Gaynor & Simon’s Meganisi villa wedding with pampas and olive details was an intimate and music-filled celebration with their closest family at the Meganisi Villas estate just outside Spartohori village. We recommended the location as the picturesque estate has its own private beach perfect for their wedding ceremony and easy flow back up to the villa terrace for champagne and a private chef dinner.
The styling and decoration for their Meganisi villa wedding used pampas and olive details. The omega shape arch had a large, full arrangement with added gypsophila. It blended with the natural surroundings of the beach which was encircled by olive trees and island grasses.
A saxophonist was key for this music-loving couple and Maestro Vassilis, arranged a playlist of their favourite dance songs in a cocktail mood including bride Gaynor’s, favourite Florence and the Machine song for her entrance down to the beach.
If you are considering an intimate and perfectly styled micro wedding in the Greek islands and are inspired by this Meganisi moment, please contact me to discuss your own plans.
A Greek island escape was the perfect setting for Emma & Matt’s emotional vow renewal with grey and olive details on a secluded Meganisi beach.
We felt incredibly blessed, happy and loved every minute of it; it really was an unforgettable evening!
Emma and Matt have been married for 17 years and have a daughter together. Following Matt’s diganosis earlier in the year they planned a family holiday in Lefkas, and looked forward to the summer.
Matt’s illness taught us as a family a number of valuable life lessons to truly realise what is important and precious to us; to make every day count and to live our best life. From this day on we chose to live by this to get us through what had become our new life in fighting this terrible disease.
Having had the most perfect wedding day we didn’t want to recreate another similar day and hadn’t planned on a vow renewal until we stumbled across Claire’s website. The elegance and simplicity of each event she has created, the very personal touches and of course the stunningly beautiful choice of locations made us think we could have a different type of ceremony. We instantly knew this was a perfect opportunity to celebrate our lives together, something really special and unique with the wow factor.
Inspired by a beach elopement, we chose to take a boat from Lefkas to the neighbouring island of Meganisi. A hidden and secluded bay, surrounded by pine and olive trees, was the backdrop for our special moment to renew our vowsat the waters’ edge.
Writing a vow renewal ceremony is an enjoyable task as it is heart warming to hear why couples love each other and how their relationships have grown. I ask them to write a few personal words about what they mean to each other and encourage the whole family to be part of the ceremony.
Emma told me; It really made us think about our life together, reflect on each other’s qualities, what we truly value in each other, our relationship and remind ourselves why we fell in love in the first place.
The details
Inspired by Emma’s Jenny Packham gown with silver beading, the decor mood of their vow renewal was grey with olive details. Soft fabrics and tones of the dresses and decor, brought out the lush green of the olive bouquet and floral details. It was all design to blend wonderfully with the natural enviroment of the beach.
A note from Emma & Matt…
Our wedding day back in 2002 was a day to celebrate our marriage with our family and friends. Our beach vow renewal was an intimate event with our daughter; just the three of us. Sharing the photos with family and friends afterwards, we were touched by other people’s reactions, views on ‘How amazing it looked’, ‘Wow’,’So so special’, ‘What a beautiful thing to do’, ‘How did I plan all the little details in a matter of weeks?’ Well, this was all down to the talent, creativity of Claire at Lefkas weddings in truly creating a dream come true for us.
My biggest congratulations on this next chapter of your love story, Emma & Matt!
Do you love the idea of planning a vow renewal but not sure where to start? Contact me to discuss how we can plan it together.
The Wedding Team:
Event Planning & Design: Claire at Lefkas Weddings
Jack and Hannah wanted a stylish rustic destination wedding in Meganisi; the tiny Greek island of Meganisi that stole their hearts. They choose the island’s breathtaking viewpoint as the place to exchange vows, before cruising the coastline to a Greek bistro venue set in the village square, surrounded by plane trees and hung with fairytale string lights.
We join our couple at the start of their wedding day story with a relaxing morning and the excitement of bride preparations at villas Melina & Christina overlooking a secluded cove in the north of Meganisi by luxury specialist The Thinking Traveller. ‘As we were having a holiday and a wedding, we rented two gorgeous villas on the top of a hill that had views of the sea for miles.‘
The ceremony took place in Spartohori village at the viewpoint known locally as ‘The Stefani’, which means crown in Greek because of its shape. The view is simply spectacular and it has become one of my most favourite ceremony locations in the Lefkada area.
The olive and gold decor mood for their wedding in Meganisi was inspired by Hannah’s love of green foliage as the main decoration, as it felt natural, understated but stylishly rustic. Being in Greece, we used olive mixed with ruscus and the long leafy strands of willow. The bride added hints of gold to the ceremony decor with photo frames filled with little messages.
We really liked the idea of a boat cruise in between the ceremony and reception. It fit perfectly with when our ceremony finished, and the walk down to the port was so pretty through the trees. The whole boat cruise really was a highlight of the day and all guests loved it!
If you are looking for a stylish wedding experience with an authentic Greek island feel, then Mika’s bistro in Meganisi has lots of charm. Set in the village square in Vathy harbour, its modern wooden decor is an excellent backdrop for adding some fantastic, floral touches and was ideal for their 40 guests. My florist team hung hoops of greenery from the roof amidst the rows of string lights. A mix of white roses, lisianthus, alstroemeria and tiny limonium decorated garlands and vases on the table with candles for soft romantic mood in the evening.
