Cyclades, Greece
MykonosWedding photography
Private villas above the Aegean, white cubes and hard blue shadow.
We photograph destination weddings in Mykonos — private clifftop villas with terraces above the sea, beach clubs on the south coast, and the whitewashed lanes of the old town for the portrait hour. Two photographers, on site two days early, from $22,000.
Mykonos is the flatter, drier, harder-edged sibling of Santorini and it suits a wedding better: there is room here for a hundred guests in a way there is not on a caldera rim. The thing nobody puts in the brochure is the wind.
Mykonos is the flatter, drier, harder-edged sibling of Santorini and it suits a wedding better. The island is low and rocky, the villages are the same Cycladic white, and the villas are modern cubes built into hillsides above the water with terraces and pools. There is space here for a hundred guests in a way there is not on a caldera rim.
Photographically it is a study in three values: white wall, black shadow, blue sea. The light is extremely hard from mid-morning and the shadows are edged like cut paper, which is unforgiving of a careless exposure and spectacular when it is used deliberately. We shoot for the shadow here, not the highlight.
The wind is the thing nobody mentions on the brochure. The meltemi blows through July and August, sometimes for days, and on an exposed terrace it will take anything not weighted down — including a veil, a hairstyle and the top tier of a cake.
The light
When to marry in Mykonos.
The part a visitor cannot look up, and the reason this page exists rather than a list of packages.
May to June
Warm, clear and still relatively quiet, with the wind not yet at its summer strength.
July to August
Hot, extremely busy and often very windy. Hard vertical light through the middle of the day.
September
The best month: warm sea, calmer air, and the island beginning to breathe again.
The venues
Where to be married in Mykonos.
The rooms this market is built on, and what each one does to a photograph. Listed as places rather than as partnerships — we have no preferred-supplier arrangement with any of them.
Villa private hire, Agios Lazaros
Clifftop villas above Psarou
South-facing terraces with the sea on three sides, which is the sheltered half of the island when the meltemi is up. Worth asking which way a villa faces before anything else.
Santa Marina
Resort and private beach, Ornos
One of the few properties with both a sheltered bay and room for a large seated dinner. The bay faces west, so the evening arrives across the water.
Kalesma
Cycladic hotel, Aleomandra
White cubes and hard-edged shadow, built as an exercise in the local vocabulary. Shoot for the shadow rather than the highlight and it holds its whites.
Chôra old town
Pedestrian lanes, Mykonos town
Narrow whitewashed lanes with painted doors, busy from mid-morning and quiet at seven. Vehicles do not enter, so the portrait route is walked.
Agios Ioannis
Headland chapel and beach
A small white chapel on a headland facing Delos, with the sunset behind the island. Public, tiny and best at the very end of the day.
The kind of place
- Private clifftop villas with terraces and pools above the sea
- Beach clubs on the south coast, facing the afternoon sun
- The old town’s whitewashed lanes, for the portrait hour
- Small chapels on headlands, white and blue and barely bigger than a room
What a Mykonos wedding plans around
- The meltemi can blow hard for consecutive days in high summer. Outdoor installations, veils and anything light need a genuine plan.
- The old town is pedestrian and the lanes are narrow; vehicles do not enter.
- Ferries and flights from Athens are frequent but the island is small and its roads are not built for the August volume.
- The island is at its most expensive and most crowded in August by a wide margin.
Frames
From Mykonos.
The commission
Photographing a wedding in Mykonos.
A Mykonos wedding is a destination commission from $22,000: two photographers, two days on site before the date, and full coverage of the day. Travel at cost and itemised.
The light here is a study in three values — white wall, black shadow, blue sea — and the hard Cycladic sun that makes it difficult is the same sun that makes it spectacular. Shadows have edges like cut paper. We shoot for the shadow rather than the highlight, which is the opposite of the instinct on a bright day and the reason these photographs hold their whites instead of glowing.
The other thing those two days settle is the wind. The meltemi blows through July and August, sometimes for days, and on an exposed north-facing terrace a ceremony is not enjoyable for anyone in it. We find the sheltered alternative before the day rather than during it.
- Destination Wedding, from
- $22,000
- Photographers
- Two
- Preview
- 7 days
- Full delivery
- 8 weeks
Wedding photography commissions in Mykonos
Every commission on this site is available in Mykonos. See all seven.
Mykonos wedding photography — questions
How much is a Mykonos wedding photographer?
From $22,000 for a destination wedding with two photographers, two days on site beforehand and full coverage of the day. Travel is quoted at cost on top.
How bad is the wind?
On the wrong day, strong enough that a ceremony on an exposed north-facing terrace is not enjoyable for anyone. It is not every day and not every year, but it is common enough in July and August that your villa should have a sheltered alternative and you should have seen it.
How does it compare with Santorini?
Flatter, drier and with far more room. Santorini is a caldera rim and a spectacle; Mykonos is villas with space for a guest list. If you want a hundred people seated outdoors, this is the island.
When should we come?
September. Warm sea, calmer air and an island beginning to breathe again. May and June are clear and warm before the wind reaches its summer strength. August is the most expensive and most crowded month by a wide margin.
Can we photograph in the old town?
Yes, and it is worth an hour. The lanes are public, narrow and pedestrian, busy from mid-morning and quiet again in the early evening — which is when we would plan it.
How do guests get there?
Ferries and flights from Athens are frequent. The island is small and its roads are not built for the August volume, so transfers between a villa and a beach club take longer than the map suggests.
Nearby
Married in Mykonos?
Tell us the date and what you are planning. We reply personally, usually within two business days.