Oia's main walking street fills with crowds of tourists mid-day, as day trippers from cruise ships rush through, clicking cameras and cell phones, trying to capture the special feeling of being there.
As we strolled along, or shall I say, jostled along, the narrow walking street in Oia, we passed a bride and groom walking in the other direction.
I thought it odd to see a couple in their wedding clothes just after lunch on a Thursday, not accompanied by a throng of family or friends. Strange, I thought. Maybe they eloped? Not more than five minutes later, another couple in full wedding dress walked by. This time I stopped. I charade-motioned to them, asking if it was ok to take their photo. They consented and smiled broadly. These appeared to be alone, except for a photographer with large and professional-looking equipment draped on his shoulders.
When my husband and I reached our destination -- the Castle of Saint Nikolas, on a precipice at the end of Oia's walking street, we encountered a third couple in wedding clothes, also posing for professional photos.
It took three of these encounters to figure it out. Apparently, we stumbled into the trend of pre-wedding travel photos, where engaged couples travel the world to have their pictures taken. They hire a photographer to follow them around and produce a montage to be shown at their wedding.
We watched this photo shoot. The bride got quite a workout in her hoop skirt, climbing the rocky steps and walls.
She is not looking very happy. I hope they find somewhere good to go for their honeymoon.