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!

<-- Previous

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!

<-- Previous || Next -->

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! 

<-- Previous || next -->

Santorini caldera wedding venues!

Photo by Christos Trigas - http://www.clickbychristos.com/

The island of Santorini is popular for various different things, but the most magical of what she offers are the mesmerizing caldera views. The colors of the soil of the cliff side are beautiful as they are, but combined with the hundreds of the traditional white houses, hanging from the cliff, and the churches with the blue domes, is what makes the caldera view so breathtaking.

That's not the only beauty that Thira has to offer. From every point of the cliff side you can see the "Nea Kameni", which is the volcano of Santorini. Another unique feature of Santorini is the small island of Thirasia, an island that used to be part of Stroggili, as the island was once called, but was separated after the big explosion that happened more than 3.000 years ago!

Last, but not least, let's not forget about the amazing sunsets that you can enjoy every evening from the caldera. The greatest part is, is that you can view the sunset from all parts of the cliff side of Santorini, and love it more and more with every time.

With all that in mind, I totally understand why all those couples choose Santorini for their destination wedding. They get the most stunning wedding photos, they create everlasting memories for everyone on the guest list, and all what the island has to offer, make a wedding in Santorini the most romantic a couple could have.

And of course, adding to all the above, the wedding venues on the cliff side are the most amazing place someone could get married. Just imagine having your wedding at the very edge of a cliff, with all the Aegean sea at your feet?

When it comes to wedding venues located at the caldera side of Santorini, you can choose between having the wedding at a hotel or a private wedding venue. There are some differences between the two options, and both choices offer different advantages.

Hotels can be really convenient, if you are having a small 20-30 person weddings, and wish for all of your friends and family to stay together at one place. You won't have to spend extra on the transportation, and your guests won't get tired with the trip to the venue.

Le Ciel wedding venue - http://www.leciel-santorini.com/

If you choose to have your wedding at a hotel, it is always better to book the entire hotel for yourself. One major reason for this, is that this will be a guarantee for full privacy on the wedding day. Most hotels, that offer to host weddings at their premises, have a separate area for the ceremony and reception, which won't be accessible from the rest of the guests of the hotel. Still, there is a possibility that a curious person might accidentally crash your wedding party. Booking the whole hotel for your wedding guests, will help avoid such surprises.

You should also keep in mind, that hotels have even more strict noise restrictions on music levels and duration, as they don't wish to disturb any of the other hotel guests' staying there. But if you are having the whole place for yourself, you won't have to worry about that.

A couple of great hotels, that offer the amazing caldera views, as well as terraces for weddings, are the Cavo Tagoo suites and the Hara's Houses in Imerovigli. Those are both small hotels, perfect for small intimate weddings at your doorstep.

Caldera wedding venues offer different advantages from the hotel venues. One great advantage of a wedding venue, is that by paying for the private use of the venue, you will get exactly that - 100% privacy for your wedding. Admittedly, you might find that the rental fee for private use of a venue is higher than that of the hotel. On the other hand, when having a wedding at a caldera venue, you are free to choose to stay at a beach hotel, thus saving some money on accommodation, plus enjoying the sea every day of your Santorini visit, but still get the magnificent caldera views on your wedding day.

Another advantage of caldera wedding venues are that because they are made especially for weddings and events, they are shaped in a way to fit the needs of a wedding. This means, that you will be able

Photo by Christos Trigas - http://www.clickbychristos.com/

to have your wedding ceremony at a terrace perfect for wedding ceremonies, and the dinner area will be made in a way to have your dance floor not mixed together.

Whether you choose to have your wedding at a hotel on the cliff side or a caldera wedding venue, you will still enjoy the wonderful sunset and the picturesque views, Santorini is so famous about.

Next week, I will write about one of the most popular, and for a good reason, caldera wedding venues of Santorini - Le Ciel. Stay tuned, to find out more information on this one of a kind wedding venue!

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

<-- Previous || next -->

Oceanids Estate: All you need to know!

