Christina & Emil

Wedding in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, French Riviera

Christina and Emil, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, French Riviera

Morning

Christina got ready in a white room with tall windows, her dress hanging between the curtains and her pearls laid out on the stone in a patch of sun. Champagne with her bridesmaids in robes, then mustard silk dresses for them and an off-the-shoulder gown for her.

Christina’s pearls and white flowers on sunlit stone

Christina’s wedding dress hanging between the curtains of a tall window

Christina having her hair done in the white bedroom, in black and white

Christina’s reflection in a tall mirror as she gets ready in her robe

Hair being done at the dressing table, seen through a half-open door

The back of a satin robe embroidered Bridesmaid in gold, the bedroom beyond

Christina in her white robe smiling at her reflection in the mirror

Christina sitting in her robe holding her pale bridal shoes on her lap

Christina laughing with her bridesmaids in robes, glasses of champagne in hand

Christina and her bridesmaids in robes sipping champagne on the sofa

Christina and her bridesmaids laughing on the sofa as they finish their champagne

Bridesmaids in mustard silk lifting Christina’s dress from its hanger by the window

Bridesmaids in mustard dresses helping Christina out of her robe

Christina and her bridesmaids in mustard seen through a white archway

Bridesmaids in mustard fastening the open back of Christina’s dress

Christina laughing in her off-the-shoulder dress as a bridesmaid fixes her earring

A bridesmaid in mustard silk helping Christina into her shoes by the sofa

Christina looking down at her dress as a bridesmaid in mustard smiles beside her

Christina’s bridesmaids kneeling to arrange her dress in the bright room

Bridesmaids spreading Christina’s train in the garden, palms and cypresses beyond

Christina from behind under a tall palm tree, her long train on the lawn

Christina smiling with her bouquet of yellow and peach flowers among the palms

Christina walking across the lawn with her bridesmaids in mustard behind her

Across the villa

Emil dressed with his groomsmen, all of them in white while he wore a grey-green three-piece suit. Shirts, cufflinks, a toast with his friends, and a minute on his own by the window before going down to the garden.

Emil and his groomsmen pulling on their white shirts

First look and portraits

Emil waited on the lawn with his back turned, and Christina walked down to meet him. Afterwards we made portraits around the white villa, its stone walls, its bougainvillea and its whitewashed steps, with the green hills of the Riviera behind them.

Two groomsmen buttoning white shirts by the window, the hills outside

Brown shoes, a phone, a watch and a handwritten note on a wooden side table

Emil and two groomsmen in white reflected in a tall mirror, in black and white

A groomsman in white polishing a brown shoe at the console table

Groomsmen in white gathered round Emil on the sofa as he puts on his shoes

Emil grinning on the sofa as a friend in white bends to help him

Emil and his groomsmen putting on their shoes in the sitting room, in black and white

Two groomsmen in white adjusting Emil’s waistcoat and tie

A groomsman pouring drinks as Emil waits in his grey-green suit

Emil and two groomsmen in white raising their glasses

Emil sharing a joke with two groomsmen in white jackets in the sitting room

Emil buttoning the jacket of his grey-green three-piece suit

Portrait of Emil in his suit by the window

Christina walking across the lawn towards Emil for their first look

Christina smiling as Emil turns round on the lawn

Christina and Emil holding hands on the lawn after their first look

Emil and Christina kissing on the lawn by the white garden chairs

Christina and Emil on the lawn with the villa and the hills of the Riviera behind

Emil and Christina smiling in front of a stone wall and an olive tree in Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Christina walking towards Emil across the garden, olive branches overhead

Bridesmaids in mustard walking down the curved drive, seen from a balcony above

Christina and Emil walking with her bridesmaids in mustard beside the stone villa

Christina and Emil with bridesmaids in mustard and groomsmen in white on the lawn

Christina and Emil in an ivy-covered stone archway, her train on the paving

Christina holding her bouquet beside Emil under a vine-covered arch

Emil tilting Christina’s chin as she laughs beneath a hanging lantern

Christina and Emil walking down a stone path towards the white villa and its bougainvillea

