QI & DYLAN

WABI SABI SANTORINI

Maybe it's the other side of silence, / maybe it's a distracted peacock shouting / far away, / across the Aegean Sea. It's as if Jan Skacel's verses about the bride all in white were imprinted into moments that captured a day in the lives of Qi and Dylan. One important and beautiful day. They spent it on the Greek island of Santorini and somewhere between the sound of the sea and the sunlight, they said yes. The marriage of two people who value the intimate moment above all else and want to experience it just the two of them, can do without almost everything that otherwise seems like a necessity. "For us, the wedding was a celebration of our promise. We are both introverts and wanted a minimalistic wedding following the wabi sabi principle. We didn't follow conventional traditions. It was a very personal day for us and we conceived it in our own way," says Qi. Of course there are steps that have to be followed, and in the case of the Australian fiancés, who are currently living and volunteering in Cambodia, having decided to get married in Greece, it was mainly a big administrative operation. The preparations took about half a year. Fortunately, the wonderful wedding coordinator Ellie helped with the paperwork and, as she is at home in Santorini, the fiancés trusted her with the choice of location and decided to let her surprise them. "We didn't see the venue for the first time until the wedding day. We found ourselves on the cliffs overlooking the sea, dotted with undulating rocks, and the beauty literally stunned us." The second person who accompanied the bride and groom was Berlin-based photographer Dani Rodriguez. "Although the wedding marks a new permanent state in our lives, the wedding day itself was like a fleeting moment. The photographs capture an atmospheric nostalgia in which the shimmering sun meets the sea and is surrounded by the motionless rocks of an island born from an ancient volcanic eruption." Photographed millions of times, the island of typical colours was dipped into black and white in accordance with the bride's wishes. The sun's glow as it reflects off the bride's dress stands out. Far away, across the Aegean Sea.

Text: Helena Stiessová | Photo: Dani Rodriguez, Bring Me Somewhere Nice