Stephanie and Kai, from Perth in Australia, decided on a destination wedding when the celebration they were planning at home became bigger and more stressful than they had envisioned. They had chosen Santorini for their honeymoon but ended up moving the entire wedding there, and it was one of the best decisions they ever made. Get ready to take in the jaw dropping views this Greek island is so famous for, captured by Studio Phosart, and don't miss Stephanie's advice below on planning a destination wedding in Santorini.

HOW THEY MET

"Kai and I met in our home town in 2003. I was in final year of high school and Kai had graduated a few years earlier. He spotted me shopping in town with a girlfriend when he was driving past. Being a small town it wasn't too hard for him to find out who I was and invite me to his upcoming birthday. We have been together ever since. It took Kai ten years to propose to me. I was away at a conference in the Netherlands for work and Kai took the afternoon off to pick me up from the airport. We were walking towards the car in the car park and when I was getting into the car I turned around to see him down on one knee. He managed to catch me completely off guard which after dating for so long is pretty impressive. We both love to travel so the airport has that extra special meaning to us now.

DECIDING ON THE DESTINATION

We wanted a wedding that was laid back, fun and wasn't stressful. Since it was overseas we were limited in what we could bring with us, but we wanted to make sure family who couldn't be there were with us in spirit and so we made sure our guest book table had their photos on it. We originally were planning on getting married in our home town, but it was becoming bigger than we wanted and was starting to feel really stressful. We thought a destination wedding would be a perfect chance for everyone to have a holiday and make our wedding more relaxed and enjoyable. I always wanted to go to Santorini for our honeymoon; our first piece of artwork we bought when we first moved in together was a beautiful photograph of the Caldera.

PLANNING

I searched for a wedding planner online and after countless emails I decided on Julia from Santorini Glam Weddings. They were more personalised in what they offered and I got a really nice feeling about her. The biggest challenge for me was not being able to control every little detail, but eventually I realised that I didn't have to and I put my faith in Julia- it was the best decision we made. Having a local wedding planner was great as she was able to give me a list of suppliers and I could pick the ones I wanted. We sent countless emails back and forth where I told her my ideas, flowers and colours I liked and my vision for the day. At the end of the day I let them make the final decision, which as a bride, if you can do; it gives you so much freedom to just enjoy yourself. Because we were all there for a good few days before the wedding, we arranged other activities for everyone such as a sunset boat trip and a half a day island tour. This gave us all a chance to hang out and relax before the wedding."

Photography: Studio Phosart | Event Planning & Styling: Santorini Glam Weddings | Ceremony & Reception Venue: Dana Villas | Airport Transport: Santorini Transport | Boat Cruise: Oia Sailing Cruises | Half Day Island Tour: Private Santorini Tours | Bridal Gown: Demetrios Bridal | Hair Extensions: Zala | Robes: Piyama | Shoes: Casa Hernanz (with hand stitched lace motifs & blue ribbon added) | Bridesmaid Earrings: DanaCastle | Hair: Bella Hairstylist Santorini | Makeup: Renia Bledaki | Bridesmaid Dresses: Ball Gowns and Bridesmaids | Groom's Shirt & Pants: Zara | Groom's Vest: Connor | Groom's Bow Tie: Topman | Groom's Shoes: Clae | Groomsmen gifts: Spy Sunglasses | Florist: Santorini's Flowers |