When you have two beautiful New Zealanders saying “I do” in a site as stunning as the Greek Island of Crete, it’s kinda guaranteed to be good. And with White Ribbon Boutique Events Coordination leading the way, the goodness just gets even better. From this romantic bouquet to a night full of dancing, I sit here pouring over Anna Roussos’ pics, wishing I had been a guest. See it all in our VAULT right this way!
From the Bride… Like all good stories it started with amazing wine and food. Jonny was working on a big project away from home with my cousin and we would often spend the weekends away as a group eating and drinking. I guess it was during this time together that we realized how similar we were and our relationship grew. I was so surprised when Jonny proposed I didn’t believe him at first. We had gone to a beautiful resort in Fiji for my birthday week and we were having bubbles in our bure, he cleverly crafted a ring out of the champagne cage and before I knew it was down on one knee proposing with his creation.
Jonny had always talked about eloping, but we wanted to include our families, so instead we chose Greece so we could have a small traditional Greek ceremony, since Jonny is Greek and a big party with everyone when we got back. It was the best of both worlds. Although organizing a wedding from so far away was tricky and we couldn’t visit any of our vendors before the wedding, it was outweighed by the positives.
I had never been a girl that had imagined my wedding before I was engaged, but once I started looking at weddings abroad, I had a clear idea of what I wanted. I loved Anna Roussos’ style of photography, with the beautiful soft light and knew from the get go, she was a must have.
I had always wanted an alfresco courtyard dinner and with the glorious days in Rethymno we were all able to sit out in the courtyard till the early hours of the next morning without once thinking about the temperature. We chose Crete as it has a more rural feel than some of the other islands, and a lot greener which reminded me of home.
Agreco Farm was absolutely picture-perfect with an amazing courtyard and landscape. Also they had the cutest chapel on the grounds which we were able to use, we couldn’t all fit inside so we were married in the late afternoon sun in front of it, by the local Priest. There is a lot of paper work to get sorted with a traditional wedding in Greece, so we were very happy to have White Ribbon Boutique Events help for this.
Since we were unable to source everything we needed in Greece, so we did some DIYing and we organized some details from New Zealand like stationery, linens, lights, etc.
While we had our photos taken, our guests were entertained with a tour of the farm. Agreco makes all its own products like wine, olive oil, raki and honey. I don’t think our guests even noticed we were missing as they enjoyed tasting the local produce and visiting the farm animals.
The food was amazing in traditional Cretan style. Being proud kiwis we brought our gorgeous Central Otago Pinot Noir and a couple of other Prophets Rock wines which paired perfectly with the quail, lamb and suckling pork all organically grown on Agreco farm.
Later, there was even time for a lesson in traditional Greek dancing! We will never forget our trip and how special the locals made us feel.
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Photography: Anna Roussos | Event Planning + Design: White Ribbon Boutique Events | Wedding Dress: Custom Made By The Bride | Invitations: D & D Letterpress | Bride's Shoes: Tony Bianco | Rings: Anna Sheffield Bridal | Calligraphy: Michaela McBride Calligraphy | Venue: Agreco | Groom's Accessories: Hugo Boss | Groom's Shoes: Rivieras | Groom’s Attire: Harrolds Melbourne | Invitation Artwork: Moena Moxham | Linen Rentals: Matha's | Ribbon: Silk and Willow | Veil: Alison Blain | Wedding Crowns: Anna Marguerite