Wedding and family

A wedding is the symbol of the creation of a new family. It's a celebration of the love that two people have for each other, their common goals and happiness. A wedding is a new beginning, the beginning of two people joining their lives together to share all what is to come.

Photo from www,brides.com

Naturally, the wedding is all about the couple that is getting married. Still, that does not mean, that your family, especially your parents, don't wish to get involved in your special day. It is really nice to have your mother, the original wedding planner, to help you organize your wedding, but the generation gap can make this task a bit difficult at times, and stressful. Still, there are ways to make your parents and siblings feel involved in the wedding planning process, without any unnecessary disagreements.

Family traditions:

When it comes to weddings, every family has its own traditions. It can be wearing the same wedding dress your mother, grand-mother, grand-grand-mother etc., wore on their wedding day, or putting on a piece of jewelry or charm, which has been passed from generation to generation, or even the choice of the entrance song when walking down the aisle. Take some time to speak with your parents, and your future spouse's parents, to learn about the interesting traditions that have been in the family. Your parents will love it, and will feel like they offered something to the wedding.

Wedding attire shopping:

Photo from bridalmusings.com

A wedding requires a wedding dress and a wedding suit, meaning that you will have to look for one. When starting to look for your wedding attire, ask your mother, and if you feel comfortable, your future mother-in-law's opinion, on the wedding dresses that you like. Even better, take your mother and mother-in-law with you, when you go wedding dress shopping! Not only you will make your mothers feel part of your wedding, but you will also give them a chance to bond.

The same goes for the groom. Arrange a day with your father and future father-in-law, during which you will go looking for your wedding suit. Combine that with a lunch or a beer, and you will get a great, meaningful day with your parents.

Speeches:

Speeches are the ultimate way to make you family be part of the wedding. Ask the fathers to prepare a speech for the wedding. They will love to talk about their lovely children, tell some funny stories, and share a word of wisdom for your freshly beginning life together, as husband and wife.

Mother-Son and Father-Daughter dance:

Every couple has its first dance. Such a lovely moment to witness! Want to make it an even more special moment? Have a mother-son and father-daughter dance, before your first dance. The mother-son and father-daughter dance, can represent how your beloved parents are giving you away to your future life-partner, by having one last dance with you. To make it even more touching, have the father-daughter/mother-son dances together, at the same time, and then let your parents give you to your spouse for the first dance.

Photo from weddingbee.com

Old Photos:

Photos are a great way to memorize our life moments. By looking at older photographs, we dive into our past, our happy moments. Your parents probably tried to capture a lot of your childhood moments, so they could always remember the days of your youth. Create a "memory table", full with pictures of you with your family. Everyone will love seeing your childhood adventures, and your parents will be moved that you chose to include your family moments to your wedding. To make it even more special for your parents, include a picture from their wedding to the table, as without their wedding, you wouldn’t be having yours!

Thank them!

Of course, the best way to make your parents feel a great part of your wedding day is to thank them properly for everything they have done for you so far. They've supporter you all your life, transferred their life wisdom to you, were next to you at your worst and best moments. Also, they probably helped you have the wedding of your dreams. So, don't forget to dedicate a minute to thanking them during the speeches. They will appreciate it!

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a lovely day!

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Random Saturday #15: Let's talk about horses!

Hello my dear Readers,

Welcome ones again to my Random Saturday. Hope you have all been well this week and I'm glad to see you again, and if you're visiting Random Saturdays for the first time, nice to meet you.

This R.S. I would like to talk about an animal that I love and admire with all my heart and soul - horses! I've started working full time at the Santo Horse Riding ranch, and as a result I've been meeting more and more people, who either wish to go to a trail ride, take a picture on a horse, or impress their friends or girlfriend with how good riders they are.

Worth noting, that two out of two persons, who came to us just o impress their friends/girlfriend, did not know a thing about horses, and wouldn't listen to me, when I tried to tell them that they cannot just take a horse and run, without first learning how sit straight on a walking horse! Thankfully, we didn't have any bad incidents.

So, let's talk about horses.

The first and most important thing to remember about horses, is that they are live animals, they have their own brains, which means they have their own thoughts. Each horse has its own character, and just like you and me, they have their bad days and good days (yes, it's true!). Treat horses with respect, especially if you don't want to get hurt by them!

A lot of people think that riding a horse is the easiest activity in the world. Yes, it is not really hard when you are just going for a walk, on a well trained horse, that has been desensitized to everything that can scare it, accompanied by an experiences rider. But if you want to run on a horse, and you've never done it before, don't just assume that you will do fantastically great! If you really want to run on a beautiful white horse on a beach, invest time (and money) into horse riding lessons!

