10 reasons to have your destination wedding in Santorini!

Photo by dreamonphotography.gr

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

1. Mesmerizing views

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

2. Magical sunset

Photo by clickbychristos.com

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

3. Beach Weddings

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

Beach weddings in Santorini

4. Honeymoon and Wedding together!

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

5. On a budget

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

6. Different season, different beauty

photo by dreamonphotography.gr

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

7. Unique traditions

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

8. Wine tour cocktail hour

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

9. Professionalism

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

10. Experience of a lifetime!!

photo by clickbychristos.com

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

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

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

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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!

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Brief Introduction

Hello and welcome. I believe that it would be polite to introduce myself before starting posting anything else. My name is Yana, and I’m a wedding and event planner in Santorini, Greece. I spend my days enjoying the magnificent views that the island has to offer, going for walks with my two dogs, reading books, knitting and doing other DIYs, and of course planning weddings and events. 

A lot of people ask me, why did I become a wedding planner? To be honest, the answer to that question is simple and boring: I needed a job. The real question I should be asked is why I remained a wedding planner, even though the island offers a big variety of different carriers to follow, including my dream job – being a horse riding instructor. Well, the answer to that question is because being a wedding planner is an amazing job! I absolutely fell in love with the whole process of planning a wedding!!

There are a lot of things that I love about this job. I have the chance to meet so many amazing people, and it gives me great joy to know that I can help them fulfill their dreams of a perfect wedding day. I love the journey which begins from the very first email I receive from the couples, to their “I do’s”. I get to be part of their new beginnings in life as a family, share their tears of absolute happiness. Even though this job has a lot stressful moments and comes with a great responsibility, the heartwarming feeling I get just by knowing I made someone happy, makes every bad moment worth the trouble. 

And of course, there’s creativity! Let’s not forget about that! With every wedding or event, I get to do something different, something new! Thinking and preparing the decorations for a wedding is the best part of the planning process. I get to experiment with different DIY’s, spend time daydreaming and coming up with new ideas, learn a ton of new information on various topics. The creative part makes this job even more exciting.

It was the moment I realized all the above, which made me take the decision of becoming an independent wedding planner. This is how “Cardoon Events” was born. 

Through this blog, I will share with you all my thoughts and my experiences on weddings and events, give advices to future brides and grooms, and give you an insight to the life of a wedding planner. I plan to post every Monday and Thursday. I’ll write about various topics that have to do with weddings, marriage proposals, parties, and I will also share my thoughts and experiences on Santorini, its restaurants and entertainment options.

Thank you very much for reading and I hope to see you around!

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