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Overseas Wedding photography in Lake Garda – who would have thought it…
Looking back on how my journey in photography started, I’m a little bewildered to think that I have just spent 5 days in Lake Garda, Italy photographing a wedding. About 14 years ago, I lived in Canada. I’d been working in hospitality for some time and had had some great jobs working for Walt Disney in Orlando and Planet Hollywood in Niagara Falls. Despite these great experiences, I had a niggle in the back of my mind – how could I do ‘that job’ that would be my life’s work?- something that would not feel like ‘the grind’ some of us may know – a vocation that would shape my lifestyle and aspirations. Around this time, I was an avid amateur snapper, I shot film then and I didn’t have a lot of money but the excitement that came from picking a set of prints up from the lab is something I really miss now we shoot digitally. I was in between jobs, I’d just been made redundant and I was a bit down in the dumps, but the nagging feeling gave me the energy I needed to explore a new idea – could I possibly make photography a career? I sat down with a box full of prints I had set aside as being half decent and I began to assemble my first portfolio with absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it… Fast forward 14 years, I’ve now established a very busy general photography practice that shoots 35 weddings a year, about 100 days of commercial assignments and about the same amount of family portraits – I’m busier than I could ever imagined and I am so amazed by what we have achieved in just 7 short years as Insight Photography.
Why did I start this blog with a whistle-stop history lesson? It wasn’t for self gratification nor was it to brag or boast. It’s because I’m on Cloud 9 right now, I’ve just returned from Lake Garda, Italy and I’ve just spent the last 5 days with Russ and Michelle covering their dream wedding. This was my first destination wedding since I left Canada in 2005 and it was the most incredible experience. Being my first trip to Italy, I was already super excited – I love to travel and I love culture so getting to mix business with pleasure was a real treat.
Russ and Michelle chose to marry overseas for a few different reasons but the main reason being that Lake Garda is simply stunningly beautiful. I’d seen lots of images on-line and had spoken to several friends who described its natural beauty but I was just gobsmacked. The whole area around the Lake was just gorgeous and a dream for a wedding photographer. I arrived late on Monday night after an easy trip from East Midlands airport (just shy of a 2 hour flight) and spent the first evening in a local taverna with the bride and groom eating tapas and drinking the excellent local wine – it was a super opportunity to meet all of the guests and made some new friends straight away.
On the Tuesday morning, a small group of us travelled to Venice for the day and took in the sights of this amazing city. Venice is about 2 hours by car from the Lake Garda area and we arrived just before lunch. The father of the bride, Gary, was a total ‘tour guide machine’ – with a street map in hand, he led us on a 5 hour rally through the narrow streets that criss-crossed the canal system. It was exactly as I had imagined it – a totally immersive experience! The most incredible architecture, the hustle and bustle of the street life, the gondoliers singing as they punted along the canals – it was all as it’s described in the guide books! 5 hours was only enough to merely scratch the surface and I will definitely be returning to this place. it was just long enough to shoot a set of pictures with Russ and Michelle that loosely could be described as their wedding pre-shoot but it certainly wasn’t the aim of the trip.
On the Wednesday, I spent most of the day with the bride and groom who took me to the 3 venues the wedding day would be centred around, It gave me chance to get my bearings and see how the photography would tie in with their schedule.
The wedding day came around on Thursday and I spent the morning photographing the bridal parties’ preparations. The groom got ready with his boys at Hotel La Cortina, once they were ready we got out of the room on onto the narrow streets to capture some killer looks for the men. We ended up down by the lakeside and I was totally in 7th Heaven with a camera! Leaving the boys to finish their preps, I headed to the Bride who was getting ready at a villa just down the road from where the majority of the celebrations would be held. Gary, the father of the bride, is quite possibly the most laid back individual I have ever met – he had only 1 task – to bring a steam iron from the previous hotel so Mum could press her dress. Being as laid back as he is, he totally forgot to pick it up so he and I dashed to my hotel and I spent the next half an hour pressing Mum’s clobber! The bride looked absolutely amazing, her beautifully fitted gown hung off her so gracefully and Michelle was a joy to photograph once she was ready.
A mini bus was arranged to take us all down to the church – a simple 3 minute drive – nothing could go wrong! We’d already received a phone call to say there had been a power cut at the church, surely nothing else could happen? The taxi arrived and it was decided to do 2 trips. I jumped in with the bridesmaids and we arrived at about 5 to 2pm. We expected Michelle to be with us by 2.10 LATEST! Russell was nervously vibrating at the front of the ceremony room as the minutes ticked past. 2.10 came and went…2.15…2.20 – where was she? At 2.25 we managed to get hold of the taxi driver – he’d forgotten to go back fro the bride! Talk about EPIC FAIL – quite possibly the dumbest move I had ever witnessed! Michelle and her dad had literally started walking! Russell was going out of his mind but by 2.30 she arrived and it was game on!
The ceremony was held in the Auditorium San Giovanni – a deconsecrated church now available for use as a place to get married. The walls had beautiful frescoes on all 4 sides and the simplicity of the space made it a wonderful place for Russ and Michelle to exchange their vows. Once the knot had been tied, we headed into the gardens at the side of the Auditorium and shot some casual family groups before walking down through the cobbled streets to the lake side. A lovely boat awaited and we all jumped aboard for a tour of scenic points around the lake before stopping at the incredible Punta San Vigilio for a drinks reception. This place was very special and the Prosecco flowed very freely. Gary and Russell both gave informal speeches and I have to say Russ brought a tear to many an eye – including mine! The sun was starting to go down and we all jumped back on the boat for the short trip back to Torri del Benaco. The sun was on it’s way out when we got back to the jetty which gave us some wonderful picture opportunities, the golden hue is the sky was breathtaking.
The wedding breakfast was served after another drinks reception at the Ristorante Gardesana. It was a wonderful 5 course display – the first course was a local speciality – smoked pike on polenta and it was truly delicious. Second course was a pumpkin stuffed ravioli served in a parmesan crisp basket. After a delicate sorbet cleansed the palate, we were treat to a main course – filet of beef served with local vegetables. The quality of the ingredients were just amazing! A traditional Italian wedding cake was served with a local desert wine to finish the meal of in style.
This day was truly special, we laughed, we cried and we laughed some more! I feel truly blessed to have been part of this wedding and I keep getting little flashbacks that punctuate my lingering joy at having being part of this wedding. Russ and Michelle return after the weekend and I can’t wait to share their story with them. I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully I havn’t wittered on too much but i had so much to tell!
Needless to say my overseas wedding photography experience has cemented my desire to work towards booking more destination weddings – if you’re thinking go getting married overseas, why don’t you get in touch to see how I might become part of your big day! You can enquire about availability by clicking here
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