Geraldine & Nuno
Geraldine and Nuno’s destination wedding – Algarve
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: I love making wedding videos of destination weddings. There are many reasons for it, but mainly, I love it because every destination wedding is special in its own way. And to be able to create a destination wedding video in my own beautiful country is obviously an even bigger pleasure for me. Geraldine and Nuno’s choice for their destination wedding was the Portuguese region of Algarve, which is known for its beautiful beaches, wild and untouched, where nature is at its purest state. This bride and groom where absolutely amazing people who I had the absolute pleasure of meeting in Luxembourg, while I was at a friend’s wedding. The dream of marrying abroad, under the warm sun and clear blue skies, near gold beaches and cliff tops, is now becoming a reality for many brides and grooms. And this couple decided to get married in Portugal, the groom’s country of birth, and near the sea views of Algarve, a magical place where they both had a wedding experience that was just perfect for the two of them.
This destination wedding was celebrated among friends and family, and in this glorious day, Geraldine and Nuno were able to turn their dream of a life together into a reality.
The chosen place for this ceremony was Senhora da Rocha, located in Porches, Algarve, which has throughout the years become a popular location for weddings, especially destination weddings.
The picturesque chapel of Nossa Senhora da Rocha, a 15th century Portuguese chapel located in one of the nicest and most beautiful parts of the so-called Rocky Algarve, was strikingly framed by outstanding beaches, and provided a lovely and romantic cliff top ceremony. This small, but charming chapel, which was built on a promontory that extends from the mainland into the sea, is so unquestionably picture perfect that it looks like it could be part of a film set. Gold and bronze rocks beneath it, the small white chapel on top, and as far as the eye can see, the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It is truly a setting for fairy-tale-style weddings. The ancient port is placed in a rocky spot over the sea. Local legend has it that this place is related to an apparition of the Virgin. Historically, it is reported that the construction of the fort was ordered by King John III to defend the beach against Moorish attacks. Apart from being an absolutely exquisite location, rich with history and legend, there is also a small shrine to Our Lady, where fisherman’s wives used to light a candle to safeguard their husband’s treacherous journey at sea. It is a very magical place indeed, a special place of true devotion and love.
So the title chosen for this destination wedding video was “A special day in a special place – Algarve”.
It was a glorious day, sunny and very warm. This provided the perfect day, but also the perfect background for the wedding video. We were able to capture some amazing images of the bride and groom at the beach, walking together through the tunnel that leads right to the gorgeous beach, as well as near the astonishing rocks that surfaced from the water, in precious displays of their love. A clear blue water into which they fell while holding hands, as proof of how they intended to live their new lives together: walking, falling, taking a plunge into the unknown, always together, always hand in hand.
This beautiful beach has also allowed us to capture many images of the couple in each other arms, a true testament of their feelings for each other.
In a luxurious white lace dress, with a flower covered bodice, and a tulle overlay and veil that moved with her every move, this bride was also captured in amazing images for this video, walking alone in the beautiful landscapes of Algarve, plunging into the crystal clear waters, and sharing loving moments with her groom.
But it wasn’t just about the ceremony and the party. The bride and groom, together with their wedding guests, also enjoyed a catamaran ride in the beautiful Algarve waters, and admired the dramatic coastline on board a relaxing cruise, as they allowed the breathtaking scenery to unfold before their eyes. The bride also enjoyed a private and special moment before the ceremony with her wedding party, relaxing and sipping champagne while overlooking the superb beach that laid ahead right in front of the hotel.
The planning for this destination wedding was made by a local company named Algarve Wedding Planners, which made an amazing job at this wedding. Everything was very well decorated, with a lot of original ideas. It was very well organized by a pleasant team with great experience in weddings. This team was able to advise the couple with the best and most professional options that were available to them. With great attention to detail, their main concern and focus of this devoted team was to make the wishes and dreams of this couple come true, and to make everything absolutely perfect for their big day. They really helped to create a full-on fairytale wedding, and allowed the bride and groom to relax and simply enjoy a very emotional and beautiful sunny day with their loved ones! With this much soul, and with this much passion that I also share for weddings, it was a pleasure to work with this team and to make Geraldine and Nuno’s wedding a very special wedding indeed.
One of the most amazing moments of this wedding was definitely the moment that depicted Nuno’s love and connection with his son. During the wedding ceremony, Nuno gave his son Diego two necklaces – one with a puzzle that had a missing piece and the inscription “Diego, my missing piece”, and the other one with said missing piece. He then went on to explain that his son would always be the missing piece in his life, whenever they were not together. This was proof that the relationship between Nuno and his son Diego was truly exceptional. The little man was such a big part of this wedding day that it had to be a big part of the wedding video as well. Dressed exactly like his father, Diego shared several moments alone with Nuno that were just theirs, and that showed their connection. But this amazing new family also shared something that I had to include in this wedding video – the beautiful moment of just the three of them together, in a pure and truthful display of their love, holding and kissing each other in a perfect hug.
The fact that Geraldine learned a few Portuguese words, or better yet, part of her wedding vows, to better convey her feelings, and to profess her love to Nuno in his native language, was also a truly incredible touch to an already incredible day that was obviously a very emotional moment for Nuno. “I love you with all my heart” brought tears of joy and emotion to Nuno’s eyes conveying just how important this was to him. A little touch, a small detail that spoke volumes. As he said in his vows, this queen was missing a king, and that king was him.
This was quite a different party, let me just say, as it was a true Portuguese style party. Our traditional weddings are filled with lots of eating, lots of drinking, and lots of dancing all night long, right until dawn, and this wedding followed that tradition to the letter.
The entire ceremony was filled with lots of mixed emotions: love, happiness, joy, but also lots of laughter. Especially, since, during the ceremony, two crew members with the bride and groom’s initials beautifully pinned on their shirt pockets provided a very professional demonstration on how to place safety vests, as well as thorough information on safety aboard.
Everyone’s speeches were very emotional and heartfelt, the sceneries were astonishingly beautiful, and the guests, either friends or family, were a great part of this amazing day for this amazing bride and groom. And to make sure it was known that this couple was now together in a bond as strong as their love, an airplane flew by with the message: “Just married Geraldine and Nuno”, another little but very special touch that I had to include in the wedding video.
All of their guests were delighted to be a part of this day, and to travel abroad to share this unique and extraordinary moment with this extraordinary couple.
To be able to create a destination wedding video in such a beautiful place obviously makes my job a lot easier and enjoyable. This couple shared such a genuine and beautiful connection that it was easy to capture it in a wedding video. And I have to admit that it not only makes the wedding video more genuine and authentic, but it also allows me to be more creative when I show such a warm relationship in the video I make.
The couple, their family and their friends, who travelled to Portugal to share their vows, also shared many laughs, many emotions, many glistening and heartfelt tears of joy. With the beautiful Mediterranean Sea as their background, the historical fort as their stage, and their loved ones as their audience, Geraldine and Nuno immortalized their love, and I immortalized this moment in a truly beautiful and authentic destination wedding video.