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

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!

< -- Previous

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

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!

<-- Previous || next -->

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

Random Saturday #11: The depths of Randomness

Hello my dear Readers!

Hope everyone of you is feeling great, and getting over any difficulties life can bring with a smile and positive thinking.

I almost didn't post a Random Saturday today, as I had yet another morally challenging week. I don't really want to get into details at this point, as I prefer to leave it to a future Random Saturday, when the events of the last two days won't be as hurtful as they are at the moment. No need to worry, everything ended up just fine…

Instead of telling the amazing story of my Thursday and Friday, I decided to explain to you why I chose to name the Saturdays' blogs Random Saturdays. Well, the first reason is obviously because I

write about anything but weddings, but there is also another good reason for the "Random" in my Saturday.

My life is random in general. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way, sometimes in a funny way. I was even created randomly! My parents had an amazing night in July of 1989, never thinking about the consequences. Long story short, five months after that night they got married, four months after the marriage I was born… Their marriage didn't last long, for the record, and my life has been random ever since!

To give you an example of the randomness, I once helped a girl who was abused by her boyfriend and run away, so I let her spend the night at my house, so she didn't have to sleep outside. She went back to him of course, which wasn't really my business, until said boyfriend called me and started threatening me, because she had run away once again. Yes, I had given her my phone number, just in case, and she was stupid enough to give it to him. After the threats, I received a phone call from a police station to see a certain police officer for the missing girl case. Thankfully, I took a different road to the police station, just to realize upon arrival that there wasn't any police officer with the name given to me on the phone. I smiled, and went home. The boyfriend of that girl probably tried to trick me so he could meet me halfway to the police station and attack me… which never happened, as I decided to found my own way to the station, instead of following the instructions! Moral of the story, don't give your phone number to stupid strangers…

Another brilliant random thing that happened, was how I met my horse riding trainer from my childhood. The person I was dating at the time had a friend who played the piano in a country band. One day, the pianist told us to watch a video from a live performance that they had. To my surprise, the lead singer of the band was my childhood horse riding trainer, with whom I had lost contact for more than 7 years. This whole random event resulted in me getting into horse riding again, starting going to competitions, getting my first two horse riding students, and now working at Santo Horse riding in Santorini.

A third example of the randomness of my life has to do with my grandmothers death. She passed away in September, and on the day of her passing I had a wedding to supervise. I learned the news during the reception, but had to still have my happy face on, as I was working at the moment. This messed me up a bit, but I'm professional than emotional.

I first spoke on the phone with my aunt, then tried to reach my father, who didn't reply. Approximately 20 minutes after I tried calling my father, an unknown number called me, and because I was tired and emotionally messed up, I didn't think it could be anyone else but my father. I answered the phone and had a weird conversation with the person I thought was my father. We spoke in Russian and the conversion ended in the person getting frustrated. I didn't think much about it, as I believed that my father was just feeling sad really sad over his mother passing, and couldn't bear my weirdness that night.

A while after the strange phone call, my actual father called me. When I asked him if he had called me before, he told me that he hadn't. I mentioned that someone called me from a French number and for a reason I thought it was him, to which my dad replied that it was probably my cousin who supposedly was in France at that point. When leaving wedding to finally go home, I tried calling the strange number back, only to get a reply from a French speaking dude who yelled at me "I don't need you" in English and slamming the phone.

The next day, when I spoke with my cousin, and asked him if he had called me last night, I learned that he didn't call me, that at the moment he was in a train to England, and that he didn't even have a French cell number any more. I asked then my uncle, if he had called me from any French phone number, to which of course he replied that no, as he didn't have any French numbers, and no reason to call me from one, as he has a Greek number. Sounds logical to me.

To this day, I still wonder who was that mysterious man from France, who called me to tell me in perfect Russian that my grandmother had died. FYI, I have no other relatives in France rather than my cousin, who lived there for some years. It's random, it's creepy, it's weird.

