A Greek Island Wedding Inspired by Matisse, Ancient Myths, and a ’90s Calvin Klein Ad
On the day of the 2014 World Cup, German model Teresa Dilger was walking down the streets of New York’s Nolita neighborhood as real estate broker Yesim Ak was sitting with friends outside of the restaurant Rintintin. “Teresa pointed at me and asked me who I rooted for. I told her Argentina,” remembers Yesim. “I didn’t notice the German flags painted on her cheeks. She said she was going to buy me a German beer anyway, and we’ve been together ever since.”
In November 2023, the pair realized they were approaching their 10th anniversary and thought it could be fun to throw a party on their favorite Greek island, Milos. Then, an idea was sparked. Yesim says, “Teresa turned to me and said, ‘Let’s get married!’” The couple got into action mode and managed to plan out the whole wedding—and a pre-honeymoon to Southeast Asia—in just a week. “The concept came together very quickly,” shares Yesim. “I used to produce fashion shows for Gucci and YSL during the Tom Ford era, so this was easy for me. We make a great duo because Teresa is super-organized, as well, and is very good at travel planning from her early years of modeling around the world.” In lieu of save-the-dates, the pair FaceTimed all their friends asking them to come to their summer celebration in Greece. The duo also tapped Think Happy Events to help with the execution of the international nuptials. “Chrysoula and her team did an outstanding job. They provided us with a comprehensive spreadsheet and check-in calls as needed leading up to the day,” shares Yesim.
It’s no surprise that fashion was a major driver of their wedding weekend vision. The brides note their guests love a theme, so they decided to create dress codes for each event with mood boards. “For the welcome night at Utopia Cafe, we wanted to let all of our friends feel like brides, so we asked them to wear long, white dresses or white linen jackets,” says Yesim. The next day, Yesim and Teresa arranged catamarans to take guests around the island of Milos. The dress code was solid black, so the brides wore matching white Eres swimsuits to stand out. For the ceremony, the theme was the Calvin Klein Eternity ads from the ’90s with Christy Turlington and Mark Vanderloo. “We asked our friends to wear slip dresses or button-down shirts,” says Yesim. “We knew it was going to be hot, and we wanted our friends to dance the night away feeling sexy.”
The idea for their minimalist nuptials came from a conversation with their friend Cécile Winckler. “She told me that I should slick my hair and wear black like a prince, and she told Teresa that she should definitely wear a bustier top to highlight one of her best features,” shares Yesim. “Later, we were having a glass of wine with our friend and neighbor, Bella Guinness, who has the most gorgeous dresses. I mentioned to her that I wanted something that would cover my chest, and she pulled out a dress from her closet and said, ‘Something like this?’ to which my jaw dropped.” The dress was a custom design Rifat Ozbek made for her parents’—artists Elliott Puckette and Hugo Guinness—wedding in the ’90s. Yesim says, “I felt an immediate connection to the dress as Rifat Ozbek and I both share the same Turkish heritage, and it was perfect for our ’90s theme. After trying it on and seeing that it was the perfect fit, we all decided it was the one.”
While Teresa and one of her best friends Eileen Feighny spent a day wedding dress shopping, she didn’t feel connected to anything they tried. Teresa then remembered their friend Paul Burgo designs custom bustiers for his own label, Factory New York, and scheduled a fitting appointment to create a custom two-piece ensemble. “Paul created a beautiful set that felt sumptuous and executed Teresa s vision even better than she had imagined,” shares Yesim.
The couple decided to shop for their wedding rings together. “One afternoon, we dressed up and headed to Madison Avenue,” Yesim says. Their first stop was Buccellati, where the brides remember a dark and luxurious atmosphere with “impeccable service.” Yesim shares, “The ring I thought I had fallen in love with online, the Fedi Eternelle, actually fit Teresa perfectly, and she knew she had to have it.” Next, the pair went to Graff. “Teresa purchased two rings for me—one in white gold and one in white gold with diamonds—because I loved the design of the Laurence Graff Signature pieces so much.”
When the wedding day arrived, the brides called upon their model friends to get them ready. “They joked that it felt like backstage at Paris Fashion Week because we only gave them an hour or so before they had to head with the drivers to the ceremony,” says Yesim. “Mélodie Monrose and Grace Mahary did our hair, Eileen Feighny helped dress us, and Lily Donaldson did our makeup.” While getting ready, the group got in a celebratory mood and popped some Ruinart champagne. Yesim adds, “When our bouquets were delivered, we placed them in the Champagne bucket!”
The ceremony took place at Sarakiniko Beach, which the brides chose for its “mystical quality and natural beauty.” “Being on a rock on the Mediterranean Sea brought to mind the siren song from The Odyssey and called into question what that could have sounded like. It was ‘The Flower Duet (from Lakmé)’ by Delibes that captured [those] beautiful feminine voices for us,” explains Yesim. “Through friends, we were able to connect to professional opera singers Mireille Lebel and Rachel Fenlon, who we flew in to sing the piece a cappella.” To further lean into the aesthetic, the singers wore slip dresses and were asked to reference Botticelli’s Birth of Venus for their hair and makeup.
Since Sarakiniko Beach is a public space, the brides’ planners had to get special permission for the ceremony to take place there. They also would not be allowed to bring in chairs. “This creative constraint helped us develop the idea of bursting into the dance. Inspired by the Matisse painting in the MOMA, we asked our friend Julia Jansch to lead the dance right after our kiss,” shares Yesim. “I sent texts to key people telling them where to stand, asking them to hold hands with specific people and to move in a certain direction. We didn’t rehearse anything, and somehow it all fell into place. Our friends opened up into a large circle naturally, and then we danced into it until the spiral closed in on us and got so tight that everyone started to jump up and down, throwing their arms into the air. It was euphoric!”
