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As she walked down the aisle, many faces felt tears stream down their cheeks. They had never before seen a more beautiful and graceful bride. Her serene expression gave away no nervousness, save for the gentle flush of her cheeks. The walk through the woods beforehand with her father had been a different story. As she clung to her father's hand, trembling breaths causing her to shake slightly, the only other sound was that of the birds chirping and the echo of waves crashing on the seashore. But she was ready. Upon approaching the last stretch of woodland trail, she leaned over and whispered in her fathers ear and saw a single tear roll down his cheek. The wedding ceremony for Alice and Daniel took place at Gjorgjić-Mayneri park on island Lopud in southern Croatia amidst the tall pillars and fluttering leaves of the trees. The ceremony was in all ways beautiful, but no element shown more brightly than the loving glow on Alice and Daniel's faces. They simply couldn't take their eyes off each other as they spoke the words that would bind them for life. Then came the fist bump. It was an unexpected moment of hilarity between the two that let everyone know just how at ease they were with one another. It was funny, touching and a sign of the quirky type of love they shared. The reception and after-party was at Villa on a hillside overlooking the bay. It's a gorgeous stone house with a large pool and spacious balcony, perfect for hosting the wedding party and their guests. Before the festivities got started, Alice and Daniel danced their first couples dance to Henry Mancini's “Moon River” in the silver moonlight drifting over the balcony. They leaned tenderly against one another, eyes closed to the moment. I don't think they were even aware of the guests around them as they slowly circled the dance floor. I felt a little twinge as I watched them. The way they held each other and laughed with one another made me think of the phrase “two against the world.” They are each other's rock, a steadying hand when the storms of life threaten to wash them both away. When you find someone that understands you the way that no one else can, who accepts the crazy part of you by showing you their own, you know you've found your soulmate. I know that Alice and Daniel will stand by each other for their entire lives. Theirs is a love that will never die, come rain or come shine.   Destiny is nothing if not persistent. Imagine meeting the love of your life, not knowing it was them, and waiting a long two years to finally realize they are the one. This was the case for Dori and Gergo, amazing couple from Hungary. The long road to love would have never been tread on had it not been for Dori's father. The doting parent insisted that Dori meet a charming young music teacher from their local church, but Dori refused. The reason? She was already in a relationship! It took a stretch of two years before fate decided to bring them together. The two had met a few times already without realizing it; imagine their shock and surprise when they discovered they were each other's soulmates! The last time they met was after Dori's father, who was adamant about the two meeting, tried one last time to introduce his beloved daughter to Gergo. Had she refused again, this love story wouldn't have so happy an ending. As I was looking at these two while taking photos, I found this realization hard to swallow. The heartache I felt when thinking of these two souls wandering lost without each other made me feel the heartbreak of lost love all over again. Their arms wrapped around each other and tender kisses placed on each other's cheeks bespoke of a love that was strengthened over time. Dori and Gergo tied the knot at beautiful gardens in Ayia Napa, Cyprus. The lush tropical flowers hanging over the couple's heads created the perfect backdrop to an intimate ceremony for just the two of them at the Nissi Beach Hotel. Through trembling lips, Dori and Gergo pledged their lives to one another amongst the blushing purple of Nissi's stunning floral displays, but no flower was as breathtaking as the bride herself, delicately dressed in a flowing layered bridal gown. Hushed vows spoken between the two made the image of their love more powerful than the romantic gardens the ceremony took place in. Our final shots were taken amidst the crashing waves and mammoth sea caves of Cavo Greco (Cape Greco), a trademark of Ayia Napa, and one of the most beautiful places in the world, as well as the Ayia Thekla beach with its powerfully blue waters and bright, shining white sands. The most romantic image captured was the jaw-dropping shot of the couple perched on a perilous cliff, the waves washing over the rocky base as the two embraced with fierce passion. They appeared to be almost dancing with the sky as they hung there in a suspended kiss. The blue and white chapel along the sea's edge was our last destination. I was a bit sad to leave this couple, so I made the chapel's setting a powerful, evoking backdrop to Dori and Gergo's final wedding portrait. It is a picture that will stick in my mind for years to come. Cyprus is such a romantic place, and I know that any future weddings here will be filled with the same magic that I have found in years past.      Viktoria and Ferenc are a beautiful Hungarian couple who decided to tie their knot in Thassos, a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. As I just got back from Greece, I need some time to finish the photos, but until then I would love to share some sneak peeks from the shooting. We had an amazing time on our photo excursion thanks to a wedding and travel planner specialized in weddings in Cyprus and Malta. Viktoria and Ferenc had a beautiful beach wedding at an amazing venue and I can not wait to show you their full story! :)   As a destination wedding photographer, I have seen it all. From grandiose weddings streaming with expensive decorations, to the humblest of ceremonies with only a select number of guests, I have experienced every one differently. However, the blossoming love between soulmates Josipa and Josip had a depth which I find hard to describe. You could see the deep feeling they had for one another in every look, every touch, every gesture that they gave to each other. The ceremony took place