Real Weddings: Daniella Moyles picturesque Greek Island wedding

Psychotherapist, yogi and author Daniella Moyles recently tied the knot in the gorgeous Greek isle of Corfu. Whisking away family and friends to the sunshine, they tied the knot in an olive grove with a sparkling sea behind them.

THE COUPLE
Daniella Moyles, psychotherapist, author, and founder of The STLL, and Andrew Kenny, business owner and entrepreneur.

THEY LIVE
in Co Wicklow.

THE VENUE
Kassiopi, Corfu in Greece.

PHOTOGRAPHER
White on Black Studio took care of our professional photography and videography.

We also had an amazing wedding content creator called Aine Leech from The Wedding Content Company who captured all of the fun, candid BTS of our wedding day and Day Two on iPhone and delivered it fully edited within 24 hours. It was invaluable and meant I could completely forget about my phone for a few days.

THEY MET
Through mutual friends and mostly for the routine coffee and a walk that was the highlight of everyone’s day during the height of the COVID lockdowns.

THE PROPOSAL
We got engaged in a beautiful cove called Cale en Basset in Mallorca on September 12, 2021. I was six months pregnant and we had hired a small boat and skipper to explore the Balearic coast. It was the best surprise on our last stop after an unforgettable day. I had no idea a proposal was coming and I remember being absolutely blown away by the timing, the location and the ring Andy had chosen by himself!

THE DRESS & THE SUIT
Dress: Darla Haute Couture from The One by Sinead Corcoran. I really love that my dress was made in Dublin.

Suit: Hawes and Curtis.

THE CEREMONY
Our ceremony was held under huge old olive trees in Kerasia Olive Grove, which is right behind beautiful Kerasia Beach. Guests arrived 30 minutes before the bridal party and we had a bar set up in the grove serving refreshments to allow everyone to mingle, relax and take in the beauty of the area.

Our celebrant Lucy Cargill creates the most special, personal and heartfelt ceremonies and she made this the most memorable part of the day. It was a perfectly short 25-minute ceremony but absolutely filled to the brim with love – we wrote our own vows and asked every guest to warm our wedding rings with a blessing. There wasn’t a dry eye in the grove. We always wanted to get married somewhere warm, in the heart of nature, so when we first saw this olive grove behind the sea we knew immediately it was right for us.

THE RECEPTION
Our reception was in a laidback beachside restaurant with exceptional food called Eucalyptus Taverna. We found the restaurant on a family holiday the previous summer and adored everything about it; it was eating here that made us start thinking about getting married in Corfu in the first place. After the ceremony, our guests all got a boat from Kerasia Beach to our reception venue on San Stefanos Beach, which we felt was a really memorable and special experience. It’s just a short, smooth cruise on a crystal clear sea from one bay to the other but the scenery is breathtaking – on one side you have Corfu’s striking cliffs, topped with lush greenery like olive trees and Cyprus trees and on the other you have the impressive Albanian Alps soaring into the clouds. We had drinks onboard and guests were greeted by our saxophonist on the jetty to set the tone for cocktail hour.

Dinner was a traditional Greek feast with shared family-style starters including melitzanosalata, tirokafteri, tzatziki dip, artichoke saghanaki and chicken and herb rolls with spetseriko tomato chutney. Lamb on a spit, fresh seafood or mushroom, courgette and herb risotto was the choice for mains, and dessert was a self-serve buffet of Greek sweet treats including baklava, portokalopita and fresh local fruits. We decided to skip a wedding cake altogether and opted instead for a Champagne tower to get the party started after dinner.

THE ENTERTAINMENT
We had a string duo for our ceremony who played while the guests enjoyed some drinks before the bridal party arrived; they also adapted my favourite song in the world, Moondog’s Pastoral for the processional and The Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun for the recessional. We chose Odin’s House Party for our cocktail hour and party, and they were truly incredible, our dance floor was packed all night! The band consists of a DJ accompanied by live instruments – a saxophonist, violinist and percussion. We danced under the moon and the stars, but if there’d been a roof, they’d have blown it off.

THE DECOR
Rizo’s Garden looked after all of our wedding flowers. For the ceremony, because the olive grove was so full of trees of various heights, I wanted our florals to make an impact on the ground so I asked for a grounded flower arch on our stone altar as well as aisle markers made with local seasonal flowers. For our reception, we re-used the aisle arrangements at either end of our five long tables and kept the table tops simple – a eucalyptus leaf on each plate and a centre line of candles and glass bud vases.

I LOVE bespoke wedding stationery so we worked with a wonderful Italian designer called Steven Fadda to create a unique vibe for our wedding stationary including our welcome sign, our menus, table names, place names, table plan, cocktail menu and more. Our table names and place names, for example, were die-cut sage green seashells with a little half-pearl detail; and these touches really brought me so much joy to design, create and then see all finished on the day.

Eucalyptus Taverna has a small private beach beside it, again slightly shaded by a giant old olive tree and we turned this space into our bar and dance floor, topped by the band’s stage and light setup. We added a chequered dance floor, festoon string lights and as many various-sized disco balls as those strings could hold. Botanist Cocktail and Bar Catering set up an amazing wooden bar area beside the dance floor with large boho umbrellas for shade and table tables for drinks.

THEIR TOP TIPS
Trust your gut and do it your own way. Prioritise your guests’ experience; make them feel comfortable, valued and appreciated but don’t forget it’s your day and you’re welcoming everyone into your little world, filled with all the things you love and enjoy.

Plan to spend a quiet moment together in the midst of the madness. The day really is a whirlwind so when our guests got on the big boat from Kerasia to San Stefanos, Andy and I took a smaller one together. We got to catch our breath, chat and enjoy the moment after our ceremony. We also got some cool photos and had the best arrival at our reception we ever could have dreamed of!

In terms of planning, the best thing we did was to be very organised. We were good with our spreadsheets and with getting things sorted and finalised well in advance; because of this we really, really enjoyed the process of planning our whole wedding. We kept waiting for the stress everyone talks about but it honestly never arrived and we both think being well-organised is why.

THEY WISH THEY HAD
The ONLY thing I would add if I could do it all again would be to change into a shorter/lighter dress after dinner. I couldn’t fathom only wearing a dress that cost thousands for a couple of hours so I committed to it for the night, but the weather ended up being over 30 degrees so I was hot, hot, hot! Even our best efforts to pin it up weren’t the most comfortable so I would have liked to slip away for a few minutes and come back in something flowy and relaxed. If you’re getting married abroad it might be worth considering this.

THEIR BEST MOMENTS
You always hear people say your wedding is one of the best days of your life. We both thought that was a fairly hefty expectation, especially after having experienced the birth of our son. But having everyone you love and care about in one place, in holiday mode under the warmth of the sun and by the sea, showering you in their love as you celebrate finding yours, it is truly a remarkable once-in-a-lifetime thing. Every single moment of the entire weekend was a surreal, completely unforgettable experience.

THE FIRST DANCE SONG
Angel by Jack Johnson.

THE CREW
Wedding dress: Darla Haute Couture from The One by Sinead Corcoran. Groom’s suit: Hawes and Curtis. Wedding planner: Corfu Wedding Planner. Bridesmaids’ dresses: Shona Joy. Hair: Danielle Garner. Make-up: Aisling Dowling. Wedding content creator: The Wedding Content Company. Florist: Rizo’s Garden. Celebrant: Lucy Cargill. Wedding stationery: Steven Fadda. Bar: Botanist Cocktail and Bar Catering. Dancefloor & lighting: Luxury DJ Events. Band: MusicNow.