The only regret Lynsey and George have about their destination wedding is that they can't do it all again. After beginning their search for a location in Italy and France the couple settled on the island of Ibiza and didn't look back. Planning from the UK, they found the vendors here responsive and very much on their level. And of course, the icing on the cake was their choice of photographer, Ana Lui. Lots more below from Lynsey on planning and the details, but first check out all the prettiness...

A DESTINATION WEDDING

"I always thought I wanted a big white traditional wedding here in the UK, but oh how things change! Over the last few years we have been blessed with the opportunity to experience so many of our friends' amazing weddings and they have all been beautiful, however being almost the last of our group of couples to get married, driving home one day from a wedding we both turned to each other and said "When we do it, shall we just go away somewhere and do it?" and it was a unanimous "YES".

DECIDING ON THE DESTINATION

So when my partner popped the question six months later in Thailand we were then faced with the choice of where to get married. I wanted sea and sunshine, he wanted vineyards so we initially started our search in Italy and France. There were so many amazing venues but nothing seemed to jump out at either of us. Having been to a wedding in Ibiza in 2012, having lived in Ibiza for two summers in my younger years and having visited there more times than I can remember I had always secretly had thoughts of an Ibiza wedding but I didn't think my partner would say yes to the crazy suggestion... but he did! I got on the internet and started researching venues and forums for information. I came across "Elixir Shore Club" and as soon as I saw it just felt right so I contacted Viccki and before we knew it we had paid a deposit to secure a date with the view of flying out to Ibiza in April when the venues open to Elixir and the others that we had also shortlisted.

Fast forward to April: we flew out, hired a car and spent two days driving round and seeing all the venues I had arranged to meet. They were all lovely and I could have seen us getting married at any of them but when we saw Elixir we were totally blown away by the venue. Even driving up to the venue we got " that feeling", goose bumps, nerves and it didn't disappoint. We sat down with Vickki and discussed everything we wanted or had thought about and when everything was possible, we knew this was our one! Vickki was amazing- we had no doubt that our wedding would be in good hands.

PLANNING

We had also arranged to meet Ana Lui whilst in Ibiza before we had even seen Elixir as we knew we wanted her to do our pictures, she had captured our friends wedding out there and we loved her work. We didn't even consider another photographer and we returned to the UK with our venue and photographer already booked! Woo hoo! I wasted no time starting my planning and the "Bible" that Elixir supplied us with was invaluable - it was packed of suggestions, ideas and suppliers. I think getting married abroad actually removes some of the stresses you may face here as the venues as so involved and can co-ordinate most things for you. Every vendor I contacted or used was completely on top of their game and I really didn't have any real stresses with the planning.

STYLE

I had no idea what kind of dress I wanted so I went with a totally open mind to try on one of every style but I fell in love with the first dress in the first shop, the "Adalina by La Sposa". Everyone says "you just know" and it is so true - I think the fact I cried when I put it on the second time might have given it away. I had seen "Badgley Mischka" shoes on Pinterest and totally fell in love with them but they are not available in the UK so I decided to search for something here. I looked for ages but just couldn't find anything I could see myself wearing. I looked into getting them shipped over but the import charges were really high then I came up with the plan to get them shipped to a friend in the UK who was visiting Ireland soon and who would then be able to arrange for someone to bring them to the UK for me - my plan worked and I got my dream wedding shoes!

I didn't really have a set "style", I think the only thing I knew that I definitely wanted was the colour theme I went for everything just kind of fell into place. I had already been raiding Pinterest for ideas before seeing any venue and knew that I wanted "white, grey and soft pink", it just so happened it fitted perfectly with our venue. My husband had already decided he wanted to wear a light grey suit but was convinced he wouldn't be too hot in a shirt, waistcoat & jacket - when we arrived in Ibiza for the wedding he admitted that he had "underestimated how hot it was going to be so might not wear his jacket".

My bridesmaids are all very different - my niece is 12 and I wanted her to look like a 12 year old, my sister in law to be and my best friend are both very different so I knew straight away I was going to go for three different dresses. I wanted them in the same colour so I decided to get them made, I found an amazing dressmaker near me who sat down and discussed ideas and shared pictures and she went away and drew up the dresses. I absolutely loved them and the girls were all wearing something on the day they felt comfortable in. I wanted to keep the rest of the wedding subtle and neutral so I stuck with white flowers with a hint of pink. Our florist was amazing and helped me choose the best types of flowers to hold up in the heat. All of our extras bits on the day such as fan's, menu's, Eye-Spy cards all followed the same colour theme, we spoke with a printer here who mocked up some designs for us of all our favourite ideas.

My little god daughter was our flower girl who made my heart melt when she came to the room all ready to go and our godson & nephew were our pageboys. I wanted them to be comfortable in the heat so I opted for shorts & a shirt, the set had a waistcoat too which I gave them the option to not wear but they both wanted "to look cool". I also thought it would be a nice touch for them to have something to hold walking down the aisle so they didn't get shy and put their hands in their pockets so I got a "Here Comes the Bride" flag for one and the other carried our rings.

I had planned to do my own make up and just get someone to do our hair but I changed my mind on this and I am so glad I did, it would have been one stress you don't need on your wedding day. I decided to book "SMACK" and Sara and Nicola were fab I was a little unsure with what I wanted but they both listened to me and made suggestions. I had a trial a few days before the wedding the girls nailed it. On the day Sara was fantastic, she took me away from all the stress that was going on in the room, shut the door and poured me some bubbles whilst she did my makeup and tried to calm me down. We also arranged for "Lovely Laura" to play Sax during the aperitifs and then again in the evening - it was chilled but upbeat during the day and then serious tunes when the party went off in the evening, she was absolutely amazing!

BEST DECISION & ADVICE

The best decision we made was to get married in Ibiza- for us, our wedding was everything and more than we ever expected it to be. I feel totally spoilt being able to experience what we did and I have so many amazing memories and moments being surrounded by all our friends and family, seeing their faces, feeling the love in the room (there was a lot of love) and experiencing the best day of our lives in such an amazing place. I also have a huge "proud aunty" memory of my nine year old nephew deciding that he wanted to do a speech at the wedding and standing on a chair in front of everyone and delivering his speech effortlessly (that boy is braver than I am)...

I grin like a Cheshire cat at the mere thought of my wedding. My advice to anyone considering it is - absolutely go for it! My only regret is that we can't experience it all again!"

Photography & Videography: Ana Lui Photography | Venue: Elixir Shore Club | Wedding Celebrant: Hedley Paul | Florist: Floral Dreams Ibiza | Stationery: Minted | Bride's Dress: Adelina by La Sposa | Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bride's Jewellery: Luxe Deluxe via Etsy | Bridesmaid Dresses: Custom by Make and Mend Seamstress | Bridesmaid Jewellery: Accessorize | Groomswear: Next | Flowergirl/Pageboy: Monsoon | Pageboy Flags: The Ritzy Rose via Etsy | Wedding Card Box: By Naturelle via Etsy | Hair & Makeup: Smack Ibiza | Wedding Ring Cushion: Miss Shelly Designs from Not on the High Street | Childcare at Wedding: Kids in Ibiza