Wedding in Greece with a very, very big budget

The wedding day

Day Two for this wedding in Greece, on the island of Tinos. The ‘wedding day’ – a ceremony on the beach, and then a big party overlooking the sea. All at the five-star Odera Tinos hotel. The wind? It was still strong and unabating. It meant a bit of tweaking to the timing of the day. That and ensuring there was another light at the end of the ceremony. With Olia’s plan to arrive at the beach in a small, traditional fishing boat, it meant a few changes to the plan. The sea was choppy.

Wedding Ceremony on the Beach

With the wedding guests gathered on the beach, along with Jeremy and his best man, Jeremy’s big boat crept around into the small bay. Bravely, Oli transferred from this boat, into the small fishing boat, to be dropped off on shore, Jeremy waiting to escort her along the seashore and into the circular wedding spot – designed by Olia. The guests then took their seats, surrounding the wedding couple and the ceremony could begin. Heartfelt vows and instead of rings, laurel wreaths to wear. After the ceremony, Olia and Jeremy walked to the side of the beach to throw these wreaths into the sea, as the guests made their way back up the cliff to the hotel.

Wedding in Greece – the Party

For those who didn’t use the ‘golf carts’ to get back up the cliff to the reception space, the drinks were very welcome. The sun had by now dipped behind the edge of the bay. It was time for the evening events to start, kicked off by Jeremy completing the Jewish tradition of smashing a glass. Long tables had been set out for the evening meal. Careful where you stand, it was right next to the infinity pool. (Shooting in the area was tricky, some very dark drops in places…) Speeches and food. Slightly cut short in the end, as the party needed to get started. So after a giant cake – you scopped your fill of it with a bowl and a screening about Olia and Jeremy’s charity work, and a quick change of outfit for Olia and a brief first dance, the music started…

Time for the dancing

The music starts. Now, usually at this point it is when I need to set up some Profoto lights, to illuminate the dance floor. I had flown over with a couple of lights, a lightstand and a trigger – they stayed in my bag throughout my time in Greece. When I said this wedding in Greece had a big budget, one look at the lighting setup confirmed it. A gift. As is a good band. This band, SuperPop, had flown over from Italy. They were followed by a DJ duo, from the USA (?), along with dancers wearing Glitterball heads…not your average wedding.