Varia Studio Blog

Here are some pictures of Osiris and Juan from their wedding at the Grand Sirenis Resort in Mayan Riviera, Mexico.My experience working with couple was great - I felt I cannot stop taking pictures.On the wedding day - I started shooting while Osi was still getting ready at her room and switched to Juan’s room just before the ceremony for couple of pictures as well. Ceremony was set up just in front of the small Mayan Ruin which set on the property of Grand Sirenis Resort. It was a little bit hot, but the stuff kept cold champagne for the guests and served it right after the ceremony. What I liked about this resort is that you can find so many great locations for photographs. I discovered this rocky beach which was just ideal for pictures, since no one ever was there. I did a few pictures of Osi and Juan just by themselves and continued with formals of family and friends. By the time I was done all the family photos I was lucky to have such a beautiful sunset. Sometimes I bring some extra props for the wedding and this time it was my 5-10 metres of tule. I thought it was a perfect time to use it, since it was quite windy and panarama was so beatuful so I could do some great wide angle shots with “veil” flying away.At the restaurant everything was very quiet until bartender brought a bottle or tequila. In total 27 guests and everyone had to drink a shot. The crowd would yell your name and it means you must do it - even bride’s grandmother had to drink one too. It was fun and I really enjoyed working with Osiris and Juan. I also posted some of the “Trash the Dress” pictures too.    

Varia was contracted to shoot a wedding in Portugal in September. She usually offers trash the dress sessions to her clients and gets very excited when they agree to participate and go with Varia’s ideas.The wedding ceremony and trash the dress was to take place in Algarve – the picturesque region of Portugal, the southernmost point of the country.We flew to Lisbon and then drove to Carvoeiro, which is located in the heart of Algarve.Trash the dress session was stunning – it started on the cliffs around Praia Don Ana with a beautiful view of the land and the sea, approximately a hundred meters above the beach level. The surrounding was outstanding; it felt like the African savannah met the ocean – great location to start.Then Varia and the couple moved to the beach – and immediately got all the attention of the local people.I guess a bride running down the beach, swimming in the ocean and lying in the sand in the wedding dress was quite a surprise to them. Some of them even followed us for some time, others took pictures of us.It all was going great until Varia got deeper in the water and the couple started swimming. In the midst of the trash the dress shoot Varia tripped over a rock in the water and fell. All the equipment – the camera, flash, sync cord, batteries etc – was instantly dead, but the pictures on the card survived (kudos to Sandisk - their cards do not drown in salt water!).This is the TTD that we called “Trash the Dress and the Camera” session.(And the rest of the stuff was shot with backup equipment).But it was a lot of fun and well worth it.