Christina and Emil walking up a stone path through the villa’s garden

Christina and Emil face to face above the green hills of the Riviera

Christina and Emil kissing on the terrace with the hills behind

Christina and Emil leaning together at a wooden railing above the treetops

Christina and Emil sitting on whitewashed steps with her bouquet

Emil kissing Christina’s cheek as they sit on the whitewashed steps

Emil and Christina smiling together by a dark wooden shutter

Christina covering Emil’s eyes from behind as he grins in his suit

Emil holding Christina close by a dry stone wall, her pearl necklace catching the light

Christina smiling over Emil’s shoulder, his buttonhole in the foreground, in black and white

Black and white of Emil holding Christina close

The villa’s garden from above, an olive tree and a curved lawn before the ceremony

Emil and his groomsmen waiting on the lawn as a flower girl in white passes

The villa’s garden and the hills of Saint-Paul-de-Vence from above, in black and white

The ceremony

The ceremony was on the green terrace, under an arch of white flowers with cypresses and the hills behind. A Swedish priest led it, a flower girl went first, and the guests sat under white parasols. Rings, a kiss, and a walk down the stone path through a cloud of confetti.

A flower girl walking down the aisle between guests under white parasols

A bridesmaid in mustard walking down the aisle as guests stand under the parasols

Christina walking down the aisle with her bouquet as guests turn

The ceremony on the green terrace seen from above, cypresses and hills beyond

Christina’s long train on the grass as she reaches Emil at the flower arch

The ceremony at the white flower arch seen across the lawn, the stone villa beyond

What couples say

“We are very happy with all the photos! so beautiful :) thank you so much for capturing our day!”

Christina and Emil, wedding in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, French RivieraSee wedding

Christina and Emil at the arch, seen through the branches of an olive tree

Christina lifting her bouquet and laughing beside Emil at the ceremony

The Swedish priest smiling with raised hands between Christina and Emil

Christina smiling at Emil as they face each other to say their vows

Christina and Emil exchanging rings in front of the priest

Close-up of Christina’s hands slipping the ring onto Emil’s finger

Christina and Emil kissing at the arch as the groomsmen look on

A guest in sunglasses wiping away a tear with a little girl on her lap

Guests in light summer suits watching the ceremony from white chairs

Rows of guests in summer clothes seated in front of the stone villa

Christina and Emil at the arch under an olive tree, a small child sitting on the grass

Bridesmaids in mustard silk holding bouquets of greenery and white flowers

Christina and Emil walking back up the aisle past their smiling guests

Guests and bridesmaids in mustard on their feet among the white chairs, cypresses behind

Christina and Emil on the long stone path as guests line the clipped hedge

Christina and Emil walking down the stone path through a shower of confetti

Emil raising his fist and Christina laughing as confetti falls on the stone path

Cocktails

Cocktails were on the terraces below the villa, among the oleander and the palms. A champagne tower, sweets from the table and a lot of laughing with their friends, Emil in the middle of them with a glass in his hand.

Emil pouring champagne into a tower of coupes as Christina laughs

Christina and Emil chatting with guests under white parasols at cocktails

Christina feeding Emil a sweet at the cocktail table

Guests in suits on the villa’s whitewashed steps and terrace at cocktail hour

Emil laughing with friends, glass in hand, on the terrace

A guest crossing the lawn below the olive tree, seen from the terrace above

Dinner

Dinner was at a Michelin-starred restaurant, on a terrace with round white tables, chandeliers and the valley below. Christina and Emil came in with their arms in the air, and the toasts kept the whole terrace laughing.

Round tables laid in white on the restaurant terrace overlooking the valley

A round table laid with a white cloth and green glasses on the restaurant terrace

Guests on their feet cheering at dinner, in black and white

A guest giving a toast into a microphone at his table, in black and white

Christina and Emil arriving at dinner down the steps to applause

Christina and Emil waving their arms as they cross the terrace to their table

Guests laughing at their table during the toasts, the valley behind them

Christina and Emil raising their glasses at their table

Christina walking between the tables during dinner, the valley behind

Christina laughing and clapping at her table as night falls

Emil and Christina kissing during dinner as guests film them

Guests leaving the dinner terrace waving paper fans, in black and white

Guests gathering under strings of lights in the garden at night, in black and white

Into the night

Afterwards the party moved outside under strings of lights, and it was loud and wild. Groomsmen in white, paper fans waving, and Christina in the middle of it all until the very end.