"You should know upfront, this is not a love story. This is a story about love."
Featured in Trendybride.com
And you will go to Mykonos
With a vision of a gentle coast
– Fleet Foxes
This beautiful couple came to Greece under very different circumstances each. Our Groom fled the Kurdish part of Iran and made a conscious choice of working with refugees, as he wanted to make a difference in their lives. Our bride came to Greece from the US as a volunteer at a local organisation that is home to victims of trafficking. Their paths met in Athens while volunteering next to each other at their Church.
“For us, it is a story of miracle, knowing that God put us both in Greece at a time like this. We met while volunteering at the same Church. He finally asked me for coffee and everything took its course from there! We overcame so much together in the last few years, and we really see the beauty in the merging of our two cultures through our union. While serving refugees in Athens, I will always keep close to my heart the countless times people shared the little food they had in their caravans so that they would thank us. Our volunteering work has helped us grow as humans. Our story is as much about our love for each other, our Love for God, and our love for other humans”.
FEATURE : TRENDY BRIDE PHOTOGRAPHY : ANDREAS K. GEORGIOU | FILM LAB : CARMENCITA FILM LAB | DESIGN : JACLYN JOURNEY & KELLI LYNN | SHOES : BELLA BELLE | DRESS : ALEXANDRA GRECCO (LOVELY BRIDE DALLAS) | STATIONERY : HIGH FANCY PAPER | CALLIGRAPHY : RACHEL FISCHER CALLIGRAPHY | HEADPIECE : ALL ABOUT ROMANCE | VENUE : VILLA PARADISO
The moment I met our couple, I could see softness in their eyes. They share a gaze that is full of quiet encouragement. There is a gentle magic that I wanted to discover. For me, photography has always been a quiet, sacred space, a medium to tell a couple’s unique and beautiful story, to capture their spaces, still moments, their longing, mellowness, the sky, life… But every now and then we have the opportunity to tell stories that yield emotional and visceral responses, and this photoshoot was one of them! Our couple’s portraits are so full of sweetness and joy, a proof that beauty has a place in our lives, and that it is the purest antidote when humanity is on the test.
Our intimate elopement photoshoot took place in a cliffside villa in Mykonos, and was sparked by a desire to show couples that the traditional format of a wedding is something that can be turned on its head and still be full of elegance and beauty. US-based stylist Jaclyn Journey finds a lot of inspiration in the spaces in which she works. She created a wedding ceremony with nothing more than foraged flowers, all harvested from the beautiful Mykonian countryside. Rather than creating an arch for the ceremony, she decorated an old stone wall with yellow helianthemum and pink roses, which peep from the nooks and crannies of the granite.
Our bride is radiant in a beaded Palma gown by Alexandra Grecco, and a beautiful gold-leaf headpiece. Catching her tulle chapel veil, the languid breeze teases out Mykonos’s other name – the Island of the Winds. A romantic stroll along the cliffside and through heathland captures the impressionistic wistfulness of a slow sunset, while splashes of poppies underfoot bring out the bright scarlet of the bride’s smile. The enchantment of the afternoon culminates in a sunset shoot on the villa’s rooftop. In the background, the hazy rocks and hills are as ancient as mythology itself, an exquisite counterpoint to the beginning of a new life together.
We then imagined a casual al-fresco dinner meant to be grazed on, instead of the standard plated fare. Our table was laid with true, simple yet genuine Greek hospitality: a table resplendent with untamed florals, honey, pistachios, apricots, pomegranate seeds, and fresh coal-oven baked bread, with a bottle of greek wine the colour of coming dusk. There’s nothing more to do but raise a glass to a night under Mykonos’s windblown stars:
Cheers to Love; the only true antidote.
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travel the globe photographing life’s important events, weddings, and editorial shoots.
The AKG studio was created out of my fascination for blending modern techniques with the art d'excellence from a bygone era, creating a photography of timeless aesthetic and heritage.
My photography is intimate and infused with a sense of purpose, stemming from a deep desire to advocate for diversity, empathy and empowerment.