Santorini Dream Wedding

"What would your dream wedding be?" That was the question. Well...besides "Will you spend the rest of your life with me?"

When we initially started thinking about our wedding ceremony, many ideas came to mind and we went back and forth between having a small traditional ceremony and reception locally, more of a destination wedding with family on a beach, or just simply saying "I do" in a familiar forest. We actually almost went through with wedding in Sedona, AZ a couple days after Snowman proposed at the Grand Canyon. A lady wearing a long flowing dress was to meet us at Merry Go Round Rock. It didn't go through and wasn't meant to be...because something else was:) Then we were set on a ceremony under the stars at the Observatory in Cincinnati. Once we escaped from the impulsive let's just do it, and the concerning "how it should be" thinking we reached ourselves. We thought about why we are together, what brings us together, and what this marriage truly means to us.

Love is beautiful. Love is easy and natural and even more beautiful when we're alert to the present moment and expectations, judgment, assumptions are non-existent. We are just two people who want to give each other this love and help each other be loving energy in the universe. Inspiration for our wedding ceremony came from our desire to support each other in this simple presence and of course from nature.

We decided on wedding in Greece because of it's aesthetic natural beauty, rich history of civilization,  Mediterranean roots from our own heritage, and opportunities to experience love within their culture. Plus we're both Pisces...water babies. The Cyclades are heaven for us!

Kosta Savva Photography

Once I set my eyes on Turquoise Tranquil Villa in Oia, Santorini....I knew this was the spot for us to do our thing. I contacted the owner, booked a stay, and he gave us his blessing on getting married at the villa. Once in Oia, his assistant helped us first of all find the place and get settled in, then pick up a wedding cake from Lixoudis, a local bakery. I couldn't find a florist the day before. I ended up just picking a few flowers from a vine on the villa terrace and wrapping a wet paper towel, then a lace curtain and white ribbon hair tie around them. OT creativity right there. We wanted to plan some things and let others just happen or not happen. We wanted to have some tradition mingled into our crazy adventure.


Prior to our wedding day we spent time together exploring the nature and culture of Athens, Paros Island, and Naxos Island. Santorini Island would be our last stop and we would explore the beauty of this island for a few days after our wedding day. We did have to do a little research on how to transport a wedding dress throughout travel. I ended up ordering a clear plastic garment bag to protect the dress from water. Then folded up the bottom part and put the dress within the clear bag inside a luggage garment bag. I let it hang straight when not in transport and brought a steamer to use once in Santorini, however Snowman fried the steamer by not using our surge protector once we got there. So we just let it hang straight over night and it was just fine. 

During the ceremony we had my parents Facetime in and had a few friends/family record readings. We selected meaningful music to play in the background. We had a blessing of nature since nature helps bring us all to the "now", as well as blessing of the rings. I found my nature object on Mt. Zas and Snowman found his on the beach in Paros. We found our rings the night before our wedding in Oia at an art gallery. The blue opal and Greek symbol for eternity seemed like a good fit for us. One of my favorite readings which helped inspire our ceremony and helps guide us today was "A Gift From The Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Kosta Savva Photography

"When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.

Kosta Savva Photography

The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides."

Kosta Savva Photography



Kosta Savva Photography

After the ceremony we moved to the upper terrace to share the traditional cake, champagne, and toasts! I surprised Doug with several voice memo toasts from family and a few close friends. We then went out for an adventure with our most amazing photographer Kosta Savva to explore some more remote areas of the island. I found Santorini Wedding Photography through someone else's blog post, so hopefully someone else can find it here! Snowman and I could not be happier with the photos. The photographs captured our moments and love so perfectly. Plus we had lots of fun exploring the different areas of Santorini. When my mom saw the photos she said "These are true art. There's composition." When some other family and friends saw the pictures they said "They look fake!" Combination of picture post card perfect setting, true love, and talented photographer equal some great pictures. Maybe someday we'll return to Oia with family and stay in Turquoise Tranquil Villa once again.

Kosta Savva Photography