A wedding weekend in Cyprus: the welcome night, the day and the morning after

Cyprus has two airports, Larnaca and Paphos. Larnaca is the bigger, with more flights from more places; Paphos is the one for a wedding on the west coast. The drive between them is close to two hours, so the airport you name on the invitation matters.

Times without traffic; allow more in summer and on Friday evenings.

Cyprus drives on the left, which surprises guests from most of Europe and the Middle East, and the mountain roads are slow and winding. Many guests hire a car; nobody should drive back from the party. A coach or minibuses from the hotel to the ceremony and back after midnight is the kindest thing you can arrange, and the reply is where you find out how many seats you need.

Ask a hotel for a block of rooms at a group rate, or take a set of villas near the venue, and say clearly who pays for what. "We have a group rate at the hotel until 1 March" reads very differently from "your rooms are on us". If the wedding is in a mountain village, guests may prefer to stay on the coast and come up for the day: then the transport matters even more.

The evening before, something easy: a meze at a taverna, drinks on a terrace at sunset, a long table by the harbour. It lets guests meet before the big day, the two families find each other, and the couple say hello to everyone without the clock running. Keep it relaxed, with a dress code to match.

Build it around the heat and the light. In summer, keep the afternoon free for the pool and the beach, start the ceremony about ninety minutes before sunset, and save the dancing for after dark. If the legal part is at the town hall on a weekday morning with two witnesses and the celebration is on Saturday, say so: two events, two times, and who each one is for.

A long lunch, a beach club, a boat along the coast, or a quiet brunch for whoever is up. It is when the couple finally talk to the friends they only waved to on the night, and it gives guests a reason to stay the extra day they flew for.

• Nine to twelve months before: the save the date with the island and the dates, so guests can book leave and flights while fares are low.
• Ten to twelve weeks before: the invitation, with each event of the weekend, the airport, the hotel and the transport.
• Six to eight weeks before: replies due, earlier than at home, since venues and coaches need numbers.
• The week before: one short message with times, the weather and what to bring.

On MyEventOS each event of the weekend can have its own time and map, the reply can ask when guests land and whether they need a seat on the coach, and the invitation can link to your places to stay.