How about getting married on a Greek Island? I wouldn’t say no.. Anthea and Marty travelled half way across the globe, from Seattle in the very northwest US, to do just this. Their beautiful destination wedding in Greece was described by their photographer Anna Roussos as “elegant and romantic”. We love Anthea’s long veil and the soft, delicate pink used in her shoes, the roses and the bridesmaid dresses. More from the bride below on making the decision to have a destination wedding on Spetses island and details of the day.
Destination Wedding Decision
I first visited Spetses when I was a child, and it is an island I have returned to time and time again. For our wedding venue, I wanted my future husband, our families and friends to discover the island I had been captivated by for so long, and we were overjoyed when so many loved ones accepted our invitation to escape the cold, rainy Northwest US for a Greek island getaway!
The Day
The hotel that provided the home base for our wedding week preparations was the elegant Poseidonion hotel, built in 1914. The church where we were married was over two hundred years old, with ornate, gilded icons, a bell tower made of Tinos marble, and an amazing pebble mosaic courtyard. Its vantage point above the water, with a view of the island’s traditional whitewashed seaside mansions, created an amazing storybook backdrop for the ceremony.
Approaching the church on a horsedrawn carriage through a path scented with the island’s plentiful jasmine, led by traditional island musicians, I remember rounding the bend and seeing, one at a time, all the people in my life that have meant the most to me…and when the carriage made its final circle in the courtyard, the last person I saw was the groom, seeing me for the first time as well. We will never forget that breathtaking moment. It was the culmination, not just of months of preparation, but the culmination of all of our lifelong hopes and dreams, and the collective hopes and dreams of everyone who had first seen us fall in love and traveled so far to witness our marriage.
Greek Traditions
The ceremony was a traditional Greek ceremony in every respect, with traditional stephana wedding crowns and very enthusiastic throwing of rice! After the ceremony our guests traveled via water taxi to our incredible reception venue, a two story taverna, surrounded with bouganvillia, pine and palm trees, with a gorgeous view extending across the Saronic Gulf to the Peloponnese coast. The upper level was perfect for our sunset cocktail reception, and, underneath a full moon, to watch the spectacular fireworks that my husband and I planned as a surprise to our guests! Looking around our reception, seeing the intersection of old friends and new, American and Greek, laughing, celebrating, and dancing the kalamatiano, was simply extraordinary. But my favorite part was riding through the streets of town on the carriage with my new husband, as the locals, strolling the streets, swimming in the water, going about their day, saw us, waved and shouted: “na ziesete!” (“long life to you!”).
Thanks so much to Anthea for her story and to Anna Roussos for the lovely photos.
