The love story between Paulina and Anastasi began 12 years ago, where they would randomly see each other at house parties and festivals but were never formally introduced. It wasn’t until one night out when Paulina was with her good friend, who also happened to be Anastasi’s cousin, that they spoke for the first time. From that night on they instantly became friends.
Six years later when Paulina became single, they started seeing more of each other. Anastasi asked Paulina to dinner, which she didn’t think anything of and two years after that, Anastasi made the first move. The rest is history and they created their own love storybook.
In April 2016, the couple along with a group of friends were going to Coachella and travelled around America, including stops to Los Angeles, Vegas, Palm Springs and finally ending in their favourite city, New York.
It was day two in to their time in the Big Apple, when the “absolutely perfect” proposal changed their lives, Paulina says. They were walking through Central Park when they sat down on a bench overlooking the skating rink. Paulina was in her own world taking beautiful snaps when Anastasi asked her if she had fun on the trip?
Paulina recalls “I respond by telling him it has been the 'most amazing trip' and just how much fun I was having. He then tells me ‘its about to get better’. I instantly looked at him and he was holding an engagement ring. I couldn’t believe it, my first response was, 'is this real?' I was completely surprised as we had never really spoken about marriage. It was hands down the best day of my life, after my wedding day of course.”
When asked about her wedding, Paulina says “Our dream wedding, where do I start?” The engaged couple had originally booked and secured their venue and suppliers in Brisbane, but a month or two into the planning process they realised it was not for them. Working in the wedding industry Paulina knew how quickly the day goes by and felt like her wedding was just another job, it wasn't exciting.
“I knew I always wanted a destination wedding and would flirt with the idea but didn't believe it was ever possible. What we envisioned for our day was something more. So we decided to call a couple of our friends and family and test the idea. We were so surprised with how many people loved it. The next morning we cancelled all our suppliers and venue and started to plan our destination wedding, and just like that we were getting married in Greece.”
As both Paulina and Anastasi have a Greek background, Greece holds such a special place in their heart. After researched between Santorini for its beauty and Rhodes because Anastasi’s parents were born there, they came across Ktima Lindos and Paulina was instantly sold. At that moment the couple decided this was their ideal location.
Looking back at the planning of her dream destination wedding, Paulina says one of the hardest things was booking a venue from the other side of the world without knowing what the island or venue had to offer. She was making many decisions based on a few photos and just had to cross her fingers.
Of course she researched for months after making her decision on Ktima Lindos and was very hands on. For the big day, they used both local and Australian suppliers. Their Photogarpher/videographer, Sarah and Jason from Lucas & Co along with their Florist/Stylist, Charlie from Stylised Events were all from Australia. Everyone else was referred to and supplied by Manolis from Ktima Lindos. This included the celebrant, DJ, saxophone player, bouzouki player, fire works and lighting.
The day of the wedding, 20th July 2017 came in no time. “Waking up in Greece makes you want to pinch yourself, it didn’t feel real. Greece honestly makes you feel so relaxed and not have a care in the world. Our ceremony didn’t commence until 6:30pm followed by our reception and then dancing till almost 4:00am. The whole experience was so memorable and perfect. Seeing the past year of planning come to life on our wedding day and how surreal the venue and location was breathtaking,” Paulina reminisces.
“One moment that really stands out was on the wedding night. I had organised fireworks without my guests or husband knowing and as we were cutting the cake, the fireworks went off. The look on my husband's and guests faces was priceless. Along with ordering 300 kilos of flowers from Amsterdam and having my entire bridal party sit there with me the day before the wedding for 5 hours de-thorning, blooming and sorting through them.”
After the wedding, the newly married couple travelled to Mykonos and Santorini with a group and continued celebrating. From Santorini, Paulina and Anastasi then left their family and friends behind and made their way to Kythira, Nafplion, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Rome and Florence.
“Having a destination wedding and being able to travel around Europe with our friends and family was the best decision we ever made," says Paulina.
