On May 27th 2025 I am marrying the man who has stood by my side through thick and thin. The man who opened my heart again, the man who taught me to trust again. I am marrying the man who was my friend back when I was 18 years old, the man who maintained friendship with me over all those years, and finally took me for his own in 2020.
We are 9 weeks shy of our wedding in Santorini, where we will stand on the edge of the Caldera and exchange our vows and gift each other forever.
The planning process began back in July 2020, a couple of months after the engagement which as serendipty would call it, fell on May 27th 2024.
Exactly a year to the day of the wedding!
We flew out to Santorini together for a week, where we had already found and secured our wedding planner. Mary of Red Knot Weddings.
We had done our research and made a list of possible wedding venues, and then Mary had got us dates and times to go and view them all.
We needed to think about what was important to us in a wedding venue. We knew at the very start of the wedding planning that we wanted the venue to be exclusive use and private. We also wanted a venue that had the capacity for us to stay at on the night of the wedding.
When we took all of our requirements to Mary, she advised us of 4 venues that we should visit during our stay.
Over the course of the week we visited:
3rd July - Cavo Ventus
4th July - Le Ciel
6th July - Islet
7th July - The Gem
We learned quickly that the majority of the venues in Santorini had mandatory drinks packages for the duration of any event that took place. This meant that we would have to pay a price per person per hour, from the start of the event to the very end. Ideally, I didn't want a venue where we would be stung with the drinks but I knew that I would probably have to compromise on this.
In terms of booking a wedding in Santorini, we had left it very late to try and obtain a date within the next year. We were also quite tight on what dates we couold actually have, due to family members and their work commitments. This made our venue selection very difficult. Many had dates available, but we needed the May half term, and this was of course a very popular date.
We looked around all 4 of the venues before we made a decision, all of which we reached on our hired quadbike. It felt rather wonderful rocking up as a passenger princess on the back of the quad, as we toured around so many dreamy venues in the hope of secureing our date and a venue that we loved.
I really liked Cavo Ventus, it was a rustic venue right on the caldera. It had truly beautiful views. Everything was outside aside from some shelter over the bar. This didn't sell it to Graham (the groom) as he felt that it was a big commitment to have the entire wedding outside with no indoor options availale. They did have a room that the wedding couple could use to freshen up throughout the wedding, but you would have had to have arrived at the venue ready.
There was no option to stay the night of your wedding at this venue, and ultimately that was a big thing for us.
This venue has mandatory drinks packages from the start of the event to the end.
This venue only had select dates available.
Before we flew out, I was willing to pay a deposit and secure the venue without having seen it! This was our firm favourite based upon the online pictures. We again met Mary at the venue and had a tour around, they were in the process of getting ready for a weddding that very afternoon. It was really nice to see the preperations underway.
Le Ciel is set slightly back from the cliff edge, a path runs just beneath Le Ciel. We were advised that they do close this pathway off when the ceremony takes place, but it was not quite as exclusive feeling as Cavo Ventus was.
The outdoor space available was just above this pathway, and it wasn't as spacious as I would have hoped. They had a large indoor area at Le Ciel, and this is where the majority of the evening would take place. This is where you would eat (there was an option to go outsdie to the area where the cermony would be, but this would depend on your wedding size), and this is where you would party.
As nice as the room was, it felt very UK wedding. Yes it had lovely large windows, and yes you could open up the curtains to reveal the beautiful back drop that Santorini bring to the table... But it just wasn't what are hearts for longing for when it came to a Santorini wedding.
This venue had mandatory drinks packages for the ceremony and potentially the reception. I cannot recall the exact deal here, but I remember this venue not having mandatory drinks packages for the duration of the event. This is an attractive element to this venue, because every other venue enforce the mandatory drinks packages for the entire event.
This venue had only select dates available.
Islet is a brand new wedding venue that came recommended by Mary. When we viewed it, it was super new and they didn't have many weddings under their belt, which meant there weren't really any photos of real weddings for us to get inspiration from.
Islet is a wedding villa that is situated right on the Caldera, it has a stunning view. It is based on quite a busy road and this did give us some cause for concern. Inside the villa compound which is accessed by a outdoor doorway, you have a very decent outdoor space at your exposure. There is the area of the ceremony, looking right out over the Caldera.
Further along you have space for all fo your tables for your post ceremony breakfast and entertainment. There is even an upper level with a pool and places for seating.
The night of the wedding, the bride and groom benefit from a overnight stay at the villa after the wedding. Inside the villa it has been finished ever so beautifully, and for us we liked that it offered a more relaxed vision of our special day.
This venue has mandatory drinks packages from start to finish.
This venue had a great selection of dates, even the May half term!
The Gem is the biggest venue that we looked around and is based in very close proximity to Santo Wines, it is on a big footprint which is ideal if you are having a large wedding. We never invisoned on having a lot of guests, so we felt that we would just rattle around this big old place.
At the time of visiting, we were informed that The Gem was having a complete refurb on the run up to wedding season 2025. This was also a concern for us, as we would not really know what we had booked utnil rocking up for the wedding.
The Gem had a indoor dining area for your wedding breakfast, with the option of dining outside. It has a stunning Caldera view for your wedding ceremony and also has villa use for the night of the wedding.
This venue has mandatory drinks packages from start to finish.
This venue only had select dates available.
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