Bohemian Greece Destination Wedding on the Beach

During what feels like a long cold winter, it’s always a treat to dream of summer days at the beach. WWW readers Anni and Aaron decided to host a destination wedding for their nuptials in beautiful Greece, Kavala to be precise, at a private villa on the 1st September 2018. They had a small and intimate celebration, which extended both before and after the ceremony itself. They held a cocktail bar night out, rehearsal dinner and a beach party post wedding. Doesn’t it all sound just incredible?

Their ceremony was ever so romantic, with views of the sea and a beautiful archway draped in fabric and flowers for their backdrop. They then held their reception outdoors beside the pool, before fireworks completed the evenings events. I love so many of the bohemian touches, with greenery used throughout; think wreaths, tall centrepiece arrangements and chair backs.

I am really loving their outfit choices. Anni chose Tara by WWW faves, Grace Loves Lace, which looked so beautiful on her. Meanwhile Aaron plumped for a blue linen suit for a very dapper style. You are just going to love their post wedding shoot by Lighthouse Photography, the images are so dreamy. Thanks goes to both their photographers and their wedding planner Inspired Moments for sharing these amazing images with us.

The Proposal

Aaron: 3 years ago I noticed Anni walking on the street while passing by the coffee bar of my friend Michele. Same story every morning! I told my friend that we need to find a way to talk to her. I was determined that she was the woman I will marry one day. Apparently we found a way to reach her. As Anni was rushing every day to work, we stopped her, by holding a cappuccino (like the way you serve water to runners at a marathon). She grabbed it and said that she will be coming back to pay for it, during her lunch break.

Needless to say who spend his whole afternoon waiting for Anni to come back and she did. 2,5 years later I proposed to her on Easter Sunday. I created a heart shape with candles and placed the ring inside the heart. I got down on my knees and told her, that I wanted to share the rest of my life with her and asked her if she wants to marry me. She said yes and we both knew we wanted to tie the knot the upcoming summer. On Easter dinner we announced to our family that we are getting married and my brother came up with the idea of getting married in beautiful Greece.

The Vision

From the very beginning we wanted an unconventional beach wedding, with some boho elements but yet elegant. Most of our guests would be traveling a long way to Kavala so we wanted them to have a nice, relaxed time to enjoy beautiful Greece at the most. We were both dreaming of a beach ceremony with a beautiful arch next to the sea and our guests sitting with their toes in the sand.

It was important to us that our wedding will be all about positive vibes, fun and enjoying ourselves.

The Planning Process

Since we had only 6 months left for the entire planning process we knew we needed guidance along the way. It´s hard to plan a wedding abroad and hardest in such a short time. That´s why we will be forever grateful to Inspired Moments. There was such a good connection between us, Anneta is an incredible wedding planner and a super lovely soul. We were able to fully trust her and she was always listening to what we were envisioning and bringing up even better suggestions that we truly loved. She introduced us to the best wedding professionals and give us a very close idea of what our wedding will look and feel like, this way was very easy to envision our day and decide the best fit to our personality and budget. We traveled to Kavala 10 weeks before our wedding to experience all wedding planning rehearsals: From hair and make-up trials, food tasting, floral and décor sampling to the smallest details. After that we felt very confident that everything will be absolutely perfect for our wedding day. We came back to Kavala almost a week before the wedding and thanks to good organization and planning we had everything covered and we were lucky enough to enjoy our days with family and friends exactly as we wanted it.

The Flowers

All floral arrangements combined blush roses, white hydrangeas and green eucalyptus. I loved my bouquet and our centerpieces with tall floral arrangements and our cute seating display with greenery wreaths. The bridesmaids wore baby’s breath wrist corsages and my floral headpiece was made from wax flower and baby’s breath.