in a modest church with no more than 100 guests in attendance. As I took pre-wedding photos of the bride as I was arranging her dress, ensuring every finite detail was perfect, I listened as she spoke lovingly of her husband-to-be. Her blushing cheeks and tear-brimmed eyes shone as she expressed her nervousness at her fiance seeing her in her wedding dress for the first time. With as lovely as she was at that moment, I wished he could have seen her. And then the moment finally came... As Josipa glided down the aisle in an ethereal vision of lace and light, I could see the tears forming in Josip's eyes as he walked alongside his beautiful bride. They arrived at the altar and embraced with a quiet fierceness that moved some in the audience to tears as well. I was able to capture so many reactions to this sublime romance, but my favorite picture out of them all is when Josipa bowed her head in prayer, veil floating around her still blushing cheeks as everyone said a prayer of blessing for their marriage. After the ceremony, I was able to capture some truly romantic moments between the newlyweds as they paddled through the nearby lake in a canoe for two. The clear reflections in the lake and the surrounding lily pads made for a beautiful setting, and every shot seemed to have a magic to it. Their wedding dance was equally enchanting, with sweeping curtain backdrops and a starlit ceiling glimmering above the first dance they would dance as husband and wife. Many brides and grooms have pulled off their wedding day with style and more than a touch of charm and grace, but Josipa and Josip's wedding will always have a special place in my memory. Theirs is a love that will last through every year of their lives, and as the storms of life wash over them, I know that they will cling fast to each other throughout it all with the bright shining hope of true love.    While fanfare provides its own sort of rapture, as a photographer I delight in capturing something far more rare: True intimacy. Having frequently acted as a destination wedding photographer, I am used to boisterous Mediterranean celebrations, but during my recent two-month stay in Cyprus, I was treated to a rare display of relaxed, low-key closeness full of little moments of enchantment. I was invited to shoot the wedding of a beautiful Polish girl named Aleksandra and her dashing Lebanese groom, Ghassan, on location there in Nicosia. To my surprise, I found that the only guests were to be their witnesses, Celine and Charbel. This might seem unusual and informal at first glance, but as it turns out, these four friends (all professional architects living in Lebanon) functioned like a little family of their own, with Celine and Charbel celebrating their own union in tandem with the happy couple: The six month anniversary of their Paris wedding. The quirky chemistry of the four friends was most evident in their choice of attire: The men's unusul blue suits (with brown leather ties) were the perfect complement to Aleksandra's home-made bouquet (comprised of both real flowers and cut paper), with its bold blue accents, while the green leaves in said bouquet balanced her unusual choice of shoes. I loved the extra kick of colour her green heels added to her ensemble, breaking up the miles of white that usually goes with being a bride. Celine added the final note of aesthetic harmony, with her blue heels and cute peach dress adding a bit of warmth to offset all the cool tones worn by the others. Getting to see the vibrance of their originality reminded me that the greatest joy of being a destination wedding photographer is not solely about the new places you see—it is very much about the diverse and unique people you meet. Without the organisational logistics of getting a large group of people together, we were all able to savour the experience of the wedding, to take our time and not worry about schedules. As such, after the ceremony, we all took a leisurely stroll through the old part of Nicosia, where the four architects delighted in the marvels there: the grand buildings with their old windows and doors. As we passed in front of a big house covered in flowers, an old lady came out to congratulate the newly married couple in Greek, sharing an offering of fresh home-made lemonade—the perfect toast. And so the magic of love, friendship, and the warmth of the Cypriot people combined to end the day on a truly golden note. As you can see expressed by the playful candour of the four friends posing together in the outdoor photos, love and happiness do not require spectacle and expense to be genuine, heartfelt, and moving—at their best, they are simply natural.       The image of a beautiful woman waiting by the shore faithfully for the man she loves goes back eons, to the time of the mythical Odysseus and his wife Penelope. We can easily call to mind the image of her, candle in hand, peering out the window, gazing far out over the moonlit sea, thinking of the day when her partner will return to her. Such images of faithful love waiting by the sea seems the stuff of ancient tales, but Ana and Marko show us that in some small Mediterranean towns, this timeless tradition still lives on. She works as a makeup artist while he works as a sailboat skipper—hence the image of this beautiful couple posing together near a line of boats—and as such, they are often parted for long periods of time as Marko deftly pilots sailboats around the Mediterranean. In spite of this, their love has remained strong; each time they are reunited, they feel a rush of joy similar to that which they felt when they first met and fell for one another. Ana and Marko therefore decided to make their bond eternal with a simple, heartfelt ceremony, one which fittingly took place by the sea in Zadar, Croatia. The couple was wed in the ancient Cathedral of St. Anastasia, a grand structure which has been in existence since the middle ages, and which has no doubt housed a great many lovers oft parted by the crashing waves of the sea. After the ceremony was completed, Ana and Marko exited the church in a rush of colour and bliss, knowing that now, nothing on earth could truly ever part them. To forever cement this rapture in their memories, they posed for a photo with all of their family and friends, the crowd raising their arms to the heavens in celebration. 
