ordinators go back to resorts, sort through bookings etc. From there, my wedding co ordinator will be in constant email contact with me, getting a feel for what I want etc. So exciting!

We are thinking that instead of a massive party when we come back me and OH might go away for a few days in the new year, maybe around March time. We had a 4 day break to Liverpool in June and loved it so would really love to go back. Neither of us are big drinkers and hate being the center of attention so none of us are massively fussed about a party.

No more wedding purchases this week. Don't get paid until Friday :) Hoping to get my shoes,girls dresses, sisters dress and an underskirt for my dress in the next couple of weeks!


----------



## Tasha

Exciting, does it feel more real now?


----------



## Natasha2605

Yeah it really does, I have something solid to look forward to now. Just gotta pay it off, lose some weight and stop biting my nails. On day two of no biting but god it's hard!

How are you doing Tasha?

I feel so out of the loop with wedding stuff. People say ''what flowers you having?'' or ''Have you got a colour scheme?'' and I'm just like ''ummm no''. I'm so not a wedding person, I have no real interest in flowers and although in general I am such a fussy person, I'm obviously just not going to be a fussy wedding planner.

My best mate asked me what I wanted to do for a hen do and I replied ''Wasn't really fussed about having a hen do...''. I'm not a proper bride honestly haha!


----------



## Natasha2605

Really need to get my arse into gear and get organised.

So on Monday we got our final wedding date : September 26th 2013. I suddenly feel very very nervous and I'm not sure why. Currently putting it down to being so unorganised. I've seen some dresses I like for Summer and Maci :

https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/20130327_102840_zps3c2bd042.jpg

https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/20130327_1025280-1_zps9d34b136.jpg

They are from BHS but they only stock them in size 2 - 10 years so need to try an age 2 on Maci before I can make any final decisions on them. They are nice and floaty which is what I need for the heat in Greece.

Onto my dress. My best mates MIL is going to do some alterations on it for me. This is it now :

https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/20130410_134757_zpsdf98c83e.jpg

I'm not overly keen on the flower shaped sequins so I'm getting them picked off and some beading on instead. Also I feel there's a little too much material hanging at the front so want it altered like this :

https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/20130410_134842_zpsbed8d6fd.jpg

I finally have a to do list which I'm about to start working through. Eventually!


----------



## Tasha

Oh I love your dress, you look stunning. And I love the girls dresses too, ideal for the heat of Greece x


----------



## Lauren25

Love this dress for Summer and Maci, perfect for the hot weather!

Your dress is beautiful too :)


----------



## Natasha2605

Urgh there's been so much uncertainty recently that I've put off doing anything but I really ought to get organised. We found out my nana has breast cancer a few weeks back so I've not really been thinking about getting organised etc. Found out today for definite that they are certain they can shrink it with tablets so feeling much more happy with everything. She's 83 ( I thought she was 87 until last week haha) and I was so worried that she just would not be able to cope with chemo etc so it's a massive weight lifted and all things considered, everyone's thrilled.

Soooo... Currently I'm fed up of getting raised eyebrows and moans from people. I cannot do right for doing wrong atm. People tell me I need to make decisions, so I do, then people have something negative to say about it which puts me off again.

My shoes? I want these, they're the only ones I've seen and loved :

https://www.bhs.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...ryId=471109&pageSize=40&refinements=category~[471581|471151]&noOfRefinements=1

Now I _know_ my dress is white and these are ivory but 1) Nobody will see them 2) They'll be on my feet for only a couple of hours and 3) They're the only ones I love.

My flowers : I LOVE lillies, in fact they're about the only flower than I love and mean something to me as OH buys me them often. I was settled on a bouquet of lillies but my mum and nana came back to me and says they're known as the flower for death and it's a bit morbid. Eurgh honestly, why am I the one to pick weird things?! I'll more than likely still get them but their comments are making me doubt myself, although they are trying to help.

