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a wave
pink weddings magazine » 59
MIKE And KIERAn
relatives join us for a ceremony at sea, with an evening
reception at The Emelisse Hotel in Fiskardo. We would then
host a larger party back in the UK for everyone who had not
been able to join us in Greece.
With everything arranged in principle, we began to plan
the details. However in August of that year our King Charles
Spaniel, Sammy – our baby – was diagnosed with heart failure
and we were told that the best we could hope for would be ten
to 12 months. This coincided with the planned ceremony but
we didn’t want to leave him, so we made the decision to
abandon our dream ceremony in Cephalonia and do something
in the UK instead. Sadly we lost Sammy just seven months later,
by which time we had arranged a small ceremony in Cornwall
at the hotel we had booked for our original UK evening
celebration. However, we’d been experiencing difficulties with
the hotel and so, with our hearts still really set on Fiskardo, we
contacted Rachael to see if there was any chance of organising
something small at short notice, for just the two of us.
*****
And so it was we found ourselves setting off from Fiskardo
Harbour late afternoon on 26 June. We cruised around for
about an hour before mooring in one of the bays used in the
film Captain Corelli's Mandolin, for the exchange of vows. As an
animal lover herself, Rachael had been really sympathetic to our
situation with Sammy and even included a few words about him
in our vows – making an already emotional day even more so!
To tie in with the overall theme of the location she had selected
a reading that had also been used in the film – really beautiful
words and the perfect choice in the context of our day.
When choosing our outfits, rather than matching, we
had each wanted something that would complement each
other while reflecting our individual style. With the
temperature in the high 30s we had decided against wearing
suits, opting instead for a casual shirt and trouser combo in
our preferred style.
When you have a dream day in mind, you wonder if it's
possible for the reality to live up to your expectations. But I
have to say that Rachael and her team delivered a day that
was way beyond anything we could have hoped for and really
couldn't have made things any more perfect. We had had
some reservations about having the ceremony without friends
and families, but with everything eventually being organised at
relatively short notice, it just wasn't possible. However the
intimate nature of the ceremony actually made it very special.
Afterwards we returned to Fiskardo harbour with Rachael and
Kostis and enjoyed a celebratory dinner – and abundant
champagne! – at Apaggio, our favourite restaurant.
‘I think that we both
realised fairly early on that
we’d found “the one”.
What we had together
was very special and
unique – something that
we wanted to last forever.’