September 15th, 2018

Louis + Haley’s Big Fat Greek Wedding | Quad Cities, Iowa and Illinois

Louis and Haley’s Quad Cities wedding day was absolutely gorgeous. As an Illinois and Iowa wedding photographer, their day was right up my alley: part of it was in Illinois and part of it was in Iowa!!! The wedding itself was at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in East Moline—my first time being in a Greek church and my first time shooting a Greek wedding! I had a lot of fun seeing the different traditions during the ceremony and the reception.

My favorite parts of this wedding day were:

1. Seeing my friend Penny!! Penny is Louis’s little sister and was Haley’s maid of honor for the wedding (so cute, right?). She’s living in Philadelphia so I hadn’t seen her in months!! Walking into the salon that morning where the bridal party was getting ready and seeing her was definitely a personal highlight of the day.

2. Witnessing Haley walking into their reception hall at the Waterfront Convention Center in Davenport for the first time. Louis and Haley had worked with Tamara Wendt Events (the top rated wedding and event planner in the area) to help bring their vision to life, and the team at Tamara Wendt Events did an INCREDIBLE job. They transformed the convention center into a magical, Greek-island-inspired party with a large pergola adorned with twinkly lights above the dance floor, greenery everywhere, and golden plates and accents atop the white tables. I felt like I was outside on a Greek island!!! Haley had told Tamara she wanted their reception to feel “like we are celebrating on an island in Greece”—and they delivered. She teared up when she saw the place because it was everything she hoped it would be, and it was beautiful to witness!!

3. Watching the entire wedding party and Louis’s family dance the traditional Greek dance called Kalamatianos; everyone held hands and danced in a circle while the lead dancer (Louis at first) held the second dancer (Haley) by a handkerchief so he could do more elaborate steps and moves.. They had a live Greek band there to perform and it just added to the magic and authenticity of the night. I loved every minute!!

Scroll down to see pictures of the reception, dances, and my other favorite moments of the day!

We Loved working with Marissa! We used Marissa for our engagement and wedding photography. Working with Marissa felt like we were working with a good friend. We felt comfortable asking her for recommendations, revisions and requests, we also felt confident we were in great hands on our special day. We really love her style of photography. Everyone looks so happy and effortless in the photos we got. We highly recommend booking Marissa for your special occasion or photo session, you will not be disappointed!

— Haley C., The Knot