For content creator Eleni — known online as @minimood — fashion and identity have always walked hand in hand. So when it came time to plan her summer wedding to Baha, the result was a multi-day celebration that married heritage, storytelling, and show-stopping couture. Set in the heart of Athens, the city she calls her second home, Eleni’s wedding wasn’t just a love letter to her husband — it was a tribute to her Palestinian-Greek roots, her family’s traditions, and her lifelong obsession with fashion’s most iconic runways.
Over three carefully orchestrated days, the couple hosted friends and family across a series of deeply symbolic and visually rich events — from a quarry soirée inspired by Dune, to a garden ceremony at her grandparents’ home, to a sunset reception at the Astir Palace, where she and Baha had their very first date. But it was Eleni’s fashion choices — and the meaning woven into every hem and embellishment — that truly defined the wedding.
In addition to her ceremony gown, Versace also designed her look for the July 3rd pre-party — one of two other bridal ensembles, each made custom. For the July 4th Riviera lunch, she turned to Elie Saab to reinterpret a runway dress into a sleek pant and top set. “It felt authentic to me,” she says. Her husband’s looks were equally thoughtful, with custom suiting from clothsurgeon, Zegna, and Gieves & Hawkes across the three days.
Beyond the fashion, Eleni’s styling was quietly intentional. “I always knew I wanted a sleek bridal bun,” she says, both for aesthetics and practicality in the Athens summer heat. Her hairstylist, Wassim Morkos, was a sentimental choice—he’d done her sister’s wedding hair years earlier. Makeup came courtesy of renowned Lebanese artist Bassam Fattouh, who won Eleni’s trust during a test session in Milan. For jewellery, she curated a mix of the personal and the playful: a custom ear stack of pear cuts from Maria Tash and a necklace-and-earring set passed down from her mother, crafted by family jeweller Salamoon.
Eleni’s commitment to her roots was just as present as the couture. “The bedrock of our inspiration was an homage to our cultures,” she says of the wedding’s visual and emotional DNA. Palestinian and Arab traditions featured prominently across the celebrations, from the separate zaffeh processions on the 3rd to the symbolic tal3it al aroos — a bride’s ceremonial send-off by her family — held just before the garden ceremony.
Greek traditions were lovingly honoured too — most notably in the choice of setting and the post-ceremony rice toss, a gesture of good luck in Greek culture. “Athens is a city that carries deep significance for us both,” she says. “It’s where we spent our childhood summers, and it’s where we had our first date.”
But perhaps the most poignant moment came during the wedding ceremony itself, held in the garden of her late grandparents’ home. “Despite being displaced from Palestine in 1948, they instilled such a strong sense of identity in me and my cousins,” she shares. “It was an honour to say my vows in the space that grounded me in who I am.”
While the glamour was undeniable, Eleni and Baha’s wedding was never about spectacle—it was about soul. Even their registry became an act of giving: instead of gifts, the couple set up a donation page for Ta’awon, a charity supporting orphans in Gaza that both of their families have long supported.
As for her advice to future brides? “Never lose sight of the reason you’re planning the wedding in the first place,” she says. “You’re marrying the love of your life—that’s what matters most.”
Still, if anyone could prove that deep meaning and high fashion are not mutually exclusive, it’s Eleni. With custom Versace gowns, heirloom jewellery, and generations-old traditions all woven into one extraordinary weekend, she gave the world a wedding worth remembering — for its style, yes, but even more so for its story.