So, you are looking to get married in Santorini, and wish to host your wedding reception and/or ceremony at a beach venue? OceanidsEstate wedding venue would be a perfect choice for you! In the previous blog I shared some information about this wonderful venue. Now, let's dive in into more "technical" details.

Picture taken from oceanids-estate.com

First and foremost, why choose Oceanids Estate for your wedding in Santorini? As Nina told me, and as I completely agree, "the couples who wish to get married in Oceanids, should understand that upon entering our venue, stress stops to exist. Our goal is to make them feel like home. They should also prepare themselves for a " till you drop" party!". They really stand by those words! When planning on having your wedding at Oceanids Estate, you won't have to worry about a thing. Isn't this a perfect scenario for a wedding?

Weddings cost money, we all know that. When it comes to Oceanids Estate, you won't have to dig deep into your pocket for a perfect wedding. The venue has a really reasonable price for renting it private, and they offer much more than just the private use. Their rental price include a DJ for 5 hours and an audio system strong enough to cover a 150 person wedding. In other words, one of the major parts of a wedding will be covered, just by choosing this venue! Besides the audio system, the rental price also includes a full party lightning system, a detail which will make your party even more fun!

The rental fee for the private use of the venue includes as well the staff of the venue, all taxes, and some decorations, such as lanterns and vases, a beautiful vintage style lounge area next to the sea, and comfortable stone couches! If this isn't a great value for money, I don't know what is!

The next question some might ask, is how many people you can invite to your wedding at Oceanids Estate? There are no limits!

Oceanids Estate wedding venue is perfect for both small, intimate weddings of 20 persons, and big wedding of 300 persons or more! The space of the venue can be arranged in such a way, that it will neither look too big and chaotic for small wedding, nor you and your guests will feel too crowded in case of a large wedding!

Picture taken from oceanids-estate.com

When it comes to drinks, Oceanids Estate has its own bar. For the cocktail hour you can choose between a variety of different welcome cocktails for your guests, from a glass of Prosecco, to a cocktail of your choice. Alcohol free drinks are also offered as an option, should you be having guests that don't drink. For the rest of the reception, you can choose one of the many different 5 hour long open bar packages. After the open is over, you are free to choose between providing your guests with unlimited drinks till the end of the party, or opting for your guests to pay for their own drinks. Oceanids truly makes your life easy!

Oceanids Estate does not have its own kitchen, but that is not a problem at all! The location of the venue is so convenient that makes it really easy for catering companies to work with them. And since the venue owners have great experience when it comes to weddings, they know exactly what a catering company needs to provide you their best services!

Still need a reason to book Oceanids Estate for your wedding? Here are some of the great advantages of the venue. When booking the venue for your private wedding, you get it from 14:00pm till 8:00am! And since there are no noise restrictions at this venue, you will have the time of your life partying all night long, undistracted!

If you are lucky enough, and on your wedding day there will be a full moon, then you will have the chance to dance under the moon, which is directly over the venue. A great way to make your wedding day even more romantic!

Oceanids Estate is kids friendly and disabled friendly. It is flat, there are no different levels, and there is a convenient ramp from the entrance of the venue, meaning that if you will be having people with disabilities attending your wedding, they won't have any trouble getting around.

Picture taken from oceanids-estate.com

Should you be having children at your wedding, their parents won't have to worry for their kids to fall over the stairs while running and playing! And because the venue has no levels, as already mentioned, you will all be at the same level, and non of your guests will be divided during dinner or the party!

Because this wedding venue is right next to the sea, it's a perfect location for a beautiful and private beach wedding! If you are

dreaming of something different for your wedding, you can arrange a "Mamma Mia" styled wedding, or even arrive by horse to the ceremony, or after the couple's photo shoot.

Oceanids Estate is not good just for summer weddings. The venue has an astonishing indoor area, which can be used for winter weddings as well. This is also an advantage if you are planning on having your wedding in early spring or late autumn, as you won't need to worry about your "Plan B" in case of a rainy day. Oceanids Estate is a "Plan A" and "Plan B" combined!