Don't use the horse, as a way to impress your friends and boyfriend/girlfriend… unless of course you are a great rider and can do amazing things on and with the horse. Don't just go to ranch, asking for the wildest horse there is, to ride it freely in an open field!! Do you even realize what will happen to the owner of the ranch if you fall down and get hit real bad? And I'm not talking about a broken hand… Just… don't do it…

You should also know, that the horse does not really care how cool you believe you are. If you cannot control the horse, if you hurt the horse too much, and if you don't do what your instructor is telling you do, you will most probably, like 70-90%, fall of the horse. Wanting to impress someone by riding a wild horse without having any riding experience in the past, is like wanting to impress someone by break-dancing without knowing how to do it! In both cases, you'll just end up making a fool of yourself…

Want to impress your girlfriend or boyfriend, with something that has to do with horses? Ask him or her to start horseback riding lessons together! After all, it is not bad admitting that you don't know how to do something…

I guess that has been bottling up…

Never go behind the horses hind legs, especially if you don't know the horse. All horses kick, some of them on purpose, because they don't trust people, some of them because a nasty fly has been bugging them, and you were standing too close to the back leg that was trying to get rid of the fly at the wrong moment.

Horses used for tourist rides, don't mind being pet… they might not enjoy it as much as we (want to) believe, but they don't mind it. Don't start pulling on the horses ears, nose, main though…. they will mind and will show it in a painful way.

Horses love treats, so if you plan visiting a ranch or horse riding center, you can bring an apple or a carrot with you. Before giving the horse a treat thought, ask its owner if he/she doesn't mind you doing so.

Horses feel everything!! I mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Sometimes they know better what you feel, that yourself! I don't mean feelings like love, passion, hunger, but feelings that fear, insecurity, anger. You might be able to hide your panic from your trainer, but you will never hide it from the horse you are riding. Better inform you trainer that you don't feel really comfortable on the horse, so he or she could help you overcome that fear, before the horse bucks you of.

Horses are amazing, smart and beautiful animals. Be gentle with a horse, and it will reward you with all its trust. J

That's I felt I wanted to share with you about horses!

As always, thank you very much for reading! I wish you all the best!

And the song of the week will be:

Random Saturday #14

A guide to wedding decorations

Picture from - http://ruffledblog.com

Wedding decorations is a basic part of a wedding. They give the whole celebration a unique character, your character.

Wedding decorations consist of both floral decorations and non-floral decorative items. It’s the mix of those two, that make thefinal result look amazingly beautiful.

So, how to choose the wedding decoration style?

The first, which you should do, is to choose the color theme for your wedding day. You can choose between vivid colors, such as bright yellow, red, blue, purple etc., and pastel and blush tones, such as blush pink, cream, ivory, light peach etc. You can, of course, add bright colors to a pastel pallet or vice versa. A good idea is choosing a main color or two, and then adding some similar tones to the mix.

The next step would be deciding whether you are a flowers person or a candle person. In other words, you need to choose between having mostly flowers for your wedding decorations, or filling up the place with candles. If choosing between two options seems hard, no need to worry. Just balance candles and flowers in your decorations!

A helpful piece of advice for any candle lovers out there, would be using fake, LED candles for windy locations, as real candles will be blown out all the time. Santorini is such one location.  

picture taken from rockmywedding.com

If you choose to go with flowers, you should be prepared to set a big decoration budget. Flowers are undoubtedly really beautiful, but they can also be quite costly, especially if you wish to fill the entire wedding venue with them.

You can go with seasonal flowers, which are usually less expensive, and non-seasonal flowers, that can cost a bit more, but offer a greater variety. When it comes to weddings in Santorini, the seasonal flowers are usually roses, lysianthus, baby's breath, gerberas etc, and non-seasonal flowers are considered peonies, ranunculus, David Austin Roses, orchids etc.

A way to save something on flowers, is to mix the floral compositions with greenery. The more greenery you add to the mix, the lower the cost will be. As with the flowers, greenery offers a great variety of choices, meaning you can always find a tone that will match the whole wedding color theme.

Candles, as a piece of decoration, can give the place a really romantic feeling, whether used outdoors or indoors. You can choose to have cylinders, to put your candles in, floating candles, beautiful candle holders etc. Candles can be used with pretty much any wedding style you might - from a minimal wedding, to a chic wedding.

Candles and flowers are the major parts of the wedding decoration list, but you should not forget about the details, which will add that personal touch you are looking for. What details am I talking about? Well, about all those little things that can be easily ignored, but have a great input to the final image of your wedding decorations.

photo from
http://www.deerpearlflowers.com

The first, and most important decoration detail, are the wedding invitations. They will set up the whole mood for your wedding day. Say you wish to have a music themed wedding. Get creative and shape your invites into vinyl disks. Your friends and family will love this unique approach, and will get the hint on what to expect on your wedding day.

The guests' tables can have a ton of fun decorative details to play with. Choose table clothes to much your color theme. Fold the napkins into interesting shapes. Have creative table names. Include your guests' favors to the decoration.

There are so many ways to get creative with your wedding decorations and a million different ways to make your wedding reflect your own unique personality. All you need is to engage your inner artist and free your imagination.

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a lovely day!

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Random Saturday #14: The Random Saturday that unexpectedly came on Sunday!

Hello my dear Readers.

How have you been?

I did not forget to post the Random Saturday #14 yesterday. I got it ready, almost ready to upload, just to realize I have no internet. Taking internet connection from the phone didn't do the trick, so I postponed the R.S. 14 for today.

