Let’s start at the very beginning (A very good place to start). Days before COVID, we had an idea materialize for our first Snowbird sessions. We hoped this would become a regular thing for us. Welp, we all know what happened next. Fast forward nearly 5 1/2 years and here we are. We’re so excited to share some images from the past week…
We got to know Alex a few years back when we did some commercial work with an agency she worked for. When her and AJ got engaged last year, we were excited that they reached out to us about their wedding in Philly. At the time, we were about to head out to Italy for a little vacation. Alex mentioned that eloping to the Italian Dolomites was kind of a dream they had and considered before deciding on their Philly wedding.
After we returned, Alex told us that they had in fact changed their minds on the Philly wedding and they were going to go to Italy after all! We were very excited for them, because we are HUGE proponents for people doing their own thing, even if that doesn’t include us. And with their new change in plans, we figured it might not include us. Either way, we were psyched for them.
If you’re here it’s probably not much of a spoiler, but luckily the plans did include us and off we went. We spent a few days with Alex and AJ shooting, exploring and eating across both Venice and the Dolmites. We were absolutely in awe of the scenery and the two of them. We’re so grateful we got to share in their adventure.
Let’s get to some photos. We’ll share more specific details as we go. Oh and if you’re curious about our adventure or taking one of these yourself, feel free to reach out or follow our adventures on Instagram.
Elopement Photos Around Venice, Italy
From the jump, Alex and AJ did an amazing job of planning this journey. AJ seemed to know Venice like the back of his hand before we arrived and Alex let her inner fashion editor shine. So we went in with a solid plan. In Venice, the mission was to capture the magic of a city on water. None of us were quite sure what we were getting with Venice and I think we were all slightly nervous that it would be tourist madness everywhere. Luckily, Venice is way too unique for that. Around every corner was a new view, a new waterway and a new very old place. We spent the evening wandering around the streets and bridges of Venice shooting elopement photos. The MVPs of this shoot were Alex’s feet, which tackled the wonky streets in heels.
Honeymoon Photos at Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy
The next morning we were right back at it. Both Alex and AJ loved the look of Piazza San Marco and we knew we had to get there early to beat the crowds. Shooting in the Piazza felt like a race against the tourist clock, but WOW was it worth it. There was beautiful light and architecture around every turn. In particular, we loved the view of the water with all the gondola’s lined up ready to go for the day.
Wedding Photos in the Italian Dolomites
From Venice, we hopped on a train and made our way up to the Dolomites. It seems like a lot of folks in the US aren’t familiar with the northern mountains of Italy, but man they should be. They’re drop dead gorgeous. We were again up in the morning to grab the first cable car up to Seceda. From the second you step out of that car, you are surrounded by 360 degrees of stunning landscape. It’s almost confusing about where to go next. It was chilly up on the mountain, but nothing could stop Alex & AJ from stopping “traffic” everywhere they went. The comments from hikers were non stop (and so sweet) seeing these two slay these mountains.
MVPs of this portion of the trip: The Irish guy that yelled at the ‘influencers’ to get out of our way; AJ’s feet for hiking in dress shoes; Alex’s entire body for enduring 40 degrees in a thin dress; the nicest park ranger ever; a warm shot of espresso afterwards.
Elopement Photos at Lago di Braies, Italy
While AJ absolutely crushed it with planning, this last piece was a bit of a surprise. Alex had really wanted to go to Lago di Braies ever since seeing photos of the Dolomites. Unfortunately it seemed unrealistic due to logistics and crowds. That is until our very nice new friend at our hotel convinced us that we need to go anyways. Shout to to Alex and AJ for being spontaneous and switching up the game plan. Man, was it worth it.
Lago di Braies was just as beautiful in person as we’d all hoped. We got there in the evening when the crowds had dissipated and felt like we had the lake nearly to ourselves. We shot against the teal-green water, popped a bottle of champagne and even got to witness Alex and AJ reading their vows privately on the beach. By the time we left, I think we all agreed that we ended the shoot on top. What a stunner of a place!
Our time in Italy came to a close shortly after as Alex & AJ went on with their honeymoon. We’re so grateful that we got to share in this experience and to share these photos. Here’s to more adventures!
