With more and more couples choosing to get married in Cyprus JILL CAMPBELL MACKAY follows two Britons as they plan their big day
THE DAYS of the blushing bride taking her vows in church watched by tearful mothers in organza hats, surrounded by lumpy bridesmaids in puerile pastels, are about as stale as month-old wedding cake. The current trend is to fly off to Europe to marry, taking with you only a select number of guests; a wise move considering that in the UK the average price of getting hitched is around £16,000.
Paphos, in particular, seems to have hit the top ten list for nuptials with hundreds upon hundreds of legal couplings taking place there every year. To service this growing demand, businesses have sprouted which help the happy couple with everything from the food, specialised wedding venues, over the top ‘frothy’ style dressmaking, flowers that cost the earth and all the other trappings and titillations that are supposed to be essential to making the big day perfect.
So, what does one do if you are on a seriously restricted budget and don’t want to be exploited by an over-the-top wedding package? Easy, you spend the time and energy looking at individual services, from caring professionals who do not have a second cousin available to do the flowers for a discount. Neither do you want to be seduced by some of the so-called wedding restaurant specialists whose web site photographs may look sensational but may have been culled from other professional sources.
Kerry Woodhouse and Dave Metcalf are luckier than most engaged couples in that they actually decided to live here prior to their marriage this coming September. This has given them the opportunity to check and double check all aspects of their day and compare and contrast the different services and prices on offer. These young lovers have set a tight budget and are paying for the wedding themselves. They have invited 35 guests, most of them from the UK.
First Kerry and Dave got the legal matters out of the way with a visit to the registrar’s office and, once a date had been fixed, Kerry, as a talented graphic designer, went ahead and created her own invitations. Next came the venue: “I wanted somewhere romantic and friendly, but the four and five-star hotels here seemed to treat a small event like ours as something they would rather shove in the lobby area and get rid of you as fast as possible. One hotel wanted to charge us £8.50 per person for half an hour of drinks after the ceremony, which we thought was a bit rich on their part. Too rich for us. Also, we felt a lack of personal interest in our wedding day with the whole thing being just hotel procedure bereft of any personal involvement or any nice touches that make you feel special.”
After a search around many venues, the New Olympus Hotel was given the thumbs up. This is the oldest hotel in Paphos and has a quaint yet eclectic mixture of fifties retro and cosy friendliness. It offers lovely views of the town and, importantly, privacy with the wedding day not being shared by hordes of tourists. Our couple immediately warmed to owners Louise and George and business partners Mary and Tony. “I liked the way they treated us, really caring about giving us the best they could on the day, with no suggestions on our part being either too wacky or out of the question. Plus the venue is so user friendly and unstuffy. Then, after having testing the food, we decided that this was the place.” Kerry and Dave will be married by an official close to the swimming pool, under the shade of an Arab-style tent. Then there will be a sit down lunch followed by a disco and live band.
Kerry was beginning to think that she might end up looking like Billie Piper on her wedding day such was the hassle of finding a dressmaker who wouldn’t either charge the earth or want to clad her tiny frame in a frothy meringue creation. One wedding company quoted a deal of £350, including the dress, cake and flowers. I asked Kerry why she didn’t jump at that bargain basement offer: “Because I didn’t trust them, and they pressured me too much. I also felt this was way too cheap to get anything anywhere half decent so I am getting a simple outfit made by one lady and I am having an English lady here make my wedding cake, which will be in the shape of a sandcastle. She will also cater for my flowers, all at prices that beat the quotes from the high profile wedding companies. Importantly though, these people are taking the time and trouble to get everything right so we do feel confident with them on board.”
A friend is loaning a classic car for the bride’s drive to the hotel, with the groom and best man opting to throw their legs over a loaned Harley Davidson as their mode of transport. A four-piece rock band has been booked, the photographer will be Pissouri-based Ade Condren who will ensure shots taken are not the usual stiff formal pics. A wedding night at the Elysium Hotel is planned and then a honeymoon spent in the Far East.
Kerry, in between running around trying to fit all the pieces together has some sage advice for those thinking about tying the knot here in Cyprus. “Don’t be fooled by the websites. They may look slick, but many of the local wedding planners don’t match up to the image they present online. Use the local free magazines to advertise your needs as there are retired professionals here who make splendid cakes and can also do flowers really well. Always go directly to the Town Hall to get your licence etc as it costs £70 to get married there and £200 if it’s outside the Town Hall. The wedding planners do tend to add on a good amount to this set fee so, you can save even hundreds o pounds by doing it yourself. Importantly don’t be pressured into making any decision without first checking out lots and lots of alternatives.” And the ball park figure for Kerry and Dave’s big day plus honeymoon? “We reckon the whole event will cost less than £5,000.”
