Here we introduce a new section in our blog. Our lovely couples offer their experience and give valuable advices to brides and grooms to be, on how to plan a successful destination wedding.
Michelle celebrated her special wedding with husband Kirk on the island of Folegandros in June 2018. In our first post for our Bridal Advice blog read a bride’s personal insights on choosing a venue; key elements to consider for a destination wedding and what made their wedding in Greece truly memorable.
Living in Australia, we never imagined we would ultimately marry in Greece on an unknown island.
Driven by a joint desire to experience new destinations and seek out our historical roots we travelled to Folegandros for the first time in June 2016. Folegandros was where Kirk’s great grandmother Katerina was born.
Being a small island it did not take much time for the local islanders to learn out about our mission and we gathered stories; introductions and connections to Katerina.
On our last day as we prepared to depart our hotel overlooking Agali Beach, Kirk proposed. We knew then we would forever be connected to this special place.
Our flight back to Australia allowed us to start thinking about our wedding destination and venue. Our own home town of Sydney was a reasonable consideration but ultimately the only place we both wanted to celebrate our wedding day was Folegandros.
The church of Panagia atop the main town of Chora was the choice for our ceremony and being Greek Orthodox definitely made it easier but it shouldn’t be a deterrent if you are wanting a church wedding. It also reminded us of the church in the movie Mama Mia so it ticked all the boxes for our own big fat Greek wedding. We discovered that the story behind the sacred icon housed in the church was connected both to Folegandros where Kirk’s great grandmother was born and the island of Chios the birthplace of my paternal grandmother.
For us there was a significant amount of paperwork and procedures as well as translations which had to be organized so it is important that as a couple, we shared the duties. Also having wedding planners like Storytelling Lab with deep insights into the legalities in Greece was not only necessary but it significantly relieved our stress levels.
Traveling to our destination on a prior trip helped us get our bearings and identify a few location favourites such as the ultimate venue for our wedding reception the restaurant Zefyros Anemos. While this may not be possible for everyone, we personally found it made our decisions easier.
We wanted to ensure the spirit of Greek culture was infused into our wedding and elements such as food; entertainment and traditions were included. We also wanted to create an unforgettable event we could share with everyone who attended so we opted for a three day celebration. This included a casual get together on the eve of the wedding at a local bar recommended by our wedding planners; the actual wedding day and a post wedding recovery beach party. As we had visited the island before and also had venue recommendations from the locals on Folegandros, it was a real benefit to have Sonia and Celia our wedding planners, tie everything together for us perfectly.
Pinterest was definitely a huge source of inspiration as well as magazines and Instagram for elements such as floral arrangements, wedding cake design; table and venue décor even guest seating lists and guest books. I created boards and collections and then my favourites were included into a “lookbook” that helped develop an overall theme as well as guidance for key decisions.
Creating a lookbook made it easier for our wedding planners to understand our vision as well. I found that Celia and Sonia were really thorough with coordination of the event and due to their intimate knowledge of the destination, identified things we hadn’t considered
Simplicity was key for our wedding as well as elements that held special personal significance. To achieve this was sometimes a bit of a challenge because of our chosen destination but our wedding planners always provided a solution. I wanted white hydrangeas for the table decorations because they reminded me of my mum who was no longer with us and Kirk wanted to break lots of plates as part of our celebration. While plates (specifically made for breaking) were easy enough to source in Greece we didn’t think that our floral choices had to be made carefully. Hydrangeas don’t easily grow on a small predominantly dry island so these had to be shipped in, still potted, a few days before the wedding and then cut and decorated on the day.
Our wedding cake was also kept simple with a few tiers and olive branch decorations to reflect our theme and preferences. If you are hoping for anything more elaborate remember that some Greek islands have limited resources for such services and your wedding planner will find the best solution particularly when it comes to logistics. We had to ship our cake and dessert from Athens and ensure it remained refrigerated. If you choose Folegandros for its charm; scenic beauty, lack of mass tourism and amazing local hospitality remember everything comes via sea transport which adheres to select schedules and days of travel.
We waited until we returned to Sydney at a separate wedding celebration to organize a more elaborate yet fun wedding cake by Cakesalon which was inspired by our wedding in Folegandros.
Greece as a wedding destination exceeded our expectations and enhanced our experience. While the Greek Island scenery; the culture; food and wine gave our event its essence, for us, it was made even better by the attendance of so many of our friends and family who travelled to Greece to join our celebration.
We announced our intention to family and friends more than 18 months in advance and we think this was the reason so many attended as they had time to plan their travels. To this day many still recall their experience as the best wedding ever.
A key aspect of our experience was the hospitality and friendliness of the locals. There is always a solution available in Greece and in time, even a perceived disaster will turn into a moment to smile about.
Our super organized wedding planners from Storytelling Lab had coordinated our wedding day to ensure a seamless run of events. Even with the challenge of a double-booked church and a running event finish line located in the path of our walk from the church, we had the best day.
Closer to our wedding day we came across an issue with the church venue when we discovered a potential double booking of our date and time with another wedding. Our wedding planners Sonia and Celia came to the rescue with some strategic negotiating and we celebrated with an amazing sunset on the day and the church to ourselves,
We chose Folegandros because it was a less travelled destination but our chosen date ended up being one of the most popular of the year including an annual running event. The finish line for the run ended at the bottom of the path from the church meaning each of our guests had to pass the final check point where race supporters had gathered. Rather than being a problem we all enjoyed the cheers we received as we passed the finish line.
A special highlight for us was the announcement of two wedding proposals in the days after our wedding. A niece and a nephew were caught up in the euphoria and each announced their own wedding plans. We are getting ready to return to Greece for one of these weddings in the future.
Chose an experienced wedding planner who can prove their insider knowledge of your preferred destination.
Invest in a professional photographer or even better consider a photo journalist. They will know how to capture your special moments for ever and tell your story.
For any bride or groom to be who is thinking about coordinating your wedding yourself – think again. You don’t want to be self-managing or coordinating elements on YOUR special day. Leave it to the experts as it will be one of your most worthwhile investments.
You can find Michelle & Kirk’s wedding complete photo album in our precious Memory book: Radiant Silver Wedding in Folegandros
Photography Anna Kucera
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