Urban Scape late summer Wedding in Thessaloniki, Greece
Both Penny and James are Greek-Australians living in Melbourne, so when the groom called me I knew they were going to pay their Greek heritage an honor by doing a destination wedding in Greece.
I naturally thought it was going to be an island wedding, because they both love the Islands. When James told me ‘’Thessaloniki’’ I first thought that it wouldn’t be as great as an island wedding. I packed my photographic gear and took a plane to Thessaloniki. Boy was I wrong about the location, the city vibe was impeccable!
The night before the wedding party some friends enjoyed drinks and lovely “mezedes” at the rooftop in the heart of the city.
The wedding took place at Hagia Sofia Thessaloniki, one of the oldest churches and monuments of Greece, so as soon as I walked in the Church, the artwork and the iconography inside was so evocative, that I completely lost my breath. The wedding décor was minimal and yet so eye capturing!
Dimitrios’ parents matched with the wedding theme and chose shades of navy and classic blue with some hints of white and sky blue.
Next up the lovely couple and a group of friends, that flew from all over the world to celebrate with them, took off to the reception, that was in a rooftop with a breathtaking sea view.
The decoration at the reception was minimal as well, with olive branches and white roses prevailing in it. Olive branches according to Greek mythology is a symbol for peace and white roses stand for young love and eternal royalty.
The wedding cake looked amazing and was shaped in square layers, which all made up to match with the beautiful bride and her detailed white laced dress. The decoration on their wedding day, followed the modern and fresh approach of the couple .
Believe it or not there was not a single forced laugh nor dance. As soon as the cake was cut, the couple took their parents, best man and maid of honor to dance with a beautiful old song that was written for this particular city.
The couple shined brighter than the light garland during the sun set, while the sky became a deeper shade of blue! More people joined the dance, which is something very common in Greek weddings and fiestas.
The two now fathers in law danced next to each other beaming with pride and ready to hop onto their next chapter of their lives as an extended family. The lovely couple wanted everyone to dance with them before they even have their first dance together. So everybody got on the floor to celebrate with Penelope and Dimitrios.
And then came the speeches. The parents did a little retrospective on their lives with their children and how they grew up and they all finished their speeches mentioning that they are more than happy to grow into a bigger family!
And right before the speech of the groom It was time for the first dance. Penelope danced into a slow waltz with the first love of her life.
Your guess was right, as Penelope danced into the next chapter of her life with her father, Dimitrios was about to begin his speech telling us all about how Penelope swept him off his feet when they first met and that he wishes for them to spend the rest of their lives together.

Right after that Dimitrios took Penelope on stage and to have their first dance as husband and wife.

And after the couple finished, it was about time for a dance and a drink with the girls.
Or about time for a dance with the boys. But who are we kidding it was a Greek wedding, so just an‘’Opa’’ was enough for everybody to get on the floor for the rest of the night.
It will be a very memorable wedding for me and I am sure for all the guests as well!
Penelope and Dimitrios we wholeheartedly wish you a HAPPILY FOREVER AFTER

All the best to this amazing couple!!!
Photography, editing and Text: Olga Papasotiriou for Something Blue Weddings
Instagram:@somethingblue.weddings