Combining a dreamy location with classic and modern elements, this wedding is insanely beautiful! Anastasia and Ivan immediately fell in love with the place of Island Art & Taste at the Athenian Riviera, so they chose it for their dream wedding. Their wedding followed a classical theme with a touch of modern elements and was decorated with greenery, garlands and elegant details in burgundy, pale pink and white hues. Crystal chandeliers and an impressive wedding cake full of flowers made us fall in love! Scroll on to see some of our favorite moments. Captured by Sandy and Odysseas Photography!
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
The bride shared with us: “In Georgia, where we live, matchmaking is almost a national hobby. My Georgian language teacher wanted to set me up with her friend’s son (Ivan). I wasn’t interested – I was happy being single and the guy sounded stuck up – he was from Moscow, moved to Georgia only several years ago, very successful owner of several restaurants, everyone only says good things about him, etc etc. Several weeks later, I saw him in his restaurant, called Strada. It was obvious that he noticed me too. He was clearly checking me out, probably seeing who he is being set up with. As the dinner progressed, he kept looking over at our table again and again. And after several eye-contacts several, he wouldn’t even pretend to look away! I thought my initial judgment that he was stuck up was right, so I decided he’s not the right guy for me…”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“…The next day my friend/PR manager of Strada invited me for a complimentary cocktail. I was hesitant to go, but curiosity had taken over. After dinner, I came up to her to say thank you for a great dinner and cocktails and half way through she stops and says “Oh btw, let me introduce you to my cousin” and calls over Ivan (surprise, surprise!) He messaged me several times after that, but I still thought he would be trouble, so continued to ignore him. He didn’t give up and invited me to try out their new breakfast menu, and I had no choice but to agree. After all, who doesn’t love waffles? Our date lasted over 12 hours and finished late at night with no kiss! Several dates later and we’ve been together ever since then. P.S. Turns out Ivan had no idea he was being set up, the match was made someplace else!”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“My favourite holiday is Easter, so there was a spontaneous decision to plan a getaway to Rome for Easter weekend. Two days in the City of Love must’ ve triggered something in Ivan, so by the time it was Easter Sunday, Ivan decided that there and then he’d like to propose to me, but first had to buy a ring. Despite it being Easter Sunday in Rome, a city that dies out for regular Sundays, let alone when the Pope is about to deliver an annual speech on the famous St Peter’s Square, Ivan was determined to find the perfect ring and propose that very same day. Two hours later and one angry bride-to-be, who was left at the hotel with no explanation as to where and for how long Ivan was going, the future groom returned with a McDonalds paper bag, offering food as a way of making peace. Little did I know that at the bottom of the bag under all the food, wrapped in white paper to look like one of the burgers, there was a red box from Cartier– to Ivan’s luck, for the first time in the Cartier’s over 100-year-old history their shop was open on Easter Sunday in Rome. If that’s not meant to be, than what is?”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“I wanted a simple wedding dress, with no ruffles or lace, so when I saw this dress on Pinterest I went into a full hunting mode to find it. Let’s say it wasn’t easy, but I ended up buying the last piece left in Moscow which was left only in my size. Oh and it was -70% off, as the shop was closing down. Stars aligned for the wedding!”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“The ceremony took place in Island Art & Taste at the Athenian Riviera. With guests travelling from all over the world, we wanted a place somewhere in the middle. Greece is a country of joy, beautiful people and good food, what more can one ask from a wedding place? When we saw Island Art & Taste, we just couldn’t believe that a place like that even exists, it’s so beautiful and incorporates everything we wished for – convenient location, stunning views and impeccable catering service.”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“Our wedding followed a classical theme with a touch of modern elements. We wanted something a little different from the white weddings that usually happen at the Private House of Island Art & Taste and we wanted the colour scheme to match the beautiful greenery, so we went with burgundy, pale pink and white. We didn’t want to commit to just one colour, so tried to mix and match burgundy, light pink and white. If we had white table, then we wanted to have pink plates (which we had to order from Ikea) and burgundy favors. If we are talking about the ceremony space, we wanted to make it stand out from the greenery, so added a white drape and had the arch decorated with pink and burgundy flowers.”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“We tied the knot in the city hall a week before our big celebration, so we allowed ourselves to have the first look photoshoot before the ceremony – seeing each other in such an intimate setting was truly the most touching moment.”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“Of course we found the wedding blogs Chic and Stylish Weddings, Love4Weddings, EverAfter helpful when we were planning our wedding. We looked at almost all of the English blogs about Greek weddings to decide where we wanted to have the wedding and whom we wanted to hire as our vendors. It’s important to see them in action before you decide on “the one”, so looking at posts about previous weddings is a must for any couple planning their own wedding. We can’t stress enough how important it is to have good pictures at your wedding, because it’s the only thing that is left to remind you of your big day. We fell in love with Sandy and Odysseas Photography and wanted them to be our photographers on the special day. They were not only great photographers, they helped us schedule our day’s timeline for the perfect lighting and we couldn’t be more grateful for their tips and tricks…”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“…Same goes for wedding planners. They are your “go-to” problem solvers and you need them to know what they are doing. For days before the wedding Anastasia decided to cut her own dress and trim the hem. Half way through, came the realization that things are going poorly and the dress needs urgent fixing. Four days before the wedding! Luckily there was Paraskevi, the wedding organiser from Rock Paper Scissors, who had some tricks up her sleeve and had found a wedding tailor the very next day, so the dress was fixed just in time for the wedding. If it wasn’t for our wedding planners, the bride would probably just cancel the wedding, so you’ve got to scan every wedding blog to make sure you have the right team with you. Tip for brides – DON’T CUT YOUR OWN WEDDING DRESS!”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“Having good wedding planners is one of the most important tasks, so I would really recommend reading reviews online beforehand and message at least 3 of them to see with whom you click more. This is like picking a spouse – chemistry with wedding planners is just as important! Do not be afraid to go after your ideal wedding – we wanted pale pink plates for our reception to dilute the white, so when no rental company had pink plates, we ordered them from Ikea and it actually turned out cheaper than the rentals!”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
“Advise for brides – try to get changed into a relaxed party dress before the reception. Sitting down in a corset might seem easy, but we all know looks can be deceiving. Our only regret is that we didn’t get one big picture with all of our guests together, so don’t forget to organize that for your big day.”
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
Photography : Sandy and Odysseas Photography
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