Category: Destination work

A collection of weddings and portraits around the world, from Iceland to Thailand and anywhere in between.

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Samothraki Wedding Photographer // Greek Islands // Alex & Tino

Rustic & Laid-back Beach Wedding | Samothraki, Greece

As featured on destination wedding blog Fly Away Bride

It was Alex’s mom who had originally gotten in touch with me about photographing Alex & Tino’s Samothraki wedding in September. Samothraki, or as it is in Greek, Samothrace, is an island in the northeastern Aegean group of Greek islands. If you’ve been to the Louvre in Paris, you might remember the statue of the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Legend has it that the statue is from a temple on this island. As far as Greek islands go, Samothraki is not your typical island. It doesn’t have the houses with white-washed walls and blue domes of the Cyclades like Santorini, but it doesn’t have the crowds either. :) There is tourism there, but not mass tourism, so the island still retains its authentic charm. It definitely takes a bit of effort to get to, but it’s worth it.

Anyway, back to the wedding! Alex & Tino live in the United States, but Tino is half Greek and spent time in Samothraki growing up. It is one of his favourite places in the world. They decided to have their wedding at the lovely Archondissa Hotel, right by the sea just outside the village of Therma. The ceremony was right on the beach, at sunset with their friends & family from all around the world witnessing as they said their own vows. Then everyone had dinner & danced under the stars. It was just as they had imagined it – everyone enjoyed it.

Alex & Tino, thanks for letting me document your wedding day on the beautiful island of Samothraki! Here are some of my favourites from that day.

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Tuscany Wedding Photographer // Sovana, Italy // Laura & Johannes

Elegant Wedding in the Olive Groves | Sovana, Tuscany

I had been to Tuscany twice before, but both times it was around central Tuscany, near Siena and Florence. When Laura emailed me about their wedding at Hotel Sovana, I had to Google it to find out where exactly in Tuscany it was. Turns out Sovana is a charming little village in the southern part of the region and is only about a 2.5 hour drive from Rome. Since I wanted to photograph a wedding in Tuscany for a long time, it was an easy decision on my end. Luckily, Laura & Johannes felt the same way about having me document their special day!

Laura is British while Johannes is German but grew up in Tuscany, near Sovana. Since they met, they have visited the area many times and Laura has fallen in love with Sovana as well. They both love the area so much, that when Johannes proposed, one of the first things Laura said besides “Yes!” was “let’s get married in Tuscany!” And so on a sunny August day, they brought together their closest friends & family under the Tuscan sun and tied the knot in the garden of Hotel Sovana lined with hundred-year old olive trees.

I had an amazing time documenting Laura & Johannes’ wedding, as well as exploring Sovana and the surrounding southern Tuscany countryside. I can never get enough of the rolling hills, the olive groves, the smell of vines, the tiny hilltop villages and the friendly locals. I already can’t wait to return again. xo

 

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Guernsey Wedding Photographer // Helen & Tom

As featured on U.K. wedding blog Whimsical Wonderland Weddings!

I’ve wanted to photograph a wedding in Guernsey ever since I read The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society and this article. So when I received an email from Helen last year with the subject “Wedding in Guernsey!” I was pretty stoked. After a few email exchanges, my visit to Guernsey was booked.

You might wonder just where is Guernsey? It’s one of the British Channel Islands, although they are closer to France geographically.

Now about Helen and Tom. Their first date involved a late night chat, an impromptu late night stroll on the beach and then watching the sunrise together. Couldn’t have been more perfect. They love to travel and spent a year travelling the world together.

The wedding day started with the boys having a (very cold) swim at the beach. So fun! Because you can only legally get married in a church in Guernsey, they found Ste Apolline Chapel that dates back to the 14th century, and got married with 15 of their nearest & dearest in attendance. Then a reception followed at Fairfield with a big marquee, lawn games, yummy food, music & dancing. We took their wedding portraits along the stunning southeastern coast, where the landscape inspired Renoir to create a series of paintings, and was also Victor Hugo’s favourite picnic spot.

It was truly a beautiful day with many memorable moments. But I think Tom’s speech will forever go down in history as one of the funniest Groom speeches (at least in my opinion). I was laughing so hard at some points that it was hard to take photos.

Thank you Helen & Tom, for inviting me to share in your beautiful day, for welcoming me so warmly, and for trusting me to tell your story!

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Venice Honeymoon Portrait Session // Hieu & Alex

This romantic Venice honeymoon portrait session has been featured on UK wedding blog Want That Wedding, as well as on Brides Without Borders.

In July I photographed a Venice honeymoon portrait session for Hieu and Alex. Hieu and Alex are from the U.S. (Georgia and San Fran). They were on a 3-week honeymoon in Europe and Venice, Italy was one of their stops.

I was in Europe for 3 weeks myself for a couple of weddings and Venice was my first stop. It had been 5 years since I last visited Venice and I was very much looking forward to my second visit.  I think a lot of people who have been to Venice love it. There are also those who think it’s overrated. The complaints I often hear are: it’s too touristy; it’s not authentic; things cost too much. But I think most “touristy” places are touristy for reason. I don’t think those places are at fault just because everyone want to visit. Yes Venice can be crowded, yes it can feel less like an authentic city compared to other places, but there is more than a thousand years of history that took place in this city built on water. Every canal, every calle, every brick has a story, and I believe all those stories have left invisible marks on the city. You can’t see them, but you can feel them.

We woke up really early for this honeymoon session since July in Venice is quite hot and humid. So we decided to start just after sunrise. It was a more reasonable temperature and it was also before the crowds attacked the city :) We started in their hotel, then we walked over the Rialto bridge, wandered through some small lanes (calles) to Piazza San Marco and ended it with a gondola ride!

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Reykjavik Family Photographer // Kristin’s family

I met some really lovely people when I went to Iceland last March. So when I had the opportunity to go back in September, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph Kristin and her family as Kristin is Selma’s sister (you may remember Selma & Andri’s snowy anniversary session).

A lot of people feel that photographers should pick an area of specialty and stick to it, others think that doing a bit of everything is good as you are diversifying. For me, I love weddings as much as photographing families because they both involve storytelling. I love it when families feel relaxed around me and will just do their thing – whether it’s playing, walking, or hanging out. That allows me to just do my thing – document those moments and the in-between moments. To me, the most beautiful photos aren’t the perfectly posed shots, or the “say cheese” smiles, but the ones where they aren’t so perfect, but captured a moment that only lasted a second but is nevertheless precious, and the ones where a bit of the subjects’ souls were captured.

This session was definitely one of those occasions for me.  :)

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