What a whirlwind of a wedding! When I first Katie & Michael a year prior to their wedding I knew they were planing a wonderful wedding day for their family & friends from around the world. As they live in the UK they are used to being pampered and having only the best, so when I listened to them speak excitably about their wedding day I could only smile. First, Katie is a gorgeous lady and though she opted not to have the bridal preparation covered (she is also very shy) she did mention that she would like to have a few single portraits. The one thing they really stressed was they wanted a reportage / natural style set of images from their Prague wedding. And so it was settled.
Their wedding venue: the incredible Vrtba Garden – a personal favorite. The wedding planners were Tim from Royal Wedding who is well known for crafting stunning weddings here in Prague and throughout the Czech Republic. For their very short portrait session (the evening party and events was of paramount importance) we decided on the Royal Garden which is stunning when in bloom offering incredible vistas. The evening dinner & party was to take place at the Alchymist Grand Hotel – a venerable Prague institution that I have always enjoyed.
What follows is a small sampling (they had about 600 beautiful images from their wedding day) of that very special day when Katie & Michael and their family & friends joined them in celebrating their union here in Prague.
{Prague wedding & pre wedding photographer / lifestyle photographer / Engagement photographer available worldwide}
A vrtba zahrada / garden wedding in Prague with Kaivel Ann & Stan (USA)
Kaivel Ann & Stan are two very lovely people who found love in the skies. As both of them work for an airline they have traveled extensively around the world. Even though they know many exotic & wonderful places, they chose Prague for their destination wedding as they both love this city of 100 spires with its cobblestone streets, incredible architecture and captivating history.
When Kaivel Ann contacted me about her wedding day, I was truly taken in by her warmth and her utter joy that she expressed in her original email to me. I was so taken in by her writing that when I met them I already felt I knew them both. These two are both very visibly smitten with each other so having their wedding day captured exactly as they envisioned was quite important to them.
Their choice of wedding venue, the stunning Vrtba Garden and as they timed their wedding at the right time of year, the garden provided them with a luxuriant array of colors to add to the already unforgettable atmosphere. Reds, greens and yellows provided the main color scheme of their garden wedding and the mixture of Baroque architectural elements as well as the layout of the garden itself created a fairy tale atmosphere that is and always has been picture perfect.
To make it that much more special they brought their close friends and family members with them to share in the joy. There were quite a few tears shed as these two said their ‘I do’s’ and a very heart felt embrace during that wonderful moment under the Baroque paintings above them. What I especially enjoy was capturing the pure love that these two shared on that wonderful day and how much fun we had in showing them the sights. Though the rain did come, it did not put a dampener on these two and if anything added to the fun we all had.
Presented here is the very simple, yet elegant layout that we did of their beautiful wedding book, one that they are no doubt sharing with their family & friends.
To Kaivel Ann & Stan, thank you both for choosing me to capture this incredible time in your lives together. It was a true pleasure getting to know you and capturing these wonderful moments of that day in Prague.
Wedding Planning: Royal Weddings
Wedding Planning: Royal Weddings Wedding Location: Vrtbovska Zahrada / Vrtba Garden Portrait Locations: Vrtba, Letna, riverside / Charles Bridge
J&J traveled over from Miami, Florida to have their dream elopement wedding at Prague’s historic and stunning Vrtba Garden. It is without a doubt one of those architectural gems that lends itself to wonderful wedding photography and in fact it is one of my favorite wedding & portrait locations in Prague.
As J&J explained, their first and foremost goal when coming here was finding the right photographer as they envisioned having a day of wedding portraits after their short ceremony. After all it is not every day a young couple are able to travel to Prague and have a very intimate portrait session captured in this incredible city. They told me that they really wanted a mixture of styles: magazine styled portraiture (to ensure everything is picture perfect so the lighting & hair & makeup team was brought out), natural reportage styled images captured of the two during their day (not too many staged images) and of course a killer / stylish & romantic night time portrait session that would be the envy of their family & friends back home. Additionally, the bride-to-be had a surprise for her beau: a fireworks show that was to take place near the Charles Bridge.
Our bride also wanted to have a ‘first look’ captured of the two of them at their hotel, the Boscolo Prague Luxury Hotel – a former bank building where no expense was spared on its architectural and interior details.
On the day of, I was able to capture the lovely bride to be for a few minutes before heading downstairs where J was waiting patiently at the bar. Though we created some very stylish portraits there, I felt that the best ‘man cave in Prague’ aka the Cigar Bar with its red leather couches, dark wooden and an interior would be perfect for our very stylish groom. We were not disappointed- it is without a very manly place for portraits.
A few minutes later, the lovely and beaming bride made her grand entry under the painted ceiling and J was quite clearly smitten with his lovely bride-to-be and before we knew it – we were off to the Vrtbovska Zahrada for their destination wedding.
Though it did rain during their portrait session, we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow and a stunning evening complete with a beautiful fireworks display for our newlyweds. In short, it was a very pleasant, fun filled day with two wonderful people who held their dream wedding & portrait session here in Prague. As a photographer it is sessions like this that make this ‘job’ all the worthwhile.
As a photographer I always feel that it is best to let the images speak for themselves as after all they should tell the story and not my personal reflections. The following collection of images is a small sampling of their favorites from their wedding day here in Prague.
To J&J thank you both once again for selecting my team and on behalf of all of us we wish you both much love, happiness and success in your new lives together.
Wedding Planning: Royal Weddings Hair & Makeup at the Boscolo: Portrait session Hair & Makeup: Eliska Matejkova
Wedding Location: Vrtbovska Zahrada / Vrtba Garden Wedding Dinner: Villa Richter Portrait Locations: Vrtba, Prague Castle, Charles Bridge
After a stunning elopement wedding last year at Prague’s Vrtbovska Garden Polya & Dirk decided that having ‘2.0’ was in order – though this time they were going to marry with the families and friends in attendance and have a laugh!
But with a small caveat, they decided a Bavarian-themed wedding was in order. To be honest, I was not so sure that this would go over well, but with these two and the fact that they have fun wherever they go – it worked out beautifully.
Family & friends and the stunning location combined to make for a truly unforgettable wedding.
em neuen Leben zusammen. Und freuen uns auf ein Wiedersehen hier zwei.
{Prague wedding photographer / lifestyle photographer / pre wedding photographer available worldwide}
First off the weather was gorgeous, picture perfect for our latest bride Polya who married the very lucky Dirk at Prague’s stunning Baroque garden Vrtba Zahrada. With a horse and carriage to deliver them to the garden it was a truly beautiful day for an elopement wedding. To be honest, as much as I enjoy weddings (especially those all day long affairs) I truly enjoy the intimacy of being with a young couple, who without fanfare, simply marry in a wonderful location. No fuss, no stress, no worries, just two people having a wonderful time exchanging their vows and then heading out for a truly fantastic portrait session as they experience their day as husband and wife.
If I was to marry again this is how I would do it!
To Polya and Dirk, my new friends. I am so looking forward to 2.0! You guys rock! Wishing you both much love, happiness and success in you new lives together as husband and wife!
{Prague wedding photographer / lifestyle photographer / pre wedding photographer available worldwide}
