During the festive season you find yourself immersed in culture, vibrant colours and surrounded by family. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in this week’s real wedding or shall I say real Greek wedding. Samantha and George’s gorgeous wedding has one of the most beautiful ceremonies we’ve ever seen, along with heart warming family moments and beautiful images capturing the love our couple have for one another. Keep an eye out for our very own makeup artist Camilla J Collins whose wonderful work made Samantha look every inch the Grecian goddess she is.
Bride and Groom… Samantha and George
Wedding date… Saturday 29th June 2013
We met… At work. I was a bar manager and George was the DJ for a private party at the bar.
The proposal… George popped the question in Paris on my birthday. I thought we were going to break up as George seemed to be off for a few weeks leading up to Paris. We had recently miscarried and I felt he was being secretive and working longer hours, but all along he was arranging to meet up with my mum to ask her permission to marry me and to buy the ring. When George asked me to marry him by the Eiffel Tower, I was completely blown away. My exact response was “Are you being serious?!” George just smiled and said “yes I am serious”, he didn’t hear my answer. I had to ask him to put the ring on. It was quite a comical moment!
We knew it was ‘the one’… Sam: I was attracted to George instantly, “love at first sight” as they say. I knew George was the one after I saw him with my son, Kai. He treated him as his own from the start and I knew there and then I wanted spend the rest of my life with him and to have more children with him because I knew he’d be a great dad.
George: the night we met, I knew there was something special about Sam. I thought she was drop dead gorgeous and I was instantly hypnotized by her beautiful smile and bright blue eyes. We split up for a while, not having Sam in my life made me realise what I had and deep down I knew I would not find anyone to replace her, she was my one and only and I knew she was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Length of engagement… Was 2 years as we had to save up for our Big Fat Greek Wedding.
How did Confetti.co.uk help in your big day? I found Camilla in the directory, she did my hair & make up.
My dress was… From a little boutique in Hamden Square called Treasured Moments. I tried on about 10 before finding the right one. As soon as I put the dress on I knew it was the ‘one’. I was actually out shopping on my own when I found the dress. I took mum to see it, when I came out the dressing room she was speechless and burst into tears.
My hair and make was... by Camilla J Collins
Our wedding ceremony was held… at St Demetris church in Edmonton. It was a Greek Orthodox wedding. The church was full with at least 200 guests. The most memorable moment of the ceremony was the traditional part where the couple try to step on the other’s foot to stamp their authority on the marriage. George, with the helpful hint from his mum, got there first and stepped on my foot and then again and again just to make sure everyone in the church saw that he had stamped his authority. The whole church burst into laughter at this point.
Our wedding theme was… Yellow, gold and ivory
Our bridesmaids were… Georgina who was my maid of honour and Hannah. Our beautiful flower girls were Rosie and Fotini.
Our groomsmen were… Demetris who was George’s best man, Lee and Simon who were our Ushers; and Kai, Christos and Jack were our page boys.
Suppliers:
Wedding Dress: from Treasured Moments | Wedding Photographer: Vas Studio One Photography | Wedding Hair & Make-up : Camilla J Collins | Wedding Venue: Bruce Grove wedding hall
Our wedding photographer was… Vas Studio One Photography
Our wedding reception was… at The Regency Banqueting suit in Bruce Grove. George’s mum suggested the venue so we arranged a viewing. As soon as I walked in I looked at George and said, “I want it! I want to have our wedding here!”
Our first dance was… My Destiny by Jim Brickman. We chose this after George was putting music together for an event. I was asleep on the sofa and when I woke up all I had in my head was this lovely song.
Our favourite part of the wedding was… Sam: My favourite part of the Wedding was making it official in front of all our friends annd family, no more boyfriend and girlfriend, we were now all grown up and officially Husband and Wife.
George: My favourite part of the wedding was when we took to the dance floor for our first dance. In those 3 minutes I was lost in the moment and though there were 300 guests around us, it was the only moment of the day that felt as though it was just me and my wife standing and dancing together.
What is your advice for other brides? Plan well in advance and pay attention to the details. It’s the small things that tie it all together. On the day, DO NOT worry about things that might go wrong…whatever happens on the day happens! You must have faith in all your preparation and ENJOY the day. As for your budget you will always go over because you forget the little things but it’s good to have a realistic idea of how much you can or want to spend.
Also find a special pair of shoes for the day. I bought diamante studded flats as I knew I wouldn’t last in heels and that I would be extremely uncomfortable in them for an hour long church ceremony. Wearing flats was a great idea as I wore them all night long, danced all night long and at the end of the night, when all the other ladies were complaining about their feet hurting, my flats were still as comfortable as they were when I first put them on!
Our honeymoon was… We not had a honeymoon yet as we think the children are too young to leave for too long, but we did have a family holiday to Cyprus after the wedding. We plan to go to the Seychelles for our honeymoon eventually, but we will wait until the kids are a little older.
Suppliers:
Wedding Dress: from Treasured Moments | Wedding Photographer: Vas Studio One Photography | Wedding Hair & Make-up : Camilla J Collins | Wedding Venue: Bruce Grove wedding hall
Create the look
I just love the rich yellows and gold from Samantha and George’s real wedding so much that I’ve been inspired to create this regal mini mood board.
Above, clockwise from top left: 5 Arm Wedding Candelabra | Classic Round Table Number Holder in Gold | Pearl & Vintage Gold Wire Ornamental Tree | Tulle by the Bolt