Me and OH went to look at wedding rings last week. Typically I think weddings rings are generally not nice looking, I hate the plain banding etc. So anyways, we seen these beautiful matching ones in H Samuels. Two lovely rings and cleverly, they join them together and engrave them with our wedding date, initials and a heart. When you put the two rings together the heart is completed. Hard to explain without sounding silly haha! So they cost £399 for the pair which I think is reasonable. Hoping to buy them in June as we still have £1050 to pay towards the holiday in May.

Oh yeah , and my sister decided she apparently no longer likes the colour of her dress. Although she picked it. And she didn't tell me or my mum this, she told my nana and auntie. Not sure if she's serious of was having a pissy day. This is her in her dress when we got it :

https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/20130117_160728_zps649885b4.jpg

Just got to get things done!


----------



## Natasha2605

My ideal dress for Summer and Maci would be white, not too layered or thick with some kind of magenta pink banding or flowers or something on it to tie in with my two sister's dresses. Any ideas? Cannot find what I am looking for at all.


----------



## Lauren25

Ohh how scary about your Nan but great news they think they can shrink it, fingers crossed!

No matter what you say or do someone will have something to say about it, I found it easier not to say anything to those people so then I couldn't hear all the negativity!

Love your sisters dress, have you asked her about it ?


----------



## Mummy May

Yeah I don't tell people my plans either! I love your sisters dress! I would just ask her xx


----------



## Natasha2605

WOW. I'm so shit at updating and I get married in 27 days! We leave for Greece in fifteen days!

So I got another dress... reduced from £975 to £450 :

https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/d1_zps6e314479.jpg



https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/d2_zps20a28b8a.jpg


My mini princesses dresses arrived on Wednesday :


https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/20130828_155701_zps5c1aff6b.jpg

Slight issue though... they were meant to be ivory and are white and I paid £22 for headbands and tacky flower clips turned up. Messaged the lady on FB so awaiting a reply.

Kilts for all the men are organised to be picked up two days before we fly. We are due to pick up our personalised wedding rings the day before we fly which is pushing it slightly time wise!

We've now arranged a venue for our wedding reception, and I am off to pay that later on today. Posted on a local FB selling site looking for a umbrella style pushchair for Summer for the evenings and a lady offered me one for free so off to pick that up this afternoon too.

Cannot believe the time is coming in so quickly, but there has been a good load of hidden costs that come with getting married abroad... it's so not as cheap as you would think!


----------



## Tasha

Oh wow you look absolutely stunning hun. DH2B is going to be totally blown away on your wedding day.

Hope the little glitches get sorted.

Cant believe it is so soon, and in two days you will be able to say I get married *this* month. Exciting.


----------



## Natasha2605

Oh yeah... I'm also trying to come up with an idea for OH for a wedding day present kind of thing. Nothing big though and money's tight with it being so close. 

I was thinking maybe a scrapbook type thing with photos of us throughout or relationship and little love notes and lyrics from our favourite songs... would that be tacky?


----------



## Natasha2605

Tasha said:


> Oh wow you look absolutely stunning hun. DH2B is going to be totally blown away on your wedding day.
> 
> Hope the little glitches get sorted.
> 
> *Cant believe it is so soon, and in two days you will be able to say I get married *this* month. Exciting*.

That's crazy! I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by the thought of being a 'wife'. I think I'm over thinking it though. We already live like man and wife, have joint accounts etc. I keep thinking ''I'm only 22'' and I have a feeling I'll still refer to OH as ''my boyfriend'' rather than ''my husband''. I've never even referred to him as my fiance before. I'm such a twat.


----------



## Tasha

No that isn't tacky at all. It is sweet and will mean a lot to him.

Bless you feeling overwhelmed :hugs: You will be saying husband, there is something really special about it :cloud9:


----------



## Natasha2605

I hope so!

Just bought this to give to him on our wedding day :

https://www.notonthehighstreet.com/pogofandango/product/personalised-laser-cut-wedding-day-card

with the cut outs to say ''I can't wait to be Mrs Williamson''. Then I'll add something nice inside!


----------



## Mummy May

Ooh not long, it's still too scary for me to think I'm going to be a wife lol! Xx


----------