I also had another topic in mind for R.S.14, but today I got a sudden inspiration to write a short story. I used to love to write, and still write stories from time to time, but this will the first one the world will see. Enjoy J

The Girl and the Horse she never owned

There once lived a girl who fell in love with a horse she never owned. They met by accident, or by fate, and a strong friendship between them begun. They spent each morning together. The girl would come to the stable, say good morning to the horse, share her morning apple with the horse. She would groom the horse, while telling her news. She would ride the horse, where the horse would teach her to be patient, respectful and understand without words.

The girl didn't have a home she could call her own. She didn't have many human friends, didn't have any fancy clothes or habits. She didn't care about loud companies, flirting with boys or trying to find a husband and built a family. The girl didn't dream to become rich and powerful. All the girl needed was that white horse she really loved.

The girl shared with the horse her deepest secrets, her happy moments and her regrets. She would confess to the horse what she was really afraid of. When she didn't want to spend time with the humans, she would hide in the horse's stable and read her book, or just look at the beautiful white horse. The horse didn't mind having the girl around. Although the horse didn't understand much from what the girl would say, the horse was kind enough to make the girl feel like she had the best listener to talk to. The horse always let the girl cry on her shoulder, and never told anyone that the girl cried.

And while the girl's and the horse's bond grew stronger, the girl and the horse got separated. As unexpected as their meeting was, their separation was expected even less. The girl could not see the horse anymore. The girl could not groom the horse anymore, nor ride the horse. She didn't have her friend to tell her secrets, or a shoulder to cry on. The girl was devastated…

But there was nothing she could do, as she never owned the horse…

The girl decided not to love again someone that wasn't her. The girl decided to forget about horses all together. She got married, then she got divorced. She moved far away and got a good job. She would buy beautiful clothes and drink cocktails at a bar. She would laugh at stupid jokes and take selfies with her friends. But nothing filled the void.

She never could forget the horse completely. At nights, she would lay in her bed, in the dark, and think about the beautiful white horse. She would wonder if her friend would remember her, if they would ever met again. Would the horse still let her share all her secrets? Would the horse want to hear all the stories the girl had to tell?

So the girl decided to wait, the girl decided to hope, that one day she would be reunited with the horse, and she would once again have her best friend by her side. She went back to working with horses, and found some new good friends. She would tell to the other horse about her beautiful white horse she never owned.

When those really sad days would come, the girl would look through the pictures of her beloved white horse, and dream of the moment she would be able to see her again. That thought made her smile and she did.

The end.

That's all J

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a great beginning of the week.  

Random Saturday #13

Fun activities in Santorini: Wine tours!

Venetsanos Winery vineyard

The island of Santorini is famous for various different things, one if which are the wines that are produced there. Half, if not more, of the island is filled with vineyards, that look amazingly beautiful during summer when they have blossomed. In August, when it is time to gather the grapes, the whole place smells like wine. The reason is that part of the grapes are left to ripe in the sun, so that they could be used to produce the sweet, dessert wine Vinsanto.

Because of such a rich wine making history, and the fact that the island still produces one of the best wines globally, it is only natural for Santorini to have a great number of different wineries. There is the Venetsanos Winery, the Boutari Winery, the Sigalas Estate Winery, the Koutsogiannopoulos Wine museum, to name a few. All located in different areas of Santorini, and with each winery offering a different wine tour and wine tasting.

Wine making machinery at Venetsanos Winery

Taking a wine tour and wine tasting is not just an interesting activity to do when visiting Santorini, alone or with your family and friends, but is also a great idea for a "cocktail hour" at your wedding. Agreeable, a wine tour is not your traditional cocktail hour, but from my experience your guests will find such a tour really interesting, amusing, and unique for a wedding.

Don't wish to have your guests spending too much time in a bus on the wedding day? Arrange the wine tour to be part of your pre-wedding gathering on the island. Your guests would love to visit a Santorini winery anyway, since it is a really popular activity on the island, so why not give them a chance to do so all together? A great advantage of such a pre-wedding gathering, is that your guests will have an interesting topic to discuss on the wedding day! You'll give them the best ice-breaker ever!

My two personal favorite wineries of Santorini are the Venetsanos Winery and the Koutsogiannopoulos Wine museum, each for different reasons:

VenetsanosWinery:

Wine stating at Venetsanos Winery

Venetsanos Winery is located on the cliffside of Megalochori, over the Athinios port, making a winery with amazing caldera views. The winery was built in 1947 by the Venetsanos family, and it was carved in the mountain. A tour there is really interesting, as you get to learn the history of the place, go through the different cellars and tunnels in the mountain, and get to know how wine was produced there and distributed. They even a corner, which used to serve as an office, where they kept some of the instruments and notes of the founders of the winery.

Of course, as with every winery, you can choose to finish the tour with a wine tasting of the Santorini wines, enjoying at the same time the magnificent views of Venetsanos Winery. A wine expert will describe you how every different wine is made, sharing interesting information about the wine making culture of Thira.