Have you ever seen someone in a crowded place and felt a sudden tingle down your spine, a sense of immediate familiarity? You may feel unsure: have you met them somewhere before, or are you simply destined to know them? That was the question, the sensation, that sizzled in the air when Martina and Lin crossed paths one night while they were both out on the town. Lin was arrested by the sight of the lovely young woman, called by both her beauty and the pull of a memory he could not immediately place - and then it came to him: he had seen her a year prior, clad in a white T-shirt, her hair neatly tied up in a ponytail. From that moment on, Lin vowed to not let Martina slip away again, and six years later, they were organizing their wedding. There was no pomp or pretension about this wedding, only the couple's authentic selves; Martina and Lin chose to have the ceremony and the party at the same location, so the day flowed naturally, relaxed and easy. Their rustic, vintage-inspired wedding took place largely in the open air, the sun shining on the bride's joyous face, the gentle breeze whispering its blessings. Everywhere around there was the touch of love, for Martina had planned and decorated the entire wedding herself, with the aid of her dear friends. Her deft hands had adorned the candle sticks and vases with pretty ribbons, and her cheerful nature could clearly be seen in the way the photo booth was decorated like a cozy living room, complete with a sweets table full of cookies and candies. Martina even chose to eschew formal shoes for her favorite footwear - sneakers - opting for a beautiful pair of custom-made, prettily-decorated sneakers from shoe designer Shuz. The black and white photos from this shoot are, I feel, evocative of another time, of dreams and memories - the perfect complement to the finale of the ceremony, whereupon a very special memory was honored.As the lights dimmed down, everyone lit up sparklers to represent the shimmering light that was all around them, but not seen: the loving spirit of Martina's mother, and all the joyful memories associated with her. Such is the true magic of marriage: it binds families across the years, transcending time and change. 
Recently I had the great pleasure of shooting the wedding of Paula and Antun—who you may remember from this post—the star-crossed lovers who overcame distance to find one another in the lush hills of Croatia. Just as the tangerine trees grown by Paula's family blossom, ripen, and bear fruit, Paula and Antun's love has gone from trembling bud to bold, nourishing colour, culminating in them being wed in Konavle, near Dubrovnik. Konavle, like Paula and Antun, is both lovely and traditional, with centuries-old streets and pristine nature all around. The couple were wed in a small, intimate ceremony in an old stone church, before moving on to a dinner party at the Konavoski Dvori resturant. This restaurant, which abuts an ancient mill that straddles the clear, cold Ljuta river (one Croatia's cleanest and most beautiful mountain streams) was rich in traditional, home-cooked food and fine wines—the perfect fare to toast a love as real and robust as Paula and Antun's. During the ceremony I witnessed Paula—dressed in a stunning vintage style, right down to her perfect shoes and bouquet—being given away by her father, in a scene so elegant and moving it could have been taken right from a classic movie. No one at the wedding held back; emotion poured more freely than wine, as Paula's father gave his cherished daughter over to the embrace of her devoted suitor. In this day and age, when so many people try to come across as being “cool”, downplaying what they feel and putting up an iron guard of modern, jaded cynicism, the emotion of this beautiful family seemed like a miracle from another time. In the vivid beauty of such open love, I was reminded that to show unrestrained emotion is to express the glory of nature. It is to become one with the joy of a river flowing unhindered, the leaping antelope, the wildcat at play, and the sun that rises in a cloudless sky. Nature is, after all, not self-conscious; it does not apologize for its power or its honesty, just as great love ought not. This was a particular treat for me as capturing raw emotion is, of course, what makes a photograph powerful! 
Zrinka and Nino had simple, stress-free and intimate wedding in Zagreb. They wanted to share their beautiful moments and emotions with closest 50 people, family and friends. Zrinka chose a beautiful fairy wedding dress from Croatian famous designer Sandra Haddad in which she really shined and enjoyed. Take a look at their little story...        December has already made his path and introduced us its cold winter weather. Despite that, I am happy because holiday time is coming... Also, this year Christmas came earlier and put a new issue of the Nova Vjenčanja bridal magazine on my table, where you can find one of my loveliest weddings this year. :) Martina and Lin's wedding was full of beautiful details, such as photo booth looking like a living room, gummy bear table, handmade straws and a lot more. Martina was one of that brides who put a lot of effort in preparing wedding by herself, so in this article you can read her tips and tricks how to arrange gorgeously decorated wedding without spending a fortune. Until I publish more photos of this lovely couple, you can enjoy their engagement session or a magazine version of the wedding. Make sure you get a copy of it! :)      May every day you get a big reason to smile.  New issue of Perfect Wedding magazine is finally OUT! :D I am so happy that photos from one of my weddings are in it, alongside great tips for organizing a beautiful wedding. 