The Details & Décor

We decided our main wedding color to be blush, we wanted naturally elegant colors and material. Our wedding invitations were sealed with silk blush ribbon and ivory wax based on the color scheme and was the first thing to hold in our hands picturing our taste, minimal yet fine looking. We loved all the small details in decoration: the small wooden signs we created for the wedding ceremony and venue, the vellum paper placecards, the favor box sealed with ribbon and wax, the wreath seating display, the kids table with painting kits, our chair floral garlands and the art de la table elements.

The Cake

We wanted a small cute wedding cake in pale hues. The cake from papillon colore was exactly as we wanted it and extra delicious.

The Readings & Music

The ceremony was set on the beach with a beautiful arch overlooking the sea. Our guests were seated for the beach ceremony and while they were waiting for Anni to arrive by boat, they were listening to classical masterpieces by a violin player. We arranged the ceremony hour on sunset time in order to be extra magical. Exchanging vows under the blush color sky. It was a very emotional moment for both of us and we are extremely happy that we made it next to our family and best friends.

Bridesmaids

The bridesmaids have decided to choose light pink and blush colours for their outfits to go along with colour scheme of the wedding.

Beauty

I wanted a simple hairstyle with beach waves and a romantic floral wreath.

Giannis from Jean Pierre Haute Coiffure is such a talented hairdresser, we´ve only tried one hairstyle and I knew this was it.

At the beginning I thought I will do my own make-up because I’ve had several trials for other occasions and have never liked it. It was our wedding planner that convinced me to have at least one trial and suggested Chrysa an amazingly talented make up artist and of course I ‘ve changed my mind. Chrysa created a very natural but yet elegant make-up, I truly loved and felt beautiful.

Your Outfits & Accessories

Groom:

Linen Suit: SUITSUPPLY tailor-made

Shirt: SUITSUPPLY

Shoes: Tods loafers

Bow Tie: PopARTicles handmade in Chicago

Ring: Tiffany & Co

Watch: Rolex Submariner

When we finalized our decision to get married in Greece, the idea of a blue line suit immediately came to my mind. I wanted the suit to be light and comfortable.

After a little bit of research I found a brand called SUITSUPPLY where you can customize and design your very own wedding suit.

You get the opportunity to choose every single detail starting with fabric, lining, buttons, pockets and special stitching.

I went for a bright blue linen suit with white buttons and a special stitching inside.

Combined with light brown loafers from Tods and a bow tie I found via Etsy from a brand called PopARTicles.

Bride:

Wedding Gown: Grace Love Lace – Tara

Ring: Tiffany & Co

Shoes: Asos

Necklace: Tiffany & Co

I knew I wanted a very light, effortless flattering dress to go along with the beach venue.

I set up several appointments at local bridal shops but couldn’t find what I was looking for. I ordered a mermaid dress which I didn’t love and when it arrived it was in a wrong size and wasn`t fitting at all.

Maybe it was meant to be, because that was just when I came across the Grace Loves Lace Tara gown. I ordered it online and when it arrived I knew it right away that this was the one.

Your Photographer

Lighthouse Photography are amazing photographers. Anna was great capturing every moment without disturbing the natural flow of the day, she definitely made our day really easy. We are very happy that we had her next to us and made us feel relaxed and enjoy our wedding in order to have the best wedding photos. The next day shooting was really inspiring, Teo and Anna choose the best locations we could ever imagined and the outcome was magnificent. When we received our pictures both of us were blown away of how beautiful they are.

The Honeymoon

For our honeymoon we went on an Island Thassos.

We had 3 other couples joining us and had an amazing time during our stay at the Thassos Grand Resort.

Memorable Moments

Getting ready in the beautiful Imaret Hotel with my closest friends.

When my dad and my little brother picked me up at the hotel and took me to the harbour.

Arriving at the venue by boat and seeing Aaron waiting for me.

The touching speech of Aaron´s uncle.

When I saw Anni arriving by boat, exchanging our own vows, the amazing fireworks at our first dance.

Advice For Other Couples

Especially when you get married abroad look for a talented wedding planner it will safe your life.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Anni and Aaron, thank you both so much for sharing your bohemian beautiful wedding celebrations with us xo Lou