MY PRINCESS IS GETTING MARRIED

For every mother there are monumental times throughout her life. When her child is born, their baby takes their first steps, the first day of school, and ultimately their wedding day. For me the day was doubly magical because I designed every detail AND my husband and I gave our daughter away to gain a new son!

I've watched each phase
Of your life unfold,

Leaving beautiful memories
For my heart to hold,

Impressions left in my mind,
That cannot be erased by time.
As I turn the pages made of gold,
I see the baby I used to hold

And there you are at every age,
As I turn to the final page,

We've reached the end of volume one
But volume two has just begun…

Her friends helping her to get ready for her Big Day

The hustle and bustle of a wedding day is frantic, exciting, scary, and memorable all bottled into one. My daughter’s friends helped her make sure every detail was as beautiful as she was!

Her dad is helping her wear her wedding shoes. (Greek custom)

It is Greek custom to have the father of the bride help put on her wedding shoes. I love this photo as it symbolizes father and daughter sharing an intimate moment without any audience. Both of them will cherish this moment, as the start of a new life.

 

Night image of the ceremony site (Thessaloniki – Greece)
  
I chose these beautiful baskets with white flowers to highlight the aisle. The gorgeous backdrop of the architecture, coupled with the simplistic white draped chairs makes for the perfect wedding location. Everything is ready and waiting for the couple to make their debut and be married.

When choosing the decorations I decided that a designer wouldn’t know my daughter as well as I did! I knew what would make my daughter’s wedding beautiful and lending my design ideas and expertise to her day, made me feel closer to my daughter as well. It truly felt like a once in a lifetime event to plan, and I was fortunate to be at the forefront.

We designed these handmade rice bags, perfect for a keepsake for our guests afterwards too! After the ceremony every guest throws rise to the wedded couple to have a long and prospering life together, completing their family with children. These bags were placed on each guest’s chair, to use them at the end of the ceremony.

As the wedding began her proud father lead her to the man of her life.

As the couple resides at the front of the ceremony, the two maids of honor stand behind them. Everything is set for the ceremony to begin.

Later that evening it was time to get ready for the reception. The entrance has a long alley and it was decorated with hundreds of candles hanging and placed on the ground. I wanted the scene to feel like an illuminated storybook forest, to take away from the long alley aesthetics. I think we achieved it beautifully.

All the tables were set under the dusk sky, and every detail had been thought through carefully. After all, we all love the ceremony, but the reception is where everyone gets to enjoy themselves and have fun!

The welcome buffet at the end of the alley welcomes the guests with wedding candies and welcome drinks before they find their table.

At each table there were wishing cards for each guest to write something for the couple and they could hang them on the centerpiece. Every table had the same wish tree so the guests wouldn’t have to wait in lines to leave their wishes for the couple at the entrance.

 
I enjoyed making the centerpiece and wishing trees, as they symbolized unity, but they also looked dramatic and beautiful coupled with the candlelight.

A view of the reception area as the evening carries on.

The warm whites, lanterns, and centerpiece were a simple yet elegant way to bring light in the seating area, but also cast a glow amongst the guests. It made for a designer’s dream to be able to have daytime and evening decor work beautifully together in this decorating corner.

The wedding cake is the second ‘guest of honor’ for the reception, and it sits amongst gorgeous flowers, and toasting glasses for the couple to make their first cut of the cake together.

For the guests to take home, the wedding favors (a bride and a groom) were waiting at each place setting, along with the wishing card to fill out well wishes for the bride and groom. On each card it read: “give us your blessings” .

The party favors were purchased from an online retailer, but then made special by us wrapping each of them individually in tulle. This added uniqueness to each one, which made each guest feel special when unwrapping it.


For the invitations we chose custom made ones, so that the bride and groom would have a one-of-a-kind invitation to be cherished for years to come.

May your love conquer all obstacles that come your way

May you always be as happy as you are today

I will miss the little girl you used to be

I cherish the woman who stands in front of me…

Have a wonderful wedding day, my Princess

What a magnificent day it was, and I appreciate you sharing it with my family and I.  I hope all of you get to share the tradition, the magic, and the joy of being an integral part of your child’s wedding day!