Our Wedding • The Details

I never really was a white wedding kind of gal. Truth be told, the whole concept made me unusually nervous. The notion of marriage I’ve always respected and appreciated but the wedding itself always felt like a spectacle pushed on to us by society. Romantic, I know but it’s important to set the tone here. Up until now, we haven’t done things necessarily in order and while there’s nothing wrong with tradition, it just hasn’t worked out for us in that way. We were undecided, for various reasons, whether we would have a “traditional” wedding. Having already bought a house, taken a mini honeymoon before we exchanged our “I do’s” and had a civil ceremony… you get the picture.

Also knowing what the past nearly four years has meant for us; the hardships we’ve faced at arriving to where we are today. When we reflected on all that we had been through, we knew that we deserved to celebrate our love with the people we love. So when we decided to have a wedding, we hand-picked and incorporated the elements of our cultures and traditions that we felt drawn to. Making it our own.

I can confidently say that I finally get it. The whole debacle. After endless months of planning, weekly budgeting and saving, all the stress. Our wedding day was a beautiful coming together of cultures, traditions and worlds. We were showered with love from near and far and we never lost sight of what this day was truly about – celebrating our unexpected love story. A story we will continue to celebrate for the rest of our lives. So here’s to our wedding and all the details that made it special!

MARGI FARM, OUR DREAM VENUE

Margi Farm was the very first venue we saw. In fact, we had just picked up our hand-delivered engagement ring that evening from the airport – my friend’s husband carried the precious cargo on his flight to Greece for us – mind you, we weren’t even engaged yet… but we did manage to see Margi Farm preparing for another wedding that evening in early June of 2022 and immediately knew it was our dream venue. For context, we weren’t even sure if we would have a wedding party; for so many reasons. The idea was shelved until December of that year when we decided we were going all in!

We visited several venues in Athens to really understand what the market was offering. To be openly candid, Margi Farm was well above our budget; however, when we were comparing it with other more-affordable venues, the price point was higher yes, but the quality was exponentially higher, too. The mediocre options were still expensive in my eyes so it felt like, if we are already at this price point, then we might as well spend a bit more to get exactly what we want. And exactly, we did!

Margi Farm was one of the few venues that was open to us having less than 150 guests. Since we were planning this entire wedding on our own to keep costs down – it’s very common to have a wedding planner, here and I now understand why – it was so helpful to have a venue that offered the most important elements in house. Margi Farm had tables, chairs, lighting, DJ, parking, dinnerware, food and drinks. The menu was buffet style, live cooking serving elevated Greek food that was so delicious and unpretentious. Guests couldn’t stop raving how incredible the food was!

THE MUSIC

THE SONG WE WALKED IN AS MR & MRS

Astounded by Bran Van 3000

OUR WEDDING PLAYLIST(S)

While Vasilis wasn’t going to be DJing our wedding, he desperately missed his DJing days and spent months crafting the perfect playlists for the wedding. From Pre-Wedding Party to While We Eat, Must Play and Our Wedding.

OUR FIRST DANCE

Desou Pano Mou by Kashmir. V and I met very early into my move to Greece. After a month of our encounter, he asked me to go away to Pilio for the weekend. I remember feeling so conflicted at the time with all the usual self chatter one encounters early on; was this moving too fast? I’m not looking for a relationship right now, I just moved countries. Was I planning on staying in Greece? And then I remember reminding myself of the very reason I moved overseas – for new experiences. This was simply a new experience. An opportunity to see a new part of Greece with someone that I enjoyed in their company.

So, without overthinking and overcomplicating things, I decided to go and ended up having an incredible weekend. It was there, that further confirmed there was something special between us; which I had been fighting internally since we met. So while the song is not at all what you expect from a first dance song, it holds significant meaning for the both of us. The words Δέσου Πάνω μου are even engraved in my wedding band; meaning bind yourself to me.

THE DRESS, THE RING, THE SUIT

I had something entirely different in mind than what I wore to church that day. I imagined myself in a sleek sheath dress, something utterly simple. Trying on several styles, I landed on this stunning and yet ironically traditional and aristocratic dress from Primalicia. It was instant once I tried it on – I love how it made me feel. That it was ivory rather than white and that it had pockets. I selected a lace embroidered veil that really added a special touch to the simple dress.

For the after party dress I wanted something that felt more like me. I looked at all of the usual outlets of finding an outfit before I decided to have something custom made for me. A friend introduced me to the loveliest Mrs. Anna. She created the most stunning pant and top set made entirely by hand in raw silk.

Vasilis wore a double-breasted navy blue suit from Rococo that we swapped out with matching buttons to make it look more like a tuxedo. We went to a tiny shop that is known for their ties and found a satin, navy blue bow tie to match. His shirt was tailored by an old gentleman who’s been in business for decades, on the 5th floor of a decrepit building. We embroidered his initials on the cuff.

As for the ring, Vasili and I decided to buy the ring together after much persuasion on my part. It felt right to pool our resources and buy something that had and would hold value; an heirloom even. I wanted something vintage, with a story, a history that was within our budget. After much research, we found a beautiful European old mine cut trilogy ring from the 1920’s, that felt somehow symbolic for our present but also for our future. My chunky, gold wedding band I wear next to the vintage diamond eternity band I bought myself when I first moved here. It was important for me to honor not only my husband and our relationship but the relationship with myself.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS OF THE WEDDING INDUSTRY IN GREECE

Finding the right vendors to bring our vision to life was perhaps the hardest part of the entire event. While having a wedding in Greece may be a more affordable option coming from the states, for locals, it’s prohibitively expensive. As most small businesses here, a digital footprint is uncommon so recommendations come through word of mouth. Anyone that has a following or digital presence, at all typically charges accordingly. To boot, every time I reached out and and they heard a Greek-American accent, or the word wedding, prices somehow jumped 30%-50% higher instantly.

At first comical, it eventually became quite disheartening with the prices we were being quoted, which were in no way reflective of us being locals but prices aimed at expats. I quickly reevaluated my approach and conducted my first interaction via an email written in Greek! Later, V went on to have the first phone communication, also in Greek, so we could receive a fair quote.

An unpleasant but realistic side of the industry, here. I will say that demand is so high, there aren’t many vendors sweating for work. There’s plenty of engaged couples, both locals and expats, lined up behind you willing to take your spot.

IT TRULY TAKES A VILLAGE AND WE FOUND SOME OF THE VERY BEST

With that being said, I asked just about everyone I knew for recommendations. Our vet introduced us to our videographers; a colleague to our florist and so forth. I finally succumbed to the Greek way of doing things, communally.

I had worked with our photographer, Nicoletta Zarifi, when she shot the Aegean Summer collection for The NoMad Edit. Not only is she super talented, but her aura is so calming and we have such a great and effortless chemistry when working together. So when the topic of photography came up for the wedding, I immediately knew I wanted to work with her again. We wanted to capture the special moments of our wedding entirely on film knowing full well that some of those moments may be lost simply due to the medium.

After much back and forth, we decided to also go with a videographer to cover that gap. Giannis and Liana from Feel Your Films were such a happy happenstance and their work is truly magical. So excited to receive our video in the next few months! The combination of film photography to capture these candid moments and the timeless grain of film combined with a flowing video felt like striking the perfect balance.

Neither one of us eat sweets so we weren’t interested in a traditional wedding cake. While I was scrolling through a local event here in Athens, a fruit sheet cake caught my eye from Nommo Bakes and I knew that was the way to go. Light, refreshing, topped with fruit and somehow, it also felt like it perfectly fit into the venue vibes. It was a delicious and easy going cake.

FLOWERS AND OTHER TRADITIONAL DETAILS

Margi Farm itself was such a beautiful setting, chock-full of lavender and wild olive trees that we didn’t want our floral arrangements to take away from the nature of the olive groves. When we first met with Athens Flower Hall, it felt like a mother’s warm embrace. A kind and patient, Mrs. Dimitra took the time to listen to us, give us advice and guide us with no expectations in return; she was a breath of fresh air. We were a month out from the wedding with no luck of finding a florist and after our meeting, we felt like a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders. Not only were they affordable, but so kind and their designs were exactly what we had hoped for. Exactly the type of small, family-run business you feel great about supporting!

I wanted something simple using local, Mediterranean flowers that were in season. Our lambades (church candles) were decorated with white lisianthus and olive branches while my bouquet, a collection of white long-stemmed lisianthus. Our tables were decorated with potted herbs of rosemary, mint, basil, lavender and citronella. Tables were filled with a warm glow of candles and guests were given a customised bottle of olive oil from our family’s groves.

My mom inspired me in learning more about the tradition of ceremonial wedding bread. After diving into further research, I really loved what this age-old tradition symbolised and knew I too wanted to incorporate this into our wedding day. I collaborated with the European Bread Museum to recreate one of these dextrously woven breads that symbolize love, health, wealth, fertility and happiness and it turned out beautifully!

HIDDEN DETAILS WITH SPECIAL MEANING TO US

I gifted Vasilis a pair of vintage cufflinks from the 1950’s of the sun and the moon. We’ve spent many trips in Hydra but also were engaged there and there has always been this underlying theme of the sun in our relationship. My something blue and something old was a pair of vintage earrings he bought me at the Monastiraki market.

Instead of reading our vows publicly, we both wrote them in a letter to one another to read while we were getting ready for the day. This felt much more intimate and special, something to hold on to all to ourselves.

Our στέφανα, or wedding crowns worn during the church ceremony, were locally handmade and were meant to look like a blossoming lemon tree. They were so delicate and special, a forever keepsake.

While we didn’t have a wedding party, we did have our two Κουμπάρες, the equivalent of a MOH. In our case, we had my dearest and longest friend along with Vasilis’ sister stand next to us during the ceremony. They were both gifted a Clio Cuff with a semi-precious gemstone. A piece that I designed and created and all the special women in my life now have.

A FEW THINGS I LEARNED DURING THE PROCESS:

• While this is one of the most important days of your life it is still, a day in your life! Drown out the outside noise and focus on what really matters. Celebrating love!

• People will always have opinions on how you should live your life. Tailor this special day for you and your partner. It is after all, your day.

• Spending more money doesn’t always mean better results. There are plenty of things you can do with this amount of money; ie: buy a house, start a business, travel the world! While this day is important, keep perspective on what’s really worth the splurge and where you can save. Understand your priorities for the day and your goals together as a couple in general and create a beautiful day around those priorities.

LOOKING FOR OTHER PERSONAL POSTS? HERE ARE A FEW OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITES:

Let’s keep in touch! Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest