Olivia & Ashley's Seafront Wedding at Alassos, Cyprus

The details

Before anyone got dressed, there was lace to photograph — the beading on Olivia's sleeves, a hand-written card from her bridesmaids, a veil still pinned to its stand. The small things a bride only sees once.

Olivia getting ready

Hair and makeup ran at Villa Aquamarine, Olivia's bridesmaids around her in matching black pyjamas, working through a stack of cards and a photo album someone had smuggled in.

The final touches

Dress on, veil pinned, one bridesmaid on her knees doing up a shoe buckle — the last twenty minutes before a wedding always move faster than the rest of the morning. A toast of champagne on the terrace, arms in the air, and Olivia was ready.

Setting the scene at Alassos

While Olivia finished getting ready, Alassos itself was quietly being dressed for the afternoon — the venue's name lit up in cool grey lettering against white render, olive trees trimmed into neat balls along the drive. Guests began arriving not long after, walking the palm-lined path down toward the seafront lawn in the early-afternoon sun.

The bridal party arrives

Olivia arrived with her father, her mother and her bridesmaids close behind — a short walk from the villa down to Alassos's seafront lawn, guests already finding their seats along the aisle.

Ashley and his groomsmen

Ashley's two best men walked him down separately, arriving at the ceremony spot with the Mediterranean at their backs and a few minutes to spare before Olivia appeared.

Vows over the seafront

Alassos is licensed for civil ceremonies, so what followed on the seafront lawn was the real thing — vows exchanged with nothing behind the celebrant but open water. Olivia wiped away tears halfway through; her bridesmaids, watching from the front row, weren't much steadier.

Confetti as newlyweds

Guests didn't need telling twice — hands went up, confetti with them, the second Olivia and Ashley turned to walk back down the aisle married, cheers ringing out over the sea still glittering behind the floral arch they'd just stood beneath.

A quiet moment, just married

A few minutes followed that belonged to no one but the two of them — no guests, no schedule, just a walk back across the lawn hand in hand while the reality of it all caught up.

Cocktail hour at Alassos

Behind the scenes, Alassos's reception terrace was being finished for the evening — tall arrangements of white roses and gypsophila, a top table dressed and waiting, while guests settled into the cocktail hour with the sea still in view.

Golden hour on the coast

Olivia and Ashley slipped away from their own cocktail hour for twenty minutes of portraits along the coast. The light in Kissonerga in May does most of the work for a Paphos wedding photographer — soft and warm, and low enough by early evening to catch every bit of lace on Olivia's dress.

A cheer-filled entrance

Back at the reception space — timber-slatted walls lit gold, the Alassos sign glowing behind the DJ booth — Olivia and Ashley arrived to the kind of welcome only close friends and family can give you: napkins waving, arms in the air, a three-tier cake waiting under a cluster of white roses.

Speeches over dinner

Four speeches ran before the wedding breakfast, Olivia's father opening proceedings with a reading that had the top table laughing and, in places, reaching for a tissue. Guests settled in for a sit-down meal on Alassos's covered terrace as the light outside began to turn.

A sunset walk on the rocks

With cocktail hour still going, Olivia and Ashley slipped away to the rocks below Alassos for ten quiet minutes alone. Paphos does this light best in May — the sky sliding from gold into pink and violet as the sun dropped toward the water, rock underfoot and nothing between them and the Mediterranean.

Aimie takes the mic

Dinner ran alongside live saxophone from Zak, before Aimie Wild took over vocals for the evening — stripped-back, soulful covers to see the room through dessert and into the party. However you take your first dance, it's a rare thing to have it soundtracked live rather than through a speaker.

One more sunset before the party

As the sun dropped toward the sea, Olivia and Ashley slipped away from their own reception one more time — down onto the rocks below Alassos, still in full wedding dress and tux, for a last look at the coastline that had hosted their entire day.

Dancing under the fairy lights

First dance done, DJ Tags took the floor from there — strings of fairy lights strung wall to wall over Alassos's terrace, guests still in their evening best, dancing until well past the hour anyone was checking a watch.

If Olivia and Ashley's day at Alassos has you picturing your own seafront wedding on the Paphos coast, get in touch — as Cyprus wedding photographers who've shot up and down this coastline, we'd love to talk through what's possible.