Soooo this wedding is a pretty special one.

It’s been a week since I got back from Lisbon after photographing the wonder that is Kim & Tristan’s wedding and I couldn’t wait to share the joy of their wedding day in this incredible city.

A little bit of a background, it’s been probably 10yrs since I photographed a destination wedding. They aren’t something I typically offer because of environmental implications and I find airports and flying just a little too stressful. BUT I will go for the right wedding and for me that is about the people, not the location or the decor, the people.

Another thing… Kim is an incredibly talented wedding photographer herself, so when she reached out about her wedding I was deeply honoured. We have known each other through instagram for a while and I have always admired Kim’s dedication to making our industry a more inclusive place for everyone. So yeh, I felt pretty joyous that these two wanted to work with me.

It was more than that though, when they told me their plans for the day my heart shouted YES!

When you are someone who has attended dozens and dozens of weddings you start to see what is important and K&T through their shared knowledge AND their love of each other and their families put together one of the most authentic and heartfelt days I have ever photographed.

We began in the morning with them and all their guests for a Tuk Tuk tour of the city. Now a little about the guests… these two only invited their families, 23 humans coming together to celebrate the love of two people that they love. The intimacy made this super special.

This was such a fun couple of hours blasting around the cobbled streets of this beautiful city. We stopped at the most beautiful view point for some photos and this gave me a proper opportunity to meet people and connect meaning that I could just easily become a part of the day.

We all then took some time for lunch before I went to meet K&T for the last bits of their prep together. Again, I am such a huge supporter of couples getting ready together. It naturally offers up some lovely moments for photos but also its deeply calming and sweet to be spending this time together. We then went to collect Kim’s flowers and Tristan’s buttonhole from Tristan’s Aunt who flew the flowers all the way from Belgium, including some from her garden. This was such a magical touch and the flowers were stunning.

The venue for the wedding was the beautiful Casa Balthazar situated in the heart of Lisbon’s downtown, this historical building used to be a bakery and it’s also where K&T got engaged 3yrs before. So after they had finished getting ready and we collected the flowers, we went to the room they had got engaged for them to read their personal vows to one another. But before that, they reread the letters they had written when they got engaged.

This was so perfect and a deep privilege to capture. From their words, I could really hear just how much these two loved each other but also how much they were growing and supporting one another. Afterwards we all had a good cry in the bathroom before hitting the streets of Lisbon for some couple photos and for them to buy a record as that is something they had also done together in Brighton when they had their legal ceremony.

And then it was time for the ceremony! They really made this the main event and the magnificent India Bel was their celebrant which made me so happy as I have wanted to work with her for a while. The ceremony began with high fives and the sharing of their story. There was readings, letters shared with every single guest, a wedding playlist created by their loved ones, the sharing of their personal vows and then a hand fasting ceremony with fabric provided from the women in their families to tie them together.

This is how to do a ceremony.

I loved it and managed to not fall in the swimming pool while working.

It ended with a big group hug before we had a little break for drinks and snacks.

With the heat everyone started to gather with their feet in the swimming pool and it was decided that this would be the perfect place for speeches. And again, this is a beautiful example of how personal this day was because this gave K&T space to really tell their families just how much they mean to them but also for their families to have the space to do the same. These two really chose the parts that matter most and gave them more space.

To close my time with everyone, we walked through the streets of Lisbon as the light was getting golden to their restaurant for the evening. We said our goodbyes and hugs were had. As I went on my own hunt for food, my heart was full and the world felt a little more beautiful.

I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I loved taking them.