If you have been following my journey as an Ayia Napa wedding photographer for a while, you know that I capture the images of many couples who have met by chance while working or travelling, and most of them already have their feet firmly planted in the adult world. I was therefore surprised (and delighted) to have a chance to capture something which is becoming increasingly rare: A couple—Alicia and Matthew—who decided to do things the “old fashioned way” and get married soon after leaving school.
While many people extol the virtues of getting married later in life, citing the fact that older adults are more mature, more stable, and more aware of themselves (including their needs, their likes and dislikes, etc.), the romantic in me still delights in seeing the kind of fresh-faced, innocent, carefree and wild young love I witnessed while photographing this wedding at Nissi Beach resort.
Suspend, for a moment, any cynicism you might have about the judgement of young people and instead, simply look at the images below: Let yourself smile at the flirtatious exuberance on Alicia’s face, which shows all the playful candour of youth. Allow yourself to be touched by the tender embrace of father and daughter, still close as parent and child, while he prepares to entrust her to the care of her groom. Feel the bubbling enthusiasm of this couple’s friends as they circle around them, iPhones snapping extra pictures so that they might share images of the wedding right away.
Though it’s true that we are more prone to making mistakes when we are young, the heart still has a guiding wisdom all its own. When two people decide to get married young, they are embarking on a shared journey like no other. As young people move through their turbulent formative adult years together, they inevitably shape one another in profound ways.
Getting married young means learning to create stability together; it means embracing intimacy together, being strong for one another, and offering comfort and counsel through both the good times and the bad. In short, it means growing up together, gradually merging two hearts and souls into one.
