Following their Dreams, 16 Couples from China Get Married in Crete

Photo time at the Fortress,  Ancient Aptera, Chania, Crete

 Exchanging wedding vows - Ancient Aptera, Chania, Crete

Blue skies and beautiful weather - a wonderful omen - awaited 16 couples from China who chose the  historic and idyllic Ancient Aptera to exchange their wedding vows in Chania, Crete on Friday 25 April 2014.

 

The 16 couples arrived on the island on ANEK Lines' luxurious Elyros FerryBoat and got a taste of Crete's legendary hospitality from the moment they stepped on board. 

 Photo opportunity in front of ANEK Lines Elyros

 ANEK Lines - Traditional Cretan Weddings- Wedding Tourism

ANEK's management, headed by owner Yiannis Vardinogiannis, pulled out all the stops to make this unique event  truly memorable for the young couples, welcoming them as only Cretans can do, with traditonal music, dancing and lots of food! 

 

 Cretan Dancers welcome the Chinese couples on board the Elyros

           With ANEK Lines owner Yiannis Vardinoyiannis and Minister Olga Kefalogianni

It was a great opportunity for Greece's Minister of Tourism to promote Crete and Greece as an ideal destination and she did it beautifully! Minister Olga Kefalogianni, a Cretan herself - and a cousin of Yiannis Vardinogiannis - personally welcomed and toasted the first 16 couples to get married in Crete as part of the Chinese Rose Wedding scheme at the banquet on board the Elyros.

 With ANEK Lines owner Yiannis Vardinoyiannis and Minister Olga Kefalogianni

On Friday, followed by their families, the couples walked in a traditional Cretan wedding procession to the ceremony accompanied by music played by the island's famous Lyrarides (The Lyra players) and showered with rose petals and rice by the locals. The wedding ceremonies began with a welcome by local officials and  speeches by the Mayor of Chania, Manolis Skoulakis and Deputy Regional Director Apostolos Voulgarakis. After the exchange of rings, the drink of wine and blessings,  each couple was offered the traditional wedding honey and walnuts sweet and a white Cretan headscarf by the locals.

 

Rose Weddings: 16 Couples from China Marry in Crete
Photo Source: Haniotika Nea

We wish each of these couples a long, happy and blessed life together. 

Na zisete! 

Santorini and Mykonos play quite a large role in wedding tourism in Greece.

We look forward to seeing this sector which has so much potential in Greece expand and develop in the rest of the country too, providing much needed economic stimuli and resources.
Kai sta dika sas! 

Think about it! 

Do what these couples did.

Make your dream come true too.

Exchange your wedding vows in the most beautiful country in the world,

GREECE

Oh, and if you need a wedding dress, we have a Global Greek multi-award winning designer based in Athens whom we recommend highly! 

Just let us know!

At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows! 

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