When I first got the invitation by Sunrise Greece to go to Greece to do a wedding photoshoot, I must admit I was skeptical.
Flying my husband and I to Greece?
To Santorini, one of the most beautiful places on Planet Earth, for a shoot? It sounds too good to be true. In any case, I couldn't go, I was heavily pregnant at that point and couldn't fit into a gown.
Fast forward some time, Cheesie actually went with Sunrise Greece for her wedding shoot. When she came back, she told us how she was really well taken care of by Sunrise Greece, how Santorini was even more beautiful in real life than in pictures, how the sky and sea are really THAT blue, and how she basically had a ball of a time there and wished she could go back.
I looked on in envy as she posted picture after picture on instagram while she was there.
Her amazing photoshoot
Her villa and its heated pool. The food! The cliff-side views of the magnificent Aegean Sea.
Santorini was one of my dream places to visit.
Moreover, I LOVE beach holidays. It's my favourite type!
Later on, when Dash was about 6 months old, Sunrise Greece contacted me again and asked if I would like to do my trip with them now.
OF COURSE I SAID YES!!!
Now, a lot of you asked why I didn't bring Dash along. My initial plan WAS to bring him along, until I went to USA with him. He was quite miserable the first few days there, because he was terrified of the new place and couldn't sleep well, waking up 5 times a night. I couldn't leave his side or he will cry. It was taxing on both of us, and that is with my awesome Mother in law's help plus all the home comforts like high chairs, baby food making equipment, nearby supermarket etc all available to me.
If I brought Dash with me for the ten days, can you imagine having to cook porridge everyday for him, having to stop to feed him said meals, bringing a pram up and down Santorini's many many stairs, or having to change a soiled diaper in my puffy wedding gown? It simply CANNOT be done. Even if it could, the most important thing is that Dash will be VERY unhappy unable to nap properly or sleep in his familiar safe bed etc. The last thing I want is him being unhappy. So I left him in Singapore in the capable hands of my mom and my helper.
And so my adventures with Sunrise Greece started!
Mike and I arrived at Athens first, to spend 3 days there, then 5 days in Santorini and another 2 days back in Athens. (Note, we had 10 days but the package for other couples is usually 7)
I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!
I will be doing another post on the holiday part of my trip, but the primary purpose of the trip is for my photoshoot, so YAY!! I will be sharing some of the pics today!
Before I do that let me first talk about Sunrise Greece!
They are wedding and honeymoon planners. What this means is that you go to Greece and they plan all your activities for you (including free time of course). They will also do a photoshoot and video and wedding ceremony for you.
For the wedding photography and video, they will provide and organise everything - hair, makeup, photography, bouquet, floral arrangement, location scouting, transport. All you have to do is to bring your gown.
All meals are included as are lodging. Usually when I go on tours that include meals, the meals are shitty touristy food. BUT WITH SUNRISE GREECE THE FOOD IS AWESOME. They are from authentic local restaurants painstakingly scouted by Sunrise Greece. As I said I will talk about this more on my next blog entry. Lodging wise... I stayed in a five star hotel and a two storey villa with attached heated pool. Need I say more?
For my photoshoot session, Sunrise Greece really went above and beyond.
They first asked me in detail the type of look I wanted... Appropriate flowers, backdrops etc were arranged for me. Besides the blue sea and sky look iconic to Santorini, I also told Sunrise that I craved a fairytale look. They said they will try their best. I didn't believe it could be done, so I didn't dwell on it.
(Digress: For my first photoshoot I'm wearing a powder pink backless gown from La Belle Couture, who also provided all Mike's suits. They have a HUGE selection of hundreds of wedding gowns as well as suits... Most importantly of all the service is EXCELLENT!! I was spoilt for choice but finally decided on 2 gowns, one pink and one white. After picking the gowns La Belle even helped me pick accessories for a complete look. :D)
FIRST LOOK:
I LOVE THE PICTURES!!!
All of them can be expanded for a clearer look fyi.
After seeing my pink gown, Sunrise Greece specially arranged for fresh pink and white flowers for my hair. I had a pretty white bouquet of matching flowers.
CAN YOU SEE THE AMOUNT OF LOCATIONS WE WENT TO??
No effort was spared as we traipsed up and down Santorini in search of the most scenic views, which are scouted in advance by Sunrise Greece.
I think we went to no less than six different locations. For those of you who don't know, Santorini was once a volcano island. One day the volcano erupted and most of it got destroyed, leaving only a crescent shaped volcano caldera. This basically means Santorini is very steep. A car in there cannot go to many parts of the island, which are accessible only via stairs.
And we climbed so many of these stairs that day. I felt so bad seeing the Sunrise Greece staff work so hard!!
Also, I must say it wasn't very easy to move around with such a big gown, but I managed with help. Worth it because my gown is so pretty. :D
My favourite location is the cliff overlooking the sea with a field of daisies! To see such awesome scenery immediately put me in such a good mood. I was smiling to myself the whole time, happy to be soaking in such wonders of nature.
