Outdoor wedding at the winery with a mountain view

Today I am going to tell you a story of a beautiful wedding day that took place the family winery at the heart of the island of Crete. It was so peaceful and quite that even me, wedding planner, I enjoyed it if I was one of the couple’s guests. True, I have got a stress-free wedding day. I want to thank Olesja and Dmitry for the trust they gave me. It is so important to me.

Olesja said: I have always dreamed of a small wedding in a picturesque environment surrounded by a few people I love the most. And when the day came to plan our wedding, I already knew I wanted to have it in Greece. All we needed was this country with great weather, exquisite cuisine, helpful people and breathtaking views, and the first thing that came to my mind was the island of Crete where we have passed our holidays few times by then. We made a shortlist of guests, came up with the dates and started to search for a wedding planner. Even if I planned the small wedding reception, I would like to have somebody by my side. Somebody who would assist me and protect.

That’s how we met. I believe we, wedding planners, also have a love-story with every couple we assist during this BIG day.”We don’t want to have our celebration close by the sea,” – Olesja said. – “We have been to Crete many times, we love sea, meanwhile we want to have an outdoor wedding ceremony somewhere at the mountains.”When I have got an enquiry from Olesja and Dmitry, the winery as wedding venue came to my mind. I love the Dourakis winery, run by Evi and Antonis. We have been knowing each other since 2011. I guess it was our first wedding reception we made at the winery in Crete.

We started the wedding day with the preparation rituals. A photographer, Egor Matasov made pictures that deserves to be at the cover of a glossy wedding magazine. I was surprised how fast he found an access to the bride and to the groom. “I didn’t expect it would be so fun, our wedding photoshoot,” – Dmitry said then. – “Actually I hate being in front of the camera, but suddenly I have found myself by posing to Egor with pleasure. All the wedding stress has gone away.”

The couple chose for a stay the Makaris Resort and SPA. Here we did the first look, a moment we all were waiting with impatience.

The couple arrived to the Dourakis winery alone to enjoy the moment of intimacy. In couple of hours they would become officially a husband and a wife. We organized the civil outdoor ceremony. Hopefully the local town hall met our request in a positive way.

It was so hot that day, even at 5 pm. I proposed to go down to the wine cellar and to have some shoot there. It wasn’t a part of a plan, there is always a room for improvisation during the wedding day. The wedding day flow depends on so many factors, that’s why we have to be flexible without harming the confirmed schedule.

The lighting was so cinematic that the photographer couldn’t stop making pictures there. We were about to be late to the wedding ceremony, which took place close by in front of the modest chapel of Jesus the Savior (11 century AC). I really felt sorry that I had to interrupt the creative process. But this is the part of a wedding planner job to be a badass sometimes.