• Real Weddings

This isn't no big fat greek wedding, no this is my little Crete greek wedding in neutral tones and we are so in love with it. Not only did HannaMonika Wedding Photography beautifully capture this day in their images but they also painstakingly described the whole day in such a poetic manner we feel like took part in the beautiful day ourselves

You can catch every last beautiful moment in the full gallery and be sure to keep scrolling to find Marie and Seyavash's wedding budget! Plus Marie gave us some pretty great wedding planning advice that we just had to pass along to you. 

Starting the day off right

From HannaMonika Wedding Photography: Our photography on the wedding day started at Metohi Kindelis for the preparations. Inside the bridal suite, stirred among the curlers and champagne, was the palpable sense of joy emanating from the bride and her bridesmaids. Laughter and giggles floated on the gentle Cretan breeze wafting through the open windows. As a nod to Marie’s Greek roots, the couple were married in a traditional Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony, held at the charming Profitis Elias church.

From the Bride: I put together a pallet of colors that I like together (something neutral) and then gave each bridesmaid a choice. They all pretty much OK'd every dress through me and really were super easy to work with through the whole process. This way they could choose what they wanted to spend on their dresses and most importantly something they were comfortable in. Shoes, I told them neutral and jewelry was their choice and I gifted them a gold bracelet with their name written in Greek.

To Hire A Planner Or Not To Hire A Planner

From the Bride: Disaster didn't necessarily strike but the destination wedding without a hired a full-time planner was difficult. It's really a mixed bag because both my husband and I are designers so we wanted the wedding to really feel like us and wanted the money to go towards the wedding itself then to a planner (sometimes when you hire a planner this gets taken away a bit especially with destination weddings) but it would have been a lot less work for us the week leading up to the wedding and we would've been able to spend more time with family and friends without so much stress. All worked out in the end so I don't dwell on this too much but definitely something to think about.

We were a bit behind schedule. So the ceremony started a bit later then planned which then pushed all the rest back. My husband and I weighed whether to do a first look or not and I still question if that's better. We did not have much time for couples portraits because the sun was going down - I really wanted a bit more variation in location for the portraits (for example a session on the property of Metohi) but we completely lost the sun. The benefit of the 30 minute late starting the lighting was beautiful and the ceremony wasn't scorching hot. It did then push back our cocktail hour, which by the time we arrived it was completely dark at Metohi Kindelis and we hadn't properly lit the area we were hosting cocktails. It was super romantic and lowly lit but also a bit too dark for any photos

The Perfect Location To Say "I Do"

From HannaMonika Wedding Photography: Marie & Seyavash’s colorful backgrounds have led to the kind of life that can only be described as a mosaic. Back in 2013, on a trip from their then residence in the Netherlands, the couple spent eight wonderful languid days basking under the Cretan sun. They decided then that Crete would be the perfect place to have their destination wedding – the perfect meeting point for their friends and family scattered across the globe.

The details of Marie and Seyavash’s elegant wedding are numerous and touching and as photographers we wanted to include as many of them as possible in our images. Many of the specifics were bespoke like the hand painted wedding invitations, floral bouquets handpicked by the bridesmaids on the grounds of Metohi Kindelis and assembled by Kassi Matlack, a wedding guest and professional designer. All of these thoughtfully prepared accents combined to form a rich harmonious atmosphere for the event. Add to that the serene location serving as the ultimate backdrop and the moment was ripe to be beautifully photographed and for us to indulge in documenting all this beauty.

Budgeting for This Heavenly Venue

• Accessories & Lingerie: Harriet Wilde
• Event Planning & Design: Metohi Kindelis
• Groom & His Men: Burberry London
• Hair & Makeup: Michalis Tsotras
• Lighting & Entertainment: Chania Sound
• Photographers: HannaMonika Wedding Photography
• Venues: Profitis Elias Church
• Wedding Dresses: Atelier des Modistes