Romantic + Traditional Greek Island Wedding
I'm not usually at a loss for words, but words can't do this Mira Zwillinger wedding dress justice—it's that beautiful. And that dress, plus the scenic Greek island of Chios and this gorgeous Bride and Groom add up to one stunning destination wedding (and a serious case of wanderlust). Fall in love with each and every gorgeous detail, captured by Caught The Light and Can Kinalikaya, in The Vault!
From The Bride...Ever since I was a little girl it had been my dream to get married on the island of Chios in Greece. Chios is what I call my "true home" - my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents all come from this beautiful Greek island and I spent practically every summer there swimming in the turquoise seas, eating amazing food and living the chilled out, Greek summer life. Luckily, when Paul asked me to marry him, he let my dream become a reality and, after just under a year of crazy (yet wonderful) planning, our three day wedding bonanza took place in August.
We had decided to get married in the church of Saint Nicholas located in my father's village and where he used to be an altar boy when he was growing up. As soon as we visited the church we knew we had to get married there - it is located right on the sea front, it is vibrantly decorated in blues and golds and the fact that it held such a special place in my father's heart sealed the deal.
The happiest moment of my day was being led by my father in his captain's uniform through the village to the church - I had all my family behind me and a Greek band playing the traditional Greek wedding song on my way. It was absolutely amazing. And when I caught sight of my husband waiting for me at the church entrance I did all that I could to keep it together! It was super hard!
After our wedding ceremony we treated our guests to some traditional Chian drinks and snacks outside the church and an opportunity to take some pictures on the seafront. It was then off to the wedding venue for the fun to start.
The Argentikon is located in Kampos, one of the most beautiful parts of Chios. Kampos is like a maze of fantastic red-stone houses, high walls, narrow streets and huge wooden doors that hide the most mesmerising estates behind them. This is completely true of the Argentikon which, hidden behind such wooden doors, lies acres upon acres of a 16th Century Italian estate surround by citrus groves. As soon as Joanna, our incredible wedding planner, took us around the Argentikon we knew we had to get married there. It was a true fairytale and I can't explain how beautiful the venue looked. We started off with cocktail hour around an ancient water-wheel and cistern that used to water the acres of lemon and orange trees around us. As the sun was setting on the trees and the majestic bougainvillea all around, I felt like I was in a dream.
We then moved the guests on to the wedding breakfast area which was a gorgeous, outdoor courtyard covered in flowers, candles and accents of gold and blush. On the way in to the courtyard we had one of the ancient marble cisterns filled with water and hundreds of floating candles to add to the ambience of the venue. It really looked magical. As a nod to my husband's Irish blood, we themed the table names after racehorses (and then each table got to bet on the length of the best men's speech to "win" the race).
After dinner we had a traditional Greek band and surprised our guests with some traditional Chian dancers. This was when the party truly started and my husband pulled out some of the most amazing Greek dance moves I've ever seen (and he claims he didn't even practice!).
All of our vendors were fantastic - from the wonderful Browns Bride in London where I found my dress to the most beautiful wedding stationery designed by Louise Richardson and our day was captured so magically by Chloe at Caught the Light Photography and Can Kinalikaya Videography. And, of course, we couldn't have done anything without Joanna Loukaki event planning who held my hand every step of the way and co-ordinated everything in Greece whilst we were in London. She made our dreams come true!
We had decided to get married in the church of Saint Nicholas located in my father's village and where he used to be an altar boy when he was growing up. As soon as we visited the church we knew we had to get married there - it is located right on the sea front, it is vibrantly decorated in blues and golds and the fact that it held such a special place in my father's heart sealed the deal.
The happiest moment of my day was being led by my father in his captain's uniform through the village to the church - I had all my family behind me and a Greek band playing the traditional Greek wedding song on my way. It was absolutely amazing. And when I caught sight of my husband waiting for me at the church entrance I did all that I could to keep it together! It was super hard!
After our wedding ceremony we treated our guests to some traditional Chian drinks and snacks outside the church and an opportunity to take some pictures on the seafront. It was then off to the wedding venue for the fun to start.
The Argentikon is located in Kampos, one of the most beautiful parts of Chios. Kampos is like a maze of fantastic red-stone houses, high walls, narrow streets and huge wooden doors that hide the most mesmerising estates behind them. This is completely true of the Argentikon which, hidden behind such wooden doors, lies acres upon acres of a 16th Century Italian estate surround by citrus groves. As soon as Joanna, our incredible wedding planner, took us around the Argentikon we knew we had to get married there. It was a true fairytale and I can't explain how beautiful the venue looked. We started off with cocktail hour around an ancient water-wheel and cistern that used to water the acres of lemon and orange trees around us. As the sun was setting on the trees and the majestic bougainvillea all around, I felt like I was in a dream.
We then moved the guests on to the wedding breakfast area which was a gorgeous, outdoor courtyard covered in flowers, candles and accents of gold and blush. On the way in to the courtyard we had one of the ancient marble cisterns filled with water and hundreds of floating candles to add to the ambience of the venue. It really looked magical. As a nod to my husband's Irish blood, we themed the table names after racehorses (and then each table got to bet on the length of the best men's speech to "win" the race).
After dinner we had a traditional Greek band and surprised our guests with some traditional Chian dancers. This was when the party truly started and my husband pulled out some of the most amazing Greek dance moves I've ever seen (and he claims he didn't even practice!).
All of our vendors were fantastic - from the wonderful Browns Bride in London where I found my dress to the most beautiful wedding stationery designed by Louise Richardson and our day was captured so magically by Chloe at Caught the Light Photography and Can Kinalikaya Videography. And, of course, we couldn't have done anything without Joanna Loukaki event planning who held my hand every step of the way and co-ordinated everything in Greece whilst we were in London. She made our dreams come true!