After meeting nine years ago in Thessaloniki, Greece, Fanis Rami and Jenny Grapatsas began collaborating on fashion photography projects and soon fell in love. Just out of photography school, Fanis started working as a local wedding photographer before Jenny, who had recently finished at fashion school, joined him on his shoots and they founded their now internationally-recognized brand, Days Made Of Love.
With fashion styling provided by Jenny and photography direction handled by Fanis, Days Made Of Love creates wedding albums that perfectly capture the emotion of a wedding, from tears over wedding vows and smiles over champagne toasts. Their focus is on capturing the key moments of the wedding, and not setting up the classically posed photographs that are normally included in wedding albums. Their ability to capture secret moments and the raw emotion on display at weddings have brought them global recognition.
It did not take long before the signature Days Made Of Love style caught the eye of the European market and soon bookings for weddings across the continent started arriving in their inbox. The pair’s work has been featured in famous international magazines like Harper’s Bazaar and ELLE.
Taking their inspiration from iconic photographers such as Peter Lindberg, Martin Munkacsi, Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton, Days Made Of Love bring modern elegance and sophistication into their wedding shoots.
On the early stages of Days Made Of Love
We very quickly established our brand by working with international clients getting married in Europe, mainly because of our signature style, which was embraced by couples looking for a fresh yet elegant take on wedding photography. We never thought that wedding photography would become not only a successful main profession for us but also our favourite activity. We started timidly, but very quickly, we were enamored with this job and everything we learned from human relationships while we could still practise our creativity.
On what weddings mean to them
Itʼs a beautiful ode to love when two people celebrate their relationship. It’s not really a new beginning but rather a deep moment of celebration, and appreciation of life and love. And of course, as a celebration it is a party in which you can share your happiness with your loved ones.
On what makes the perfect wedding shot
Spontaneity is what makes a wedding shot beautiful. If a picture is directed or staged with the subject posing, you will certainly get an impressive image, but we believe that the right timing is what really counts. The right timing is the ultimate goal when it comes to wedding photography. Having the right timing and capturing the moment as it happens is very important.
On their use of black and white photography
We believe that black and white adds a timeless and elegant vibe to pictures. Some pictures are meant to be in black and white so that they will showcase the moment, the feeling, and the subject without any distractions.
On how they define the 'honest beauty' in their photography
Itʼs not about beauty as most people perceive it — with the meaning of external beauty, but about the way a person expresses their feelings. Thatʼs what makes someone beautiful. Beauty derives from our soul when we feel good. On a wedding day, when the couple allows themselves to be freed from any unnecessary distractions, they are able to really enjoy the day. The freedom to express your feelings is honest beauty.
On emotion and their favourite wedding memories
We definitely get emotional at weddings! It’s a whole day full of every kind of emotion, from anticipation and happiness to nostalgia and tears of joy. Embracing our feelings gives us the ability to work better, to experience every moment and capture it with honesty. And because we feel so connected, we have a story to tell about almost every wedding we shoot. We will never stop being inspired by the emotions that appear during the wedding day.
On the Greek wedding Industry
The wedding industry in Greece consists of hard-working creatives, and while itʼs still developing, there is great potential. There has been great growth over the last few years. That is the reason why every year, more and more international couples trust the local wedding industry in Greece to realise their wedding dreams.
On their favourite Greek island wedding locations
There are so many big and small islands in Greece, featuring lovely locations. While we are lucky to have visited many of them, there are still so many left for us to discover. Certainly, well-known Santorini and less-known Sifnos are two of our favourites, and they offer amazing venues for discerning couples.
On Their 2021/2022 Bookings
As we mainly work with international clients travelling overseas to get married in Greece and Europe, we usually get booked a year to nine months in advance of the wedding. That doesnʼt mean of course that we are not always happy to accommodate last-minute bookings when we have availability.
Already, 2021 is a quirky year, as this yearʼs postponements due to closed borders and wedding restrictions have pushed almost our entire 2020 wedding season to 2021. We usually do not book weddings more than a year in advance, but since couples have become so impatient to finally celebrate their wedding, we are already receiving bookings for 2022!
