As luck would have it, the homeowner knew Mary’s work and was open to her transforming the grounds for the occasion. They only had three days to prepare, and everything was made-to-measure, designed around the landscape. “Even though I know from doing our shows that anything is possible, it was still nerve-racking to have to transform the raw grounds into a magical garden of Mediterranean trees and Greek herbs in just a matter of days!” Mary admits.
To ensure everything ran smoothly, the designer collaborated with event planner Fay Vallidis. “She is behind the most memorable events in Greece,” Mary says. “I first worked with her on our show at the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio, and she gained my trust then. She, like me, doesn’t believe anything is impossible! Even so, it is nearly impossible to produce everything bespoke in August in Greece, but somehow she managed!” In addition to commissioning made-to-measure pieces for the event, Fay assembled a dream team of vendors that included Secret Garden for the flowers and Tempo Events for light and sound.
Naturally, the fashion was also personal and bespoke. Mary’s dress and Marios’s tux were designed and tailored at the Mary Katrantzou London atelier, while Athenian jeweler Kessaris created wedding bands for the occasion. “On the historical flag of Spetses, there is a snake that stands for wisdom, knowledge, and reason, so I chose to wear Bulgari’s Serpenti necklace for its symbolism and the connection to the island of Spetses,” Mary adds.
Godmothers HRH Princess Marie Chantal of Greece, Sabine Getty, and Eugenie Niarchos also wore bespoke Mary Katrantzou gowns, all inspired by the colors of the christening, which were green, red, yellow, and blue. The dresses were custom-made in order to highlight the unique personalities of each of the women, with each picking their individual color and silhouette, and hosting their own table at the celebration designed to match the color of their dress. (Mary also designed the dresses in emerald and mint green worn by her mother Katerina Katrantzou and her friend Nasiba Hartland Mackie.)
On the day of the event, the couple’s parents, their matron of honor, and their best man all served as witnesses at the wedding ceremony, which was held prior to the rest of the guests arriving for the christening. “We didn’t want the ceremony to be too long or take away from our son’s important day,” Mary explains. “Archimandrite Gregory oversaw the service and had a special surprise in store for Michael’s christening. He brought out an icon of Archangel Michael that he had found and restored when he joined Agios Nikolaos. It was created by a very well-known Greek artist, and after the ceremony, it was moved to a museum.”
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