Bravo's Ryan Serhant and wife Emilia share tips on planning a destination wedding and give us a peek at their special day

Million Dollar Listing New York star Ryan Serhant and his wife Emilia Bechrakis call New York City home, but when planning their July 7 wedding, the couple of five years knew they wanted to travel for their special day. “I never imagined what my wedding day would look like, but I knew I wanted to get married in Greece,” Emilia, who along with her husband will showcase their nuptials on Bravo starting on September 22, tells HELLO!. “That’s where my family is from, where my parents live and where I grew up.” After Ryan proposed, the couple, who met by chance at a Hanukkah party in NYC, were engaged for two years before saying ‘I do.’ “It took maybe a solid nine months to plan,” Emilia adds. “We kept putting the planning off because we had no idea where to start.” Once they settled on Corfu as a location, picking the dress, figuring out the logistics for 220 guests and more wedding planning began. Click through to see photos from their gorgeous day and learn Emilia and Ryan’s best suggestions for planning a destination wedding.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media

The dress “My wedding dress was by New York based designer Romona Keveža who has done many celebrity [and] royalty pieces. I had picked another dress initially and saw what was to be my wedding dress hanging in the atelier. Last minute, I said I wanted to try it. I fell in love with it.” Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media

The location“Choose a place that you’re connected to or want to be connected to. My favorite moment of the day was the boat ride over to the church holding my brother Stratos’ hand, and my dad, and walking up the steps to see Ryan. I couldn’t contain my happiness.” Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media

The wedding planner“The most challenging part of planning a wedding abroad is choosing vendors over the phone, via email and having blind faith. You don't have many opportunities to do walk throughs or trials with vendors. I had to have a lot of faith in the people I met once, in March, and make quick decisions. I hired a local Corfu planner Lorraine Young to do the on-ground work and a US based planner, Kevin Lee.” Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media

The accommodations"Destination weddings require a ton of meticulous planning, iron clad patience and very competent help. It becomes a major task to entertain people for more than one night. However, it is the most beautiful experience because it is a vacation with your nearest and dearest, and you create a bond with your guests they will never forget. We expected only a few to show up and everyone showed up.” For the 220 guests, Emilia and Ryan had to book the hotels themselves. "In Greece they didn't understand the concept of group booking but they did offer better rates or free room upgrades. I suggest finding the best location closest to the wedding events to make it easy and keep guests together so they can bond. Organize a casual event every night, offer transportation and make sure they have a contact who is not the planner but a local concierge." Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media

The bandThe couple’s first dance was to Ed Sheeran’s Photograph as fireworks went off. “We hired a local band to play Greek music for the Greek dancing to liven up the mood.” Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media

The cake and food“We initially tasted cakes in New York, but it didn’t make sense to find someone here for obvious reasons. I tried a local baker and we settled on a beautiful white and gold cake with fresh flowers and chocolate filling.” “I went to Greece once to taste the food by the caterer, see the cake shop, see the location and to meet the local planners.” Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media

The flowers“For flowers, we used a local vendor and flew in some fresh wild roses and peonies from Holland. He mixed the olive tree leaves and local greens with romantic toned flowers. The flowers exceeded my expectations. They were glorious and magical and transformed the venue.” Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media

The outcome“It was overwhelming at the time to have the cameras there, but in retrospect we are thankful we had them to capture everything. Ryan and I had the only moment alone hours before our flight back to New York to swim in the pool and have lunch as newlyweds, when we realized we were married – and blissful about never having to plan another wedding until our kids get married!”Be sure to watch Million Dollar Listing New York: Ryan’s Wedding on Bravo at 9 pm ET/PT.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Bravo Media