VIBRANT LEBANESE WEDDING IN INTERCONTINENTAL MZAAR FARAYA
LUCAS & RANA / BALLOUNEH & FARAYA / LEBANON
First time I met Lucas & Rana LAST winter NYC just before shooting their engagement session. As I was waiting for them in front of Lebanese restaurant in Greenwich Village, the staff came outside and offered me a cup of tea. And when always smiling Lucas & Rana finally arrived and invited me to taste some of their local food I was sure, that we gonna have a good time. By that time I didn’t know much about Lebanon, but experiencing hospitality and kindness of all people I met I was getting more and more excited about my trip…
After 4 months we (me and Martin & Eliska from Kacofilms ) finally arrived to Beirut. First couple days we spent exploring streets of the city (one of the oldest in the world) and delicious local cousine and on our 3rd day we joined Lucas and Rana. Since we knew that the weddingday will be really busy with almost no time for portraits, we decided to shoot the prewedding session two days before the wedding itself. During the Thursday afternoon L&R took us to some of their favourite spots in MarMikhael district and Byblos town - and this is how it looked like!
PREWEDDING SESSION
After the prewedding session we moved to Ballouneh - village in the mountains where Lucas & Rana come from and spent couple days with their welcoming family. This is also where getting ready and traditional church ceremony took place. After the ceremony we moved even higher to the mountains to Faraya (probably the most famous ski area in the Middle East). And that’s where the real madness started! The reception was bit shorter than we are used to, but it was so much more intense! Everybody was dancing like it was their last night of their lives. The hypnotic rythms and so much energy! I personally had goosebumps almost all the time!
WEDDING DAY
THANK YOU!
IF YOU MADE IT TO THIS POINT BIG THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE! I KNOW IT WAS PRETTY LONG - PROBABLY LONGEST BLOG I´VE EVER POSTED, BUT I HAD SO MUCH IMPRESSIONS FROM THIS SHOOTING THAT I JUST COULDN´T RESIST! :)
AS A BONUS - HERE´S THE WHOLE STORY ONCE AGAIN CAPTURED IN AMAZING VIDEO BY MY MATE KACO VIDEOGRAPHY!