Varia Studio Blog

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.

In September this year I traveled to Europe to shoot John and Arlene’s wedding in Portugal. They decided to get married in Algarve - the southernmost region of Portugal known for glorious year-round sunshine and excellent sandy beaches. Most guests travelled from Canada and stayed together with bride and groom in beautiful Villa Lusitana in Carvoeiro, Lagoa.On Sept. 6 John and Arlene got married in very old church called - Igreja De Santa Maria in Lagos. Prince Henry the Navigator lived in this city (Lagos) and was buried in the same church in 1460.

Right after ceremony we drove along coastline to rugged cliffs called Ponta da Piedade. This place is know as the Golden Coast (Costa d’Oiro), because of its yellowish tone of the cliffs. This was one of the most amazing spots to take pictures.

As for final destination for pictures we stopped at Carvoeiro - a charming town with cliffs on either side, small beaches and private villas. We were looking for some small town scenery and this one was perfect - whitewashed houses with doors and windows framed in yellow and blue and old quaint small houses tucked in between the more modern ones.

Guest were all at the villa enjoying the cocktail hour and waiting for bride and groom. When we arrived just before the dinner John and Arlene had their first dance.

All I can say it was really nice wedding with European chic!

P.S. I want to thank Monika W (my friend who went to photography school with me) to referring me to Arlene and John and giving me this great opportunity to travel to Portugal and shoot their wedding!