London based Christina Drakos and Giulia Rinaldi met through the dating app, Tinder, and went on their first date on the 4th of September 2016 in buzzy Soho. Since then the pair have been inseparable and tied the knot in style at The Four Seasons in Hampshire this year, as soon as Covid restrictions were lifted, surrounded by all their family and friends.
The best part of our day was…
Being able to gather our family and friends together in one place to celebrate our love! Especially, after 1.5 years of social distancing. Every single person attended, with a huge smile on their face. Our wedding was the first weekend after all lockdown restrictions were lifted in England, therefore, sometimes we think of our wedding as an end-of-social distancing party.
We choose to get married at…
The Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire because we wanted to find a place in England that was near London so that most of our family and friends would be able to easily travel to our venue. The Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire was the most obvious choice to us because we had been there twice whilst we were dating and felt a special connection to it. Most importantly, we always agreed that it is one of the most magical and beautiful hotels we had seen in England. It has the perfect combination of beautiful interiors, amazing food and extremely photogenic grounds.
We knew we’d found our dresses when…
We visited The Wedding Dress Shop in Wimbledon. It was important for us to go wedding dress shopping together and experience finding “The One” as a couple. The Wedding Dress Shop had such a great variety of dresses that it was perfect for two brides.
The most enjoyable moments of planning were…
Tailoring all the different aspects of the day together. From choosing the cake to the flowers to the food tastings and finding our dresses, it was so beautiful to plan this day together.
The hardest part of planning was…
Waiting for the government to decide on whether to lift social distancing restrictions or not! Aside from that, the Four Seasons Hampshire team made all wedding planning aspects so easy.
The best accounts to follow on Instagram for big-day inspo are…
@paularooneyfloraldesigner
@rockmywedding
@greenweddingshoes
My top three tips for any couple would be…
- Book your chosen suppliers early
- Choose a venue that is tailored to wedding events
- Don’t be afraid to ask your venue / suppliers questions!
If I was able to do it all over again, the one thing I would change is..
We would create a timetable of the days’ events that we can send to all suppliers a few days beforehand.
List of Suppliers:
| Venues | Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire |
| Caterers | Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire |
| Dresses | The Wedding Shop, Wimbledon |
| Bridesmaids | Elena Drakos, Stephanie Hadjijoseph, Elena Demetriou |
| Florist | Paula Rooney |
| Tableware | The Four Seasons Hampshire |
| Stationery | The Four Seasons Hampshire |
| Wedding Website | Appy Couple |
| Photographer | The Flamingo Society |
| Videographer | The Flamingo Society |
| Wedding rings | De Beers |
| Make up | A Finishing Touch |
| Hair | A Finishing Touch |
| Gift list | The Wedding Shop |
| Wedding Planner | Jessica Tober (The Four Seasons Hampshire) |
