An Intimate Greek Orthodox Wedding at St. Paul’s Chapel in Lindos Rhodes
by the newly-married, Mrs. Catherine Ward
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be writing about my very own Lindos Rhodes Greece destination wedding! I’m third-generation Greek-American, meaning that all of my great-grandparents were born in Greece and immigrated to the US. Growing up in Greek-American communities meant that the only weddings I ever attended were, well…big, fat, Greek ones! Few things warm my heart more than celebrating the Dance of Isaiah (a couple’s ceremonious first steps as husband and wife in the Orthodox Christian wedding service) and later seeing loved ones dancing the kalamatiano through a big ballroom, hearing joyful wishes of “Na zisete!” to the newlyweds all night, and sneaking extra koufeta in my purse for the ride home.
When it came time to plan my own wedding, however, I couldn’t picture something big; thankfully, my groom was just as inspired as I was by the idea of a small, intimate, destination wedding on the island of Rhodes. We were married at the historic and picturesque location of St. Paul’s Chapel in Lindos, Rhodes, with a reception at the beautiful Ampitheatre Lindos, where we danced under the stars, as the lights of the Acropolis of Rhodes twinkled at us from across the bay.
Ian Miller marries Toula Portokalos
Our Love Story
“Toula, we never thought this day would come. Never!” Let’s just say, I empathize with the main character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding as one of the last of my friends and family to get married. By the time I met my now husband, I had been to hundreds of weddings – between attending them as a guest and having worked in the catering industry. Despite being around weddings for every year of my twenties, I never gave much thought to what my own wedding might be like until I fell in love with my handsome groom.
I consider myself an “old soul” and was resistant to the idea of dating apps for years. I eventually downloaded Hinge, with low expectations that I would be able to find “the one” in a sea of profiles. Lo and behold, the first guy to ask me on a date was a guy named Tyler from New Jersey. We bantered about our love of 90’s and 2000’s music on the app before he asked me to meet for a drink at Delux Cafe in the South End neighborhood of Boston. I was SO nervous to meet a guy on an app! I nervously walked into the bar and saw Ty smiling at me from the end of the bar; I felt my skepticism disappear and had the best last first date I could’ve asked for.
Ty proposed to me about a year and a half later, on the steps of the bar where we had our first date. When we sat down to start wedding planning, I was relieved that he was open to the idea of a small wedding in Greece. We didn’t have our hearts set on anything just yet, but were leaning towards that idea when we went to Greece a bit later that summer on a family vacation. We visited Rhodes, the island where my dad’s side of the family is from. The moment we laid eyes on St. Paul’s Bay, Ty and I both fell in love. Nestled at the bottom of a cliff, right on the water, is a little white chapel. At this very site, St. Paul the Apostle visited the island of Rhodes and preached the Gospel of Christianity. After our trip, Ty and I did quite a bit of research on various wedding locations, and our hearts led us to plan our wedding at St. Paul’s Chapel. From there, we landed on Ampitheatre Lindos as our reception venue. The Ampitheatre is actually a clifftop concert venue with an unparalleled view and a sleek, open air space for dinner and dancing. We felt these two locations would bring our dream of a simple, meaningful destination wedding to life.
5 Things We Learned Planning our Greece Destination Wedding
Our wedding planning process had its ups and downs, which is the case for any wedding regardless of location. We learned a lot along the way and want to share those insights with anyone considering a destination wedding in Greece.
- Flexibility is the name of the game. The biggest theme of our wedding was flexibility. We had curve balls thrown at us throughout the planning and even during our wedding day. Prepare to be flexible, and you’ll enjoy the experience much more. Greeks don’t plan as much as Americans, which can be a bit of a culture shock! In the US, it’s common for brides and their wedding planners to speak often for months or even a year leading up to the wedding; in Greece, we found that wedding planners might offer one or two Zoom calls and tell you that they’ll meet you the week of your wedding to discuss the rest! We also learned that Greek wedding planners could have 150+ weddings in a summer, and they rely on their standard processes rather than customizing as much as we are used to in the US. They are much more flexible about deadlines, to the point where certain aspects of our wedding weren’t finalized until the two days leading up to the wedding. As a “Type A” bride, this was certainly a lesson in patience for me!
- Be on top of the paperwork. Wedding paperwork can be confusing anywhere, but it was one of the most tricky parts of planning our wedding in Greece. We were advised to have all possible paperwork translated prior to our trip, which was probably the most helpful tip in our planning process! The extra tricky part for us was that we wanted to have a Greek Orthodox wedding, which meant that we had to complete both religious and civil paperwork. In Greece, the Church and State are connected, and in our situation we didn’t have a choice but to go through the Town Hall where we were married in addition to all of the Church paperwork. We did learn that these processes differ depending on who you talk to, so our advice is to get ahead of things and be sure to have translated copies of your documents with you. For us, those documents included our birth certificates, baptismal certificates, letters from our priests stating that we were free to be married (in other words, we were both single and in good standing with the Church), our koumbaroi’s marriage certificate and a letter that they were also in good standing with the Orthodox Church. For translated documents to be considered valid in Greece, they must be stamped by a lawyer in Greece. There are options to take care of this upon your arrival, but we opted to have a Greek lawyer help us in advance. Bring multiple copies of your translated documents, because most Greek offices still rely on hard copies!
