Monday, July 19, 2010

Contact numbers!

If you want to reach us via phone in Greece, we will be using Greek mobile numbers.
Maria: +30 698 36 70 651
Mika: + 30 698 36 70 657

Saturday, June 12, 2010

The wedding day... church and venue.

The wedding is taking place in the evening, which leaves a bit of time to take it easy in the morning and also avoid midday's heat.

Once again, there will be various traditions carried out at the bride's and groom's place (in the groom's case carried out by the best man and friends and the bride -well, I will be mostly spending my time with hair, makeup and swallowing tranquillizers, haha).

It is up to you if you want to come to the hotel/house first and see us off to the church or if you prefer to show up in the church straight away.

Concerning the church, the only thing to avoid is very short skirts or shorts (that goes for the guys as well) and deep cleavages. You can cover the boobs up in the church and present them later ladies:D

The ceremony lasts around 45 min and after it usually the guests come and shake the hands of the couple and the family, who are ligning up at one side of the church. This usually takes place inside the church.

Since the party venue (TAVERNA SYMPOSION in OLD POROI village on the mountain side) is located on the mountain site one has to go there by car. Since we want our guests to be able to drink and party we will organize a BUS picking up the guests from the church and driving them up to the venue. We will announce when the bus is driving down again (probably once around midnight, once around two in the morning and the last time.. when we are finished).

We would prefer if you would take the bus, because the road is not lit during the night time and it could be hazardous. The bus will run as many times as needed to get everyone to the party and back. There are also taxis that can be used.

Also, there is a bit of a temperature difference on the mountain in Old Poroi (Palaoi Poroi), so please bring a jacket with you, because it gets a bit chilly in the night. In fact, we were told that the temperature drops down to 18-20 degrees in the night. 

So far so good.. see you there then:D

Happenings before the wedding...

In terms of a hen's night/stag party, there is nothing definite planned and we will leave it to our friends. It will be a bit difficult to involve everyone, since a lot of people are arriving just the day before the wedding, but whoever wants to join is welcome.

Now when it comes to the day before the wedding (Friday), the Greek custom has it that the families of bride and groom have their separate preparty/gathering at the respective family's house/venue, which only friends and family of each side can attend. However, we decided to change the tradition and gather both sides together for the preparty, since it will be an excellent opportunity to introduce the various guests to each other. The preparty will take place at Symposion in Neoi Poroi (about a 100m from my parents' place) in a relaxed ambience. There will be food and music.Attendance starts from 21:00 o´clock.

Since it is a more relaxed occasion than the wedding, there is no dress code, everything will be quite informal.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Invitations!!

Dear friends,

we have the wedding invitations now. Please be so kind to email us your postal address, so that we can start sending them out:)

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Area info

A bit of info and tips concerning the wider area. Feel free to google for more!
Neoi Poroi is located in the southern part of Macedonia and belongs to the Prefecture of Pieria. Its capital is the town of Katerini. Pieria is the smallest prefecture within Macedonia. The name Pieria originates from the ancient tribe and the ancient country of Pieris.

In Pieria, there are many sites of archeological interest, such as Dion, Pydna and Platamon Castle.

I would recommend DION, a large ancient site deriving its name of Zeus (or Dias). It takes half a day to cover, so get going early, if possible.
Mt. Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece and throne of the ancient Greek gods, is located in the southern part of Pieria. It’s possible to wander around on the lower part of it. For the ones who are interested to hike to the peak, it takes about two days to do so (there are two camps where the hikers can spend the night). But you should have proper gear with you, it’s no picknick!

THESSALONIKI is the closest city and airport (about 110 Km from N. Poroi). It’s the second largest city of Greece and retains several Ottoman and Jewish structures as well as a large number of Byzantine architectural monuments. Its renowned for its rich, Anatolian inspired cuisine and has also some fantastic museums, such as the Archeological and Byzantine Museum.

VERGINA is a definite must see, with one of the most magnificent archaeological sites and museums in Greece, housing the tomb of King Phillip II., father of Alexander the Great. We are certainly going to pay it a visit and if you should like to join us, we can stop by at my mother’s village and have lunch at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the area.

For the ones who want to discover more beaches there is the peninsula of Chalkidiki, located east of Thessaloniki ,

Accommodation

Neoi Poroi and the neighboring village Platamonas offer a multitude of hotels and bed & breakfast like accommodations (i.e. rooms with a small kitchen). Please make sure to book asap, since July is the peak season and it might turn out difficult to find something.

We have selected a few options for you, but please noticed that these are mere suggestions. The decision is up to you and of course you can choose to look further. Some good websites concerning that are www.booking.com, www.hotels.com,

Our suggestions:

EVILION. A four star hotel, with all the comforts. Mika will be staying there from Thursday before the wedding and I will join him after the wedding. Here are the prices the owner (Dimitris Topalidis) offered us: the Double Room is 100 EUR per night, the Triple Room is 130 EUR (it can accommodate up to 4 persons, let’s say two adults and kids). The Suite is 145 EUR (two separate rooms for 4 persons). The prices all include breakfast and a dinner-buffet (the buffet is included as a courtesy by the owner). The site: http://hotel-evilion.com/ PLEASE REMEMBER TO MENTION THAT YOU ARE BOOKING FOR MARIA’S AND MIKA’s WEDDING or you will be charged with regular prices! Book via Email to info@evilion.gr or via the online form on the site “Online Buchung” (don’t be discouraged by the German text). The owner’s mobile: 00306944265705

HOTEL MANOLAS. And no, we are not related! A lovely two star hotel, it has been just completely renovated. The Double room is 75 EUR (for a couple). The triple room for a family with one or two children under 10 would pay 80 EUR. The triple room for three to four grown ups would cost 110 EUR. All prices include breakfast! Talk with Christina through manolash@otenet.gr or send a fax to the number on the site. PLEASE REMEMBER TO MENTION THAT YOU ARE BOOKING AS OUR WEDDING GUESTS! The site: http://www.hotelmanolas.gr/en/hotel/

HAUS ALEXANDER probably the cheapest option so far! The double room is 50 EUR and every extra person is charged by 6 EUR extra. It´s a self-catering house, which means no breakfast, but there is a fridge in every flat. It´s not luxurious, but neat and clean. Also, it is run by Germans, so the site comes in German, but don´t be discouraged. http://www.greece-urlaub.de/index.html

Castle Camping, for the ones who would prefer a simpler style. There are spaces for tents, but also bungalows for rent. We cannot state prices, so if you are interested, please contact them directly. Please make sure to have a car, if you choose this option, because it is a bit far from Pori. Here is the site, which has all the necessary infos: http://www.castlecamping.gr/gbfacilities.htm

Hotels Stilvi & Eden; both sites do not really mention prices (Stilvi has some prices on the Greek page, but they differ from prices we saw on a hotel-booking site we found), so the best thing is to get directly in touch with the owners and simply bargain about the prices! Please find both links in the "useful link" section.

We are currently looking for more cheaper options. It´s not that there aren´t any, but simple Bed & Breakfast lodgings usually don´t advertize, since it is common to drive there and get a room on the spot. We will update you about more!

A few words

Dear Friends & Family!

We finally decided to take the big step and get married. Since organizing a wedding from a different country and with guests arriving from basically all over Europe takes a bit of organizing, taking the most important information and putting it together in a blog sounded like a good idea.

In case you have questions etc. feel free to post them or mail us.

It will be our delight to share this happy day with you!

M&M