Hannah and Jack's White, Green and Gold Beautiful Greek Wedding by Lefkas Weddings

Today I am taking you off to sunny Greece for this stunning destination wedding. Hannah and Jack chose the Greek island of Meganisi for their beautiful Greek wedding as as they had holidayed their previously and fallen in love with the island. They wanted to keep the decor simple, so not to detract from the beautiful backdrop. They did this with white flowers greenery and gold accents in the decor. The overall look is stunning, from the gorgeous ceremony overlooking the Mediterranean sea, to the cosy, beautifully decorated wedding reception, where the flowers really are the star of the show. What a gorgeous day all planned to perfection by Lefkas Weddings and captured by Maxeen Kim Photography.

The most beautiful day of our lives; from the scenery, to the decoration and the whole vibe of the day. An unforgettable day in a picturesque location that was perfect in every way and so much more than we could have ever imagined!

Hannah and Jackwere married on 31st May 2019 at Spartohori village, Meganisi, Greece, with the reception at Mikas, Meganisi, Greece. ‘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 had 40 guests. In total it took about 2 years to plan. 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.’

How they met
We have been together 10 years this year. We have known each other for years and have mutual friends but officially we met on a night out for a friend’s birthday. It took a couple of weeks of Hannah messaging Jack and asking him out before we made it to the first date.

The proposal
Jack booked a weekend away in the Lake District in gorgeous boutique hotel with our own private hot tub. We had booked a little boat to go out on Lake Windermere the following day. It was a great day exploring the different places along the lake, and on the way back in the boat he asked me to drive as he wanted a break. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!

How did you allocate your budget?
Jack was in charge of the budget, he set up a spreadsheet that had a line by line allocation. We got a budget breakdown for the day from Claire and then we added to it to our sheet. Jack definitely hadn’t budgeted for me changing my mind on my first wedding dress and buying a second! Claire was great with giving options of different price ranges so we could ensure we didn’t go over our budget.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
Definitely splurged on the two dresses! As we were having a holiday and a wedding, we splurged on our accommodation for the time we were there. We rented a gorgeous villa on the top of a hill that had views of the sea for miles. The flower budget went out of the window, but I wouldn’t change that as the decoration looked stunning!
We really liked the idea of a boat cruise in between the ceremony and reception. The full day charter for the boat was over our budget but Claire knew how much we wanted it so she found a way for us to have a shorter evening charter by moving the timings of the day slightly later in the afternoon. It fit perfectly with when our ceremony finished, and the captain of the boat put a few decorations up which looked great. The whole boat cruise really was a highlight of the day and all guests loved it.

How did you choose your photographer?
I had a list of the photographers our planner used and I looked through her Instagram wedding feed. Then I looked at each of the photographers websites and Instagram accounts to get a feel for their style. Maxeen was by far my favourite, 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.

The dress
Dress: Pronovias. Accessories: Earrings (gift from Jack on the day) Cravens Jewellers, Leeds Necklace – something old, borrowed and blue – was Hannah’s Grandmas necklace. Shoes: Carvela

The suit and Bridesmaids
Jack doesn’t like overly formal, so he opted for a more relaxed look of tailored shorts and a crisp white shirt. Shirt – Reiss. Shorts – Ted Baker. The bridesmaids were Maya at ASOS

Theme or colour scheme
I really wanted it to be an elegant, yet understated wedding, I didn’t want the décor and colour scheme to take away from the stunning surroundings so kept it simple with a white, green and gold colour scheme.

Flowers
I wanted something simple yet beautiful and my bouquet was made up of all white roses. The bridesmaids also had white roses but mixed with olive. The rest of the flowers for our ceremony and the taverna were a mix of white roses, lisianthus, alstroemeria and tiny limoniun, together with salal, soft ruscus and Greek eucalyptus leaves. We had a flower garland for our table and vases and candles for our guest tables. From the pergola roof there were hanging flower hoops in between the string lights.

Decoration
I was obsessed with Pinterest and loved how people had used foliage as their main decoration, it felt really natural, understated but gorgeous, hence why my flower budget went out the window! I accessorised the ceremony with hints of gold using photo frames with little messages in them.

Food
The food never stopped all night! Mika’s could not have done more to ensure we all left completely full! We had a four course menu, created especially for us. It started with 3 types of local bread with Tzatziki, Green lentil houmous and Guacamole, a second course of traditional chicken filo pie and spinach-feta filo pie. The main courses we chose were chicken, beef Stifado, lamb shank and seafood kritharoto which is like Greek risotto. I was set on really wanting a Mars bar cheesecake for dessert which wasn’t something they had made before. Claire said she would do her best to ensure I got it and she delivered! It was delicious and spot on especially saying they had never made one before. The owners made us a traditional Greek bride bread decorated with flowers and sugared almonds and they explained that at island weddings the couple has to cut it and share with the guests.

Wedding cake
Single tier, naked Victoria sponge cake. We cut and served this on our cruise from the ceremony to the reception.

Entertainment
I was set on wanting live music however I couldn’t find anyone within my budget that could do the music I wanted. In the end we settled for our own playlists for the ceremony and boat and then we had a DJ for the reception.

Who supplied the stationery?
I work in an advertising agency and one of my colleagues kindly designed everything

Where are you going on your honeymoon?
It is still being planned due to getting pregnant and not been able to do the winter Canadian trip we had planned! We did travel up to Parga, on the Greek mainland for a few days after the wedding before heading home, so we’re calling that our mini moon.

Personal touches
Rather than give our guests traditional favours we decided to make a charity donation to Cancer Research UK as both Jack’s mum and my sister had both been affected by breast cancer.

Special moments
It’s so hard to pick! The view from the ceremony location was breath taking. The boat cruise really got the party started and was definitely the highlight for the majority of our guests.

Advice for other couples
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.

Biggest surprise
Walking around the corner and seeing Mika’s decorated for the first time. 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 breath taking. I remember walking round 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.