I met Taylor about a year ago at a mutual friend's birthday party. We hit it off instantly with our love of travel. I was THRILLED when she contacted me about coming to Copenhagen with her and her fianceé, Nick, to capture their private, personal ceremony. My husband/all-star second photographer and assistant was able to tag along as well, and although it was a short trip it felt as though we were traveling with long-time friends.
We met up just after sunrise at the famously beautiful Nyhaven, which is my favorite spot in Copenhagen. We grabbed a few shots on the frosty streets along the canal, and used the time to warm up (in all kinds of ways).
Copenhagen is one of the more hassle-free cities in the European union to get married, but it does't make it any less romantic. Imagine flying to another city with completely different scenery and making it yours for a day? That entire city all of a sudden becomes your venue, the start of your love story.
We headed to City Hall for the ceremony, and found ourselves with some beautiful architecture and time to shoot! As much as I love the spirit of a big wedding day, I absolutely loved having the freedom to wander a new area, having plenty of time to craft beautiful portraits in a relaxed, fun environment.
Taylor and Nick know each other so well, and it was calming to be in their presence. They have a chemistry that makes it seem as tough they've already been married for years and years in the happiest of ways, which made following them around all the more fun. Plus, they were up for my crazy ideas, like playing in traffic!
Every amazing ceremony calls for a celebratory champagne toast. They had brought a bottle to pop after the "I do's". We got a pretty good kick out of it when the cork just broke in half while we were all perfectly prepped for some celebratory photos. The funny looks from across the square really started when Nick tried using Taylor's shoe to hit the bottom of the bottle in an attempt to un-wedge the cork--We had all kinds of theories we were trying while waiting for our Uber driver to show up!
After making it official, we stopped off for a meal back in Nyhaven where we talked about our travel experiences, being military unicorns (long-term relationships/marriages without kiddos yet), careers, and dreams. Perfect ending to a perfect day, but we couldn't call it a day without another attempt at popping bottles! NAILED IT!
Being able to combine my loves of traveling and photography has been the goal I've been working towards for the last year. And now, having celebrated love and growth in several countries and cities, my heart is growing more and more full. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter where you marry or who surrounds you.
The strongest messages often contains to simplest of words, and the words spoken at their ceremony said it all:
A wedding is a joyful occasion, but it also implies deep commitment. Marriage is one of the most important events in a person’s life. It gives you rights, but also responsibilities and it assumes a desire to live with each other in mutual love, helpfulness and tolerance
Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships.
No ceremony can create your marriage - only you can do that through love, patience and dedication; through talking and listening, helping, supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; by learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to
I hope that your marriage will be harmonious and meaningful and that you will protect everything that makes your relationship so special that you have decided to get married.