If you are thinking of having special effects, fireworks, a spectacular stage for dancing, then you can choose Pro-Support to provide all those services to you! Why

Pro-Support. Because Pro-Support is owned by the same people that have Oceanids Estate, and you will profit by having combined packages with Oceanids Estate and Pro-Support!

To sum up, Oceanids Estate is a wonderful choice for a wedding ceremony and reception. With great prices, amazing location, complete privacy, no noise restrictions, you are guaranteed on having the best wedding possible, which will stay in the memories of you and your guests forever!

And As Nina and Nikitas say "A marriage in Oceanids Estate is a lifetime experience!"

Need more information on the venue? Visit Oceanids Estate's official website - http://www.oceanids-estate.com/

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

<-- Previous || next -->

Oceanids Estate: A look behind the curtains.

In the last blog post I wrote about the various wedding venues that Santorini has. This time, I would like to write in more detail about Oceanids Estate wedding venue at the beach of Ekso Gonia.

Oceanids Estate was opened in 2013. The building, where Oceanids Estate is housed, used to be a tomato canning factory. The building was built is 1937 from the famous black Santorinian volcanic rock, which gives the now wedding venue a really unique and amazing feeling. The owners of Oceanids Estate renovated the venue to a very high standard, but still kept the old style of the building.

The owners of Oceanids Estate, Nina and Nikitas, have great experience in the field of weddings and events, which means that when choosing this wedding venue, you will have people working with you who exactly what is needed to make your wedding unforgettable. They are friendly, professional, kind people, who will do everything they can to ensure that your wedding day will be both incredibly fun and stress free.

I've started working with Oceanids Estate in 2015, when planning some weddings for the summer of 2016. They made my job really easy, and where always eager to answer any of the questions the couple or I could have. They have a great method of organizing the weddings their hosting, that no minor planning detail will be forgotten. Nina is an excellent wedding planner herself, which has proven to be of great help, as she knows exactly what needs to be done for a perfect wedding. No couple or guest has ever left this wedding venue with a complaint or without a happy smile.

Another interesting and impressive detail, is how Nina and Nikitas treat their working stuff. They are understanding, kind, patient and wise employers, meaning that the waiters, the cleaning stuff, the barmen, and the DJs, all enjoy working at Oceanids Estate. You may wonder, why would I mention that? Well, because a tired waiter or a unsatisfied with the working conditions cleaning lady, can easily create a sour memory from your wedding. Oceanids Estate's stuff do a great job, they put their soul into what they are doing, which shows in the successful weddings the venues has, because they are treated as equals, as people!  

A great feature of Oceanids Estate, is that it is located right at the beach of Ekso Gonia. There aren't any roads between the venue and the beach. Your wedding reception and party will be literally at the beach, but without any sand getting in your shoes! Isn't that great? Not only that, but the beach in front of the venue is one of the best beaches of the island. And this is what makes Oceanids Estate venue one of the best places to have a beach wedding.

Will there be children attending the wedding? You'll be glad to know that Oceanids Estate is a paradise for children. They LOVE this venue! They have plenty of room to safely run and play around, and the indoor area can be easily transformed into a kids' room, keeping the little ones busy while their parents are having fun.

The venue also has a nice, big pool, as you have probably seemed from the pictures already. And there is no need to worry about safety, as the venue only allows the use of the pool if you hire a lifeguard. The pool is loved by both children and adults, just be sure to follow the safety rules.

For those of you who are thinking about having their wedding ceremony and/or reception at Oceanids Estate, you will be pleased to know that the venue has an amazing strategic position. It is located really close to Kamari, one of the beach resorts of Santorini. The farthest part of Kamari, the one that is right under the mountain, is no further than 5 minutes by car from the venue. You won't need to worry about tiring your guests with long transportation trips!! And even though the venue is so close to a living area, it does not have any of the noise restrictions that you will find at the caldera venues, meaning that you can freely party until sunrise!

