I was really excited when I talked with dear Dimitra for wedding shooting in Thessaloniki. As a Turkish wedding photographer, I had never shot a Greek wedding before. I would be the only foreigner from beginning to end. Let me tell you the result first. I now have a second family in Thessaloniki and even a third, fourth and fifth…You can read the whole story of “Thessaloniki Wedding Photos” at the bottom of the page (after the photos)…
…..Family members and friends of Dimitra & Dimitri have looked after everything for me, beginning from airport transfer to what I eat, where I stay and where I visit. To tell the truth, I’ve tried to do my best to return the favour. The whole process was so pleasing and interesting. It was also exciting in terms of photography. New places and people are naturally the best motivation of destination wedding photography. Maybe it was exhausting due to extreme heat, intensive pace and action at somewhere at any moment but also a very pleasant photography adventure.Thessaloniki Wedding Photos
Church Ceremony
I was a guest at the homes of Dimitra and Dimitri in the same neighbourhood on wedding day. Then all together, we went to Saint Nicholas Orphanos Church for religious marriage ceremony in Irodotou district where you can see the traces of Ottoman architecture. The church was built by Byzantines in early 14th century. It was a small, modest but pretty impressive church. The marriage ceremony in this historic atmosphere was a visual feast for me. I shot abundant photos. Immediately after, there was a small celebration in the garden full of olive trees. Later on we took the road to go to Thessaloniki Concert Hall for dinner and entertainment. We shot the photos of the couple around this modern building in front of the view of North Aegean Sea and wonderful architecture of the building.
Reception at the Roof
The entertainment at night was unforgettable. I was amazed at the command of Greek dances by the guests in spite of the diverse figures. It was very interesting to watch so many synchronized people performing different dances with every musical piece. Everybody I’ve met throughout the night persisted that I should leave work and join a conversation or a dance but unfortunately I resisted the temptation till the end of the night:) Because somebody had to shoot photos:).
Working till 3 am
When I was waiting for a taxi after 3 AM to go back to my hotel, an architecture couple among the guests (they gave me advices about the places worth-to-see) insistently wanted to take me to my hotel and this is one my unforgettable memories of this shooting. What is more, they gave me tour of the city at that time of the night and introduced important buildings and neighbourhoods of the city and filled me with architectural details.
We will definitely meet with Dimitra & Dimitri again. I hope I can meet with others, too.
I wish you endless happiness.
Thessaloniki Wedding Photos by Ufuk Sarisen
