Oxfordshire Limited Edition – July 2019

152 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|June 2019

TRAVEL

luvana.co.uk

7 |Sourcingsuppliers
Unlessyourbudgetextendstoapre-
weddingvisityou’relikelytodomostof
yourresearchonlinewithcommunication
viaemail,phoneorSkype.It’simportant
thereforetodoyourresearchanduseyour
instinctwhensourcingsuppliers.
Scoursuppliers’socialmediaaccountsfor
verifiedreviews,recentexamplesofworkand
testimonials.Askforabrochureandacopy
ofthecontracttobesentbeforeyoupaya
depositandrequestreceiptsforanydeposits
paid.Ifyou’restillunsure,thentrustyour
instinctandlookelsewhere.

8 |Languagebarriers
We’reveryfortunatethattheEnglish
languageisusedfarandwideandis
thelanguagemostsupplierswilluseto
communicatewiththeircouples.Before
youbookasupplierbeconfidentthatthe
communicationbetweenyouisgoodenough.
Ifthesupplierwantstoworkwithyouthey
needtounderstandyourdesires,yourwants
andbeabletoansweryourquestionsand
concernsconfidently,otherwiseyou’re
openingyourselfuptopotentialproblems
downtheline.
Neversignacontractthatisnotinyour
ownlanguageorthatyoucan’tunderstand.
Ifthesupplierdoesn’thaveacontractin
English,it’srecommendedtopayforan
independenttranslationorlookelsewhere
ratherthantakeanychances.

9 |Legalities
Firstandforemostyou’llneedtocheck
youcanlegallymarryinyourdestination;
providingyourweddingislegalinthat
countrythenitwillberecognisedintheUK.
AquicksearchonGooglewillanswerthisfor
youandthegovernmenthasahandytoolhere
gov.uk/marriage-abroad.
Ifalegalweddingisnotpossible,an
alternativeoptionisablessingwithalegal
ceremonyathome.Yourguestsneedn’tknow;
asymbolicceremonyoftenlooksexactlythe
sametotheuntrainedeye.
Religiousweddingsareusuallyonlylegal
ifitfallsunderthestatereligion.InItalyand
SpainCatholicweddingsarelegal,whilein
Francereligiousweddingsarenotrecognised
bythestate.InGreeceyoucanhostaGreek
Orthodoxweddingifyouwouldlikealegal
religiouswedding,butanyothertypeof
religiousweddingwillrequireacivilwedding
tomakeitlegal.
Withmostreligiousweddingsyou’ll
needtobebaptisedinthechurchandbe
apractisingmemberofthechurch,and
yourlegalpaperworkwilltypicallybe
administeredthroughthechurch.Ifindoubt,
speaktoyourchurchbeforeyouconsider
destinationsastheymayofferadviceon
possibledestinations.
Paperworkforcivilweddingscantake
anythingfromtwoweekstosixmonths
dependingonthelocation,whilereligious
weddingstypicallytakesixtoeightmonthsto
completeallpaperwork.

10 |Food

Oneofthelovelythingsabouttravelling

abroadistheopportunitytoexperiencethe

amazinglocalcuisineonofferanditcanbea

delightforgueststosamplesometraditional

delicaciesontheweddingday.Thereare

howeversomeconsiderationswhenitcomes

tofood,withsomedestinationsbeingmore

flexiblethanothers.

Mediterraneanstylecuisineisquiteeasy

onthepalateandwillusuallypleasethemost

pickyguests.Whenyourfoodrequirements

aremoreserioussuchasvegan,glutenfreeor

kosher,thenit’simportanttospeaktoyour

guestsandyourreceptionvenueaboutthis

beforebookingthewedding.

Noteverydestinationwillofferalltypes

ofcuisine,althoughit’simprovedinrecent

years.Therearecertainlocationssuchas

Portugalthatoffereverystyleofcateringyou

couldwishfor,whereasinGreeceyourvegan

guestscouldendupeatingaplateofsalador

vegetablesasthetraditionaldietisheavyin

cheeseandmeat.

Ifyou’regettingmarriedonasmaller

Greekislandthereisalwaystheoption

ofbringinginspecialistcaterersfromthe

mainland,thoughthiswillimpactthecost.

Mostvenuesareveryhappytotailormenus

tosuityourtastes,providingitsin-keeping

withtheirstyleofcuisineandingredients–it’s

alwaysbesttodiscussthisbeforeyoubook.L