Santorini Bitchez!

When Stephanie contacted me back in 2018 to ask me if I would conduct her wedding to Scott in May 2019, and that the only thing was, it was to be in Santorini, and would I be prepared to travel? I must admit to giving her request some deep thought.

Fifteen nanoseconds later, I said "Yes, of course, I'd love to!"

I first met Stephanie when I conducted her beloved dad Stephen's funeral back in May 2013. Amidst the tears, there were also a lot of laughs as he was some man.

I also conducted her gran and granda's funerals, and her cousin Charlene's wedding, so I'm pretty much the family Celebrant.

Stephanie is a fantastic organiser, so when she offered to take care of the logistics, I didn't say no.

I arrived at my hotel not long after midnight on the Thursday (technically Friday morning) and was shocked to discover there wasn't a pub open! What was a thirsty Celebrant to do? Catch up on Game of Thrones was the answer (wasn't Series 8 a complete downer?). 😀

The view along the beach from just outside the hotel next morning made up for the lack of beer the night before...

A lovely view I'm sure you'll agree.

Some might say this view is even better...

I had arranged to meet with Stephanie and Scott to do a recce of the venue called Le Ciel (http://www.leciel-santorini.com/) so we went up on the Friday afternoon.

The view from the venue is just stunning as this next pic shows:

Apparently you're looking into what used to be the centre of the island, until the 16th century BC, when a volcanic eruption devastated the place. Some say this gave rise to the legend of Atlantis, but I digress.

The only downside to the first day, is that the weather back in Scotland was also brilliant, thereby removing my ability to gloat. Can't have everything!

So onto the big day itself.

It got off to a good start with the coach up to the venue; everyone looked great, dressed up to the nines and in high spirits. No pictures though. What happens when a coachload of Glaswegians are getting bussed around Santorini, stays in Santorini. What I can say though, is that the front of the bus cannot sing. Allegedly ... 😂

A quick selfie before the ceremony. Also an excuse to stand in the shade. 

The next few pictures are of the ceremony itself, and I don't think any words are needed.

(Image by Phosart Photography Cinematography)

The ancient Scottish tradition of "tying the knot" using a piece of material that had been in the family for at least five minutes, because someone forgot to bring the actual materials out from the UK, and then the replacement materials from the local market. I'm not telling you who forgot them, because ah'm no a grass.

The beautiful violinist entertaining the guests after the ceremony. She was just in the way of the photo of the scenery, honest.

Mr and Mrs McAtear!

One of my favourite pictures of the entire trip.

My actual favourite picture of the entire trip.

 (I took this myself in case you're blown away by its brilliance. I also conduct ceremonies 😊)

Now, Santorini is famous for it's churches with the blue domes on top. Sadly, I was on the wrong part of the island for these, so this mini-church is the closest I got. Kind of cute though, no?

My chariot awaits at Santorini Airport.

The end.

p.s. A big shout-out to Stefania and her team at Ever After Events and Weddings (http://everafterdays.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/everafterdays/) who made sure the entire day ran flawlessly. If any of your clients ever express a preference for a Humanist Celebrant with a Scottish accent, a fantastic sense of humour and amazing photography skills, please pass my number on!