Because your story deserves a beautiful beginning.
our mission
Simplifying what matters
Because planning your wedding should remain a joy.
Between guest lists that keep growing, responses that get lost, and details that pile up, we sometimes forget why we're doing all this.
We created anatolewedding to free you from this mental load. So you can get back to what truly matters: celebrating, sharing, and enjoying every moment of this adventure.
The origin of the name
Anatole in Greek mythology
From ancient Greek ἀνατολή(anatolē) — the rising of the sun, and the east
Anatole is one of the twelve Horae, the Greek goddesses of the hours of the day. She is the Hour of sunrise. Hyginus lists her second, just after Auge — “when light first appears” — and glosses her name in a single word: Dawn (Fabulae 183). Her Greek name, ἀνατολή, means the rising of a heavenly body above the horizon, and by extension the east.
The Horae work as a body, not alone. They guide the sun-god Helios across the sky and cut daylight into twelve portions. Homer entrusts the gates to all of them at once: “the gates of heaven which the Hours had in their keeping, to whom are entrusted great heaven and Olympus” (Iliad 5.749-751, trans. Murray). No single Hour opens Olympus by herself.
One door is hers, though. In Nonnus' Dionysiaca, the cosmic palace of Harmonia has four gates, one for each wind. “Anatolia (Rising) was the maid who attended the East Wind's gate”, while Dysis (Setting) kept the West (41.263). Anatole guards the side of the world where the day begins.
Anatolē: the moment a heavenly body rises above the horizon.
Explore
The Twelve Hours of the Greek Day
The Horae divided daylight into twelve portions, each with a name and a task. Pick one to see its Greek name, its meaning and the moment it governs.
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Ανατολη(Anatolē)
Latin spelling: Anatole · secondof the eleven Hours preserved in Hyginus' list
Meaning
Rising (anatolē)
Moment of the day (Hyginus, Fabulae 183)
Dawn
Hyginus lists eleven names. The name of the twelfth Hour is not preserved. Nonnus names a different set of four Horae — Anatolia, Mesembria, Dysis and Arktos — stationed at the four gates of Harmonia's cosmic palace.
The Greeks had no hours of fixed length: daylight was split into twelve portions, so an Hour stretched in summer and shrank in winter.
That is why we chose the name. There is a moment, just before dawn, when the sky still hesitates. Then light breaks through, soft and certain, and a new day begins. A wedding is exactly that: the end of one chapter, the first morning of a story for two.
anatolewedding — because your story deserves a beautiful beginning.
Questions about the name
Anatole in Greek mythology: your questions
Is Anatole a Greek god or goddess?
Anatole is a goddess. She belongs to the twelve Horae, the Greek goddesses of the hours of the day, who guided the sun-god Helios across the sky. Hyginus lists her second among them and glosses her name as Dawn (Fabulae 183). She is a minor deity, not an Olympian.
What does the name Anatole mean?
Anatole comes from the ancient Greek ἀνατολή (anatolē), the rising of a heavenly body above the horizon — typically the sun. Liddell and Scott give a second sense: the quarter of sunrise, the east, opposed to δύσις. The same word gave Medieval Latin Anatolia, the old name of Asia Minor.
Who were the twelve Horae?
The Horae were the Greek goddesses of the hours of the day. They guided Helios across the sky and divided daylight into twelve portions. Ancient sources disagree on their parentage: Quintus Smyrnaeus calls them daughters of Helios, Nonnus daughters of Chronos. Hyginus preserves eleven of their names; the twelfth is lost.
Did Anatole open the gates of Olympus?
Not on her own. Homer entrusts the gates of heaven and Olympus to the Hours as a group, to throw open the thick cloud or shut it (Iliad 5.749-751). Nonnus does give Anatole a gate of her own, but it is the East Wind’s gate of Harmonia’s cosmic palace, not Olympus.
Is Anatole the same as Eos?
No. Eos is the goddess of the dawn herself, a second-generation Titan and sister of Helios and Selene. Anatole is one of the twelve Horae, the Hour of sunrise. Quintus Smyrnaeus describes Eos descending from Olympus amid the bright-haired Horae — they travel together, but they are not the same figure.
Why is a wedding platform called Anatole?
Because a wedding is a beginning, and Anatole is the Hour when light returns. The name carries the idea we build around: the end of one chapter, the first morning of a shared story. Anatole makes free wedding websites — invitations, RSVP, timeline and gift registry in one place.
our story
Some ideas are born from a gap. From looking at what exists and believing it can be done better. Simpler. More beautiful. More human.
Cotton Bird
Kevin HA joins Cotton Bird as CEO. The company will become Europe's leader in wedding stationery.
2019
Acquisition of Cotton Bird
Kevin acquires Cotton Bird through a Management Buy-Out (MBO).
After 6 years leading the company, Kevin sells Cotton Bird.
NOVEMBER 2025
Birth of anatolewedding
Drawing on his expertise, Kevin creates anatolewedding to reinvent the digital wedding invitation. Free, multilingual, designed for European weddings.
JANUARY 2026
the founder
Kevin HA
"Every wedding is unique. Planning it should be simple."
After six years helping couples from around the world at Cotton Bird, I created anatolewedding with one obsession: that every couple can tell their story, in their language, their way.
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A wedding website that reflects you, in just a few minutes. Free, elegant, and designed to simplify your life.
