In the Land of Aphrodite

Having fallen in love with Cyprus during a romantic break, Sophie and Jonathan followed in the footsteps of many UK couples to tie the knot in the coastal town of Paphos, land of Aphrodite, and in doing so took advantage of the beautiful weather, ancient architecture and surprisingly low costs.

The Bride & Groom:
Sophie Lightwood to Jonathan Fowler

From:
Herne Bay, UK

Wedding Location:
Paphos, Cyprus

The Date:
27 May 2005

No. of Guests:
6


Cool Convertible
“We definitely knew it was the right choice to go and get married abroad”, said Sophie “it was so relaxed – far more so than if we’d have been married back home”. Not only that, but as many couples who wed overseas discover, you have much more scope to personalise your wedding than you have in the UK, where many couples feel they are tied to convention: forget vintage Rolls Royces or Chauffeur Driven Bentleys – Sophie expressed her own style on the day by sweeping up to the venue in a silver VW Beetle convertible!

“Even the Wedding Co-ordinator Cried!”
The civil ceremony took place at 1pm in Paphos Town Hall which is a Neoclassical style building situated in the Town Centre, with huge stone pillars and a beautiful marbled floor. During the civil ceremony Sophie and Jonathan had the standard civil vows which could not be altered, but they were able to personalize their ceremony by choosing their own music and reading. “It was a very emotional ceremony”, said Sophie. “Jon and I cried as soon as we saw each other, which in turn set off all our guests. Even our wedding co-ordinator shed a tear or two!”.

Jeep Safari
After the ceremony, Sophie and Jon added yet another unique touch to their day by taking a Jeep tour round the island with a local guide. Sophie explained “we were the first couple to take the Jeep Safari, and it really added to the magic of the day. The ride was bumpy, but the scenery was so amazing.” During the tour, the couple stopped for a light meal at a taverna in the hills of Kathikas, before continuing on to the breathtaking Adonis Waterfalls – definitely the highlight of the tour!

Sunset Photographs
On their return, the newly-weds attended the reception at the aptly named Romantica restaurant, whose sweeping views of the beach opposite offered the perfect setting for their sunset photographs later in the evening. Their wedding co-ordinator had arranged an elegant peaches & cream wedding cake which was decorated beautifully to match the lilac and ivory colour scheme.

A Fun and Relaxing Time
“We thought the most important thing was for our guests to have a fun and relaxing time, and they all had a wonderful day”, said Sophie, and with the help of their wedding co-ordinator the couple were able to relax just as much as their guests. Having booked the hairdresser and Town Hall themselves (“just to make sure, even if everything else went wrong, that at least we would be married!”), they handed over the other tasks to their co-ordinator, who Sophie described as being excellent value for money. “I suppose with more research I could have arranged more things myself”, she concluded, “but the co-ordinator did all the running around for us and took care of any problems that arose. In the end we just enjoyed our day without any worries at all!”

Story: Callie Copeman-Bryant

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