In my opinion, Oceanids Estate is one the best wedding venues of Santorini for multiple reasons. It is definitely in my top 3 Santorini wedding venues!

Wish to know more about the venue? Stay tuned, to find out more information about Oceanids Estate on Monday!

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you all a good day!

<-- Previous || next -->

Santorini Wedding Venues!

Santorini has a number of great wedding venues. Some of them are located on the cliff side of the island, overlooking the famous caldera sea and the volcano. There are also plenty of wedding venues located on the beach side of Santorini, and believe me when I say that they don't lack the beauty of the caldera venues.

Le Ciel wedding venue

There are some differences between the caldera venues and the beach venues, and in this posts I would like to write about exactly that. I would like to compare the differences between the two types of wedding venues, making it easier for you to choose the venue that will be most suitable for your wedding.

Before I begin, I would like to point out, that if you are torn between a beach venue and a caldera venue, then there is a simple solution. Which one? Well, choose both!! You can easily arrange to have a wedding ceremony on a caldera venue, and then host your reception at a beach venue, combining the advantages of both types of venues Santorini offers.

Let's get into more detail…

As mentioned above, the caldera venues offer amazing views of the caldera, the volcano, the Thirasia island, and of course the so famous Santorini sunset. There never was a guest or a couple that wasn't amazed by the view their caldera venue of choice had. When the sky is clear, you can even see the nearby islands, which only adds to the greatness.

Venetsanos Winery wedding venue

When going for a wedding venue on the caldera side of Santorini, you can choose between beautiful wineries, like Venetsanos Winery, and combine your wedding with an educational winery tour for your guests, as well as a delicious wine tasting, and high class wedding venues such as Le Ciel wedding venue in Imerovigli.

Sea side venues are scattered along the beaches of Santorini. Admittedly, they don't have the caldera views, but the beauty they offer is no less wonderful then their fellow wedding venues on the other side of the island. The soothing sound of the waves, the clear night sky, and of course gorgeous sunrises, will still make your wedding day unforgettable to you and your guests!

Want to learn more about the choices you have for a beach wedding venue? Read this blog post, dedicated entirely to the beach venues of Santorini.

Caldera wedding venues are, as a rule, located near hotels, or could even be part of a hotel. This is a great plus, as you won't need to worry about transportation for your guests since they can stay at a walking distance from your wedding venue. With beach venues, you won't be able to find hotels right next to the venue, because they are usually located in more isolated areas. This is not a bad thing though, because this way the beach venues offer more privacy.

The proximity of the venues to the living areas of the islands, greatly affects the noise policy of each venue. In an older blog, I've already mentioned the strict noise policies that caldera venues have.

Oceanids Estate Wedding Venue

In most cases, you cannot extend your wedding party beyond 1 am, since this is the latest the music can be played at the caldera. With beach venues though, you won't have such restrictions and can stay and party until morning.

Beach venues also don't have the firework restrictions, that a lot of caldera venues have. It is not always possible to have fireworks at the caldera area for multiple reasons. One of the reasons is the previously mentioned noise policy. Another reason is the fire hazard. The cliff side does not have easy access to most of its point, and if a sparkle falls and starts a fire halfway the cliff, there won't be a way to put the fire down, something that is obviously quite dangerous. You should also take into consideration the wind, which is most of the time stronger at the caldera side of Santorini than the beach side. Wind and fireworks don't go to together well.

One last major difference between the caldera wedding venues and the beach wedding venues is the size of the venues. Caldera does not offer enough room for large venues. The biggest cliff side venues you can find, can host no more than a 100 persons. Beach venues, on the other hand, are perfect for wedding for up to 200 hundred persons, as they are more spacious and you will have enough room for your tables and a dance area.

