Couples Origin: US
Ceremony: Symbolic
Celebration: Poolside dinner & dancing, 35 guests

"Michael and I decided to keep our wedding simple; we like travel and adventure and Michael suggested Greece, spontaneously as he often does. I immediately loved the idea. 

The Greek isles would mean having our special day “our way”: 1) warm, vacation attraction 2) endless culture and history 3) Mediterranean cuisine that we love 4) sufficient detachment from our traditional wedding culture which means we could create a custom experience 5) a worthy experience for those friends and family who would inevitably have to travel to be with us 6) a vacation for our friends and family, not a frantic weekend of running from event to event. 

I spent the next 10 months systematically researching island by island. I had very strict criteria. It was hard to find an island which had the right balance of frequent ferries, sufficient development for a choice among nice hotels, but not too much tourism and plenty of natural beauty and if possible, the destination would be only a day trip away from major destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini.

I had never been to Greece and Michael had not been to the Greek islands so we put ads up on Paros Web for caterers, wedding planners, boat operators, everything under the sun. We made many friendly online acquaintances this way but we also had to make plenty of calls. We got much support from the expatriate Paros community but most of the details would have to be finalized on location. 

We were so pleasantly surprised at the outpour of support from the local vendors on Paros. Mimmika from Cardeia met with us as soon as we landed on the island, our car was promptly delivered by Avant Travel, everyone was so accommodating but most importantly sweet. 

Sweet is really the word to describe our week on Paros. Our guests arrived sporadically throughout the week and Nikos, at Saint Andrea Seaside Resort took good care to ensure everyone was comfortable. He worked to put together a bar and dinner menu and arrange for a video projector and music.

We weren’t too particular about the details, we relished that our options were limited: by the language barrier, the lack of time and in general a much less developed wedding industry on the island. 

We chose to have our ceremony on some rocks adjacent to a Monastery at Monasteri beach. Thirty five friends and family joined us in a vow exchange, a simple and sweet blessing after which everyone returned to the hotel where we had a nice dinner, a slideshow, some dancing, a pool party and at the end of the night our guests strolled a few feet to their rooms. 

The day was perfect because it was simple and balanced.

Masha & Mike"


...see Maria & Michael's story come to life.