Recently my family and I were lucky to go on a long trip to Greece and Eastern Europe, escaping the Melbourne winter for Europe’s summer. While visiting my husband’s family in Greece, my cousin in law invited me to shoot a Greek wedding that he was videoing. I didn’t have time to return to our accommodation to change so I went along with him, wearing my rubber thongs (flip flops) and a borrowed skirt from my cousin-in-law. Usually I err on the side of underdressing, but in this case I was ridiculously underdressed.

Much of the village of Mesinni was to attend the wedding. The ceremony was scheduled for 7pm and I diligently rushed to be on time. The bride didn’t show for another hour. Greek time, I guess. While waiting, I had a blast people watching.  I don’t speak much Greek at all so it was all the more fascinating to witness as a cultural spectator with my camera. I was riveted by the serious air amongst those gathered; the sparkling outfits; the hair; the makeup; but mostly, the collective attitude. Greeks are strong people, they know how to stand their ground with one another.

Soon we heard the honking car horns driving through the village and the bride arrived. Half of those gathered squeezed inside the small, stuffy church. I’m sure everyone was sweating buckets under their flashy outfits. Or maybe that was just me.

My cousin in law and his photographer team were super accommodating about giving me access up front with them amongst the action. It was quite a production – two videographers, 2 photographers, a drone operator, a bunch of video lights and then me. A little different to how I normally photograph a wedding here in Melbourne/Dandenong Ranges.

It was an incredible experience. I now patiently wait for our internet to slowly transfer my images over for the bride and groom to keep.