Recently I shot the engagement of the beautiful and energetic Froso and Giorgos (their engagement photoshoot, which took place in Cyprus, can be seen here); as you may recall if you read that post, their vitality and candour lit up the lens, so I was delighted to return to shoot their wedding.
The ceremony was beautiful and it was part of this perfect Cyprus wedding, overflowing with emotions (as weddings so often are), causing me to pause and contemplate why weddings are such intrinsically emotional events. There is the obvious, of course—they make official the divine union of love—but there is always more to it than that, when one thinks deeper on it. After all, even in countries where marriages are arranged—where the bride and groom may have only met once or twice, if at all—marriages are still thought of as emotional events.
I believe that weddings are charged with emotional moments not only due to the love of the couple—so bright and obvious in the case of Froso and Giorgos—but also because they are symbolic. Often they represent the final and complete transition into adulthood, and as such, while they are full of immense love, there are bittersweet notes to it as well: Mothers “lose” sons to their wives, fathers “give away” daughters to their grooms. Parents can no longer protect their children from the adult world; they can only hope that the person their child is joining with in matrimony will be good to them, that they will love and protect one another, in sickness and in health, never parting in this mortal life, and reunited in the life beyond.
Even weddings that happen later in life have the element of transition to them; one is always leaving something behind—a former marriage, a home, etc. There is always the sense that one chapter has been closed so that another might open.
This sense of transition was especially evident and moving with Froso and Giorgos; I photographed each of them getting ready in their hometowns where they grew up—Froso in Lakatamia, Giorgos in the beautiful mountain village of Farmakas. Crossing the mountains from Farmakas to Lakatamia to shoot Froso preparing to be wed was a journey rife with poetic symbolism; such was the distance the couple’s love had to cross, but though “The road is long” and “there are mountains in our way… We climb a step every day. Love lifts us up where we belong.”
During the beautiful church ceremony that followed—rich in ecclesiastic elements and atmosphere—and the stunning poolside reception in Nicosia, I could feel the blessings of God shining down upon this beautiful couple, and I knew that they are indeed where they belong: With each other.
Thank you for choosing Cristian Dascalu to be your Cyprus Wedding Photographer.
Venue: Eleon Pool
Photographer: Cristian Dascalu
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