“Elopement” photo service in Venice: shooting a simple, informal Greek wedding in Venice

Greek bride during wedding photo shooting in Venice
Efi and Gianni chose to get married at the Greek Consulate of Venice and this was the occasion for intense, spontaneous wedding shots

Efi and Gianni’s wedding was really special: no relative was present, no friends, no make-up artist, no hair-stylist…just the two of them, the photographer in charge of their wedding photo reportage and the office employees at the Greek Consulate in Venice.

In some way the wedding reminded me of the “elopements” that used to take place in the past when couples had to get married far away from home to avoid objections from parents. Nowadays similar weddings do take place but are more like a kind of destination weddings, with couple performing the wedding rites in another place than home just to enjoy more privacy or get the most of a romantic environment.

Greek couple walking in Venice during informal wedding photo service
The couple walked along Venetian alleys on their way to the Greek Consulate and I had the chance to shoot very intense romantic couple photographs.

Efi and Gianni just wanted an intimate, very informal wedding ceremony before attending a traditional marriage in Greece later on. The result was a very romantic and intense day both for the couple and for me, as I was chosen as their wedding photographer in this special day.

Spontaneity, simplicity and passion characterized each phase of this wedding. The preparation of the couple, for instance, took place in their hotel room without relatives or assistants, while using elegant and simple details that enhanced the atmosphere and the photographs I shot during this wedding photo service: Gianni’s bow tie, Efi’s pink dress and her make-up which was made in a make-up products store without spending a penny…

Greek couple kissing at the Greek consulate during wedding photo service in Venice
The wedding ceremony took place in the Greek consulate and the couple’s passion enhanced each shot of the wedding photo shooting.

The couple enjoyed many romantic and intense moments during the rest of the day: during an informal photo walk on their way to the Greek consulate, when they stopped to kiss and hug along the channels and on the public ferry boat; during the wedding civil ceremony when their joy and passion enlivened the cold atmosphere of an administrative office in the consulate; during the final walk in Venice when their relaxed mood allowed even more spontaneous and lively shots to be made. A simple great wedding….no match for any big fat Greek wedding!

couple hugging during wedding photo shooting in Venice
Passion and joy enlightened this simple and informal wedding ceremony and allowed very intense shots to be made during the photo service.

For further examples of wedding photo services in Venice see my website.

Greek couple hugging during informal wedding photo service in Venice
The couple enjoyed some shots after the wedding ceremony in a very informal and passionate mood

Post by Metella Iaconello.

Smart souvenirs of your photo session: inspiration boards

wedding-photo-service-inspiration-board
Using the photographs from a wedding service I created a nice board that can be used as present for the wedding’s participants

Inspiration boards used to be (and still are) real boards made of cork or other materials, filled with photographs, scratches of newspapers and pieces of fabrics, that hang up on a rooms’ walls.

They were mostly used by creative professionals  to better collect ideas and materials and create a kind of visual description of the project they were working on.  

They soon became well appreciated not only for their usefulness, but also as beautiful “pieces of furniture”.

Nowadays everyone can create his or her own inspiration board with his or her most beloved pictures and hang it on a wall or display it on the computer’s desktop to enjoy its beauty every now and then.

destination wedding photo session inspiration board
I created one more inspiration board using shots from a recent destination wedding in Venice

I lately devised a few inspiration boards with photographs shot during my photo services, being them engagement, wedding, honeymoon photo shootings or portraits.

I guess they might be well appreciated by my clients as souvenirs of their own photo sessions or else offered as a present to relatives or friends.

inspiration board for honeymoon photo service
This inspiration board was created with shots from a recent honeymoon photo service

By the way what do you think of these inspiration boards?

For further photos of the related photo services see my website.

Honeymoon photo shooting: a dancing bridal veil at Garda Lake

bride and groom playing with veil during honeymoon photo session at Garda Lake
During this honeymoon photo service at Garda Lake the bride and the groom accepted my suggestion to play with the bridal veil.

Last September a nice just-married Russian couple hired me as a honeymoon photographer to shoot them on the background of Garda Lake in Desenzano. Since the wedding had already taken place in Russia, they just wore their wedding dresses again in their hotel room, walked along the lake and posed for some shots in some romantic spots.

just-married couple shot at Desenzano at Garda Lake by honeymoon photographer
This honeymoon photo service enclosed some shots in romantic spots at Garda Lake

In order to make the photo session more dynamic and funny, I suggested the bride to play with her veil and let it dance in the air: she was glad to do it and her husband contributed to the dance. The dance began at the hotel and went on during the whole session: at the lakeside, at the lighthouse, in the gardens, etc.

Russian couple kissing at Garda Lake during a couple photo portrait
As a honeymoon photographer I enjoy enlive my photographs with creative ideas and suggestions.

This is a nice example of how a little detail and a creative idea can turn a common couple photo session into some really pleasant hours and unique shots.  

bride and groom walking along Garda Lake while posing for honeymoon photographer
The young couple I shot at Desenzano enjoyed very much my idea of playing with the bridal veil during our honeymoon photo session

On my website you can see some more examples of honeymoon photo sessions.

Vow renewal photo shooting in Venice: not just a couple, but a family matter!

bride, bridegroom and son walking along an alley in Venice during a vow renewal photo shooting
A vow renewal photo shooting often involves a couple and their children

I lately had the chance to shoot a vow renewal in Venice: an American couple chose the city as the right location to re-commits to their relationship and re-state their love for one another.

couple kissing during vow renewal photo service
Our photo walk in Venice enclosed several stops in romantic spots for intense couple portraits

A couple shooting of this kind is in some way different from a wedding photo service: the couple has already experienced the wedding rituals some time in advance; they often choose a more intimate, simple ceremony and, just like in this case, they are not alone.

The Texan couple I shot was indeed accompanied by their 15-year-old boy which gave me the chance of portraying a family story.

bridegroom helping the son during a photo walk in Venice
A vows renewal photo shooting gives the photographer the chance to portray the relationship and feelings among parents and children.

Needless to say, during our informal photo walk in Venice, I made some couple photographs in highly romantic spots trying to fully express the couple’s deep feelings for one another. It was really exciting to see long-lasting and still intense love almost shining from their smiles and eyes!

bride and son walk in Venice during vows renewal photo service
The feelings between the bride and his son were also highlighted in this vows renewal photo shooting

Beside, I also focused my shots on the three people’s relationship as a family, portraying the mother-son and father-son behavior, as well as making some shots full of “family-flavor” with the three of them walking, hugging or even running together.

bride looking at the groom during vow renewal photo service
During this photo shooting I managed to catch very intense expressions and feelings in my photographs

As a professional wedding, honeymoon and engagement photographer, I always aim at catching people’s feeling and relations in my photo portraits. This vow renewal photo service gave me the opportunity to get intense shots which can work as nice souvenirs of important family moments.

post by Metella Iaconello

bridegroom kissing the bride during vows renewal photo shooting
Parents and son all enjoyed very much our informal photo walk in Venice, including the breaks we had.