Traditional Greek Wedding | Anassa Hotel Cyprus

I said it in Penny and Edward’s Cyprus pre-wedding photography blog post; the whole experience of photographing this destination wedding in Cyprus was unquestionably the highlight of my career to date. I had done a little bit of research to the locations; a small village called Agious Mina with a beautiful ornate Church, situated on the North coast of Cyprus.  Nothing, however, prepared me for seeing the real thing. The cobbled streets, where cars seemed too big to manoeuvre its twists and turns, to the breathtaking scenery as you looked out high above the sea across a sparse and ancient landscape. It truly felt like a step back in time. This was the real Cyprus, the one of tradition. Being there a day or two before the wedding allowed me to soak it all up and to slow down to really appreciate the place.

Walking into the Anassa Hotel wedding venue it’s immediately apparent why this place is world renowned as one of the most exclusive and beautiful 5* hotels. It simply oozed luxury. What I was most excited about was the mixture of old and new. The traditions involved in a Greek Orthodox Wedding along with the modern and lavish surroundings of the Anassa Hotel Cyrpus made for a day to be remembered by all for long time to come.

The Bride and Groom’s story

Having met at a London University they got together in the very salubrious venue known as The Verve in Leicester Square! They went to Rome for Penny’s birthday. She had wanted to go to Copenhagen but Ed had already planned where the proposal was going to take place.  As planned Ed walked Penny to what he thought was the entrance to the Giancolo Hill (one of the seven hills that over looks Rome) but the park was just shutting! Ed was in a panic! Fortunately, this was not the entrance after all and after a steep walk they made it to the top. Penny didn’t complain so Ed suspected she knew what was about to happen! Ed proposed under a tree at dusk. Beautiful.

Getting Married Abroad | The Details

The natural beauty of the local area where Penny grew up was always the draw to having a dream destination wedding. Not wanting to make it fussy they let the venue and church talk for themselves. The Anassa Hotel in Cyprus is a breath-taking venue and they both remember the food being amazing! The décor was kept classy and classic with olive green and white the prominent colour scheme. The invitations were made by Freya at Brand New Weddings who are based in Oxford. The cake was also a big deal! Neither of them like icing so they decided on a ‘naked cake’ which was made up off three different flavours. The food was of huge importance- traditional Cypriot dishes. And yes, I can confirm it was all so, so tasty.

Advice for Planning your Destination Wedding

What advice would you give to future brides for their wedding day?

Make sure your dress and shoes are comfy! If you plan on dancing have some flat shoes at the ready.

What advice would you give to future grooms for their wedding day?

Try and enjoy every minute and if you are feeling nervous for whatever reason hopefully you are only going to get married once so make the most of it. Everyone is rooting for you!

Any advice for those planning their wedding now?

Feeling you are getting stressed? Then take a step back and remember what it is all about. Don’t loose sight of the end goal (being married to the person you love!) amongst all the smaller details.

Were you nervous?

Making sure people were going to have a good time was perhaps more of a concern than being nervous. Waling down the stairs and seeing how many people were in her parents front room made Penny immediately nervous! Ed was the most nervous about singing (which by the way was incredible).

What was the most anticipated part of the day?

Ed saying some of his speech in Greek! And also Ed singing.

What song did you walk down the aisle to?

We didn’t. We met at the front entrance of the Church which is traditional at Greek Orthodox Weddings.

What song played for your first dance?

Tell Him by Lauryn Hill

What one moment will last with you both forever?

Our first dance – it felt like we were the only people in the room.

What are you most looking forward to as a married couple?

Feeling a part of something and being a little family of your own.

Thank You to the Anassa Hotel Wedding Venue Suppliers

Music: HUGE shout out to the musicians who were incredible ‘Your Music Guide’ https://www.facebook.com/yourmusicguidenet/info/?tab=page_info

Make Up Artist: Glow Beauty by Rosa  https://www.facebook.com/Glow-Beauty-by-Rosa-1494518567464397/?fref=ts

Florists: Flambouya Flower (who got exactly what they were looking for despite the language barrier!) https://www.facebook.com/flambouayia.flower/

Invitations: Freya at Brand New Weddings https://www.brandnewweddings.co.uk

Have you booked the Anassa Hotel as your wedding venue or are you thinking of doing so?  If you like the look of these destination photos please get in touch with Jonny. I’d love to hear more about you, your wedding day plans and what you want from your Cyprus wedding photographer.