Finally the day ended with the most marvelous sunset as my groom carried me off. LOL
SECOND LOOK:
For this shoot I'm wearing a custom made gown by Keith Png! My headband is sponsored by Accessorize. Mike is wearing a suit from La Belle Couture.
If you look at the pictures, it's supposed to tell a story... The Princess, waiting for her Prince to find her... and the Prince searching for her... Both lost till they found each other...
FAIRYTALE OR WHAT?
And... We shot in a freaking castle!!
CANNOT GET MORE FAIRYTALE THAN CASTLE RIGHT?!!!
WRONG!!!!
Bam, a HORSE:
Yes, Sunrise Greece actually found a horse for my Prince to ride on! WTFFFFF how can so effort one??
We actually went to a beach for this shoot and it was gorgeous with black pebbles instead of sand.... The black stones are volcanic rocks. They were so pretty I even took some back home. (Being the kiasi Singaporean I asked if it is illegal to take rocks and the Greeks looked at me shocked, saying of coz it isn't. I informed them that it is illegal to steal sand from Singaporean beaches.)
I'll be honest.
Horse riding is pretty terrifying.
My Texan husband was clearly at ease on the horse but I was panicking like mad. It doesn't look that high up on the horse's back but when you are up there it's a different feeling altogether!! The horse was a little fidgety and I kept wondering when it will suddenly gallop off or just throw me off its back by rearing up. I mean, if I were a horse I really wouldn't like humans to sit on me!
Now I have so much newfound respect for actors who just jump on horses and gallop off like that wtf.
Anyway due to my acute fear I didn't have many shots taken with the horse before I requested to come down to ground level.
But I'm still glad I was brave enough to go up the horse at least. I NOW HAVE MY FAIRYTALE PICS!!!
THIRD LOOK:
My third shoot day was also my wedding ceremony day!
Gown and tiara: La Belle Couture. Suit: La Belle Couture.
Although the ceremony isn't real per se with signing of papers etc since we were already married, it still felt so romantic as we renewed our vows and exchanged rings again. :))) We popped champagne. We ate cake. We had petals thrown on us. There is even a celebrant present to help us with our vows!
I was so happy that day. No girl will wish for two wedding days as that usually signifies that something bad happened with the first, but I never realised I could get another one, with the same man, in a different part of the world. :D
When I arrived I saw the tremendous amount of effort put into decorations... A giant white flowy arch decked with baby breath... A table of the most beautiful white flowers and an appropriately dressed Moet.
Why Moet, you look so handsome!
THE SEA... so blue.
It's so beautiful!! *tears up*
And with the vast Aegean Sea behind us, we exchanges vows and swore our love once again...
Thank you for asking me (again) to be your wife.... I do.
The most intricately decorated white fondant cake...
OK that's the pics! There are more but the rest I will keep for personal memories. :)))
If you are trying to decide on a honeymoon or photoshoot location for your wedding, I highly recommend Sunrise Greece.
They really go the extra mile to make their couples feel like kings and queens. It is one of the best holidays of my life!
Have you seen your friends doing overseas wedding photoshoots (esp to faraway places), spending exorbitant 5 figure sums and thought you cannot possibly afford that?
NOW YOU CAN.
I was shocked to find out how much a package with Sunrise Greece costs:
$3,600 per person (ie $7,200 for a couple)
This doesn't include airfare, which is good also coz you can scout for the cheapest tickets yourself rather than have it included in the package.
For $7,200, you get:
- 2 nights in Athens at a five star boutique hotel
- 4 nights in Santorini at a boutique luxury hotel
- guided tour in Athens
- all museum tickets
- all meals (they were all super delicious. All the couples I met there agreed)
- all transfers
- one day cruise
- wedding arrangements (location, celebrant, sweet additional surprises like horses)
- legal documents in Greece, witness
- champagne, 1 tier cake, enriched flower decoration with Arch
- hair and make up with touch up for both days of the photo shoot and the ceremony
- photo shoot during the ceremony
- video during the ceremony
- whole day photo shoot (Separate day from the wedding)
- whole day video (Separate from the wedding)
- 100 edited photos
Everything is open with Sunrise Greece, there are no hidden surprise costs.
I simply cannot believe the value for money!
If you think about it, for a 7 day trip to Greece, how much will the lodging and food already cost you? And I'm talking about five star hotels and a least 3 courses for every quality meal.
On top of that all transfers are provided so you get chauffeured around. You don't get brought to lame touristy places to get scammed because Sunrise Greece takes a lot of pride in showing the best of Greece and not just to squeeze money out of couples.
Except for your own shopping, you basically don't have to spend anything there.
Best of all you return with unbelievable wedding photos and a video with the most breath-taking backdrop of one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Something different from the common wedding photos.
All the pictures and videos are shot with the most expensive cameras and equipment.
I must say, it is $3,600 VERY VERY WELL SPENT.
If you wish to join Sunrise Greece, they are coming to Singapore on July 8 til July 14! They will meet with couples then. If you wish to sign a package with them, please hurry to email them at info@sunrisegreece.com to book a meeting now!
Information for Sunrise Greece:
Website
Email: info@sunrisegreece.com