‘It was a cute little taverna in the village square with a pergola and string lights that looked really magical, however by the time it had been decorated it was breathtaking. I remember walking around the corner and being blown away by the transformation; it was the perfect mix between formal wedding and still keeping the spirit of a traditional Greek taverna.‘
From Hannah and Jack ‘We had been on holiday to Meganisi a few years before and fell in love with the scenery and laid back way of life. We found Claire from Lefkas Weddings and really could not have had the amazing wedding we had without her. She knew all the little hidden gems and had the best contacts!
If you’re getting married abroad, I can’t recommend enough getting a wedding planner, they have all the best contacts and know what will and won’t work within your budget. They speak the language and take the stress away on the day so you can focus on enjoying your big day without having to sweat the little bits. Maxeen was by far my favourite photographer, as everything looked natural and not overly staged. She was over my original budget but I’m so glad we splurged on her as photos are the only thing you have to remember the day.’
Is a destination wedding in on a pretty Greek island something you have been dreaming about but not sure where to start? Contact me to discuss how we can plan your day together.
Planning and Design: Claire Salisbury at Lefkas Weddings
Meganisi is located in the Ionian Islands, Greece. It has three villages and numerous little beaches and coves for lazy days in the sun and evenings of great Greek food. It is a short 20 minute ferry ride from Lefkada or a quick hop in a speedboat! Lefkas Weddings works together with Rebecca at Exclusive Meganisi office to provide you and your wedding guests with full assistance on the island including villa accommodation, airport transfers and car and boat rentals.
If you love the idea of having a romantic island elopement on the beach, then you are going to love this ceremony captured for Lefkas Weddings by Two Clicks Photography.
For Sally and Chris, the idea of being
married on the beach coupled with a relaxing holiday and honeymoon in a luxury
villa on Meganisi, the Ionian’s secret island escape sounded perfect.
“We opted for a first look at our villa which overlooked Ambelaki bay. Chris was waiting for me in the villa gardens and it was a lovely moment to start the evening!
For a non-traditional wedding one needs a non-traditional gown and Sally was on trend for 2018 with her chic Liberty of London jumpsuit. I personally love that the Alice McCall style she chose was called “At Last”, a fitting choice for any wedding outfit.
“As we were eloping and getting married on a beach I didn’t want to wear a traditional wedding dress. I also wanted to be able to wear my outfit again, so I felt the white jumpsuit with beautiful floral embroidery was perfect.” Bride, Sally
Floral designer, Tasos created a wild
flower bouquet which picked out the colours of the embroidery on Sally’s
jumpsuit, he included seasonal blooms and flowers like Limonium and Dusty
Miller which you can find growing wild on the island’s beaches if you know where
to look. These touches were important to the bride as she wanted to incorporate
flowers from the local area.
They asked me for a private location and I was confident that I found them the ideal little spot at Pasoumaki! It had a pretty entrance for the couple down steps through olive trees which lead them to the beach and their ceremony ring of colourful flowers. Their backdrop to “I Do” was the Ionian Sea and the sunset falling over the islands of Skorpios and Lefkada in the distance.
We stopped in Vathy village for a stroll amongst the traditional houses to soak up some of the Greek atmosphere”
To end a perfect evening they dined at Tilevoes in Vathy with a table for two by the waters-edge.
A few words from Sally & Chris: “I have always loved visiting Greece and I have had lots of special holidays there with my family and with Chris. Claire was amazing with helping us get married in Greece. She is so organised, professional, friendly and very good when our plans altered at the last minute. She did this all calmly and found our amazing photographer; Lefteris from Two Clicks. We could relax and enjoy exploring Meganisi with no worries! Thank you, Claire x”
If you are considering your own intimate island elopement in Lefkada or Meganisi and looking for a planner, send me an email here with all the details of your day. I would love to help bring your special day to life.
Thank you to my wonderful team of suppliers who helped me bring this day together:
The evening light at Pasoumaki beach was perfect for the intimate and personal Meganisi vow renewal of Nikki and Darren. This little Ionian island paradise holds special meaning as it was also the location chosen by the Bride’s parents to celebrate their own 40th wedding anniversary.
Nikki explained why the vow renewal was especially poignant for them. “We always said we would renew our vows on a beach for our 10th anniversary. After life threw us some curveballs, it seemed even more important to reaffirm our vows as our marriage has helped us grow stronger and closer as a couple.”
Their family has grown to include two children, and it was important to reflect their journey together ten years on from the wedding day. By chatting to Nikki and Darren when taking all the details of their story so far, I wrote a ceremony which allowed each member of the family (couple, children and parents) to participate, including the reading of a poem and the exchange of traditional olive garlands, known as Stefana.
Their Stefana were made with olive branches, a symbol of peace and friendship. The olive tree is one of the most beloved, sacred trees and its place is firmly rooted in Ancient Greek tradition and mythology.
It portrays a symbol of oneness between men and women, as a sign of sublime and perfect love: the twisted trunk of the tree representing intertwined bodies of two lovers turned into an olive tree, to be together throughout time.
Olive details filled the intimate ceremony. From the tree lined beach and stairway, to the finishing touches on the bonbonieres I gave them. Nikki and her daughter both held a simple olive bouquet cut from the island olive groves. The dusky, green colour of the leaves was so pretty against the white dresses and outfits they had all chosen to wear for the occasion.
After the ceremony at the beach was complete, the the family ended the special evening by dining at Tilevoes in Vathy and sitting at a table by the waters’ edge.
If you are considering your own luxury vow renewal in Lefkada or Meganisi and looking for a planner, send me an email here with all the details of your day. I would love to help bring your special day to life.
Thank you to my wonderful team of suppliers who helped me this memorable Meganisi vow renewal happen.
