Against a natural backdrop of the Aegean, Myconian Collection‘s exceptional properties are just picture perfect for idyllic weddings as this fabulous Jewish wedding of UK couple Claudia and James, who tied the knot in their favorite holiday destination, Mykonos.
As we read on Smashing the glass, #1 wedding media platform, Claudia and James worked with an amazing team of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their dream day a reality. Their first port of call was Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J, who was, as always, “a dream to work with and took a lot of the stress off us in the planning process and the day.” Michelle helped the duo translate their island-perfect color scheme of crisp whites and blues into the fabulous day at the Royal Myconian you see in the wonderful photos by Anna Roussos.
The couple’s stationers, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Cartalia, designed the most exquisite pocket-style invitation suite in coordinating blues and whites, and the couple’s chazzan, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson – who they flew out from London along with two of his musicians – performed in their trademark unforgettable style at the chuppah and again for the Israeli dancing.
And we haven’t even mentioned the fact that Claudia was lucky enough to have a bespoke wedding dress designed for her by a close friend of her mum’s – none other than Jenny Packham herself!
We’ll turn you over to the bride for the rest…
First of all, a little about you both…
We met through mutual friends in 2013. James had just finished his masters and Claudia had just finished her second year at university. Today, Claudia works in Advertising and James in Affordable Housing.
Where did you get married? Why did you pick this venue?
We got married in Mykonos, which was like our second home. We went for 7 summers in a row after our meeting with one of the hotel owners of the Myconian Collection on our first trip there together. Since we have become close friends with him, we decided to have our wedding in this island. We chose the Royal Myconian as it suited our style of the wedding best, we had our Chuppah and reception on the Sunset Terrace and the dinner and dancing in the Horizon Suite upstairs.
Tell us a little about your hair and make-up.
My make-up was done by freelance make-up artist Maria of @makeupmykonos who was amazing and had done celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Lady Gaga when they were on the island. My hair was done by the incredible Konstantinos of @konstantinoskontizas
What about the dress?
It was so special to me! My mum’s good friend, Jenny Packham designed my wedding dress for this special day. At my final fitting I put on my dress, and it was magical. It was exactly what I envisioned and Jenny and her whole team made it such an unforgettable experience!
What was your favorite part of the ceremony?
We had a Jewish ceremony which was put together by our celebrant Jonny Kustow, as our Rabbi options weren’t able to make it due to travel restrictions. With Jonny being Jewish himself we were able to put together a bespoke ceremony which included the Jewish traditions but also allowed us to include readings and elements which wouldn’t normally be included in a traditional Jewish ceremony. My favorite part of the ceremony was the bedeken as it was such a special and emotional moment for us all. We flew out our Chazzan, Jonny Mosseson and two of his musicians (a violinist and keyboard player) performed our Jewish songs at the Chuppah and then later on, before dinner, they performed the Israeli dancing songs.
Who did your catering? Did you have any fun food styles? Tell us all about it!
The food was catered by the food and beverage team at the Royal Myconian. We knew that food was so delicious so it only made sense to work with them. We chose together a bespoke menu for our guests but we didn’t want a cake. Instead we went on with a dessert buffet and we had also some midnight food options for all the guests.
And what about your music?
We had a D.J. called Richard Horn at our wedding who was a renowned global DJ from the island. He was amazing at reading a crown and playing music which gets everyone up dancing. He also worked with a singer and saxophonist who came to perform at our wedding during the dinner between courses. Our music choices are vast so we went on with a mix of old school, Motown, contemporary, house and pop music.