Our wedding story – how we produced a wedding in Greece

Yonatan and I met back in 2013, when I was on my way to an internship at Chef Moshik Roth’s Michelin star restaurant in Amsterdam.

Very early on it was obvious that Greece has a special place in Yonathan’s heart. He used to share stories and experiences with me and very quickly I had caught his enthusiasm and love for the place, the food and local culture.

At the time Yonathan was the manager and owner of bars in Jerusalem while I’ve been traveling around Europe for several years following various internships in Michelin star restaurants.

Three months after we met, while we were having lunch, Yonathan presented an offer for me – one I couldn’t refuse – to become his partner in a Greek restaurant he plans to open in Machane Yehuda market in Jerusalem.

I know exactly what you think – many people would probably think twice before launching a professional joint venture with your partner – especially if it’s a new relationship and you don’t really know each other that well. But I wasn’t thinking in that direction at all – the idea fascinated me and I simply said yes! Indeed, a month after that lunch we had already chosen a location and started renovations and tastings and even chose a name – Sirtaki – inspired by the Greek Zorba dance.

Since that day, and almost 9 years after, Yonathan and I have been working together in perfect synergy.
SirtakiBar operated for three years in the Machane Yehuda market, three years in which we kept making plans and dreamed of moving to Greece, building our lives there.
In 2016, while in Cyprus for a family vacation, Yonathan got down on one knee on a magical beach and asked me to be his partner again, only this time it was a lifelong partnership he offered. I, if there is any doubt, said yes!

Even without discussing it we both knew that we wanted our wedding to be in Greece. We wanted something special to celebrate our relationship – an event that will leave a memory of our experiences and love.
When we started planning our wedding party, even though we know Greece really well, we knew it would be a challenge to bring a large group of guests (140 people), some from Israel, some from other places around the world, to the same place and on the same date.

We started with Googling “wedding production company in Greece” and found out very quickly that those companies could not give us what we are looking for as most of them merely coordinated between the hotel and the suppliers but not the rest. We couldn’t find a company that can actually take an active part in producing the event and naturally, the prices did not match our budget.

We knew exactly how we wanted our wedding to be – and at this point, we decided, determined and full of excitement, we are taking this project upon ourselves and we will be producing our wedding ourselves. It was decided that Yonathan was responsible for finding the perfect location and I was responsible for the menu, concept and atmosphere.

Our starting point was Athens – as we were looking for a relatively central place with a lot of flight options per day. We started searching for beach hotels no more than two hours’ drive from the airport.
After a month of searching, we received a reply from someone who later became a good friend – Eleftheria, manager of the Grand Blue Hotel in Evia island.
In her reply she wrote “Dear friends from Israel, we will be happy to host you for the most exciting day of your life, we suggest you come to visit us this month so we can get to know each other and see how we can help”.

In mid-November we took a flight to Athens, rented a motorcycle (I don’t know what I was thinking! It was so cold) and drove to Evia. A quick Google search before we boarded the flight told us Evia is the second-largest island in Greece, still new to tourists but with amazing beaches and a supportive community.

We stayed on the magical island for almost two weeks and after we signed the agreement with Eleftheria’s hotel we started looking for various suppliers: photographer, makeup artist, transport provider, florists, etc. while Eleftheria helped us connect with the right people in town.

Upon our return to Israel, we started with the important task of sending the wedding invitations. We created a dedicated website for the wedding that was scheduled for September when the invitations were already sent in February for people to have enough time to save the date and make plans to celebrate with us for three days. The website gave them the option to confirm their arrival and the number of rooms they will need which allowed us to control the number of guests and saved us valuable time later on the logistical arrangements.

Time flew and by April we had already relocated to Amsterdam following a job offer we received developing restaurants for the European Park Plaza hotel chain.
When September came, and with it high levels of excitement – the wedding was finally here and we were excited to see our family and friends.

And so the wedding celebrations began:
14.9.2017 was the day of the reception. A group of excited guests, friends and family members landed at Athens airport on two flights that morning and headed to the hotel. That evening we all met at the pool area to raise a glass and mark the beginning of the celebrations.

The deal with the hotel was all-inclusive: meaning we paid for all the meals and all the drinks so our guests did not have to worry about anything, they just came to relax, enjoy and celebrate with us. After dinner we celebrated with a wild pre-wedding Henna party with Mofletta crêpes and Baklava pastries brought from the village.

On Friday while everyone was still launching on the beach and pool, the makeup artist and hairstylist had already arrived and I started getting ready for the ceremony, which started at sunset. Yonathan’s uncle married us and we wrote our ketubah (marriage contract) ourselves. A festive meal followed the ceremony, and then a party that continued into the night (as far as we can remember) The next day, on Saturday, we let everyone recover from the party and in the evening we had a closing celebration with a Greek band from the village that taught everyone how to dance the Sirtaki! On Sunday everyone got on the buses to head back and for us, it was clear that this was only the beginning.

Following our wedding, during the time we still lived in Amsterdam, we were contacted by people who heard about our wedding by word of mouth, most of them initially just wanted to get our advice about the process and hear our story but very quickly we started getting inquiries from couples asking us to produce their wedding because they didn’t think they could do it themselves, Then came 2020 and our son Ari who filled our hearts with happiness. When Covid came knocking on our door we realized that life is short and if we are still here we will do everything to fulfill our (and others’) dreams. Within a month we packed our belongings and landed in Evia for the second time. only this time it’s for good.

Sirtaki is back in our lives only this time it’s not a restaurant, Sirtaki is us and what we do best – simply entertain! We combined the professional knowledge we acquired over the years with our love for Greece into one company that will give you all the services you need to produce an event in Greece.

We want to provide everything we couldn’t find ourselves when we were looking for a company to produce our wedding – the full production package together with peace of mind knowing that if you trust us with your most important event – we will go above and beyond to make it a special, amazing and unforgettable experience.