Nia Vardalos Recalls Filming 'Incredible' My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Scene with John Corbett

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage John Corbett and Nia Vardalos

Nia Vardalos had an "incredible" time filming My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 with John Corbett.

At Saturday's Art Directors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, the actress shared with PEOPLE her level of excitement for the upcoming sequel, which will premiere in theaters worldwide on Sept. 8.

In particular, Vardalos, 60, remembered a scene where she and Corbett "were both in tears" because of how "incredible" it was to film.

RELATED: Nia Vardalos Confirms My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Is Filming in Greece — and She's Directing!

"We actually have a scene where we're dancing on a dock in the most beautiful cobalt light that our incredible cinematographer, Barry Peterson, waited for and waited for and waited for," Vardalos began.

"John and I are standing on a pier dancing together, and we were both in tears. It was incredible," she recalled.

Continuing, Vardalos said, "It's just the view around, just the blue of the light, the water. And [Corbett] said, 'Baby, look where you brought us." Isn't that amazing? And then I said, 'Thank you for coming.'"

RELATED: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Gets September Premiere Date — See the First Cast Photo

IFC Films/Everett

Vardalos confirmed to PEOPLE that "Toula and Ian are stronger than ever in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3."

She also revealed that the cast and crew were ready to shoot the third movie before the pandemic delayed their plans, but it ended up being "the right time" when they actually began filming.

"I had written the script, and we were ready to go in 2020. This is an old story. Everyone was ready to go in 2020. Right? But we went at the right time. We began filming in the summer," she shared.

"It was incredible. It was an incredible experience. It was hot and beautiful and the sun was shining. It was just great," Vardalos said of filming in Athens, Greece, for four-and-a-half months.

Vardalos, who wrote the first two films, confirmed she was directing My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 when announcing the news in June 2022 that the sequel was happening.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Focus Features

"Because I was directing, I got to go and scout locations and that was the most difficult thing to choose," Vardalos said of her biggest challenge as director, adding that she was only able to film some of her desired locations.

"But I ended up getting the rights to film at the most beautiful locations. I have never been more grateful for Greek school because I think the fact that I'm fluent [in Greek] and I could go and ask for it, I got what I wanted," she said. "And nobody said no. And then when they didn't say no, I kept asking for more."

As a director, Vardalos also said, "I hire as many women as I can constantly," including the My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 crew.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding starred Vardalos as Toula Portokalos, a single 30-year-old woman working in her family's restaurant when she meets, falls in love and gets married to non-Greek Ian Miller (Corbett). The sequel followed the couple as they raised their teen daughter, Paris Miller (Kampouris).