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.

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.

It’s this time of the year again. December. Christmas coming soon. Time to spend with your family and friends. Time for traditions.

One tradition I started last year is to invite my wedding photographer friends from all over Switzerland for our annual Christmas dinner in Berne – the Wedding Crashers Switzerland Xmas Splash ‘10. We spent a wonderful evening at the restaurant Altes Tramdepot Bern with good food, some drinks and a fun little Pocketbooth app on our iPhones ;-) The freshly baked cupcakes we did with the Cookie Chicks Jeanine, Nadja and Karin at the pre-event were delicious and so were the home-made roasted almonds from Stephanie - yummy! I’m very happy to see the network and friendships grow. It has been a great year, thanks ya’ll!

In the picture (or not), in order of appearance: Nadja Oeler, Andreas Feusi, Philippe Wiget, Richard Overtoom, Katharina Wernli, Urs Anderegg, Ruggero De Pellegrini, Tobias Schmid, Daniel Daeppen, Stephanie Greter, Karin Näf, Jeanine Linder, Colette Dewan, Karin Vonow, Ildiko Varga, Daniel Knecht, Ilsuk Sun, Matthew Anderson

Congratulations Colette & Curt! You’re a wonderful couple, it was awesome to spend the day with your families and friends! Your wedding was hands down my favorite wedding ever! If I leave the wedding party at the very end and arrive back home at 5am, you know that I liked it ;-)

Check out Colette’s website here: COLETTE Photography