Ivana and Leo had their wedding this summer in picturesque city Požega in Croatia, but we did a shooting in Gradska Kavana in Zagreb, which was also the perfect scene for elegant and romantic photos. Their beautiful location, decorations and flowers, as well as her gorgeous wedding dress are perfect inspiration for future brides. This cute wedding is published on 5 pages where you can read the sweet story about their engagement in Paris and their advices for future newlyweds. 
If you are interested in seeing more pictures from Ivana and Leo's wedding, feel free to follow this link and enjoy their happiness. :) 
Iva and Tino, two best friends and soul mates, two people crazy in love, decided to have a small intimate seaside wedding. They wanted to say their big "yes" next to waves, breathing salty breeze and savor the scent of pine trees. Their romantic ceremony took place on rocks in Pula, Croatia, conveniently called "Sveta Stijena" (Holly Rock). This is their story... 
It is an absolute honor to see Ivka and Neno's wedding featured in Perfect Wedding Magazine. I'm so incredibly blessed to work with such amazing clients and I am so happy they could share their happiness and love with others. Although it has been a year since their big day, a big smile appears on my face whenever I think about them and their beautiful sea wedding. 
They went to a party expecting nothing special. They didn't know that there they would meet each other, perfect soul mates and future spouses. Soon, they figured out what a perfect match they make and moved together. Understandably, he proposed to her on their trip to Paris... On the Eiffel Tower, 300 meters above the sea level! Locking "love lock" with their initials on a famous Paris bridge only confirmed their engagements. They threw the key in Seine river so no one could ever unlock their hearts. Ivana and Leo, I wish you life full of joy and love you have now! Don't ever let that flame extinguish! Otišli su na zabavu ne očekujući ništa posebno. Tada nisu znali da će upoznati jedno drugoga, srodne duše i buduće supružnike. Uskoro su shvatili da su savršeni jedno za drugoga i preselili se u zajednički stan. Logično, zaprosio ju je na njihovom putovanju u Pariz... Na Eiffelovom tornju, 300 metara iznad nadmorske visine! Zaključan "ljubavni lokot" sa njihovim inicijalima na poznatom pariškom mostu je samo potvrdio njihove zaruke. Ključ su bacili u rijeku Senu tako da nitko nikada više ne može otključati njihova srca. Ivana i Leo, želim vam život pun veselja i ljubavi koju sada imate! Ne dajte da se taj plamen ugasi! 
Njihovo vjenčanje ću pamtiti kao jedno od emotivnijih vjenčanja na predivnoj lokaciji hrvatskog Jadrana, Pagu, upotpunjeno jednostavnošću i elegancijom te savršenim prijateljima. Prošla je već jedna godina, a njihova ljubav još uvijek ostavlja trag. Ivka i Neno, sretna vam prva godišnjica braka! :) Ostanite mladi u svojoj ljubavi! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will always remember their wedding as one of the most emotional weddings on a stunning coast of Pag, enriched with simplicity and elegance, and, what is more important, with perfect friends. One year has passed, and still, their love leaves trace. Ivka and Neno, I wish you a happy first wedding anniversary. May the freshness of your love always remain! 
Oni su par koji će i najgoreg pesimista uvjeriti da srodne duše ipak postoje, i to već na prvi pogled. Puni ljubavi i pažljivi jedno prema drugome, odlučili su se za malo vjenčanje sa samo 15-ak uzvanika. Nisu nimalo pogriješili u odabiru. Maksimalno su se posvetili jedno drugome, uživali u ljubavi i novom zajedničkom životu... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They are kind of a couple who will convince every pessimist that soul mates really exist. Full of love and very thoughtful to each other, they've decided to have a small wedding with only 15 guests. Perfect choice, because they've entirely devoted to one another. They've enjoyed in their love and new life... 
"His forever was as simple as her smile."
Love, Martina. Can you agree how drop dead gorgeous night Zagreb is in the rain? When it's cold and wet, there's no better feeling than snuggling underneath the umbrella with your loved one. Congratulations to this sweet newlywed couple Jelena & Hrvoje! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slažete li se da je noćni, kišni Zagreb jednostavno neodoljivo lijep? Kada je hladno i mokro, nema boljeg osjećaja od stiskavca pod kišobranom sa svojom polovicom. Čestitke preslatkoj Jeleni i Hrvoju! 
Be in love,
Martina. |
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