It was 2009 when Krystin Kopen and Constantine Dean Avgiris first met in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Both were graduate students, who were simply looking to further their education. While they may have caught each other’s eye from the beginning, nearly a year went by before anything significant took place in their relationship.
In retrospect, the couple credits that year spent as classmates and friends as being beneficial in the long run. “Perhaps neither of us were looking for each other, or for that type of love; certainly not at that point in our lives,” they say. “But once we realized the power of what we felt towards each other, we knew we had found something special.”
“A SUBLIME ARRAY OF LOBSTER TAILS, FILET MIGNON, AND MORE THAN 2,000 PIECES OF HANDMADE GREEK DESSERTS.”
Dean and Krystin’s courtship took them around the world, jetting from Villanova to Paris, Boston to DC, and New York to Athens. Their engagement took place on a private beach in St. Martin, leading to preparations for a wedding back home in Philadelphia.
Friends and family proved to be the most influential and supportive during the wedding planning process. Although it was a seemingly daunting task to bring two cultures together and represent them throughout the wedding, the couple enjoyed gathering everyone’s viewpoints and using them to forge the perfect vision for their wedding day.
The big day turned out to be exactly how the couple had hoped–classic, timeless, sophisticated, smart and fun. Each detail was immaculately put together. A traditional Greek wedding ceremony was held at St. George Cathedral in Philadelphia, followed by a first class affair in the Gold Ballroom of the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, Delaware.
Guests were treated to a sublime array of culinary offerings including lobster tails, filet mignon, and more than 2,000 pieces of handmade Greek desserts. The atmosphere was electric, with the reception space featuring gilded Manzanita trees imported from California and dripping with orchids, an interplay of Greek and American bands, and a uniquely personal wedding gift–a bottle of pure Greek olive oil alongside an individually handcrafted dispenser.
A beautiful celebration ended with the newlyweds sharing some quality alone time together, reflecting on the events of the day and the remarkable night with family and friends.
WEDDING TALENT
Ceremony Location: St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Philadelphia, PA; Reception Location: Hotel du Pont, Wilmington, DE; Planner: The Wedding Planner, Philadelphia, PA; Cake: Ron Ben-Israel Cakes, New York, NY; Floral Design: Petals Lane, Philadelphia, PA; Wedding Dress: Berta; Veil: Sposabella Lace, New York, NY; Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss
