The Sailing Boat Adventure
If you have read my previous article, you already know how our wedding morning looked like and all the details about our beautiful religious ceremony. (If you haven’t, just click HERE). This being said, we said Yes in front of God and we were now ready to celebrate this moment.
The beautiful white Church of Saint Nektarios is situated in Heraklion, opposite the port so we thought that a sailing boat adventure would be the perfect way to end the ceremony. Said and done. After searching for days on the internet and not finding anything we liked, we have decided to find a boat once we were in Crete.
We have arrived in Heraklion 4 days before the ceremony and 3 days before our guests so that gave us time to explore the area a little and take care of the last details. On our second day on the island we went straight to the port and talked to all the boat owners and workers till we found Nikolas that offered us 2 sailing boats for us and our guests. Apparently, there is a law that prevents having more than 10 persons on a boat in Crete (possibly Greece, but I am not sure). There are exceptions for certain types of boats, but we couldn’t find another solution on the island so we’ve decided to rent two of them to sail around Dia island right after the ceremony.
The Mad Waves
The sea had other plans for us and the waves were crazy. We couldn’t tell that from the port, but after exiting in open sea, we sure felt it. It was too late to turn around and party in the port because the first boat was already far away so we’ve decided to go with the flow.
The way to Dia Island was rough and we thought we were going to take a forced swim in the sea multiple times. Imagine me dressed in my wedding dress praying to get there safely while not ruining the dress and hair :)) As a plus, I get sea sick when the sea is rough and this was not an exception.
After 40-50 minutes, we have arrived to Dia Island and immediately after entering the golf, the waves dissapeared and we managed to relax and enjoy our time. We’ve started with a beautiful photo & video session with Ioana & Vasi Porav that gave us memories for a lifetime. Suddenly I was not sad anymore. It was all worth it.
We’ve continued with champagne and a delicious greek lunch on the boats. The boys took a swim to Dia Island and they were received by a baby rabbit on the beach. After a couple of hours, we headed back to the port, this time a bit more relaxed because we knew it was hard, but we were going to make it to land safely.
If we could choose again, I do not know if we would be “brave” enough to go back on a sailing boat on our wedding day. We would definitely verify the weather and, especially, the wind, to make sure things will go smoothly.
Do we regret it? Hell, no! We will never forget this adventure. Through tick and thin, right?
Was it worth it? Just take a look at our wedding photos and answer by yourself 🙂
The Villa Party
Since our wedding was definitely not a typical one, we have decided we don’t want to end the day at a restaurant with a classical wedding reception. This was the reason why we put so much accent on the the villas where we’ve stayed in Crete. It was a beautiful complex with 3 linked villas with 3 pools and 3 jacuzzis that could sleep 22 persons. The villas are situated 3 minutes away from Kournas Lake and offer a panoramic view to the sea.
After discussing with the owner, Minoas took care of everything and prepared a big table for us on the terrace of one of the villas right in front of the pool. We had everything we needed at the property: cutlery, plates, glasses etc. He also helped us with excellent food from his brother’s restaurant situated just 3 minutes away from the villas and welcomed us with champagne and fruit on arrival and after the wedding.
The After Party
The party started in the afternoon and obviously continued the second day as well with a barbecue by the pool 🙂
We are so happy because we were able to celebrate this special moment of our lives with our family and closest friends in a beautiful location on an amazing island, despite this crazy pandemic!
What we’ve liked even more, is that being away from home helped us only focus on the wedding by spending the days together and really felt the happiness of the moment, not only for one day. If we were to choose again, we wouldn’t change a thing!
The wedding adventure continued in Santorini, but I will tell you all about this in another blog 🙂
Special Thanks
Once again, I want to thank the people behind <3
Photographer: Ioana Porav
Videographer: Vasile Porav
Dress: Rhea Costa Bridal
Shoes: Casadei
Wedding Bands: Cartier
Hats: Palaria Dadarlat
Stationery: Charmink Calligraphy
Location: Minoas Villas Crete