A useful information is that Venetsanos Winery is also available for wedding ceremonies and receptions. Its location is such, that you will be treated with the famous and wonderful views of the caldera. The black volcanic rock, from which the terrace is made, gives the place a unique character, perfect for the "one-of-a-kind" weddings we are all looking for.

KoutsogiannopoulosWine Museum:

The Koutsogiannopoulos winery was founded in the 19th century, and has been ever since producing delicious Santorini wines. The winery is located in Vothonas, on the road to Kamari. Nowadays, it is an astonishing museum, which is absolutely worth visiting when coming to Santorini.

Koutsogiannopoulos Wine Museum's exhibits

What makes this winery so special? Its museum! It is an underground, 8 meters deep, labyrinth like museum (don't worry, you won't get lost). You will dive into the history of the wine making of Santorini, from the very beginning. The cave museum is filled with small cavern like rooms, where you can see the wine making process for yourself. The figurines, used at the cavern rooms, give you the feeling that you have travelled a hundred or more years back, and you are participating in the ploughing, harvesting and stomping of the grapes.

The exhibits of the underground museum are presented in a chronological order, making it easier for you to understand how the wine making culture began in Santorini. To help you understand even better the wine science, you will have the opportunity to see old machinery, which was used in the wine making process.

At the end of the tour, you will have the chance to taste four different Santorini wines, gaining a new appreciation of the hard work of all those people who are involved in the wine making process.

Koutsogiannopoulos Winery offers its premises for a wedding as well. It is a perfect choice, if you love being close to nature, as the winery has a wonderful garden for magical weddings!

Whether you came to Santorini for your summer vacation, for your own destination wedding, or for your friend's wedding, make sure to include in your program a visit to one of the Santorini's wineries. You will most certainly enjoy it, and will leave the island with new and interesting knowledge.

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a lovely day!

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10 reasons to have your destination wedding in Santorini!

Photo by dreamonphotography.gr

Santorini is a popular location for a destination wedding, and it's no secret. Some people may wonder, what makes Santorini so special? A great number of things! Santorini is a beautiful, unique island, and is suitable for probably any type of wedding. Let's go together through some of the reasons Santorini is such a famous wedding location!

1. Mesmerizing views

Oh yeah.. the famous caldera views. I've been going on and on about the views of Santorini's cliff side, I know. If you have been to Santorini before, you understand why. If you haven't, then you definitely should. Is it the white houses hanging from the cliff, that look like snow from far away? Is it the color of the cliff side's volcanic soil? Is it the volcano and Thirasia? It's the combination of all the above, which make Santorini's views so wonderfully amazing!

2. Magical sunset

Photo by clickbychristos.com

True, we have sunsets in every country, but Santorini's sunset have that something special, that makes everyone want to see again and again. Now, combine that with your wedding, and not only the guests will have a lifetime experience during their sunset cocktail hour, but you will get the most amazing and romantic wedding photos, that a couple could ask for!

3. Beach Weddings

If you are a person who always dreamed of a beach wedding, then Santorini is again a perfect choice for you! You will not only have the beach wedding of your dreams on such a romantic island, but it will also a one of a kind beach wedding. You see, Santorini is famous for its black beaches, made from volcanic rock. You can easily find a white beach to host a wedding, but Santorini is one of those unique places, where you could a black beach wedding!

Beach weddings in Santorini

4. Honeymoon and Wedding together!

Santorini is a wonderful and romantic island, with a lot of interesting activities for couples. So why not combine your wedding with your honeymoon? After saying goodbye to your friends and family, have a luxurious honeymoon suite booked just for you, and enjoy your first vacation as a married couple! Want to travel and visit other island? You are in luck, as Santorini is located right next to a lot of other wonderful Greek Islands, that you can visit after your days in Santorini!

5. On a budget

Santorini is considered a "on a budget" destination wedding location. A lot of couples come to get married on the island, to cut down on their wedding expenses. Also, it is a great way to combine your vacation and your wedding, thus saving some extra money on hotels and rooms, and air tickets to fly to a different vacation location.

6. Different season, different beauty

photo by dreamonphotography.gr

From season to season Santorini transforms. In spring the island is blossoming and is full of vivid colors. In summer, the vineyards start to blossom, giving Thira a different reason to stay beautiful and green. In autumn, the sunset can be seen from the beaches of Santorini, meaning that you can have a sunset beach wedding! As you can see, each season has its own beauty, and you will certainly find the perfect scenery for your wedding, when choosing Santorini.

7. Unique traditions

Santorini has some great traditions when it comes to weddings. Santorini has great traditions in general. In particular, the island is famous for being the donkey island, so why not incorporate that into your wedding? What a better entrance to the ceremony, but with the bride on a donkey and local musicians playing a traditional Greek wedding song. Just make sure that the donkey is not mistreated when booking one.

8. Wine tour cocktail hour

Another thing that the island is famous about, is its wines. If you don't wish to have the usual cocktail hour, while you will be away for your couple's photo shoot after the ceremony, take your guests to a winery for a wine tour and wine tasting. Your guests will have a great time, and will get a chance to learn more about the wine history of Santorini.

