Greek wedding – Andrea & Warren

The Big Fat Greek Wedding Story of Andrea & Warren, by Greek Wedding Photographer Peter Lane

The North London Cypriot community often calls me – The Greek Wedding Photographer of London, and as a wedding photographer I meet a lot of people, listen to their stories, dreams and worries. You have probably read my article about the wedding of Andrea & Kyri, so the interesting thing here is that Andrea Prodromou is a cousin of Andrea Prodromou 🙂 I met Andrea & Warren almost 2 years ago, half a year before her cousin’s wedding. A lovely family together with Andrea’s mom and dad and their adorable little children.

A week before the wedding the forecast change giving a whole week of rain including the wedding day. So we all swapped plan B as a plan A. Luckily it was an amazing sunny day cut from the global forecast. That was a big gift from above allowing us to have outdoor photos in the beautiful venue garden – The Prince Regent Hotel.

Andrea’s stolisma was an emotional experience – tears, emotions … things that can’t be said by words, only hearth to hearth. It was lovely to see the support of the bride’s son holding her hand during that moment, together with her little daughter sleeping next to him during the noisy ceremony.

Tear of joy and emotional moments met the bride and her father appearing at the registry aisle. This time it was the groom.

Confetty, family photos and canapés… followed by the big entrance. Dj Funksy & Praxis Entreatment introduced all the main heroes of the day with a high start of party mood. I was glad to see a saxophone in the band, not very usual for Greek weddings. Two singer, brilliant musicians and amazing mix of Greek, house, modern English and R&B. Good job Funksy!

Speeches! So much from the hearth and so little of reading. Touchy, deep and emotional. Our whole team my second wedding photographer and two wedding videographers truly enjoyed listening and capturing the audience reactions. Well done to all speakers including little Leo and the youngest family member who put and end of speeches with: We did it!

Then you know what followed, Greek dance, fun and lots of laughter.

What an amazing Greek wedding!

Anna & Peter’s Wedding

The Big Fat Green Wedding Story of Anna & Peter, by Greek Wedding Photographer Peter Lane

One morning I found this email … “Peter, I was searching for Greek Wedding Photographer based in London and I found you, we love your portfolio.” We had a lovely meeting discussing all plans and ideas, stress factors, going thru the day from A to Z. Cinematography Package was offered and Anna & Peter were happy to have all the media under one roof. I encouraged them to ask questions as engaged people very often miss important things, which is normal, people don’t get married every day. Helping them in that stressful moment (with advices, recommendations, ideas, logistics, etc.) makes the different between being just a wedding photographer and trustful professional wedding photographer.

I was happy that they have booked Cleopatra the Greek band, so the good party was guaranteed. Also happy that they took my advice seriously and booked Anna Savvides, an amazing event planner with a big big hearth.

After the meeting Peter messaged me “top secret” … there will be a surprise, someone with alpaca will meet the bride at the church entrance with rings being on alpaca, etc. For that moment I ignored the message as I knew that word alpaca describes a metal and I thought a metallic alpaca tray with the rings, who cares what kind of metal is it … but then 2 weeks before the wedding I read it all carefully and I said, hold on, let’s Google it. And Boom! Really? So crazy and so sweet. None of our photographers & wedding videographers had witnessed such a church introduction before and we all were very excited.

So, the Big Day! We started Peter’s stolisma early in the morning, followed by Anna’s preps and stolisma.

Everyone was excited to see Anna’s reaction on the 2 alpacas waiting by the church entrance. What would passing people think about Greek weddings. Imagine you drive your car, passing by a Greek Orthodox church and see 2 animals stay at the front door.

I wish I would be in Anna’s shoes that moment. She was so happy and excited to see the alpacas. Later on, I understood that one of them has been adopted by her.

Radisson Blu Edwardian was carefully set and organized by Anna Savvides. Here I want to share a moment for those of you reading this who plan a Greek Wedding. Book a wedding planner! This is not an advice, this is a must-have. You know the Greek culture – being on time, keeping things organized… is not in the list of the strongest community features. Without an event planner get ready for lots of surprises. Anna Savvides you were amazing! As always.

Speeches. You can’t hear brides’ speeches often. Anna’s speech straight from the hearth was kind, smart and spicy.

Lyra Dance Group lead by Anna was another surprise of the day. Another bridal dress, light and elegant. Everyone was upright and clapping. Such a great Greek dance performance!

