Curating a Wedding Wardrobe with Anastasia Souris

For content creator Anastasia Souris’ nuptials to Kambiz Ghiam, it was lush, sparkling Samos, one of the largest Greek islands nestled in the eastern Aegean Sea, or nothing. “Truthfully, I don’t think we even meaningfully entertained any other option,” she tells me. “My husband has been traveling to this island with me for the last four years, and it has become his home just as much as it is mine. We didn’t even have a conversation about getting married anywhere else!” Souris, who married Ghiam in July, was determined to integrate Samos’ heartbeat into every wedding decision, from the neutral, modern design that enhanced their venue’s architecture to the fashion moments, both heirloom and custom, that honored her heritage. “For my family, Samos is sacred. There is an indescribable energy you feel the moment you set foot on the island. I wanted to truly honor our island and let it shine,” she says.

In this interview, she shares how she curated her wedding wardrobe, compiled a covetable Samos-inspired shop edit for our readers, and shares how she made the celebration deeply personal with rich cultural nods.

Photography by Kristin Piteo Photography

If Souris’ wedding was a love letter to Samos, her bridal style was the pen. “When it came to fashion, my goal was to wear pieces that felt genuinely connected to Greece, and specifically to Samos itself,” she shares. Known to her 286,000 Instagram followers as an arbiter of minimalist, organic, and effortless style, the bride paid homage to both her signature tastes and ancestry when identifying her wedding wardrobe. “Rather than aiming for grand statements, I prioritized authenticity, choosing designs that resonated with my surroundings and reflected Greek culture, but stayed true to my personal style,” she shares.

There is no better example than the look Souris cites as her favorite of the weekend, which she wore to her and Ghiam’s welcome dinner at a local taverna in Pythagoreio, the town where most of the weekend’s events were held: a custom halter gown crafted from a hand-crocheted tablecloth, made by her maternal grandmother 20 years ago, right there in her homeland. “In Greek culture, these heirloom tablecloths symbolize family heritage and are commonly passed down from yiayias to their daughters and granddaughters,” she explains. “Wearing this piece felt incredibly meaningful, and was a tribute to my roots and an acknowledgment of my Yiayia, who left Greece so that we could have the beautiful life we live today.”

“In Greek culture, these heirloom tablecloths symbolize family heritage and are commonly passed down from yiayias to their daughters and granddaughters. Wearing this piece felt incredibly meaningful, and was a tribute to my roots and an acknowledgment of my Yiayia, who left Greece so that we could have the beautiful life we live today.”

The tablecloth’s transformation was the first of many sartorial decisions that drove her bridal aesthetic’s cultural narrative arc. “So much of my wedding style was heavily inspired by my heritage. I chose Danielle Frankel for both my ceremony and reception dress because I think she has masterfully encapsulated the beauty and drama of ancient Greek pieces, while keeping them so modern and relevant,” she shares, pointing to her second wedding dress as a true exemplar of ancient Greek fashion, artful draping and all. “I wore the stunning Harris gown for my reception, and I truly felt like I belonged at one of the many ancient ruins scattered throughout the island.”

The only stressful part? Transporting those meaningful gowns from the States to Greece. “I kept everything of value with me. I managed to fit all of my gowns into one dress bag and was proactive in asking the airline if they could hang it in their closets on board. They were so kind in doing that on each of our flights,” she explains. “When it came to jewelry and other valuables, I kept those pieces in my personal bag, so they never left my sight! And then I prayed that it all made it safely.”

Those other heirloom valuables included a solitaire marquise ruby ring (another inheritance from her Yiayia and also the birthstone of July, Souris’ wedding month) and a veil that intertwined her husband’s roots with her own. “My husband’s grandmother made my veil for me. She was an incredible bridal seamstress in Iran, and when she immigrated to the States, she continued her craft in Beverly Hills at her own shop for many years,” Souris shares. “It was such an honor that she offered to make this for me. We chose a Mantilla-style veil, but opted for a delicate silk trim rather than the traditional lace. It embodied the traditional Greek folk style, but the replacement of the lace with the trim felt fresh and modern.”

“My wedding was home. It was everything that I was before I met my husband, raw and authentic, and it was everything that we have built together as a couple. It was a tribute to both of our incredible lives.”

Souris was intentional about blending Ghiam’s culture with hers via fashion, yes, but also by layering tradition in an effort to honor his Persian-Jewish background in a place that was so inherently her. She recalls one such decision, which involved a traditional bouzouki player leading her and her parents from the getting-ready suite to the altar, where Ghiam’s father was waiting to guide the couple’s Jewish ceremony. “It was infectious! And it was so beautiful to see my husband’s friends and family learning to speak the language, joining in on the Greek dancing, and truly just appreciating where my family comes from,” she says. “Equally so, my family participated in Persian-Jewish customs: We did a classic Persian wedding walk-out at our ceremony, where our parents and bridal party danced down the aisle to the chuppah, rather than the much more serious saunter they were all used to. It created so much energy and momentum and turned into an amazing custom for the Greeks to see!”

In the end, through the channels of fashion storytelling and tradition, Souris crafted an event that reflected her personal style, as well as her and Ghiam’s love story and shared reverence for family. She recalls one of her favorite days of the wedding weekend, when the couple chartered sailing boats from a local captain they cruise with every year. It summarized all she and Ghiam set out to do, she explains. “He took us out for the afternoon, his wife cooked a homemade lunch for all 50 of us, and he played his bouzouki and sang classic Greek folk music. It was such a pure and authentic moment, and I was so grateful our friends got to experience it for themselves,” she says. “My wedding was home. It was everything that I was before I met my husband, raw and authentic, and it was everything that we have built together as a couple. It was a tribute to both of our incredible lives.”

Anastasia Souris Ghiam’s Real Wedding