WEDDING ARRIVAL BY BOAT IN ATHENS: HOW IT WORKS

Your guests are gathered at the water's edge. Then, across the bay, a polished mahogany Riva appears, her chrome catching the sun, and slowly glides in to shore. Whether it carries the bride to her ceremony or the newlyweds to their reception, a wedding arrival by sea is the moment everyone remembers.

Here is how a wedding arrival by boat in Athens works with AELIA, our Riva Aquariva 33, the only one of her kind in Athens.

BEFORE THE CEREMONY OR AFTER IT

There are two ways to arrive by Riva, and both are unforgettable.

Before the ceremony: the bride, or the couple together, arrive at the ceremony by sea. Your guests are already seated facing the water, and the first time they see you is as AELIA comes in, the dress moving in the breeze. It is an entrance that needs no announcement.

After the ceremony: the vows are said, the rice has been thrown, and while your guests travel to the reception by land, you walk down to the water, where AELIA is waiting with champagne on ice. These are often the only quiet minutes of the whole day, your first as a married couple, with the Athenian Riviera sliding past in golden light. Your guests gather at the waterfront to watch you arrive, and your first applause as newlyweds is from the shore.

Either way, we collect you from your venue, your hotel or anywhere you choose along the coast.

THE JOURNEY ITSELF

The ride can be as short or as long as you like. Some couples want a direct, dramatic arrival. Others ask us to take the long way round, with a few minutes alone at sea, a glass of champagne, and the sound of the water against the hull.

If your photographer and videographer come aboard, those minutes become some of the most beautiful images of the wedding: the dress moving in the breeze, the city or the cliffs behind you, the light turning gold over the Saronic Gulf. A chaser boat can follow alongside so they can film AELIA at speed from the water.

PLANNING THE TIMING

Many couples plan their arrival for the hour before sunset, when the light on the mahogany is at its warmest. We work with your planner on the timings: when your guests will be seated, when the ceremony starts or ends, and when everyone will be in place to see you arrive. Your captain chooses the approach so the sea is calm and the light falls the right way.

Every arrival depends on safe docking at both ends. Tell us your ceremony and reception locations early and we will check the access with your planner or venue.

WHAT IS INCLUDED

AELIA reserved privately for as long as your arrival needs, a professional captain, champagne and fresh towels, with 24% VAT included. On request we can arrange a photographer and videographer, flowers and decoration on the boat, and a chaser boat. Fuel depends on your route.

AELIA carries up to six guests plus the captain, so you can bring your witnesses, your parents or your closest friends along for the ride.

WHY A RIVA?

Because nothing else looks like her. A Riva is the boat of Lake Como weddings, of the French Riviera and of old Italian cinema. Mahogany, chrome and cream leather photograph like nothing else on the water, and the images will look as timeless in thirty years as they do today.

BOOK YOUR ARRIVAL

Weekends in summer are reserved early, and there is only one Riva Aquariva 33 in Athens. Send us your wedding date, whether you want to arrive before or after the ceremony, your locations and the number of people joining you on WhatsApp or through our Riva Wedding Arrival page, and we will plan your arrival with you.