Friday 22 July 2011

Real Wedding in Chania: The details

I know, I know, this is long over due!  Here are the details from the wedding in Chania, Crete in June.  The couple Elias and Nancy were from San Fransisco, Elias being of Greek descent.  Nancy's pro activity in the DIY area really made this wedding and all the personal touches were clearly apparent throughout the decor.  Firstly, she had designed and hand printed welcome tote bags for all her guest which were waiting for them in their hotel rooms.  Along with the very cute bag she had included a handmade sarong, local products such as herbs and sesame brittle and information sheets so as all their guests knew where and when the events were happening.

 The table design was striking.  Tall tapered candle sticks with gorgeous  flower arrangements of Peonies with a mixture of foliage and berries looked beautiful.  Now just a bit of a heads up, in 36 degrees candle sticks tend to melt!  So if you are have tall tapered candles they need to be put out at the last minute otherwise they tend to bend out of shape.  




Each place setting had a menu, printed on the gorgeous petal effect, watercoloured card and a sprig of rosemary and lavender.  The place names, again on the same car, also had a print of either a fish, pig, lamb or vegetable to depict to the caterers which main dish the person had requested.  This detail blew me away.  It was so simple and yet Nancy had incorporated it into the design with such ease and the caterers were thrilled!



Unfortunately due to the strikes in Greece at the time there was a power cut for 1 hour just as the music and Greek dancing began.  What was wonderful was how all the sound and lighting guys steeped up to the plate.  With a little help from around 150 tea lights we had as back up and an amazing catering staff, the show went on.  The Greek band played beautifully whilst all the catering staff, including Costas who is the main chef from Tsedakis Catering, got up and started Greek dancing for the crowd.  It was wonderful so see and the whole wedding party loved it.  It especially got interesting when all the guests were dragged up too.  Greek dancing by candle light, it doesn't get more romantic than that!


The courtyard at Kindelis is a magical place to first enter at the venue. It sets a wonderful atmosphere for the rest of the reception.  The Greek band was set up playing traditional music to greet the guests at the cocktail hour.  There were long stem peonies in tall vases and meze menus on the each of the tall cocktail tables.  What made this area for me was the personalised match boxes with OPA on them. They were awesome!



 

The escort cards doubled as the favours.  Nancy had designed them again with the same watercoloured design as little boxes.  Each had the guests name on it with the table number in sticker form sealing the box.  Inside she had put an uneven number of koufetta (in keeping with tradition).  Coupled with the bougainvillea and Peonie arrangements the table looked gorgeous, especially when the tea lights were lit a little late on.

Then there was the photo booth!  As you all know I am hugely keen on this idea.  I love them and the further into the evening you go the more hilarious the photos!  The backdrop for the booth was made out of different coloured ribbons and although it doesn't look like much on its own the photos come out amazingly (as you can see by the photo of Niko, Sara's gorgeous husband!).







The wedding was a blast and topped off by the awesome mix of 90's RnB that kicked off in the party zone later.  Nancy's DIY touches really paid off and made the wedding such a personal event.  As always the suppliers were amazing.  Tsedakis' food was delicious, the flowers from Birgitte were beautiful and as always the music and lighting by Manos from Sound Design was awesome!  Sara played out of her boots on planning and design and I must say I had such a wonderful time assisting her and Niko.  

There is nothing more to say than a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Elias and Nancy.  We hope your honeymoon was as amazing as your wedding.

NY



Monday 4 July 2011

Real Wedding in Chania, Crete

So as you all know Sara and I headed back to Crete last week to set up a wedding she had been planning for the gorgeous Nancy!  It was awesome to be back at Metohi Kindelis again and I must say, Manoli the owner, has made it even more beautiful!  Seeing it at a different time of year also bought a whole new aspect to the venue for me, as different plants were in full bloom and obviously the light was different as the sun set later.  The bride was amazing.  So chilled and generally a very kind soul to work with.  Her ideas were beautiful and due to the fact she works in the design industry her eye for detail was striking.  The menus, invitations, escort cards and place names were printed on hand painted card which resembled the colourings of a rose petal.  They were honestly breath taking and my photos do not do them justice! 



So to break down the different areas for the wedding. The main courtyard was were the cocktail hour was held.  Champagne and strawberries with an array of meze.  Through to the rear garden, the dining area was set up around the pool with the live Greek band situated in front of all the tables.  Lastly, the party area.  This was in the second pool area of the property (there are 3 private gardens with pools at the venue) with bare bulb lights and pom poms not forgetting the bar and the DJ.





What I love about Greece and it is something that any bride getting married in Greece needs to accept, is that the Greeks go at their own pace.  This can sometimes be alarming, for example when you are heading to Church for the service and the tables are only just getting set.  Don't fret.  It amazes you when on return and hour or so later the whole venue has been transformed!  The heat has a lot to do with it.  We were working in mid thirty degrees, it was hot to say the least!  So the later you can leave it the better.



The suppliers that were used were the same we had sourced for my wedding and I must say they never cease to amaze me.  The food was divine, the flowers gorgeous and as always the sound and lighting were spot on.  It was also really cool to be on the other side of the procedure.  Am not sure that I didn't enjoy it even more this time!

I will showcase the wedding over the next couple of posts. It really was gorgeous!

NY