- Low guest count = maximum room for activities! We capped our guest count at 35, which included our immediate families and a few very close friends. We wanted to celebrate our two families becoming one by offering a few optional activities for our loved ones to spend time together. With a small group of people, it was easy to find rental villas near each other, which made it easy for us to coordinate transportation and events. We recommended that guests arrive in Lindos at least three days before the wedding. On the first night, we had a casual welcome dinner on the patio of a rental villa. The following day, we planned an outing to the Old City of Rhodes for guests to see historic sights, go shopping, or visit the beach. Our wedding planner helped us coordinate a boat cruise, which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Finally, we celebrated our rehearsal dinner at our favorite rooftop spot in Lindos, the Lindian Apollo Bar, the evening before our big day. The other perk of having a small guest count was that we were able to choose from any church or venue, given that we could fit just about anywhere.
- Have someone in your corner who speaks Greek. Although many people speak English in Greece, we found that speaking Greek was almost necessary for everything to go smoothly. If you don’t speak Greek, we highly recommend bringing someone with you to help ensure things go smoothly and that there aren’t miscommunications due to language barriers. When it came to processing our paperwork, we were required to go to both the Metropolis (for the Church) and the Town Hall, once before the wedding, and once after. Our wedding planner was bilingual, but didn’t come with us to these appointments. Make sure to ask as much as you can about the process in advance so you can plan ahead to bring a translator with you, if needed.
- Embrace the unexpected. We had a few surprises the day of our wedding that we now cherish as hilarious memories. For starters, Rhodes is known as the “Island of the Sun” because it hardly ever rains there. Both the chapel and wedding venue were entirely outdoors and we didn’t even discuss a rain plan with the wedding planner because, well, it “never” rains there. You guessed it! It rained off and on while we were at the chapel. Our wedding planner thankfully brought umbrellas for our guests, and our sweet koumbaro held one over our heads during the whole service. Thankfully, the rain cleared up so we were able to take photos and enjoy the wedding reception with a breathtaking double rainbow in the sky. We have lots of other funny memories, like when the sweet priest from Rhodes popped koufeta directly into our mouths at the end of our wedding and promptly told all of our guests that he hopes we have children very quickly!
Greek Orthodox Wedding at St. Pauls Chapel in Lindos, Rhodes
Our Lindos Rhodes Vendor Team
Lead Photographer: Alexis El Massih Photography
Assistant Photographer: Giannelis Photography
Wedding Planner: Lindos Weddings
Chapel: St. Paul’s Chapel, Lindos, Rhodes, Greece
Reception Venue: Ampitheatre
Florist: Flowers Shop Lindos | Creations by Zoe
Hair and Makeup: Nigal Spa Retreat
Gown Designer: Rebecca Schoneveld Bridal
Gown Shop: Glo Bridal
Dress Alterations: Juliette’s Alterations
Suit: Hive and Colony
Invitation Suite Design: Framed by M Kat
Invitation Suite Printing: Cards and Pockets
Bridesmaids Pajamas: Spikes and Seams
Hair Pins: Jay Kay Braids and Bridal
Greek Lessons: Glossonauts
Bridal Scarf: Hermes
Our Best Advice to Couples Planning their Greece Destination Wedding
Amidst the confusing paperwork and unpredictable elements of our wedding day, there was one constant that put us at ease: Alexis! We knew that no matter what happened, our photos would capture the beauty of Greece and immense joy of celebrating our marriage. Alexis and I had several conversations early on to discuss our vision, timeline, and details of the wedding day. Working with Alexis was the smoothest part of our destination wedding planning process because she has “been there, done that” when it comes to just about anything!
Alexis takes care to understand her couples on a personal level, uncovering their hopes, dreams, and concerns about their big day. It sounds simple, but one of my goals for the day was to be present and not feel rushed, so I could enjoy every fleeting moment. At Alexis’ suggestion, we added extra time for hair and makeup on the morning of our wedding day. With that small change, I was able to have a leisurely, fun morning with my family and friends while we got ready and snapped photos along the way. By the time we arrived at the chapel, I was so full of joy and excitement that the rain didn’t bother me.
Alexis also knew that the photos I was most looking forward to were the ones that would be at St. Paul’s chapel: the traditional to the chapel with my family, my groom waiting at the gate, and of course, the sacrament of marriage itself. Seeing my *now* husband waiting for me with that bouquet of bougainvillea filled my heart in a way I’ve never felt before, and I’m so grateful to Alexis for capturing moments like that exactly as I knew she would. Destination weddings require coordination and flexibility, and having Alexis there every step of the way made the experience that much more special!
Alexis El Massih is a Greek American wedding photographer serving Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Greece destinations.
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