Such events may happen to a lot of people. Some call it fate, other call it destiny, I call it randomness. My life's randomness goes so deep, that I reaches Davy Jones' locker. And because my life is filled with random events, I decided to call my Saturday blogs "Random Saturday", to share with you all this randomness.

Thank you very much for reading, and stay safe my friends!

Not to forget, here is this week's song. 

Random Saturday #10 || Random Saturday #12

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 -->

Random Saturday #9: Say it with a song!!

Hello my dear Readers.

Today and at this very moment, I feel really tired and nothing interesting comes to mind for this Random Saturday. This is why I decided to make a music post, which will include 10 songs that perfectly represent my way of thinking, at least at this period of time.

1. Human - Rag n' bone man

2. The truth about love - Pink

3. Ironic - Alanis Morissette

4. Together - The Raconteurs

5.Can't Sleep Love - Pentatonix

6. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes

7. I'm no superman - Lazlo Bane

8. Mercedes Benz - Janis Joplin

9. Run Boy, Run - Woodkid

10. Always look at the bright side of life - Monty Python

Music has always been, and will always be a good friend of mine.

What is the song, that describes you at this point of your life? 

Thank you very much for listening J

You have my best wishes!

Random Saturday #8 || Random Saturday #9

Random Saturday 8: Animals are great!

Hello my dear Readers!

In today's Random Saturday, I would like to talk about my furry little friends!

I have two dogs. Well… one and a half, as one of the dogs is taken care of by both me and my landlord. My black, beautiful, lovely dog is Noir. I know her since she was 3 weeks old. Back then she looked more like a small bear cub than a puppy. A real cutie! When she was finally old enough, I took her home and she has been making my life brighter ever since. She's a half breed, and has an amazing and loving character. We’ve been together for almost six years now, and I couldn't feel anything but proud of that.

The second dog, named Bobo, or Bobik, or Fountoukos, is an incredibly lucky dog. I've He was abandoned in my yard on May 22nd 2015. I remember getting back from a wedding, and seeing something small running to hide under my car. I showed him to my landlord, and we both fell in love with him. I believe he couldn't have asked for a better home, two homes to be more precise. Everyone loves him, he gets yummy treats all the time, lots of hugs and attention, and is in a company of three of other dogs and a cat. He is this energetic, crazy little mate!

I also have a cat, whose name is Lion - O. Ever since I came to Santorini, he has been living the cat's dream life! He has all the privileges of an indoor cat, but he can also roam all day in the fields, hunt, climb on trees, and get in cat-fights. I'm not particularly happy about the last one, as I've already had to visit the vet for wound treatments a couple of times. Yes, he is castrated, by remains a manly man of a cat, so there is nothing I can do to stop him proving his manliness to other cats. Thankfully, he has his two bodyguards, my dogs. He's also have had a broken tail since birth, so his tail looks like a question mark, which I find cute!

This amazing trio has been a great company for me, for some time now. They keep me warm during the cold, winter nights, they keep me entertained at all times, and they never keep me inside the house for too long, which is good thing. Admittedly, they are not the best companions with whom to engage in a philosophical conversation, but they are great listeners whenever I wish to share my bad day with someone.

They have taught me patience. All those little "accidents" that might happen, really teach you to control the anger emotions. In time, instead of bursting in anger on them for breaking something, I started dealing with it with humor. It is not their fault after all, I should've know to place my things better around the house. With cats and small dogs, you learn to mind you steps. You also become more responsible, which is really helpful in life. My pets made me a much better person.

I'm truly grateful for having this amazing trio in my life! However hard a day I could be having, they always manage to cheer me up!

This is all for today. Hope you enjoyed.

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

Random Saturday #7

Random Saturday 7: Winter Blues...

Hello my dear Readers!

Hope you all have been well this week.

This morning was quite challenging for me, to be honest… Actually, the last month has been getting harder and harder for me. Although I feel perfectly well physically (finally), emotionally I've been having a drop, which today had one of its peaks.