How to choose between a beach venue and a cliff side venue? You'll just have to ask yourself what is more important to you: the magnificent views till the end of the wedding day, or an all night long party? If you are looking into having a small or relatively small wedding, which won't last longer than midnight, then caldera is your perfect choice. But if you prefer to invite all of your friends and family to the wedding, and have a sunset to sunrise wedding, then opt for a beach venue.

If you need more help with your venue choice, feel free to contact Cardoon Events for more advice.

Next blog will be dedicated to Oceanids Estate wedding venue, so stay tuned to learn more about this amazing beach venue!

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

<-- Previous || Next -->

Beach Weddings in Santorini!

Santorini is famous for its breathtaking caldera view, with the white houses hanging from the colorful cliff, its magical sunsets, and the churches with the blue domes. This is probably why Santorini is such a popular location for destination weddings.

I can understand that every couple would want to have a wedding picture on the cliff side of Santorini. With so many wedding venues located on the caldera, it is really easy to combine your wedding day with the beautiful views of Santorini, giving you and your guests amazing memories for a lifetime.

Still, Santorini is much more than just the caldera, as it also has the famous black beaches, which make a great place for a wedding ceremony. You should keep in mind, that since the beaches are

Beach wedding at Oceranids Estate

public, anyone could come and crash your wedding, should you choose to have the ceremony at a random beach in Santorini. Not to worry though, as If you choose a venue, which is located at the beach, you will be able to enjoy a private ceremony, without any strangers.

One such great venue, where you could have your beach wedding is Oceanids Estate. The wedding venue is located right at the beach of Ekso Gonia, which happens to be one the best beaches of the island. It is spacious, meaning that you won't have to limit your guest list, something that is always a plus. Afterwards, you can host your reception at the same venue, and enjoy an all night long party which will end with the sunrise.

Beach wedding set up at Akro Restaurant

Another beautiful venue by the sea for your beach wedding is Akro restaurant. This venue is located at the unique beach in Mesa Pigadia in Akrotiri. Its rocky landscape and romantic atmosphere will make your wedding day unforgettable, both to you and your guests. And if you are dreaming of having a unique entrance to your wedding, you can come to the ceremony on a horse, since the Santo Horse Riding stables are located not far away from the venue. Your guests will certainly remember this entrance, and you will get amazing wedding pictures.

If you are looking for an elopement or a small wedding on the beach, then Sea Side restaurant would be a perfect choice for you. Located in the very edge of Perissa, you will have a romantic seaside wedding and a great time with your close friends and family. After the ceremony, you can stay for a semi-private dinner at Sea Side restaurant's cute kiosk, or, if you prefer full privacy on your wedding day, book the entire restaurant just for you.

Beach weddings in Santorini offer a number of advantages over the caldera weddings. First of all, the beach venues do not have the noise restrictions that caldera has, meaning that you can party up until morning. You can have fireworks, since no one will be bothered by the noise, and fireworks make a great addition to any wedding. Even though during summer months you won't be able to see the sunset from the beaches of Santorini, the colors of the sky during sunset, along with the endless blue sea, still make great photos!

If you wish to have those famous wedding photos on the caldera, you can always go for the couple's photo shoot at the cliff side. Just leave your guests for an hour to enjoy their cocktails by the sea, and go to the caldera side for the pictures. Who said you couldn't have it all?

On Monday's blog post I will be discussing in more detail about the main differences between the caldera venues and the beach venues, so stay tuned!

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

<-- Previous || next -->

10 things you should not do to your wedding planner!

Having a wedding planner for your wedding can reduce the stress levels a lot. This is especially true when it comes to destination weddings. The wedding planner will help you choose the best vendors for you, the venue which will be perfect for you, and help you avoid all those "rookie" mistakes all brides do.

Your wedding planner is a person who knows everything about weddings and will help you and guide you to plan the best wedding you could possibly have. No matter how anxious you might get about your wedding, your wedding planner is there to help you and to reassure you that everything is going to be just like you dreamed about. After all, you are human, and it’s natural for you to worry about one of the most important days of your life.

