The Joy that is Vimeo

My sister in law just sent me through a link to this amazing wedding video.  I am not a fan of wedding videos in general but this one is an exception.  

Please follow this link and watch it.  It is great! Marina + Andy's Wedding in Stop-Motion | Melbourne, Australia / NYC

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Greek Photographers: Magdalene Kourti

Magdalene Kourti has studied fine art in WSA and has a Master degree in digital image by the Metropolitan University of London . Being a painter and a video artist has influenced is immediately evident in her photography work, which captures emotion and movement beautifully!  Her typical clientele consists of couples that look for something different on their wedding day. I would definitely say that she is the photographer to go to when you want a clear journalistic approach to the photographic coverage of your wedding day, rather than perfect, magazine type images! To me emotion makes for the most incredible pictures!

Magdalene is happy to travel for weddings in or out of Greece and offers a team with her co-partner Kostas Agiannitis for creative photography & videography.

Find her on www.mkourti.com

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

Amazing Rental Company: Style Box

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last couple of days, sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you need some time out to get your head around it!

As we have discussed before, renting accessories and furniture for a wedding in Greece, is tricky.  Sara has just sent me a link to a great, new company which rents out furniture and equipment for events.  The company is based out of north Kifissia in Athens but like most companies in Athens, they will travel to the islands and other parts of the mainland

 

All images from stylebox.gr

They have a good range of accessories which could transform any area into  a chic lounge or funky bar, as you can see from all the above images. For more information and to see their full stock of furniture and equipment check out their website www.stylebox.gr

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Nautical Nothings

Good afternoon all, Isn't the inspiration board below cool? I didn't think I'd like the nautical theme as much as I do, I think I like the very specific take on it, it has to be feminine, yet minimal and just as I said above.....cool!!!

The colour palette speaks for itself, navy and white teamed with baby blue, red, yellow perhaps even a mid pink.

I am also a huge fan of texture, layer white on white but add different textures, think lace, broderie anglaise, meringues, feathers, fabrics, cushions, etc.

Perfect for an afternoon beach wedding or carrying on the theme from yesterday, an on board wedding!!!!!!!

SP

Out on the Big Blue: Yacht Weddings

Today I think covering the option of an on board wedding is good plan.  We haven't covered one yet and whilst researching this on the net I have decided it is plain cool!  I know that when you envision a yacht, it brings up the subject of space and maybe a limitation of numbers but I have found this is not the case.  There are yachts and gulets out there that can hold up to 200 guests....brilliant.

Image from 4interior-design.com

Image from yachts.plentyinfo.com

Image from exclusivegulet.co.uk

Image from exclusivegulet.co.uk

Image from yachts.plentyinfo.com

Image from greenweddingshoes.com

Image from exclusivegulet.co.uk

Image from dreamyyachtblog.com

As you can imagine there are numerous companies in Greece that you can hire yachts and gulets from for a wedding.  Having the actual ceremony at sea could prove to be more trouble than it's worth but the possibility to have the ceremony at a remote Greek church increases ,a s you have sea access to many otherwise inaccessible chapels.  How magical to have a wedding on a remote part of an island!  The other option is to have your wedding ceremony whilst in a  island port.  The reception could then be held on board or at least part of it whilst the rest on a secluded beach.  

Here are some links to charter companies:

http://www.exclusivegulets.co.uk/

http://www.aquacruise.com/private/weddings.php

http://www.interyachtcharter.com/europe-mediterranean 

www.a1yachting.com/Charters

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Greek Favour Ideas for Weddings Abroad in Greece

Today's post is a little different from the theme of posting weddings that SP Weddings has organised over the past in Greece. I thought I would showcase some ideas of how to use local products as favours. I have found that guests love receiving a small gift from the country that they have travelled to and if you use locally produced items, the favour becomes even more authentic and memorable to your guests

Small (or large) bottles of your favourite Greek wine, perhaps the one that you have chosen to serve at your wedding reception is a lovely keepsake for your guests to take away with them.

Consider customising the label with your names, the wedding date and location of the wedding for a more personal touch.

Greek coffee, this is the perfect favour for those that love coffee, easy to transport back home and a product that you will use again and again!

Consider providing personalised instructions on how to make the "perfect" cup of Greek coffee!

www.loumidisfoods.com 

Olive oil is of course associated with Greece and a very useful favour that all your guests will appreciate receiving and certainly use when they return home!

You could include a personalised note on where and how the specific oil has been made or a couple of Greek recipes that feature olive oil quite prominently.

Mastiha is a product you may or may not have heard of, grown only on the island of Chios, this is basically a delicious tree sap that has been made into many products, you can find beauty products as well as edible items. Mastiha in it's best known form is like a chewy, very sweet paste that you take a spoon of and dip in ice cold water, you then slowly consume the paste with the water!! Sounds strange but is actually very enjoyable!Of course I would recommend adding a note explaining how to consume this product!

www.mastihashop.gr

Finally most people are aware of the cool cosmetics company called "Korres", started by a Greek this is one of the most successful companies to emerge in the last few years and can be found around the world with high street stores in New York.

The products are made with natural Greek products and smell and feel amazing!

Consider giving after sun lotion to your guests or perhaps some body lotion with a smell that you love. If you are using herbs or olive leaves in your wedding flowers you can perhaps link this with the product that you choose as the favour for your guests!

www.korres.com

SP

An Array of Lambades

Today I thought that some beautiful lambades images were in order.  It has been a while since we showed you some inspiring images of these important details to a Greek wedding.   You can have the large freestanding candles or opt for the smaller candle, that will sit in candle sticks on the alter.  I have sourced an array of lambades images from florists in Athens that are of the former variety, large and freestanding.

Image from studio-ionnidis.gr

Image from valentineflowers.gr

Image from valentineflowers.gr

Image from mariabogri.gr

Image from valentineflowers.gr

For a little background on the tradition of lambades......

“The traditional lambades adorn each side of the table with the crown tray. The candles are symbolic of the couples’ belief that Jesus is ”the light of the world and whoever believes in him shall never walk in darkness but have eternal life” (Gestathi).

You can opt for the candles to be adorned with big bows also, personally this does not interest me at all but as they say 'each to their own'.  For more images click on the links below the images.  Maria Bogri has some more gorgeous designs on her website as does Valentine Flowers.

NY