DIY backyard summer wedding | Greek summer festival wedding

DIY backyard summer wedding in Athens, Greece

When Johan first met Dora, one of the first things he said to her was if you love live music and beer, we will get along very well. Turns out, those are also two of her fave things, so they met at Norway’s biggest music festival for their first date. A few years later, they named their baby girl Eyja (meaning island) after it. And one year later, on little E’s first birthday, they said I Do at The Kokotos Estate in Athens in a casual, festival-themed celebration. Um, talk about a good story, right?! Thanks to Think Happy Events and photog Sandy and Odysseas for sharing!

A few notes on their ceremony (and this cuuute chapel!) from Think Happy Events: The ceremony was held at the estate’s picturesque small church with the presence of their beloved family and close friends. The atmosphere was emotional and electric, filled with pure love, happiness and joy. The golden light of the sunset against the rolling hills and rows of seemingly endless vineyards of the estate, constituted the perfect natural backdrop for this exceptional ceremony.

Their wedding colors were inspired by the Greek summer sunset, with soft pinks, peaches, and yellow combined with white + natural greenery.

Pro tip from our bride for all you flower crown wearers: be sure to try it on at least once before the big day!

Dora tells it, Johan’s favorite memory was when he first saw me in my wedding dress walking with my dad towards him. For me it was the moment we entered the venue after the couple photo session and saw the beautiful table and flower arrangements and the string lights hanging from the trees. All our guests were there, happy for us. They were clapping their hands. My grandma, who cannot walk very well, stood up and gave us her wishes and hugged us. Then my dad and mom with our baby Eyja joined, and then my brother, his wife, Johan’s parents… all the close family was hugging. This day was very special for both because our baby Eyja had her first birthday! There was a cake for her, just before the dinner!

Have you ever seen beer bottle vases look this cute, BTW? Especially with all these cheerful graphic designs by Atelier Invitations.

To keep the meal just as laidback and interactive as the rest of the wedding, they had three different food stations, each representing flavors from a different country. They also had a coffee stand, bar, custom dessert station, and ice cream truck!

The wedding was a summer festival, with our favorite music (especially during the dinner), good selection of Greek beer from different microbreweries, good quality of Ethiopian hand brewed coffee from our favorite coffee roasters in Greece, beautiful fresh flowers, wooden tables and benches and string and fairy lights! We are both very simple people and we wanted minimal, down-to-earth decoration, yet colorful and festive! Our wedding planners did a great job.