A dream wedding in Santorini

Adelaide couple's Greek island wedding video goes viral


The picturesque and all-time favourite island of Santorini was chosen by 24-year-old Greek Australian Paree Hristo and her now husband Adrian Aufiero as a wedding destination last summer.

“We visited Santorini a couple of years ago and absolutely fell in love with the scenery and the amazing, endless views of the caldera,” says Paree in an interview with Neos Kosmos.

“Honestly, we just wanted an intimate wedding with our closest family and friends, and what better place than Santorini.”

The young couple just loved the idea of spending an entire month in Greece with so many of their loved ones, who travelled to the other side of the world just to celebrate with them.

“We had 80 guests in total – 74 were from Australia and six from Greece”, says the bride, whose family originates from the Peloponnese and the island of Nisyros.

The lavish ceremony was filmed by Adelaide videographers Karl Baroudi and Najah Baroudi from I Do Cinema, who also accompanied the couple for their big day and claim that the international wedding market is currently booming.

“A lot of people want to do something different from the norm and have something more intimate overseas,” explains Karl.

“And let’s be honest, it is winter here and we thought we might as well go on holiday, and if we can get jobs on the way, it’s not a bad idea at all,” adds Najah.

Paree arrived at the Saint George Greek Orthodox church in Oia in a local designer Paolo Sebastian wedding dress, and the reception that followed at the Rocabella Resort was nothing short of a dream.

“We can definitely agree that one of the most memorable moments of the night was when we walked into the reception as ‘husband and wife’,” says the couple, who crossed paths in a coffee shop roughly eight years ago and have been together ever since.

“Words cannot describe how breathtakingly beautiful it was to see all of our guests dressed in white as the sun was setting over the endless views of the Aegean Sea.”

 

For Paree and Adrian, the most unique part of their wedding day was the fact that so many of their closest family and friends travelled all the way to Santorini from Australia to be part of their special day. They never thought that their wedding video would go viral within a few hours of being posted on social media.

“It was just so romantic, although there were some funny moments too, like when my father Nick was trying numerous times to lift me up on the white donkey while all our guests were waiting for the bridesmaids and myself to walk up to the church, only to then realise that this ‘donkey’ was so big there was no way I would be able to ever get down again,” laughs Paree.

After their white-themed wedding with uninterrupted views of volcanoes and the blue sea was over, the couple stayed in Greece and enjoyed the summer sun and crystal clear waters before heading off to Italy, where Adrian’s family is originally from.

“We then visited the Amalfi Coast, Positano and Capri, which was also beautiful.”

To watch the video go to: https://vimeo.com/177981665