READING TIME: 2m 52s
PUBLICATION DATE: 05/04/2026
UPDATED: 05/04/2026
Vasilis Kantarakis picked up a camera for the first time in an edit suite — not on a wedding day. Before he ever filmed a couple, he spent two years as a video editor, learning how footage becomes feeling and how a sequence of ordinary moments can build into something that stays with you. That's where his instinct for storytelling actually comes from, and it's been the foundation of everything since.
Based in Greece and working across Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Spetses, the Athens Riviera, Italy, Ibiza, and beyond, Vasilis Kantarakis Films has earned features in the New York Times, Bloomberg, Brides, and Style Me Pretty. We spoke with him about how he works, what he looks for on a wedding day, and why the couples who book him describe their films the same way: it felt like us.
He shot his first wedding as a freelance filmmaker in 2005. By 2014, Vasilis Kantarakis Films was officially established. Two decades in, that editorial instinct still drives everything.
My work is rooted in emotion, storytelling, and a deep respect for each couple's unique journey
,he says. "I've been creating cinematic wedding stories that focus not only on how a day looked, but how it truly felt."
A filmmaker who learned storytelling in post-production sees a wedding day as raw material — sequences, textures, quiet beats that most people walk past. He's already thinking about the edit while the day is still happening.
Vasilis takes on a limited number of weddings each year — typically between 15 and 20. What it means in practice: every couple gets his actual attention. Not the attention that's left over after a full season, not a production system that runs without him — his. Preparation before the day, full presence during it, and the post-production time to build something properly rather than turn it around fast.
Couples who care about the quality of their film should ask any videographer they're considering how many weddings they shoot per year. The answer matters.
Vasilis doesn't arrive at a wedding with a shot list to execute. He arrives looking for a story.
What I enjoy most is the storytelling — discovering what makes each couple unique and translating that into a film that feels personal and meaningful. Every wedding has its own rhythm, its own energy, and capturing that is what inspires me the most.
This is a different orientation than coverage. Coverage means making sure everything got filmed. Storytelling means understanding which moments actually carry the day — and being in the right place, with the right attention, when they happen.
Vasilis has filmed across some of the most visually extraordinary locations in the world. His answer to which weddings stay with him has nothing to do with any of them. "The ones I remember most are not defined by scale or location — they're defined by emotion. The quiet moments, the unexpected reactions, the way two people look at each other when everything else fades. Those are the stories that never leave you."
When we asked Vasilis what he tells couples who want to make the most of their wedding day, his answer had nothing to do with timelines or vendor coordination.
Focus on how you want your day to feel, not just how it will look. The most meaningful moments often happen when you're fully present and not rushing from one thing to another. Give yourself time to breathe, to connect, and to truly experience it — that's where the magic happens.
It's worth taking seriously. A filmmaker who is looking for genuine emotion needs couples who are actually experiencing something, not managing an event. The best wedding films are made by two people working in the same direction — the couple and the person behind the camera.
So, if you're planning a wedding in Greece or across the Mediterranean and you want a film built around your actual story — not a template, not a format — Vasilis Kantarakis Films is one of the most serious options in the space. His background, his portfolio, and the deliberate way he structures his work all point toward the same outcome: a film that belongs to you.
