So, this is the story of Nikos and Elina's wedding. Oh! I almost forgot to mention that Amilia, their beautiful, beautiful daughter had her own ceremony too! So, we first got them married and then we had a name- giving ceremony. But first things first. So, this was not the first time I had a double ceremony. I remember I even had one the first year I started working as a celebrant in Greece. Elina reached out and we had a WhatsApp video call during which Amilia- a newborn at the time- and her godmother-to-be interview me. Usually I am the one who's trying to figure out how and if I can help the people that reach out to me and a little interview is necessary. Well that was not the case. They interview me instead. A couple of months later we scheduled a new meeting and this time they called me from their home in London. I remember Nikos was trying to feed Amilia while we were video chatting and somehow we started sharing parenthoods' struggles as I had a 1 year old baby boy at the time. To be honest I can't even remember how or when we decided that we would work together and I would be their celebrant. So, three months forward, we meet at Amilia's godparent's flat. It felt like we all knew each other for years. We had our rehearsal which turned into a rehearsal dinner as wine and pizzas were served and their koubara joined too. Next day I got dressed up, applied my signature barely- noticeable make up, got in my car and started my adventure. Confession time. I almost every time use GPS, right? I mean, some of you people choose to get married in some breathtaking but slightly hard to reach sceneries and that was the case for Nikos and Emilia's wedding. The venue was actually an estate near the ruins of a byzantine tower somewhere in east Attica. My friend GPS found a shortcut. I knew it was a mistake which I would greatly regret. Spoiler alert, I did. I was driving on a dirt road for 20 minutes. Stray dogs would bark trying to defend their territory, I drove through a stream, some workers of the greenhouses around were staring at me trying to figure out why I was there, why I was passing by. I now believe that they hadn't seen a stranger's vehicle for a long time. I'm not gonna lie. At some point I thought I was lost and got scared. In the middle of nowhere I finally saw somewhere in the horizon the ruins of the tower. A bit later I came across a crossroad where from guests would drive their way to the estate. Coming from the main road as I should have. Anyway, I eventually got there, the venue was amazing and the ceremonies were full of tears (the koumbara - shout out to the lovely Marilena- would not stop sobbing and laughing simultaneously, happy for her friends) and laughter. I left the best part for the end. The party was amazing. Cocktails and street food were served, it was a truly epic party. Guess what. On my way back home the GPS did not gave me the option of the dirt road route... I mean, what is wrong with it? All in all it was one of my best adventures as a Greek celebrant. Stay tuned, there are many other failed GPS stories coming soon...
