Did you know I am also a destination wedding photographer!? This summer I shot my first destination wedding – and the first of many I hope! I travelled to wonderful Sweden to photograph Neil & Karin’s wedding weekend at Baldersnas Herrgard in the beautiful Laxsjon countryside. This is quite a long blog – I just couldn’t choose my fav images!
What I love about abroad weddings is the opportunity to make them more than just about the one big day. As a guest when I’ve gone to destination weddings, you get to spend a few days with everyone, and that family feeling is fab! The same was true as a photographer and shooting Neil & Karin’s wedding.
Arriving on the Friday afternoon, we did a rehearsal of the wedding ceremony, and then everyone was gathered for a BBQ in one of Baldersnas’ quaint barns. As a photographer, it’s rare I get to hang out with guests before the wedding day, so this was so lovely! I got chatting to lots of different groups of guests and even had a dance with everyone. The night went on until 1am and turned into an actual barn dance, but I was sensible and went to bed around midnight!
The next day, Karin got ready in the historic main house of the venue, whilst the guests slowly made their way to breakfast on the terrace just below. The weather had been terrible the day before, but luckily it was a beautiful sunny day!
Karin was wearing a stunning Grace Loves Lace dress, and the bridesmaids were in pretty pastels. The children also looked absolutely adorable in their little shorts and blazers!
This was the first time I’ve done a first look, as it’s not really an English tradition (I’ve been wanting to do one for years though!). It didn’t disappoint – the moment Neil saw Karin walked out brought a tear to my eye!
The ceremony was right down next to the lake on a very cute little island which had a wrought white iron bridge to get to it. Pretty much the most photogenic ceremony spot you could possibly get!
After the ceremony, we took 10 minutes to do some portraits and family shots, while guests walked back up to the terrace for the drinks reception. The grounds of Baldersnas are so expansive and lush – there are so many options for photos!
One trend I’ve seen this year is the use of bubbles instead of confetti. I love it as an alternative – less colourful but definitely makes for some great shots! It can also be great for venues where you are restricted on confetti use.
The sun was shining for drinks on the terrace, and it started to go down just as we did group shots. Golden hour hitting the newly orange trees made for a beautiful colourful backdrop.
As everyone was called in to dinner, I took Neil & Karin to the walled garden in the grounds so we could do a few more shots before they were announced. The pair took it as an opportunity to practice their first dance which resulted in my favourite shots of the day!
The reception was out in a large red barn building – so Swedish! I’d heard a few rumours about what Swedish weddings may entail, so was thrilled to see Neil & Karin had put together a ‘Guide to Swedish weddings’ on each guest’s place. Anyone can get up to make a speech, at any point, and my favourite part – singing is a bigggg thing! Between courses, we had a little sing song. Of course, Abba went down as the big hit of the night.
After speeches, Karin got a big surprise as her bridesmaids got dressed up as Britney and did a version of ‘Oops I did it again’. What I also learnt was that when either the bride or groom leave the room, guests can race to get a kiss from the other partner. I didn’t realise this meant literally the whole room would get up and form a queue!
We ended the night with one of Sweden’s best wedding DJ’s and he lived up to expectations. I’d gone to check out the barn at around 2pm and he had already been setting up – he had a full on light show to put Calvin Harris to shame! After my work was done, I joined in with the dancing and only gave up when my feet could take no more.
If you are looking for a destination wedding photographer, do get in touch – I can create bespoke packages for you and loooove to travel!