It took me four hours to kick me out of bed. I didn't want to do anything, even today's Random Saturday. Eventually, I convinced myself to get out of bed, go for a run and go on with my day. Now, that I'm writing this blog I feel the urge to crawl back to bed and spend the rest of the day watching youtube videos, which of I won't do, as I like to choose work over bed to get over such times.

Yet… even though I know what is the cause for this emotional drop, it is becoming harder and harder to keep up with my daily tasks. Still, I try my best to stay positive and joke about this whole situation. Also, I started training a foal, so it could get accustomed to a halter, so it has been keeping busy and away from gloomy thoughts.  

To be completely honest, ever since I decided to open my own wedding and event planning company, I had a number panic attacks. I get doubts on the decision of starting my own busyness, I have doubts that I will be able to pull through in such critical for the world time. I guess it is a normal feeling, when taking the first steps to a professional independence, so I try not to over think it. I've invented so many ways of motivating myself to go on, that I might write a book about it one day.

Whatever the hardships might be though, I won't stop trying to make Cardoon Events one of the best wedding and event planning companies in Greece, because, as the band "Queen" says "We'll keep on fighting till the end!"

It has been only two and half months since Cardoon Events started, so it would be unfair of me to ask for great result in such a short period of time. It is amazing to know that there are couples contacting me, more and more people are reading this blog, and all the social media are slowly growing. This shows progress, and I'm really happy about it. Every new follower I get on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, fills me with the same excitement I felt as a kid when opening the presents from Santa Claus.

I guess I can start putting some more effort into Cardoon, so I won't feel like I'm procrastinating too much. Everything will turn out good, I know it, because well… I really don't have any other choice. Hehe :p

I also perfectly know that I get the "Winter Blues" around this time of the year, so it is kind of normal for me to get pessimistic! I am a sun and warmth powered person, so winter has been hard me for many years now. We have been having sunny days all week in Santorini, but it wasn't warm enough for me. This made not want to leave my warm, cozy bed, and go outside doing useful staff. I really miss the long, hot, sunny days… they are almost here… almost… here…..aaaaaaah….

On the bright side, I've been hired to work at the "SantoHorse Riding" for this summer season, and it has been a dream of mine to work with horses again, ever since I came to Santorini. If any of your wish to meet in person, you can do so there :p. And no, this won't interfere at all with my work at Cardoon Events. The owners of Santo Horse Riding know that I will be going on some wedding this year, and I will still be able to do all the planning from the stable. I'll have the best office view with the horses around me, the sun, the fresh air! This certainly makes me happy.

I'm terribly sorry that I've been whining for the second Random Saturday in a row, but since wedding planners are human beings too, we are bound to have our sad days, weeks, months. An in any case, Random Saturdays were meant to be a way of you, getting to know me better as a person, rather than just a professional. You'll just got to know the whiny side of me. J

I would like thank all of my friends, who have been on my side from the very beginning of Cardoon Events. I'd like to thank them, for keeping up with all the long faces, frowns, pessimism, panic attacks. They help me turn all that to a positive and energetic attitude towards what I'm doing. At the of the day, I always fall asleep with a smile.

I also want to thank you, my dear reader, for supporting what I'm trying to do, by reading this blogs.

I wish everyone a great evening or day, and a great week in general! 

Random Saturday 6 || Random Saturday 8

10 tips for a happy and successful marriage!

I dedicated last week's blog about divorce parties and what Santorini has to offer for a post-divorce rejuvenation trip. Although it is nice to start your new life after the divorce with a positive attitude, it is even better not to get to the point where you will need a divorce.

This Monday, I would like to write some tips on how to keep your marriage strong and everlasting. Let's get back to the positive side of life!

1. Don't rush into getting married

One good trick for keeping your marriage for ever, is to know who you are marrying, and for that you need time. Don't rush into marriage if you've only been together for six months or a year. If you believe you have finally met you other half, he or she won't run away if you don't start planning your wedding from the very beginning of your relationship. Invest a couple of years or more into getting to know your significant other, so that you won't have to face any unpleasant surprises once you are a family.