Even thought wedding planners are quite tolerant people, and most of us don't really mind being bombarded with questions about every little detail of your wedding, still, there are some things that are better to avoid doing to a wedding planner:

1. Hiding information!

Your wedding planner should know everything about your wedding, as this is the main guarantee that you will have a successful wedding. Don't try to arrange different things with your venue or vendors, than what has been already arranged with you planner, as this is a recipe for disaster. Inform your planner about any changes you wish to make or made with your vendors, to avoid misunderstandings on the wedding day.

2. Disregarding your wedding planners expertise!

You want to have your wedding reception outdoors, but your wedding planner is trying in any way possible to convince you to have your reception indoors? Trust your planner's opinion, as he or she probably knows that you will regret your decision for the outdoor dinner, when the time comes. What your wedding planner suggests may not be your dream option, but he or she probably does it to avoid a complete disaster on the wedding day!

3.Not informing your mother or bridesmaids that you have a wedding planner!

It is only natural for your mother, mother-in-law, or maid of honor to want to get involved in the wedding planning. If your wedding planner does not know that though, it can get pretty messy! Inform you mother and bridesmaids that you will be having a wedding planner, and that if they want to have their input at the wedding, they should contact your planner. This way, you wedding planner will make room for that special bridesmaid dance your friends have planned for you, without ruining the whole schedule.

4. Forgetting that your wedding planner is a human!

Yes, your pay good money to your wedding planner, and you expect everything to be top-notch, from the communication between you, to the very wedding day coordination. Still, your wedding planner is a human being, which means that he or she will get tired, sick, go on vacations. Don't get mad if your wedding planner takes longer than usual to reply to you, or some days isn't as excited as most of the time. We all have our bad days, and since wedding planning can get quite stressful, it is normal for your planner to decide to take a day or two off work, to relax a little. Don't get mean when that happens, especially if you want your planner to be in his best form on your wedding day.

5. Not respecting the schedule

Building a perfect schedule for your wedding can be tricky at times. A wedding planner needs to organize the guests' arrivals, the ceremony, the photographer, the entertainers, the food, everything! A planner's job is to keep everyone happy, from the couple, to the guests, to the vendors, and a perfect schedule is the key to that. Deciding to put something extra on the schedule the very last minute, will create a mess, put unnecessary stress on the wedding planner, and as a result end up in a wedding disaster.

6. No surprises!

The only surprises a wedding planners like, are gifts (I personally love chocolate). Don't surprise your wedding planner by adding a sudden 20 minute grandpa speech before dinner, or having 7 surprise guests at the reception. This will mess up pretty much everything, and might have really negative consequences on your wedding. Your wedding planner should know everything concerning your wedding before the wedding day, so keep the surprises for your guests.

7. Not paying in time!

Weddings are costly, we all know that. Still, this is not a reason, not to pay in time your vendors. You may ask how this affects your wedding planner? Directly! Since it is your wedding planner who is making all the arrangements for you, including the payments, it he who will be bothered about the money if you have not made the required payment in time. A wedding planner has enough to think about, to have to chase you with the payments as well.

8. Don't treat your wedding planner as an enemy!

Your wedding planner wants what is best for you. He or she tries to get the best vendors for the best prices, just for you. All the suggestions a wedding planner makes, is for you to have a memorable wedding. Don't treat your wedding planner as an enemy, by not showing trust in his/her suggestions, arguing over everything, and going behind your planner's back. Believe it or not, most of the time your wedding planner knows what is best for you, better than you!  

9. Disrespecting the rules!

Every venue, every vendor, everything has its do's and don’ts. It can be noise policies, food policies, payment policies, children policies, anything! When your wedding planner tells you, that you cannot bring your own food to the venue, don't try to sneak the food in anyway! There is a reason for the policy, and by ignoring it, you not only causing unnecessary trouble to your wedding planner, but might end up ruining the whole wedding.