9. Professionalism

Santorini has been the capital of destination weddings for a long, long time. This means, that the people who work in the industry, know exactly what they are doing. When having your wedding in Santorini, you are guaranteed on having a stress-free, best organized wedding you could ever wish for.

10. Experience of a lifetime!!

photo by clickbychristos.com

Santorini is a beautiful island in a lot of different ways. By having your wedding on the island, you and your guests will most certainly have an experience of a lifetime. Give you, your family, and your friends a reason to visit this wonderful island, and witness firsthand what it has to offer. Everyone will be thankful and you will have a memorable wedding!

Those are 10 reasons, why you should have your destination wedding in Santorini. Still need something more to convince yourself to host your wedding in Santorini? Visit the island this summer, and fall in love with it yourself.

Thank you very much for reading! You have my best wishes!

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Random Saturday 13: Everything happens for a reason…?

Hello my dear Readers.

A love salad from Katerina from Secret Cafe! 

Hope all of you are well and everything is going good in your life. As you are reading this, I'm having a small vacation in Athens. Decided to fly there for 3 days, to see my family before the summer season begins.

This past week was a great week for me. I've been spending my days at the Santo Horse Riding's ranch in Akrotiri, interacting with the horses, sitting in the sun, reading my book, and contemplating on life. The horse that I'm currently training is having some great progress, which makes me incredibly happy, and I've had the opportunity to make some really interesting thoughts about life.

I've been thinking mostly about those small incidents in life, that can greatly influence ones future. Isn't it amazing, how meeting one person in your life, a person that you might not even see more than a couple times more after your first meeting, can change your whole life?

I've been thinking about my own life. I met a person seven years ago, let's call him mr. D., that made me come back to Greece (I lived in Moscow at the time of the meeting). By coincidence, that person had a friend who knew my childhood horse riding trainer. I started going horse riding again, after I met up with the trainer, which resulted in me getting my first horse riding students.

Because of Mr. D., I followed my then dream and studied sound-engineering, where I met ex-husband. Because of him I came to Santorini, as he didn't have a job at the time, and I was willing to let my horse related dreams on the side, just to be with him. In Santorini, again by coincidence, I got a wedding planning job. A couple years later here I am, trying to make my own wedding and event planning company.

Furthermore, my ex husband worked for a short period at a hotel, who's owner had a horse, and had it at the first horse riding facility in Santorini. From there I met my current colleague in Santo Horse Riding, who later introduced me to the person I'm working for at the moment, and the guy I'm happily dating at the moment.

All those completely unrelated meetings and events, ended up in me having a great progress with my life dreams and goals! If you just think for a moment, that if seven years ago, I decided to ignore mr.D when I first met him, I wouldn't be having my own wedding planning company, nor I would go back to horse riding and now have the job of my dreams.

No wonder there is a saying that everything happens for a reason.

Why am I writing all this, you may ask? Simply because I want to prove a point. No matter how hard times may seen, or if you feel that you are at a "dead end" point in your life, you should always remember, that this is not the end of the road, and that whatever you gain at that particular period of your life, can influence your future for the very best.

Life gives you opportunities all the time, sometimes they just lay there for everyone to see, sometimes they hide behind really stressful and unpleasant situations. Still, they are there for you. A simple decision, like going for a walk instead of staying at home, can end up in you meeting the right person or getting the best idea for a better future! Don't miss out on opportunities, just because you think (although you might feel the opposite), that they will be a waste of time. They might end up being the breakthrough in your life!

No matter how bad a situation ion life may be, you should always take it as a lesson. However bad it might seem, it will be part of your life experience and can prove to be of great help in the future. Try to stay positive and keep an open eye for any life lessons there for you. Life lessons, that will help you succeed in the future.

I guess, what I want to say is, don't focus on the bad times but think about what good can come out of it ;) 

This is all I have to say this Random Saturday. Be happy and don't miss the little opportunities life gives us!

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a wonderful weekend!

The song of the week: 

Random Saturday #12 || Random Saturday #14

Country Weddings in Santorini!

Photo taken from www.himisspuff.com

Having your wedding closer to nature, especially when the days are long and warm, is always a great idea. What an easier way to do so, than have a country style wedding? You can host your wedding at the country side, in a barn, at your holiday home. Don't have the opportunity to run away into nature for your wedding? Not to worry. You can still have a wonderful country style set up on your wedding day, even in an indoor venue. All you need, are the correct decorations.

When you think about a country wedding, the first that comes to mind are those wonderful wooden barns, stylish cowboy boots, hey and horses. So, it is only natural for you to wonder, how would a country style wedding fin on an island like Santorini? I say, perfectly!

First off, let's start with the ceremony, as this is the beginning of a wedding. Whether on a caldera venue, or a beach venue, you can still recreate the country style you are looking for. The first detail is the aisle. Something simple like two wine barrels in the beginning on the aisle, with a wonderful flower arrangements on top, will be enough to give your ceremony the barn feeling. Put some simple, white chairs for the guests, and you have completed the image.

