Real Weddings: Jess and Andreas
Inside a three-day seaside celebration in Greece
Toronto lawyer Jess Allan first saw Andreas Antoniou, the restaurateur behind spots like Assembly Chef’s Hall and Volos, four years ago at Soho House. At six-foot-six, Andreas is hard to miss, and Jess noticed him instantly. But it was getting late and her friend wanted to go home, so she left without saying hello. The next day, the two ended up at a mutual friend’s patio opening. “I stared at him the whole time. I thought I was safe behind my sunglasses, but apparently they were completely see-through,” says Jess. He came over, introduced himself and mentioned he’d seen her at Soho House the night before. “Then he made a joke about catching me looking at him through my Ray Bans,” she says. They ended up going back to Soho House for dinner and spent almost every day together after that.
Over the next fews years, things moved fast. One snowy night in February 2017, Andreas asked Jess if she wanted to take the dog out. “I was hesitant because it was so cold outside, but luckily I didn’t put up too much of a fight,” says Jess. They walked to a park, and when Andreas bent down to let the dog off the leash, he pulled out a ring.
Andreas is half-Greek, and since the couple vacationed there a lot, they decided that’s where they wanted to get married. They spent a year planning a weekend-long celebration in Hydra filled with food, drinks, sun and dancing.
Cheat Sheet
Date: June 29 to July 1, 2018
Planner: The Twelve Events
Photography: Les Anagnou
Bride’s dress: From Powder Bride & Evening, by Lee Petra Grebenau
Groom’s attire: Custom tux by Nino Cioppa
Hair and makeup: Victoria Radford
Venue: Sunset Restaurant in Hydra, Greece
Caterer: Sunset Restaurant
Music: Ilias Margetis and Events Music
Invitations: Paper & Poste
Number of Guests: 160
On Friday, the couple hosted welcome drinks on the terrace of the Hydrea Mansion.
The next afternoon, there was a party at the seaside villa Castello Hydra. Guests drank, swam and danced in the sun:
On Sunday, the day of the ceremony, Jess and her six bridesmaids got ready in the bridal suite at the Hydrea Mansion:
They listened to Bob Marley while drinking rosé and frappés. Toronto makeup artist Victoria Radford flew in to do hair and makeup for the entire wedding party:
Here are Jess and her bridesmaids:
Hydra is a small island with no cars, so Jess rode a donkey named Marigold to the ceremony:
A live band played played Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” as Jess walked down the aisle:
Here are Jess and Andreas after the ceremony:
Since the couple worked with wedding planners in Greece, they chose the flowers over Facetime:
Dinner was a family-style sunset feast of fresh feta, marinated olives, octopus carpaccio, lamb chops, chicken souvlaki, grilled fish and vegetables:
They had the desserts flown over from a nearby city:
Real Housewife Roxy Earle was there:
The couple had their first dance to “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young:
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/life/real-weddings-inside-restaurateur-andreas-antonious-three-day-seaside-celebration-greece/&title=Real Weddings: Inside restaurateur Andreas Antoniou’s three-day seaside celebration in Greece&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/WEBscene-2000x2996.jpg&description=Toronto lawyer Jess Allan first saw Andreas Antoniou, the restaurateur behind spots like Assembly Chef's Hall and Volos, four years ago at Soho House. At six-foot-six, Andreas is hard to miss, and Jess noticed him instantly. But it was getting late and her friend wanted to go home, so she left without saying hello. The next day, the two ended up at a mutual friend's patio opening. “I stared at him the whole time. I thought I was safe behind my sunglasses, but apparently they were completely see-through," says Jess. He came over, introduced himself and mentioned he'd seen her at Soho House the night before. "Then he made a joke about catching me looking at him through my Ray Bans," she says. They ended up going back to Soho House for dinner and spent almost every day together after that.
Over the next fews years, things moved fast. One snowy night in February 2017, Andreas asked Jess if she wanted to take the dog out. “I was hesitant because it was so cold outside, but luckily I didn’t put up too much of a fight,” says Jess. They walked to a park, and when Andreas bent down to let the dog off the leash, he pulled out a ring.
Andreas is half-Greek, and since the couple vacationed there a lot, they decided that's where they wanted to get married. They spent a year planning a weekend-long celebration in Hydra filled with food, drinks, sun and dancing.
Cheat Sheet
Date: June 29 to July 1, 2018
Planner: The Twelve Events
Photography: Les Anagnou
Bride’s dress: From Powder Bride & Evening, by Lee Petra Grebenau
Groom’s attire: Custom tux by Nino Cioppa
Hair and makeup: Victoria Radford
Venue: Sunset Restaurant in Hydra, Greece
Caterer: Sunset Restaurant
Music: Ilias Margetis and Events Music
Invitations: Paper & Poste
Number of Guests: 160
On Friday, the couple hosted welcome drinks on the terrace of the Hydrea Mansion.
The next afternoon, there was a party at the seaside villa Castello Hydra. Guests drank, swam and danced in the sun:
On Sunday, the day of the ceremony, Jess and her six bridesmaids got ready in the bridal suite at the Hydrea Mansion:
They listened to Bob Marley while drinking rosé and frappés. Toronto makeup artist Victoria Radford flew in to do hair and makeup for the entire wedding party:
Here are Jess and her bridesmaids:
Hydra is a small island with no cars, so Jess rode a donkey named Marigold to the ceremony:
A live band played played Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” as Jess walked down the aisle:
Here are Jess and Andreas after the ceremony:
Since the couple worked with wedding planners in Greece, they chose the flowers over Facetime:
Dinner was a family-style sunset feast of fresh feta, marinated olives, octopus carpaccio, lamb chops, chicken souvlaki, grilled fish and vegetables:
They had the desserts flown over from a nearby city:
Real Housewife Roxy Earle was there:
The couple had their first dance to "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young:
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