10. Panicking over nothing.

It is true, almost every wedding will have a detail that won't go as planned. Either the cake topper will break, a guest will run late, a song will not play. It is fine!! This is why you have a wedding planner: to take care of those things and make any mishaps magically disappear! By running behind your planner all the time, and not letting him to do his job, you are just making things worse. Don't panic unless you see your wedding planner panic!. If you wedding planner is calm, it means everything is under control. Relax, and enjoy your wedding day!

Remember, you wedding planner wants a perfect wedding as much as you do, and the calmer the wedding planner is, the higher the chances that nothing will go wrong on your wedding day. Keep calm and trust in your wedding planner!

Thank you very much for reading and I hope I was helpful!

I wish you a lovely day!

<-- Previous || next -->

Ideas for Wedding Favors!

cake pops favors
picture from sandyssignatures.blogspot.ca

Wedding favors are not only a great way to thank your guests for attending your wedding, but also a way to make your guests remember your wedding. Although your guests won't think bad of you if you won't have favors for them, they will most certainly appreciate a small gift from you, should you have one.

What can you offer as a favor to your guests? Anything! It can be an edible favor, a drinkable favor, a practical favor, a fun favor, anything that comes to mind. It is nice to have favors, which will match the main wedding theme. For example, if you are having a travel themed wedding, then you could have customized suitcase tags for each guest.

Here are some detailed description on what you could offer them:

Edible Favors:

Everybody loves candy, so having a small bag of candies for your guests, is always a good idea. You could have small candy bars or something more sophisticated, like a personalized cupcake or cake-pop. To make it even more fun, prepare a candy favor station, so that you guests could prepare their own favors.

If you and your guests are not into sweets, then prepare a mix of spices. All of us cook, at some point in our lives, and those spices could be of great inspiration for those moments. This wedding favor is even better if you are having a destination wedding, as it will be a way for your guests to take with them a flavor of the country your are marrying in.

Drinkable Favors:

Small bottles of alcoholic drinks is also one good idea for guests' favors, especially if your friends like to party. Find small bottles of the alcoholic beverages that your friends like, and give everyone their favorite drink. Want to make it even more fun? Prepare mini cocktail kits.

As with the spices, when having a destination wedding, you could have small bottles of the local alcoholic beverage as a favor. When it comes to weddings in Greece, you could have small ouzo bottles.

Hangover Kit Favors:

picture from bridedsupnorth.com

The morning after a wedding party can be rough… you know, hangover and stuff. I always found hangover kits, or emergency kits, as guests' favors a brilliant idea! Have some aspirin, some band-aids, a lip balm, chewing gums, a night mask, and anything else you find useful for a hangover or an emergency. Practical, and with a sense of humor.

Practical Favors:

It is always nice to be practical, even when it comes to gifts. But how to be practical with favors? This is really easy. Just think about what your guests might need for your wedding, that they wouldn't think about brining themselves. For example, if you are having a beach wedding, you could have flip-flops and swimming suites as favors for your guests. Everyone will enjoy the party even more!

Souvenir Favors:

When having a destination wedding, a souvenir will serve as the best memorabilia from your wedding. For your wedding in Santorini, for example, you could have small donkeys or miniature blue dome churches. To make it even more memorable, have them pre-ordered with your wedding date on them.

If you and your significant other like to travel, then you could bring souvenirs from the places that you have been. This will make the wedding favors feel more personal, more you. You will also give your guests a taste of the places you've been.

Handmade Favors:

Homemade Jam for your guests
picture from unitedlove.com

Handmade gifts are always a great idea, so are handmade wedding favors. Handmade crafts take a lot of your time to make, and by having handmade favors on your wedding, will show your guests how much they mean to you. Your guests will appreciate that you took so much time to prepare their favors, and will cherish them forever.  

I can go on and on about what your wedding favors can be. Whatever your choice of favors will be, don't forget to include a detail, which will remind your guests of your wedding. Don't be afraid to use your imagination and think outside the box. Your wedding favors, should be as unique as you are!

As always, thank you very much for reading! I wish you a lovely day and an amazing life!

<-- Previous || next -->