Nina & Mike

Wedding in Germany

Morning at the hotel

Nina and Mike got ready at a hotel in the city. Mike was dressed first: navy suit, white flower on the lapel. Nina laughed through the last of her make-up, then someone did up the long row of buttons on her lace dress, and she waited by the window with her bouquet.

Guests’ names hand-written in white on green leaves used as place cards

Mike sitting back on a sofa in a wood-panelled hotel room

Portrait of Mike in his navy suit, hand on his chin

Mike buttoning his jacket with a white flower on the lapel, in black and white

Mike checking himself in a mirror under a crystal wall light, in black and white

Nina laughing in the bathroom mirror as she fixes her hair, in black and white

Nina and a friend reflected side by side in the bathroom mirror, in black and white

Nina laughing on the hotel bed in her lace dress, in black and white

Hands doing up the row of buttons on the back of Nina’s lace dress

Nina in her lace dress looking out of the window of the wood-panelled hotel room

Nina sitting on the edge of a table in the hotel room, her skirt spread around her

Nina holding her bouquet of white flowers and greenery by the window

Leaving the hotel

Mike waited outside with her bouquet. Nina walked out through the hotel doors to the old VW, decorated with flowers and ribbons, and climbed in with a smile for the drive to the city hall.

Mike waiting by the car with Nina’s bouquet, in black and white

Nina walking out through the hotel doors into the light, in black and white

Nina beside the old grey VW decorated with flowers in the street

Nina smiling from the seat of the open VW

At the city hall

The ceremony at the city hall was small and close, with a bulldog asleep under one of the chairs. By the time they said their vows every guest was crying, Nina too, between bursts of laughing. Then came the kiss, hugs all round and pink balloons outside.

Nina walking into the ceremony room past the guests

A guest hugging Mike under a brass chandelier as Nina looks on from behind

A bulldog lying under a chair at the ceremony, in black and white

Nina and Mike laughing at the ceremony table, in black and white

What couples say

“An absolutely unforgettable day that your photos will remember forever.”

Nina and Michael, wedding in GermanySee wedding

Mike in his bow tie at the ceremony as a little girl walks past, in black and white

The registrar reading as Nina and Mike sit at the ceremony table, in black and white

Nina looking up at Mike during the ceremony, in black and white

Nina wiping away tears with a tissue as Mike laughs beside her, in black and white

Mike kissing Nina among the guests after the ceremony

Portrait of Nina with her bouquet of pink, purple and white flowers

Nina and Mike stepping out of the city hall as guests take photos on their phones

Guests releasing pink balloons as Nina and Mike come out of the city hall

The old VW

After the ceremony we took the old VW out of town for portraits: the roof down, flowers on the bonnet, a quiet road through the woods. On the way back we stopped by the river in town, under the colourful old houses of Tübingen.

Nina and Mike driving the open VW along a country road, seen from the back seat

Mike smiling at Nina through the windscreen of the VW, flowers on the bonnet

Nina’s face caught in the VW’s rear-view mirror, tied with white ribbon

Nina looking back at Mike behind the wheel of the VW, in black and white

Mike pulling Nina close beside the car on a wooded road, in black and white

Nina standing by the open VW as Mike waits at the wheel behind the flowers

Nina and Mike leaning on the flower-covered bonnet of the VW at the roadside

Nina and Mike laughing in the front seats of the open VW

Nina waving from the VW as Mike stands beside the car on the woodland road

The colourful riverside houses and church tower of Tübingen above the water

Mike lifting Nina for a kiss on the riverbank in Tübingen

The reception

The reception venue had a terrace and a white garden pavilion. Tables were laid with pink roses and greenery, the bulldog wore a blue bow tie, and the guests gathered with drinks in the evening sun.

A chalkboard welcoming guests to Nina and Mike’s wedding beside a clipped bay tree

Table setting with a vase of pink roses and greenery

The bulldog in a blue bow tie sitting on the terrace

Nina and Mike laughing with guests by a white garden pavilion

Guests talking with drinks in the evening sun on the terrace

Sunset in the fields

As the sun went down we walked out into the fields nearby, past a herd of horses, and made the last portraits under a big evening sky. When we came back the lights were on and the old VW was parked outside.

Nina walking across a field as a herd of horses runs behind her

Nina standing alone in a green field at dusk

Nina turning to look back across the field, gathering up her skirt

Nina and Mike close together in the field under a dramatic sky

Mike holding Nina from behind under a cloudy evening sky

Nina and Mike holding hands in the middle of the field at dusk

Nina leaning on Mike’s shoulder as they walk through the field

Nina and Mike walking hand in hand across the field at sunset

The reception venue lit up at dusk with the old VW parked outside

Into the night

The party followed the best Russian and German traditions and never slowed down. Nina and Mike danced in the middle of their guests, the bulldog joined in, and friends kept talking at the tables outside late into the night.