What I didn’t know when preparing my wedding invitations is that it is customary in Cyprus (and Greece) to mention the man’s name first. In other words it is “Panagiotis and Maria” and not “Maria and Panagiotis“.
How about we change that tradition? After all the bride is the one doing all the planning and probably even writing out the text for the wedding invitation right?
So ladies… put your name first and make him look like a gentleman! 
I was never a fan of koufettes. All the times I’d ever tried them at weddings or christenings I found them to be tasteless and tooth-cracking hard.
When the time came to offer some at my own wedding I was determined to get the freshest ones possible. After working some Google magic I finally found APHRODITE DELIGHTS YEROSKIPOS LTD. Unfortunately in order to get them fresh I would have to pick them up myself from the factory in Yeroskipou and while I was quite willing to make the trip down there, the days were running out.
Choco Almond Classic
So I went back to searching online and came across a different kind of koufetta… the choco almond dragees. Even better… try the double choco almond dragees! The almond is coated with a layer of chocolate before the sugar coating. They are soft and yummy and you will find that you need to buy an extra box of them if you are preparing the bundles yourself.
The company’s representative in Cyprus is Pergamos (ΠΕΡΓΑΜΟΣ)
Nicosia: 28th Octobriou Kat.1 Gregory Business Center Phone: 22658801
Limassol: Leof. Kolonakiou 63 Phone: 25315522
Larnaca: Hnomenon Ethnon 16-18 Phone:24667044
Paphos: Kallipoleos 2A Phone: 26911627
Couples can now register online and… no, you can’t register for gifts from a store… but you can get cash straight to your bank account!
The doropay.com team was determined to create a user-friendly tool that could help both wedding couples and their friends to streamline the gift giving process at weddings. doropay.com enables couples to easily register their wedding online, create a wedding website with a unique address (URL) and share it with friends and family, even print it on their wedding invitation! Friends and wedding guests can login to doropay.com, find the wedding and send their wishes and gifts. Simple as that!
doropay.com has several other innovations in the planning stage and plans to soon extend the service to cover other events. Keep coming back for more details…
It was bound to happen sooner or later right? I’m not sure how long it will take for Cypriot couples to feel comfortable printing their link on the wedding invitation though. I can just hear parents saying, “Ntropi! ” at the mere suggestion of it.One way to get around it is to set up your own wedding website. e.g. www.panagiotisandmaria2009.com, where you can include all your wedding day details, directions to the church, and…don’t forget… the link to your doropay page!
An alternative option for accepting cash online is Paypal.com. Restrictions for Cyprus have been lifted and we can now accept payments via Paypal. There are fees involved though that might not make it as worthwhile.
Doropay.com is definitely a convenience for those of us who have (on more than one occasion) found ourselves driving circles around town in order to find the closest ATM, parking illegally on the wrong side of the road and trotting across the road in our little dresses and heels to avoid arriving late at the wedding reception that you should have arrived at, oh about half an hour ago.
I think I will applaud much more enthusiastically though when the stores in Cyprus finally get their act together and create online stores so you can register for your gifts online and your friends and family can get you a real GIFT that you actually WANTED.
Although it might seem a bit extreme to most, in Cyprus it generally takes a year in order to plan a wedding. What people don’t realize is that the dates that couples have to choose from are quite limited for a number of reasons.
First of all, the church does not perform wedding ceremonies throughout the year and the majority of wedding ceremonies in Cyprus are religious ones. Wedding ceremonies are not performed during lent (40 days before Christmas, 50 days before Easter and the first 15 days of August) or on Fridays (with the exception of the first Friday after Easter).
Couples don’t want to have their wedding on a week day as that is not very convenient for their guests. Most people work until the late afternoon and in order to be able to wake up and go to work the next day, they will probably not want to party and celebrate until the early morning hours. Sundays are also not preferred for the same reason.
So that leaves us with the Saturdays. There are 52 Saturdays in a year. Taking into account that lent takes up 105 days of the year… that leaves 37 Saturdays to fight for!
1. Reception & Dinner venue
Surely the church is more important than the party right? Wrong. There are hundreds of churches to choose from but there aren’t as many reception and dinner venues. Availability usually determines the wedding date.
2. Church – date and time!
Speak with the priest and make sure he has noted down the date and time. Bear in mind that there might be a wedding before or after yours and you might need to make allowances for any delays that might cause.
3. Photographer
Most photographers can’t do two weddings in the same day, or if they can its usually a 2nd crew without the main photographer… so if you know who you want book the date early!
4. Florist
Although booking your florist or decorator might not be as urgent as the above, it is important that you give yourself enough time to review each individual quote and pricing. Florists and decorators vary in the duties that they undertake and some are more flexible than others.
5. Wedding dress
Three to four months seems to be the average time needed for a wedding dress to be ordered or made. Add to that the amount of time you will need to pick the one that’s right for you, to select fabric etc. and say 2 weeks for it to be adjusted before the big day… I’d say allow 5 months minimum.
6. DJ or other entertainment
7. Lokoumia
Select a few places and go visit their stores. Ask for a sample and ask to see what types of wrapping they offer. No need to book the final amount – after all you probably won’t know exactly how many you will need until a few weeks before the wedding day.
8. Invitations and other printing
9. Honeymoon
10. Stefana
11. Wedding bands
12. Bonbonieres
If you’ve got a party-animal for a bride or you just wanna show her a good time on her “last night of freedom”, maybe you should be talking to Lorenzo.
Friendly, sexy and enthusiastic, he’s always happy to tailor his show according to what you want. Photos coming soon.
Email for further details and prices.
****Update on Lorenzo**** May 2010
I’ve been receiving a lot of emails requesting further details so I thought it would be best to post this update.
Sadly, Lorenzo has decided to stick to his “day job” an is no longer available for entertainment purposes.
We wish him well and hope that he decides to make a come-back soon!