2. Share compliments

Everyone loves a compliment, especially when it comes from your spouse. Even though you have been together forever, and you have exchanged every possible compliment there is, this does not mean that you should stop! Tell your wife that she looks amazing when you see her in the morning, and tell your husband how handsome he looks in his new suit. A small compliment now and then will keep the love in your marriage and make the day of your loved one.

3. Show appreciation

Appreciate the little things your spouse does for you and around the house. Ok, it is really annoying when your are the only person who does the dishes in the house, but your significant other won't appreciate your ironic comment when he or she finally decides to do the dishes. Instead, thank him or her, give a kiss. Not only your spouse will feel good that such a little action was greatly appreciated, but he or she will also be more willing to do the dishes more often.

4. Speak & Listen

Speaking, is proven to be one of the best way to pass information to another person, and listening is the best way to receive this information. If something bothers you, speak to your spouse. If your special someone wants to talk to you about something, listen. Don't let negative thoughts and feelings bottle up. Yes, what you want to say or hear, might not be really pleasant, but it is better to discuss any problems you might have when you are calm, not when you'll burst into uncontrollable anger because you couldn't take it anymore.

5. Have humor and be patient

No one is perfect, we all have our annoying habits, and your significant other is not an exception. What if he never puts the new toilet paper roll at the holder, no matter how many times you told him to do so. Print out a funny instruction about how the holder works and put in the bathroom, for example. It will work as a funny hint, and might actually have a better result than angrily reminding him of that. All of our small habits make us into what we really are, and when marrying your other half, you are agreeing to marry all of those small, annoying habits as well. Instead of fighting over them, laugh about them and be patient… after all you have some of those habits as well.

If he or she is having a bad day, and is acting up without a reason, don't try to prove that he/she is wrong and you are right. Instead, offer a massage, a hot cup of chocolate, give a hug. Your special someone probably needs someone to grumble about things, not someone to argue with.

6. Spend time together

The older we grow, the more responsibilities we have. Be that your career, your children, a new hobby, or your daily chores. This does not mean that you shouldn't try and find some time to spend with your spouse. Enjoy a movie together, cuddle on the couch on a rainy day, set a date night once a week. This will help you relax, get away from your everyday problems, and will keep you close to each other.

7. Share your likes

Along with the habits, all of us have our interests in life. You and your significant other probably already have shared interests. This does not mean that you shouldn't take interest in the other things he or she likes to do. No need to become an expert in the field, but your other half will most certainly appreciate that you wish to learn more about his wood carving hobby. Even better, start a new hobby together, and bond even more by learning something new together.

8. Be supportive

We all have to face small or big challenges in our lives, and take hard decisions. Don't you love when you get the support of your lovely husband or wife over a decision in your life? You probably do, and I bet he or she feels the same way when you are supportive yourself. Even if you feel that you already have enough problems to think about yourself, don't be selfish and spend time to discuss your other half's problems. If your significant other turned to you for an advice and support, it means he or she really needs it. Don't take it away.

9. Stay kinky

This could be a delicate issue for some, but it is still an important subject to keep in mind. It has proven, even scientifically, that getting intimate with your special someone improves your mood, your marriage, your day in general, and it helps you feel close to each other. No matter how long you have been together, you shouldn't take the intimacy away from your life. Keep the romance alive!

10. "I love you honey!"

This is probably the most important of all the above. Don't be shy on telling your spouse you love him or her. Show him or her you love, and appreciate his or her love. There isn't a better thing in the world than being loved by someone you love back. It is not bad or harmful to say "I love you". On the contrary, it is the most beautiful thing you can tell your significant other.

Marriage is not easy. It never was, and probably never will be, but it is in our hands to make it the best adventure of your life, and not seem like an obligation. You married your significant other for a reason, so don't forget that reason when times are hard.

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you are happy and loved! 

<-- Previous || next -->