Diary of a Greek Bride: The Wedding Part 2

The morning of the wedding was totally chilled: I had a swim, sunbathed and enjoyed lunch around the pool with a few friends and bridesmaids. I lost count of how many people told me "you're the most chilled out bride I've ever seen!" but I guess it's hard not to be when you're on an island as beautiful as Antiparos!

All images are by Magdalene Kourti

Meanwhile, Glenn and his brother and best man Paul were re-writing our translated ceremony. We had asked Paul to translate what the Mayor would say into English and to act as our "celebrant" . However when we read the translation it wasn't quite what we had in mind for our wedding ceremony... with statements like "I accept the burden and conflicts of marriage" included in there we felt it sounded more like a an agreement to go into battle than a declaration of love for one another! There wasn't any room for our own carefully considered vows we had written, our ring exchange or the 3 readings we'd spent months choosing. The guys did a great job in re-wording the translation to sound more romantic and to include readings, vows and the ring exchange. This said, it really wasn't something we should have been stressing about the morning of our wedding... again, a situation that could have been resolved if our planner had provided us with the translation days earlier as we had requested.

By 1pm I was showered and ready for the stylist to work her magic. I had had a trial with her a couple of days before so she had a good idea of what I wanted - hair up, not too structured and make-up soft and romantic. She did a fantastic job despite my initial reservations at the trial where her love of hairspray and corkscrew curls made me nervous! We decided to pin into my hair tiny little buds of white Greek roses to match mine and the bridesmaid's bouquets. I'd also bought a beautiful vintage style hair comb which finished the look perfectly.

We had asked all of our guests to convene at our apartments at 5.30 which is is where we were having the reception dinner. My friends gave out hand held paddle fans I had made to keep everyone cool while they waited and to line the long palm-fringed path down to the gates. At 5.45 I emerged with my 2 bridesmaids, one bridesman and my Dad we were led down the path by three musicians playing traditional Greek music. I can't tell you how emotional I felt at this point and as soon as I saw Glenn's smiling face I burst into tears! He looked so handsome standing there waiting for me and all the stresses of the days leading up to this point didn't matter. We kissed, wiped my tears away and linked arms to lead everyone through the village to walk to the spot where we would be married. The procession was so memorable with all the locals coming out to applaud us and wish us well and more in keeping with the Greek way of the Bride and Groom arriving at the ceremony together. I'll never forget it and so many of our guests have said how unique and fun it was to accompany the bride and groom in this way.

Once we reached the ruins of the old Kastro, we waited outside while all our guests took their places inside. The musicians led us into the Kastro and once we'd figured out where we were meant to stand (a tad embarrassing!) we were greeted by Eleni the deputy mayor of Antiparos who would marry us. We were both really nervous throughout the whole ceremony but we said our self-written vows and had the ring exchanges without any glitches so all went well. Our three readings were delivered beautifully - an extract from Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Kahlil Gibran's 'Love One Another' and the quirky "Lovely Love Story" by Edward Monkton which got a few laughs, not to mention a few puzzled looks!

Afterwards we had rice thrown at us and champagne was served in the ceremony location for half an hour. It was just enough time to be congratulated and to have a few snaps with guests before we slipped off to have our professional photos taken. Being able to slip away to the beach with Glenn for an hour was perfect. Our photographer Magdalene remained unobtrusive and captued images of us both trying to take it all in. Magdalene did such an amazing job with the photos. Looking at them now I can't believe how she managed to capture the whole intimacy and beauty of the day. She is one very talented photographer whose thoughtful and considered ways gave us photos that quite literally look like we were on a film set!

CC

Am back refreshed and raring to go!

Sfakia & Sweatwater Beach

I'm back! Refreshed and ready to write.  I was officially banned from posting anything whilst I was there by Jubbs and Sara. Now, I know I am biased when it comes to Crete but it truly is such a beautiful island and the landscape really varies.  We hired a car to drive from Chania to Sfakia, my grandmother comes from the area so we thought we would got have a look and check out a lovely beach called Sweatwaters.  Just driving over the white mountains, stopping for goats and sheep, was gorgeous but the difference in the terrain was quite awe inspiring.  Chania is a very green area, whilst Sfakia becomes a much harder landscape, dry and rocky but as you come over the mountains, the sea vista is breath taking.  Along the way there were beautiful little churches and sleepy mountain villages and along the coast line there were solitary churches on cliffs looking out over the sea.  When down at Sweatwater beach ( which is pebbled but with clear, turquoise water) I thought how awesome it would be to have a wedding there.  You have to take a water taxi to the beach and on it has a very simple canteen which serves basic food but if simple and small was what you were looking for it would be gorgeous!  I will elaborate on that idea later.

Ammos Hotel

What also became apparent on this trip was how important a stay at a well run hotel is.  We stayed at the Ammos Hotel, run by gorgeous Nikos (yes, he has been mentioned in earlier posts) and I have to say it really is my favorite hotel to date.  His team are so efficient, friendly and warm and this makes such a huge difference to a holiday.  Not only that, the hotel is situated right on the beach and has it's own taverna which serves some of the best Greek food I have eaten, needless to say I came back heavier than I left.

I am off to the designer Wedding Show today to go see what is out there for the destination bride.  I will be writing a full report of all things cool later as well as updating on places I found in Crete.

NY

Finding the "Right" Dress

In a world of poofy white dresses, row upon row of shiny fabrics, strapless floor length gowns, tiara's and veils, just how do you find the dress for you?

There are hundreds of wedding dress designers out there and if you're anything like me, you'll want to see most of them before making a decision on who to go with. A good first point is to decide on the style of dress that you would like to wear, if you're uncertain then a trip to a magazine shop where you can pick up some copies of the latest bridal magazines should be helpful. My advice would be to make a coffee, sit back and slowly flick through magazines adding post it's to the dresses that appeal the most. Perhaps you should take your time over this part of the decision, give yourself a few days so you don't get completely confused. Finally when you look over the post itted pages (yes that is my own word and I am proud of it), you will hopefully see a pattern and some similarities, the silhouette is chosen!

Next you must set a budget, this will dictate which of the designers to head to and which to rule out entirely, high end designers come with high end price tags, where as high street and off the rack labels can be extremely affordable, of course there are always the middle people, finding them is quite challenging but they are out there.

So, once you have got to this point, you are ready to have an enjoyable day out with your favourite ladies, trying on gorgeous gowns and living the high life with a glass of champagne to hand. It's best not get too excited or nervous about your appointment, remember that you are only trying on dresses and if the first visit fails to impress you, there are many more options out there.

An important point to consider, is what is appropriate when having a wedding abroad in a hot destination. Picture the scene, you are on the beach, in the sun in your bikini and it's early afternoon, it's hot, really hot, you keep running in and out of the water to cool yourself down.

Keep this image in your mind when choosing a dress, because that is how hot it is when having an afternoon wedding outdoors in a warm country, it's a given that you will be fine when getting ready in your lovely air conditioned room, however when you get a ballgown on made of synthetic fabric, add to this nerves and plenty of make up, it's not such a pretty sight.

Natural fabrics are the key, cotton, silk, organza, all breath and are comfortable against your skin when it's hot.

In addition think of wearing a relatively light dress, without crinolines, layers and layers of tulle or heavy embellishment as it will look a little out of place on a hot summer's day.

For those that are set on the idea of wearing a large dress, perhaps the best solution is to have it made by a professional dressmaker who will take into consideration where the dress will be worn.

SP