The royal wedding day arrived at last and their was much speculation as to who and how the invited guests would arrive. Would Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie helicopter in and up to Ayios Nikolaos at the last minute? Would George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis jet ski over from Spetsopoula, hot on the heels of Elton John and his grand piano? Or perhaps it would just be a plain old royal affair after all? Well, with Greek actress, Zoe Laskari in tow...

Well in the end, it wasn't quite like that, but it didn't stop it being the fairytale wedding it set out to be. With the island swarming with paparazzi, security guards and police, last minute preparatons were in place all day. Security set up the railings around the church; flowers arrived in abundance; workers dug out any stray and unwanted weeds from around the courtyard; local tradesman ferried all kinds of last minute extras in their three wheeler trucks. Priests arrived with briefcases.

Priests arriveFlowers for church 

Meanwhile others were working at Garifalo beach on the specially erected platforms, which had now been covered with two, open metallic roof scaffolds, to use as a covering to hang lights and flowers from. Construction continued well through the day there and the beach below was duly closed at 5pm, so that it could be searched and cleaned.

Garifalo beach reception constructionGarifalo reception scaffold

Outside the Possidonion Hotel, huge air conditioned trucks and caravans were lined along the front, already in place for the evening run, when they would transport the main guests along the seafront to Ayios Nikolaos. Antenna, Mega and Alter T.V stations were recording their lunchtime programmes, constantly gesticulating towards the hotel and back to the jetty, capturing many of the massive yachts before they cruised off for a morning glide.

Motorcade outside PoseidonionRailings in place

Back at the church all the foreign T.V channels, reporters and photographers had obviously been informed about the imminent arrival of King Constantine, Queen Anne-Marie and Princess Alexia. They were on their way to check that all was in order inside the church. As they approached, they swarmed around the entrance -microphones and cameras at the ready. Then the Greek T.V stations swooped round the corner and Constantine and family graciously answered all the questions fired at them and spent alot of time shaking hands with local tradesman and various onlookers. After a while he told us that he ought to go in, as Anna-Marie was "Getting a little hot out here and needed a bit of shade and would we mind if they went in and talked again when they came out?" It was now 1.30pm and the morning's activities had been aired on all channels.

King Constantinos interview: COPYRIGHT SpetsesDirect.comKing Constantinos: COPYRIGHT SpetsesDirect.com

By 4.30pm people were milling about in front of the church, positioning themselves along the railings in order to secure the best view. Crowds had formed meanwhile, in front of the Poseidonion too and now it was just a case of watching and waiting. By 6pm guests started to arrive at the church and carried on doing so until approximately 7.15pm.

Friends of the royals first, followed by local big-wigs, Athenian mayors, A-liners like Spyros Niarchos (son of the Greek shipping magnate, Stavros Niarchos) and Nicolas Stavros Niarchos (grandson of Stavros Niarchos). Bursts of applause every few moments signalled each royal guest entry - from royal family of Spain, to royal family of Denmark, to royal family of Sweden, to Princess Michael of Kent (only she was there to support the British - apparently, security hadn't been tight enough for the heir to the throne). Then to Prince Pavlos of Greece and family and the King and Queen and then of course to Prince Nikolaos. Everyone posed for photographs and Nikolaos shook people's hands and ruffled the page boys heads. Strangley enough - no Elton John, no Brad Pitt, no Angelina Jolie and no George Clooney! No-one seemed to mind - the royals were giving plenty enough entertainment...

Tatiana arrives on buggy: COPYRIGHT SpetsesDirect.com Mobile 'phones ringing around the courtyard informed onlookers that Tatiana had left the Poseidonion and was on her way! At about 7.30pm, the horse buggy entered the courtyard from the sea side opposite the church door and pulled right up to the door. Tatiana stepped out with help and her train from her wedding gown was arranged and spread out behind her. She beamed like the princess she was to become in an hour or so, in to the light of the flashing bulbs. All the journalists reacted like hungry piranha and the clicking and shouting "Look this way!" went on until she too disappeared inside with Nikolaos.

An hour and a quarter later, darkness fell and out came the happy couple smiling and waving in the blazing light of all the paparazzi's cameras. The bells rang out and the crowd roared and clapped as Tatiana and Nikolaos waved to all around from the church door. They made their way to the waiting horse buggy and sat and posed for photographs, smiling and cuddling. The crowd continued to shout and the bells just rang and rang. The cameras kept on flashing and the fairytale wedding seemed for a few moments as if it would last forever, suspended in this blaze of glory. Then a moment later they were gone.

The reception was a completely private affair, no filming at all. I could hear the music drift across my balcony well in to the night. Lights shimmered from above the beach. By the morning only the flowers adorning the church door were left to tell the tale. And of course, it was on every news channel all day...

 Tatiana and Nikolaos: COPYRIGHT SpetsesDirect.com

Happily married at last: COPYRIGHT SpetsesDirect. com