Whether you choose to have a gazebo or not, for the bride and groom to stand under during the ceremony, it can be decorated in the same matter that the aisle is. Use two similar wooden, wine barrels on each side of the gazebo, or next to the ceremony table, decorate them with beautiful and rich floral arrangements, and ta da!! Country wedding! To make the gazebo look even more impressive, add an additional layer of white curtains.  

Wish to make it even more fun? Use cowboy hats as flower baskets for the flower girls. Incorporate some horse shoes to the decoration, both for good luck, and the country feeling. And of course, have a country song as your entrance song!

Photo taken from blessings.com

Done with the ceremony, it's time to think about the reception. Here is where most of the work and creativity will be required, to achieve that country feeling you are going for, and make you and your guests feel like they are out in the country side!

Country weddings have the wooden element strongly in them, meaning that a lot of decorations are made from wood. On other words, wooden decorative items are the first thing you should think about. So…Barrels! Again! They are amazing to use for a sweet or welcome table, and using them at the reception will make the transaction from the ceremony area to the reception much smoother.

Another way to use wooden decorations, is to make awesome DIY decorations from pallets. Examples? You can make really cute welcome signs for your guests, at the entrance of the reception venue. Pallets can also be used to make your photo booth look like a real barn! Don't forget about the wooden crates. Use them as flowers pots with beautiful flower compositions. Place the crates around the venue, for a country style decoration.

A country wedding should have mason jars in it, or there will be something missing. You can use them as glasses for the refreshing, non-alcoholic welcome drinks for your guests upon their arrival at the venue. You can also use them for as vases, to put the flowers for the table centerpieces. Mason jars can even be used at the sweet table, as jars for the various candies.

To give your reception even more of that country feeling, don't forget to use tin buckets when decorating the venue. As with the all of the above, tin buckets are quite versatile. They can be used for your floral arrangements at the bar, the sweet or wish table, or even at the dinner tables when having the right size. Another smart and fun way to include tin buckets to the decoration, is using them as coolers for the drinks during the ceremony. Ask the bartender to fill the buckets with ice and bottles of beer, and have them placed near the dance floor, or at the bar, so that anyone could grab a beer easily.

Photo taken from womangettingmarried.com

What am I forgetting… ah! Fairy lights! Fairy lights are the key, into making your guests feel like they're under the night sky full of stars. They are also great decorative items for the head table, the bar, the candy bar. You can use them as curtains, wrap them around the bar, place them over the dance floor. Whatever feels more beautiful for you.

Last, but not least, let's talk about the flowers used for a country wedding in Santorini, as without them the decoration will be incomplete. Since country weddings are close to nature, the flowers you can use for the wedding can be simple wildflowers and herbs, you could easily find in the country side: Sunflowers, daisies, aster, thyme, lavender, to name a few. As for the colors, you are allowed to use any color combination you like, and still have a great country wedding style!

Those are just some ideas for a country style wedding here in Santorini. If you love barn weddings and Santorini, and need help combining those two, feel free to contact Cardoon Events for some help and advice!

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a lovely day!

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Retro Wedding

Picture taken from Weddbook

The 20th century gave us a lot of wonderful things to remember. The hairstyles, the clothing, the music, and much, much more! Because of that, the previous century is a great place to look for inspiration, when choosing a theme for your wedding. In my opinion, a retro wedding not only gives a unique and memorable character to your wedding, but is also a sweet way to give your parents and grandparents an opportunity to relieve the beauties from their younger years.

So, what is a retro wedding style? A retro wedding, is a style which includes various charming little details from the old times. With every decade offering something new and fresh to draw inspiration from, it is hard not to find something you will absolutely love for your wedding theme. You can make a 90's, 60's, or 40's wedding theme, or have a 20th century mash-up wedding!

A great thing about retro weddings, is that you can choose absolutely any color palette you like for your wedding, and still get the retro feeling you are going for! There are no restrictions whatsoever. Anything from pastel and blush colors, to vivid and bright tones can be used for a retro wedding. This also means, that a retro wedding can be a good choice any time of the year. With the adorable retro patterns, you can make your wedding decorations even more fun.

Picture taken from
niepoprawnapannamloda.blogspot.com

One of my favorites, when it comes to retro wedding styles, are the decorations. The best part? You won't have to go far to get them!! Just visit your parents' attic and you will find everything you need, there. Use old suitcases to make a cute sitting plan stand. Look for vintage picture frames to use on the guest tables for the table numbers. Use doilies, books, old soda bottles to create the most amazing centerpieces! The key ingredient is your imagination.

The 20th century was the era the self-powered motor vehicles, or simply cars, begun being used by the public, and what gems did that time produce. The previous century is responsible for so many amazing cars, such as the Classy Bentley, the VW Van, also known as the hippie van, the cute beetle, the romantic decheveux. All of those cars, and so many more, are perfect to arrive to a wedding. And the pictures you will make with them, will be gorgeous!

The best way to give your wedding the retro feeling you are going for, is of course for you, the bride and groom, to travel three to four decades back and borrow the style of the time that you like. The tea length wedding dresses with lace details give a romantic, girlish appearance to every bride. Combined with the chic vintage hairstyles and bright red lips, you will look like you stepped out from a different time. The groom's attire is equally stylish as the bride's. With choices from classic suits, to suspenders, bowties, vests, your future hubby will look stunning for his retro wedding day!

Picture taken from happywedd.com

Planning a retro wedding, is as fun is could possibly be! There is so much interesting information to look for, that you will fall in love with the process. Looking in all those bridal bouquets that were in fashion in every decade, listening to the amazing music those times produces, learning about the drinks, sweets, and fun games of that time, will be more like the best history lesson you ever had, rather than planning a wedding.

Do you wonder, how would a retro wedding style fit in Santorini? I say, wonderfully! With so many wedding venues, built from old factories, a vintage wedding will look swell in Santorini! Interested in having one? Feel free to contact Cardoon Events for more information and ideas!

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a lovely day!

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Random Saturday #12: To Speak and to Listen!

Hello my dear readers!

I'm terribly sorry for being absent for the past two Random Saturdays, but at some point I ended up having 3 jobs, only one of which paid me some money (in case you wonder, it was the bakery, the horse riding, and Cardoon… with the bakery giving barely enough money to sustain myself), and I just didn't have any willpower to force myself spend a couple more hours at the computer, instead of falling asleep.

The good news are - I quit the bakery job, for various different reasons, one of which is not being able to pay enough attention to my sweet Cardoon Events' blogs. Then I took a week to relax after everything I had to endure at that amazing job, and now I'm back on track!

While being at the job, and from some other various incidents of my life, I've started thinking how important it is to speak and to listen. It is not a coincidence, that this particular phrase is present at the ready wedding vows that are used here in Santorini.

Why I believe speaking, or in other words letting people know what is going on in your head, and listen to what others have to say to is so important? Because we have a mouth, two ears, and an evolved brain!!

Everyone is different, everyone has his or her own reaction to life situations! For example, if someone brakes a glass, one can cry, other can laugh, some might swear and some might ignore it and just clean the mess. We all have our own triggers, and when we are not letting the people around us know about our triggers, bad situations might occur. To give an example, again, I have a weird attachment to my coffee cup, whether that be at my house, at the office, or anywhere else I might drink coffee frequently. So if I choose to have a certain cup for my coffee, it will make me feel uncomfortable for someone else to take said cup for their own coffee. How I see it, I'm obliged to inform my coworkers about the coffee cup situation, to avoid any stupid conflicts in the future.

But it's not just with coffee cups and other minor peculiarities each and everyone has. When in a relationship, if something bothers you, you should tell your partner about that, rather than just lashing on him/her out of the blue, after keeping all your negative emotions bottling up. The other person might not notice that an certain action is annoying to you, and with you telling him/her that, will help solve the problem without any fights.

At your job, you should speak to your employer and coworkers about any problems and concerns regarding the job you might have. Yes, not all bosses like to hear complaints from their employees, let alone do something about then, still, if it is something, that can improve your quality of life at work, or even better your results at work, why not discuss that with your boss? Solve your problems, before they become bigger!

Speak up your mind, don't be afraid to express your feelings. The only way for others to understand you, is by speaking to them! Verbal communication in us, humans, is the key for better understanding!

As important as it is to speak, it is equally important to listen to what others have to say! Don't interrupt midsentence, don't start arguing before thinking about what the other has to say, don't ignore. Sit and listen to what the person next to you has to say to you, silently!

Sometimes all we need to do, to make someone else's life better is listen to his/her story. For example, you life partner might had a long day at work, and really, like reeeeeally needs to complain about all the bad things that happened. Let her/him speak to you. Don't make suggestions, don't tell to just get it over, don't try to avoid the conversation telling that everyone have bad days. Make a cup of tea, or even better, a cup of hot cocoa, and listen to your other half.

If you are an employer, a manager, or you are in any high position at work, listen to your employees. Just because you have power over the people you work with, does not mean that you should disregard what they have to say. Sometimes, you can get the best idea from a person least except, or solve unpleasant situations that make everyone's life difficult. And of course, if you are an employee, listen to your boss. Maybe they have to be hard on you, because the previous workers didn't pay attention to what he/she had to say, causing easily avoided problems.

Before criticizing, or plain ignoring, what the other person has to say, wait and think about it. We all think differently, that's why we don't always agree with each other. Ask for clarifications (coming back to the speaking part real sneaky) if you don't understand something, invest some time into thinking over the opposite opinion. You will be surprised when you realize that, more often than not, the only reason you disagreed in the first place, was because you just didn't try to look into the logical part of what was said, but reacted only because of emotion.

I can go on and on for a long time, so I'll stop here, hoping I've made my point.

Why am I saying all this? Because at the job at the bakery, the most problems with the boss and the stuff, happened because either someone didn't speak, or someone refused to listen. The same goes for my personal relationship. After we started talking with my boyfriend more about our feelings, and listening to what the other has to say, we've been much better and happier with each other.

