Marcus, Hayden, and I flew over to Sweden last month for Sara and Dan's wedding in Luleå. It's always fun to visit Marcus's family, but it was especially neat to be back in Luleå. That's where Marcus was living and going to school when I first visited him back in 1998, and I later spent a semester there as well. One of my favorite places to visit in Luleå is the little church village (which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site) so I was super excited when Sara told me that she would be getting married in the medieval stone church there.
Swedish weddings are a bit different from what I'm used to (mainly the reception which consists of a very long meal with lots of speeches), and it was an exciting day. Dan and Sara are so great together, and we are really happy to have him in the family now.
It's tough to do engagement photos when your photographer lives on another continent, but we did manage to fit in a few on the morning after the wedding.
In Sweden, couples typically walk down the aisle together, and they don't have our tradition where the groom avoids seeing the bride before the ceremony. I'm glad that Sara and Dan decided to do a special "first meeting" though.
Sara fits the Swedish stereotype. She's thin, blonde, and beautiful. Her hair was gorgeous too.
Opposite from here in the states, Swedish brides get a basic engagement band and a nicer ring on the wedding day. Dan was showing off the bling in the middle of the ceremony.
Rice tosses are still popular in Sweden. There were several weddings that day, and the steps to the church were almost hazardous from all the rice that had already been thrown. It is fun and does look cool, but (before any American brides get any ideas) Sara had a lot of rice stuck in her hair and down her dress for the rest of the day.
The weather was actually warm compared to the week before the wedding, but it did threaten to rain on us all afternoon. Besides the obvious reasons that you don't want rain on the wedding day, I was a bit worried because of the ride that we were taking to the reception - a helicopter (my first time in one). I do hate heights, but I don't mind flying so I was excited but nervous. The view along the way was really cool though.
The guests were waiting outside the reception hall and expected the couple to arrive in the convertible car that they had left the church in. Sara and Dan's parents didn't even know about the helicopter until they saw (and heard) us circling around overhead.
And for those brides who are afraid that something will go wrong on the wedding day, let me assure you that something almost always does, but it is never as bad as you'd imagine. At this wedding, the power went off in the reception hall. While it didn't present a big problem in terms of lighting since it stays light all night this time of year, it did prove challenging for those preparing the food. The staff lit up some grills outside and eventually served a very delicious meal.
Marcus is often my second shooter, but he was busy tending to Hayden. Special thanks to Petra Hall for helping me photograph the wedding!