I once promised Timor and Marie that I would write a blog post about their wedding.Time got the best of me. Until tonight, when I came across an old file on my computer. I opened it and there it was, the story I had written about their wedding in Kea in the summer of 2018.
So, Timor and Marie, eight years later, this is how I experienced your day.
This is the story, no, the adventure, of my journey to meet one of the loveliest couples I have ever had the pleasure of marrying.Before their wedding in Greece, Timor and Marie had already lived quite an international life. France, Israel, Greece and Bulgaria had all been part of their story.And then there is the way they met. Timor was couchsurfing at Marie’s home in Nice.Some love stories begin at school. Some at work. Some through mutual friends. This one began with a traveller looking for somewhere to stay. I sincerely fell in love with their story. When they first contacted me about creating their symbolic wedding ceremony in Greece, I was pregnant with my second son. By the time their wedding arrived, I had a six month old baby whom I took pretty much everywhere with me.
And I can tell you, we went to some places that summer!
It was the summer of 2018 and the wedding was taking place on the beautiful Greek island of Kea. I arrived the day before the ceremony so that I could meet Timor and Marie in person and visit the location where their wedding would take place. I had both my boys with me and had arranged for a babysitter, so everything was organised. Or so I thought.
The villa was in a remote part of the island, which meant I had to put my trust in my old frenemy, the GPS. Anyone who knows me knows that the GPS and I have a complicated relationship. On this particular day, things leaned heavily towards the “enemy” part. Every shortcut it suggested seemed to lead directly into someone’s private property. Eventually, I decided I had had enough of shortcuts. I would turn around, find the main road and get to the villa the sensible way. That was the plan. Instead, while attempting a U turn, I managed to get my car stuck in a ditch. In the middle of nowhere. On an island. With a wedding couple waiting for me. I tried very hard not to panic. I texted Marie to tell her that it might take me a little longer than expected to reach them. I had absolutely no idea whom to call for help and was seriously considering calling the police.
And then he appeared.
A man with a long white beard emerged seemingly out of nowhere. I was hesitant. Actually, I was panicking. But I did not exactly have many options.“Morning,” he said.“Hey,” I replied.
I explained what had happened.His name was Grigoris.Before dealing with the car, Grigoris told me a little about himself. He had been living there for the past ten years. He used to live in Athens, but at some point he had decided to leave the city behind. He had hardly visited anyone since. After sharing his story, he examined my car. He was silent for a moment. Then he pulled a flip phone out of his pocket and made a couple of calls. There wasn't a house in sight, so I still had no idea where he had actually come from. But he was reassuring, and sure enough, about fifteen minutes later two young men arrived. Within minutes, my car was out of the ditch and I was ready to go. I didn't know how to thank Grigoris and his friends enough. I just kept saying thank you. And, because apparently rescuing me wasn't enough, they also gave me directions to the villa.This time, I listened to the humans instead of the GPS.
About an hour later, happy and extremely relieved, I finally arrived and was shown around the villa and its surroundings. Preparations were happening everywhere.Timor and Marie had chosen a DIY wedding, with their friends helping to bring everything together. The theme was dreamcatchers, and the whole celebration felt personal, relaxed and completely theirs. Their ceremony reflected their backgrounds too. Marie is of Greek heritage and Timor is Israeli, so we incorporated traditions from both cultures into their wedding ceremony. They chose the Greek wedding tradition of the stefana, the wedding crowns that are placed on the couple's heads and joined together with a ribbon, symbolising their union.We also included the Jewish tradition of breaking the glass. At the end of the ceremony, Timor broke the glass and everyone shouted:“Mazel tov!” It was exactly the kind of multicultural wedding ceremony I love creating. Different traditions did not need to compete with each other or turn the ceremony into something overly formal. They simply became part of Timor and Marie's story.
Years passed, but I never completely forgot that I had promised them this blog post. Then, last March, I contacted them again.They had just welcomed their baby, which was wonderful news to hear. They were also preparing to move from Israel to Greece. So perhaps this story does not really end on the island of Kea in 2018. Perhaps sooner or later, our paths will cross again. Until then, Timor and Marie, this is the blog post I promised you. Eight years late, but written with very fond memories of your beautiful Kea wedding, your dreamcatchers, your stefana, that very enthusiastic “Mazel tov” and, of course, the mysterious Grigoris who appeared from nowhere and made sure your celebrant actually made it to the wedding. Some ceremonies stay with you because of the words you said. Some because of the people you met. And some because getting there became a story in itself.
