Portes des Iris in Vullierens near Morges is an awesome place. The farmhouse dated back to the 16th century belongs to the Estate of Château de Vullierens and is located on a little hill between flower and corn fields. It’s one of my very favorite wedding venues in Switzerland. It can only get better if the bride and groom is telling you that they will arrive for the ceremony not by car, but riding on white horses. As Sarah & Patrice did :)

Winter is cold, grey, wet and doesn’t really make you happy as a photographer if you are living in the midlands and not in the mountains of Switzerland. But eventually it’s giving you this golden light on a wonderful sunny day…

On the wedding day it’s often more interesting not to follow the bride and groom, but to observe what’s going on on other “stages” of the event. As a second shooter you’re in a great position to do just that as usually the principal photographer will cover the bride and groom and get the required wedding pictures. As the second shooter you’ve got a lot more freedom to play around.

When I helped last weekend my good friend Colette to photograph a wedding at Portes des Iris in Vullierens – one of my favorite wedding venues in the french part of Switzerland – I was hanging around where the ceremony would take place later. It was just 10 minutes before the ceremony and they final preparations were done. As the violinist was not sure about the timing of the song with the entrance of the bridesmaids, she asked them to do a quick rehearsal. So they did, everyone with her virtual groomsman and the pure excitement in their faces. Knowing that in just a couple of minutes this very same room would be filled with a happy couple and their families and closest friends.

That’s the moments I love.

The windshield wipers were working hard in heavy rain when my car passed Montreux at the Lake of Geneva in Switzerland. That was not exactly how I interpreted this morning the forecast for the wedding of Vérène and Jean-Pierre in Sion and Granges, in the french part of Switzerland. But I was still confident that in the Valais it would look better as it usually has more sun and less rain than the rest of Switzerland. There must be a reason why the Valais is well known for it’s wine.

And indeed, as soon as I turned around the corner into the valley, there were only a few drops of rain left and the day evolved into another perfect summer day. With a gourgeous couple, a blue sky, humming bees and the scent of a flowery meadow.

High grass, a light breeze and the chirping of crickets. What an amazing summer day for the wedding of Heather and David on Wildenstein Castle near Basel, Switzerland.

For a Swiss wedding photographer it always means something very special if you get the opportunity to photograph an open air wedding. The weather being not as warm and stable as in California, there are not many open air weddings over here. And if it takes place in such an awesome location as a castle that is built around 1200, what can you ask more for? The work of wedding coordinators Anne and Esther of weddingdesign made it perfect. An unforgettable day for Heather and David and their families and friends.

It was a busy day two weeks ago when I got a phone call and didn’t have time to pick up the phone immediately. Later checking my voice mail I heard a familiar voice. It was Franziska.

Franziska is the mother of Lea, the baby I photographed in early 2009. And as I guessed now, she wanted to ask me if I would like to photograph the newest family member, Aline. Of course I was very happy and curious to meet Aline! It’s always a wonderful thing if you don’t meet a family only once, but have the chance to accompany them for a longer time. No matter if it’s for a wedding or for family pictures.

Aline has now about the same age than Lea had when I photographed her. Though she’s a lot calmer than her sister. But that’s OK for the photographer as it makes focusing a bit easier ;-) Aline did great and had a lot of power before she finally got tired. We spent a wonderful morning together.

It’s Saturday night. There’s laughter in the air and the chiming noise of glasses. You can feel the happiness and the excitement of the people. Some of the guests took the opportunity to dust off their evening gowns or bow-ties. It’s time to celebrate. It’s not a celebration of two joining families. Tonight is different.

When I’m not photographing a wedding I love to capture other events for business clients. Although the 50 years anniversary of an engineering company (F. Preisig AG) is pretty different from a wedding on one hand, it is pretty similar on the other hand. It’s a gathering of people coming together and having a good time. It challenges the photographer with the same difficulties of changing light (and especially very low light), speeches, entertainment acts (Lapsus) and causes the same physical fatigue. Only the bride and groom are missing :) Here’s an image from yesterday’s assignment.

When I have time it’s always fun to second shoot a wedding with friends. This weekend I spent in Solothurn with Jeanine & Philippe. Although it was a rainy day for once, we were still lucky to enjoy a mostly dry morning with the couple shots in the city. Being the 2nd or even 3rd photographer at a wedding is a great experience. You can always pick up something from another photographer. And as you’re not the principal photographer to cover the event, you can get a different view on the day.

The weather in Switzerland was great for a couple of weeks now. Sunshine every day. Warm. If not hot. Days of summer. How could that go on like that for another week? I was hoping that the weather change – that had to come one day – would not come this weekend. The weekend Julia & Peter got married in Weggis, at the Lake of Lucerne.

There was no reason to be concerned. It was a beautiful day. And even if some unexpected organizational problems showed up the night before the wedding, everything worked out fine at the end. Having followed many weddings in my life, I know that always something goes wrong. It’s good to be prepared. But then you have to let go and be open for another way.

Julia & Peter enjoyed a wonderful day with their families and friends. It’s great to see how everyone comes together at a wedding and celebrates the start of a new family. As a photographer it’s an honor to be invited to follow the couple and capture this day. It’s wonderful to capture life.