Cyprus!

Pippa369

I visited cyprus last year and there was actually wedding that was taking place in ayia napa, the bride was stood on the beach having pictures taken it was very beautiful. Since then my sister wants to get married there too, i think if you do not do it you will most likely regret it. Its a beautiful choice for a wedding.

MrsE_2

Flicker wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies!!

I had my heart set on the Elias. I have many brochures, and have visited a few travel agents, I am a bit wary of the travel agents, the first one just told me I couldnt book anything until March/April 2011, the second one just wasnt interested in what I wanted, was only interested in her recommendation, and she was a wedding specialist!! The third one i went to see yesterday in Thomson and to be honest she was not overly polite and never smiled once!!

I am very close to giving up on the whole idea, it is really what we both want, but I am being pulled all over the place, I want the Elisa, I want the pier, but everyone else is saying its too far out of the way, apart from the travel agent yesterday who said that was rubbish info. I am worried about my friends and family and their budgets, but then my fiance tells me that its our day and that of course we want some luxury !!

I should be enjoying all the planning, but I just feel totally stressed........and its 18 months away!!

You might be better choosing a luxury hotel that has lots of cheaper options nearby if you plan on 30 guests.
Somewhere handy for the resorts where they will have plenty of choice.

Mands

Flicker wrote: »

I am very close to giving up on the whole idea, it is really what we both want, but I am being pulled all over the place, I want the Elisa, I want the pier, but everyone else is saying its too far out of the way, apart from the travel agent yesterday who said that was rubbish info. I am worried about my friends and family and their budgets, but then my fiance tells me that its our day and that of course we want some luxury !!

If it were me then this is what I'd do: keep an eye out for an off-season cheapy holiday to anywhere in Cyprus. November, December or February would be ideal; from London you should be able to get a week for not much more than £150 each. I know that means tagging a flight from NI on the front so keep an eye out for something like a Ryanair flight that would match with the holiday.

Come to Cyprus and wander round. From what you've said you've never been here so it'll give you a chance to get to know the island, the people and the mind-set. That last part should come in handy when dealing with the wedding planning :-)

Hire a car and mooch around; visit the hotel and see what you think. Make an appointment to see the wedding folk there. Explore the area just around. Get a list of other hotels & apartments within walking distance; then if you go ahead you can give that to guests to allow them to pick something that suits their budget.

The pier sounds pretty but that's not so good if you can see the cranes at Limassol harbour or the cement works in the background. That's not a specific warning, I don't know the hotel!

And finally, I asked about the hotel name in my last post: twice now you've used Elias and Elisa. For all I know there may be an Elisa hotel in Limassol so it'd be best to nail down the spelling of the place you want! It'd be grim to do all of this work and then have people book in at the wrong place by mistake!

Mands

System

Flicker wrote: »

Thank you, I sort of thought Ayia Napa would have been too rowdy if you know what I mean?

We've been several times and were pleasantly surprised by it. There is a large mix of ages and lots of families go too. There are great restaurants to eat at for all tastes and plenty of family bars and wine bars.

The clubbling area is tucked away in a corner at the back of the main road and if you don't go to that area you won't get caught up in it. There are some touristy shops to take a look around, and a great waterpark nearly which you can get a cab to which is worth a visit.

I hope this helps. The Napa Mermaid is a really great hotel with fantastic management and they will make sure they do everything they can to ensure you have a great day. My friends were really happy to be married there are were repeat customers. Hope this helps. Take a look at TA at the reviews.

tiamaria

Flicker wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies!!

I had my heart set on the Elias. I have many brochures, and have visited a few travel agents, I am a bit wary of the travel agents, the first one just told me I couldnt book anything until March/April 2011, the second one just wasnt interested in what I wanted, was only interested in her recommendation, and she was a wedding specialist!! The third one i went to see yesterday in Thomson and to be honest she was not overly polite and never smiled once!!

I am very close to giving up on the whole idea, it is really what we both want, but I am being pulled all over the place, I want the Elisa, I want the pier, but everyone else is saying its too far out of the way, apart from the travel agent yesterday who said that was rubbish info. I am worried about my friends and family and their budgets, but then my fiance tells me that its our day and that of course we want some luxury !!

I should be enjoying all the planning, but I just feel totally stressed........and its 18 months away!!

r


If your heart is set on the Elias then i suggest that's what you should go for;)

Cyprus is easy enough to get around, you can still see all the other places mentioned if you want to if you're there for 2 weeks. Limassol is quite central. It's your day and your guests will go wherever the wedding is.

Susan1942

My Son like you had never been to Cyprus while I had been there a few times They thought it would be a very romantic place to marry. They married in July 5 years ago and were married in St George's Church even though it is not a Roman Catholic Church it is possible to do so. We had 30 guests and one or 2 I think were standing. Think it really holds about 25.
The Local Parish Priest married them and he was lovely. They had Celtic music to come into the Church and ended with an Irish Jig to come up the Aisle. Roisin is Irish and they have lived in Ireland for 10 years. They are both classical musicians and chose music that they felt was right for them. Roisin's Mother also sang as a surprise for Roisin and this was a lovely surprise for her.
Whilst they were happy with all their arrangements they were actually disappointed with Cyprus itself and would not want to holiday there again particulary. For me it is a good place to have a bit of sunshine in Winter and other than this visit I have always gone in Winter.
The people are not as friendly as expected and there is some resentment that people from the Eastern Block Countries have come in and work for less money and they say that this has been bad for the local people.
They have lovely photo's etc and the service itself was wonderful. We did have a big party which went on well into the night. My Son was wearing his Kilt and a guest who had been staying in the hotel arrived down just as were going to have our reception dinner and played the bagpipes! He was leaving a few hours after this and his wife would not let him take his Kilt etc as it was already packed!

They had a huge party reception with 150 in Ireland about 7 days after they returned home.
It was a great night!

Sue

jhe

we stayed at grecian sands 2008, lots of weddings in the two weeks we were there and looked well organised. its a lovely hotel and on the beach.

Flicker

Just to update!

We have booked The Olympic Lagoon, Nissi Bay! So much to get organised!

I would just like to give a little piece of advice to anyone thinking of getting married abroad, stay away from Thomas Cook, they were telling me what I should do, rather than asking what I wanted, plus their customer service is APPALING!! Having spoken to them on the phone many times, it became impossible to reach them, and emails were not replied to! Secondly, The Olympic Lagoon, I am not sure about which other hotels, if you are getting married and not having a formal reception they will charge you 300 Euro penalty, and if you do want a reception, from my understanding it starts at 35 Euro per head with a minimum of 50 people!! If you dont have 50 people you can still have the reception but at a cost of what would have been 50 people?!?!

Thank you

Mands

Flicker wrote: »

Just to update!

We have booked The Olympic Lagoon, Nissi Bay! So much to get organised!

That's a bit different to the Elias! Does it have a pier?

Glad you got something booked.
Mands

ellay864

Glad you're booked now...only just seen this thread but you might still want to pop over to us on the weddings board.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=142
We're a dead friendly bunch and there's a few ladies there who have either recently married or due to get married abroad (might be a Cyprus one, can't think off hand). They'll be able to give you lots of tips about marrying abroad and we can all chip in with other general stuff like ideas for dress bargains etc