Garanfil and Roman’s Pyrgos Petreza wedding is the second story in our Real Weddings series, after Kendall and Taylor’s wedding on Sifnos. Garanfil is Azerbaijani, Roman is Ukrainian, they live in the United States, and they married at this winery estate in Spata, just outside Athens, in April 2026 with 72 guests.
They booked the venue from photographs alone. Their first trip to Greece during the planning was for the food tasting, two months before the wedding. Everything else they decided from the United States, with an Athens planner, Rock Paper Scissors Events.
My husband and I planned our own wedding in Crete from the Netherlands, so a lot of her story felt familiar to me. What I like most is how it came out: they booked a venue they had never seen, and she would not change a thing.
Everything below is in Garanfil’s own words.
Why Greece, and why Pyrgos Petreza
We got married at Pyrgos Petreza, a vineyard estate just outside Athens. I’m Azerbaijani, Roman is Ukrainian, and we live in the United States, so we loved the idea of bringing our families and friends together in Greece for a celebration that felt like a journey for all of us.
We wanted the wedding to feel romantic, intimate, and timeless. Pyrgos Petreza had that feeling from the start: the stone architecture, gardens, and vineyards were beautiful on their own, while still leaving room for our Azerbaijani and Ukrainian traditions to make the day distinctly ours.
A note from Christina: Pyrgos Petreza is a working winery in Spata with its own chapel and its own kitchen, and Garanfil lists the venue as her caterer too. It sits in the Attica countryside, one of the three areas I cover in my guide to wedding venues in Athens.
Planning a wedding in Greece from the United States
What surprised me most was that we could plan such a personal celebration almost entirely from afar. We booked Pyrgos Petreza based only on photographs, without ever seeing it in person. The first time we traveled to Greece during the planning process was for our food tasting, just two months before the wedding. It felt like a leap of faith, but our planner understood what we wanted and made us feel confident in the decisions we were making from the United States.
The ceremony, and the walk down the aisle
Our ceremony was intimate and full of emotion. We had dreamed of bringing our families and closest friends together in Greece, but seeing them all there was more moving than I had imagined. As I walked down the aisle, I could see the joy on their faces and think of how far so many of them had traveled to share that moment with us.
Then I looked ahead and saw Roman standing with his groomsmen. He was already tearing up as he watched me walk toward him, and I could hardly hold back my own tears. I had imagined that walk many times, but I will never forget what it felt like to see him waiting for me, surrounded by everyone we love.
Garanfil’s advice for couples planning a wedding in Greece
I would tell them that Greece may look effortlessly romantic, but creating a wedding there still takes a thoughtful budget. It can be more affordable than Italy, but if you want wonderful food, beautiful flowers, a photographer you love, and a planner you trust, the costs add up. I wish someone had told us that more plainly at the start. And I’d also tell them that when you’re standing there, surrounded by the people who traveled so far to celebrate with you, it feels absolutely worth it.
What to budget for 72 guests, in Garanfil’s words
“We had 72 guests, and for a wedding like ours in Greece, I would suggest budgeting around €50,000–€60,000. Ours cost a little more than we initially expected, mostly because we hadn’t realized how quickly all the individual costs would add up.
“The biggest surprise was the flowers! Friends who had planned destination weddings warned us about floral costs, but we didn’t quite believe them until we saw the quotes ourselves. My advice is to keep an open mind about flowers. If you’ve chosen a beautiful venue, you don’t need to fill every corner with arrangements. Let the place’s own charm shine through.”
A note from Christina: Her flower tip is an easy one to act on. When the first floral quote comes in, walk through the venue photos with your planner and decide which corners already look finished without arrangements.
The vendors who made it happen
Garanfil named every one of these people with a recommendation, and we’re glad to credit them all. Rock Paper Scissors Events is also one of Christina’s Picks planners for 2026.
- Planner: Rock Paper Scissors Events (rpsevents.gr, @rockpaperscissorsevents). “I can’t recommend them enough: they listened patiently, gave us honest advice, and found wonderful vendors across different budgets without ever compromising on quality. I’m already dreaming of hiring them again for our 10-year anniversary!”
- Photographer: Ak3fotografia studio (@ak3fotografiastudio). “George and his team made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera that it felt as though we had known them for years.”
- Venue and catering: Pyrgos Petreza (@pyrgospetreza). “Our guests are still talking about how delicious the wedding food was, which is perhaps the best recommendation we could give.”
- Makeup artist: Agapi Make Up Artist (@agapimakeupartist). “Agapi understood that I wanted makeup that still looked like me, only with my natural features beautifully highlighted, and her warmth and kindness made getting ready with her such a lovely experience.”
- DJ: DJ Yiannis Iliopoulos (@djyiannisiliopoulos). “We had the best time dancing at our wedding, and Yiannis’s music selection kept us and our guests on the dance floor.”
- Ceremony musicians: Soul N Passion (@soul_n_passion). “Their string duo brought such a beautiful, romantic feeling to our ceremony; hiring them was one of the best decisions we made.”
Looking back on the day
I wish I’d known not to panic over every decision; in the end, all those choices came together beautifully. I’d also tell myself to slow down and take in the wedding day, because it passes in a flash. And would I do anything differently? Honestly, no. Seeing it all come to life, with our favorite people gathered around us, was more beautiful than we had imagined.
Thank you, Garanfil, for trusting us with your story and your photos, and for showing that a wedding planned almost entirely from afar can come out more beautiful than you imagined.
If you’re planning from abroad too, it helps to have a number before the first quote lands. Our free Budget Calculator builds an estimate for your own guest count, so you can see where a wedding like Garanfil and Roman’s might land for you.
I built a free calculator using real vendor quotes from across Greece. Enter your guest count and preferences and it builds a full estimate, VAT included.
And if you’ve already had your wedding in Greece, we’d love to feature it in this series. Reach out and tell us your story at [email protected].
Γεια μας (cheers), and here’s to Garanfil and Roman. Christina.