That's all I have to say. I would be glad to discuss this topic further with you, so feel free to leave a comment your opinion bellow J

Thank you very much for reading! Have a great Sunday!

Ow!! Right!! The song of the week :p 

Random Saturday #11 || Random Saturday #13

All you need to know for your wedding at Le Ciel wedding venue

Picture taken from Le Ciel's official website
http://leciel-santorini.com

I've already shared my thoughts on why I believe the amazing cliff sife wedding venue Le Ciel is a great choice for your Santorini destination wedding. I've also discussed what are some of the advantages of having your wedding there. Now it is time to dive into more detail about this fantastic venue, so you could know everything you need to know when planning your wedding there.

When reserving Le Ciel for your ceremony and reception, you will have the venue from 4 pm till 1 am, 4 pm being the time your guests can start arriving at the venue. You should know, that it is not possible to extend the rental duration beyond 1am, due to the strict noise restrictions in the caldera area. But, you shouldn't worry too much about that, as Le Ciel is located only 10 minutes by car from Fira, where all the clubs and bars are located, and you can easily transfer your party there, after the venue is closed.

If you wish to reserve the venue just for your wedding ceremony, you can easily do so for a morning ceremony between 10am and 12pm.

The rental fee of Le Ciel includes a separate wedding ceremony terrace, with a white gazebo with white curtains, some lanterns for decoration, a beautiful ceremony table, and chivari chairs for your guests. At that terrace, you can not only host your ceremony, but also have your cocktail hour. You and your guests will most certainly enjoy the fantastic view of the terrace, while sipping on your delicious cocktails.

Picture taken from Le Ciel's official website
http://leciel-santorini.com

Le Ciel's rental fee includes a DJ for the duration of your wedding, as well as a sound system and lights for the party, and a spacious dance floor. You are free to send the venue a playlist for the whole event, or if you don't feel like it, just send ten to twenty songs, so that the DJ couldn't understand what kind of music you would like to be playing on your wedding. Whatever your choice might be, make sure to send the playlist at least a month before the wedding, so that they DJ could prepare for your wedding day.

As mentioned in the previous blog post regarding Le Ciel, the venue has its own bar and kitchen, which is really convenient when it comes to a destination wedding, as you won't need to look for extra vendors for your wedding day. Both their drink and food menus offer a great variety of options to choose from.

Picture taken from Le Ciel's official website
http://leciel-santorini.com

Let's start with the open bars. I would like to mention, that Le Ciel offers different open bar packages for the ceremony and the reception. This is quite handy, especially if you don't want your guests to start drinking too early.

You can easily arrange to have a mocktail welcome drink for your guests upon their arrival to the venue, then have a unlimited champagne for after the ceremony, and light, sparkling wine based cocktails for the cocktail hour! All that with just one package! Convenient, right?

Le Ciel's reception drink packages are suitable for every budget. You can choose to have just unlimited Santorini wine served during the dinner and the party, and let your guests pay for any spirit they would like to order. If you don't want for your guests to spend money on your wedding day, you can order to have a full inclusive open bar package with unlimited refills of all the alcoholic beverages the venue has to offer.

Picture taken from Le Ciel's official website
http://leciel-santorini.com

As with the open bars, the food menus Le Ciel offer a great variety as well, so will be able to satisfy all of your guests' tastes . Le Ciel offers meat menus, fish menus, vegeterian, vegan menus, gluten free menus, kids menus. And if you have a guests with a, say, cucumber allergy, Le Ciel will make sure that, that particular guest will have its courses without any cucumbers. Le Ciel can be pretty flexible with its menus, if required, as long as you finalize the menus two to three months prior the wedding.

For the reception, you can choose between having a sit-down menu and a buffet menu. You should know, that if you plan on having more than 60 persons attending your wedding, you will have to choose from the buffet menus only. You can mix and match the existing menus, and when it comes to the buffet menus, you can create your own from scratch, choosing from the dishes Le Ciel has to offer.

Don't know which menu to choose? Arrange a food tasting with Le Ciel, to make your decision easier.

It is really important to have transportation arranged for your wedding in Le Ciel, both for you and your guests. You don't want your guests driving after all the drinks they've had at your wedding, and you don't want any of the guests arriving late for the ceremony. Include transportation costs to your wedding budget, to make everyone's life easier!

Plan you budget for a wedding in Santorini!

Picture taken from Le Ciel's official website
http://leciel-santorini.com

Another important details about Le Ciel, is that due to law restrictions, fireworks are not allowed at that part of the caldera. You can easily replace fireworks with floor fountains, dry ice effect and other interesting and unique special wedding effects. Need help finding those special effects for your wedding? Contact Pro Support to find what they have to offer.

To sum up, Le Ciel is an amazing cliff side wedding venue, not just because of the breathtaking caldera and sunset view, but for much, much more!

They are getting booked pretty fast, so make sure to reserve your wedding date there as fast as possible. 

Visit the official website of Le Ciel wedding venue for more information - http://www.leciel-santorini.com/ 

Thank you very much for reading, and I wish you a lovely day! 

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