Here I’ll stop my writing and let you enjoy the photos. Anna & Peter, my team of Greek Wedding photographers & videographers wishes you a long happy life together. Na ze se te!

Top Tips on Planning Your Destination Wedding in Greece

destination wedding photographer in Greece

Romantic sunsets, gorgeous beaches and beautiful weather – your dream wedding in Greece! It’s perfect for larger wedding parties and great for those wanting a more intimate affair.  The fabulous climate and endless blue skies provide a stunning backdrop for beautiful wedding photos.  Having a destination wedding is both memorable and adventurous.

If you are planning your wedding in Greece it is a good idea to plan things out well in advance. You should allow some more time for researching your perfect venue. One of the best decisions you can make early on is hiring a wedding planner, destination wedding photographer and wedding videographer.  Also you should be thinking about giving enough time to your guests to secure their travel plans.

A destination wedding requires you to send Save the Date cards with as much notice as possible, 6 – 9 months being ideal. It gives guests a chance to consider their financial situation, book time off work and make travel arrangements.The more notice you give will increase their chances of attending.

Hire a wedding planner  At times, you’re going to find planning your destination wedding a little stressful.

We believe everyone can plan a wedding, but some people do it better than others. For these people, it’s their profession and they do it every day of the week. Hiring a wedding planner will mean that you will have more time to relax, chill out and explore your new surroundings with family and friends.  A good planner will take things to the next level by handling all the details and can make things a lot easier for you.

Hire a destination wedding photographer

When planning a destination wedding you need to consider bringing a professional wedding photographer you love with you to ensure your pictures are perfect.
Hiring a destination wedding photographer it allows you to find the best wedding photographer that matches your style. It allows you to find a photographer you connect with and trust, so that you don’t need to worry and feel comfortable with them.
Capturing your wedding day will give you memories and amazing photos to treasure for life. Make sure you hire your perfect wedding photographer in Greece to capture it all.

Greek Wedding Andrea & Kyri

Andrea & Kyri – The “Big Fat Greek Wedding” redefined by Greek wedding photographer London Peter Lane

Being Greek wedding photographer for years it was a privilege to shoot Andrea & Kyri’s wedding. We met Andrea & Kyri a year ago and it took only few minutes to notice the spark in their eyes. 10 years together and if you don’t know it you may think that they have just started dating. After leaving our office they left illumination of very bright energy, love and kindness. It’s a true blessing not only to work with people like them but to know them and have as friends.

Well, the date was close, everything ready and fixed long time ago and they both looked quite relaxed. I was surprised to see the always super calm and confident Kyri walking nervous in the church, waiting for his soulmate in a beautiful white dress, few moments later, wow, tear drops … and as later on he explains in the speech, something got in his eyes 🙂

Greek wedding photographer London

The wedding was a rollercoaster of emotions and as Eagles sing “sweet summer sweat”, a wedding party that everyone wants to remember and no one wants to forget. The big party started with yaya on the dance floor, you just have to see her face that moment, pure and sincere happiness … everyone around her swimming in tears of joy, truly unforgettable moment for my team and sure for the bride & groom’s family. Cleopatra band really knew how to keep the dance floor hot and full. We work with them for years and we always enjoy their talent. But there was a new start of the night, one of the guests took the microphone and boom, the jumping crowd hit the roof. That was the “the bearded butcher” as we know him from the social media, amazing with the microphone and super star on the dance floor.

What can I say, I really try hard to keep this article as short as possible and let you enjoy the photos. A week after the wedding and I still feel trilled and excited as if it was yesterday and as if that was my wedding.

I was so happy when Andrea’s mother told me that night, Peter you’re like part of the family already. So so kind and priceless words!

Dear family we wish you all the very best in your life together. Keep on smiling, you do it very well. Keep on being yourself, the world needs people like you! Lots of love from Peter Lane Photography team! xx

Before to say amen I wish to say few words of gratitude and appreciation to Tewin Bury Farm venue and their awesome event organisers, wedding cake by Magical Cakery, the Burgeon floral design and their spectacular floral decorations and The Wedding Lounge with the attention for all details that turns a wedding into a fairytale. We work with them for years and the quality of their service is always 5 stars! Tapenade Exclusive Cuisine, first time with your catering and smily staff, you won your place in our suppliers list, so well done! Limelight Films, we were happy to share the day with you, first time together but we know the quality of your work. Hope to see you again, great team!