Julie and Kris brought friends and family from all over the world to celebrate their marriage, It truly was an international get-together, with only one Irish person present and the bride and groom being Belgian and Norwegian, respectively.
Kris was joined in his suite by his closest friends and family, they enjoyed Guinness and champagne and bonded over how to tie bow-ties, which they eventually figured out just in time. Meanwhile, Julie was putting the final touches together in the bridal suite, with the help of your mother and grandmother, she carefully selected the jewellery she was going to wear for her walk down the aisle. The whole suite was so calm as the final preparations were underway.
We escorted Kris down to the gardens where Julie met him for their first look. It was a beautiful moment, full of emotion and allowed them both to have a private moment together before the celebrations kicked off.
With the guests settled in their seats under the hot sun, Julie walked down the aisle with her father and greeted her soon-to-be husband. The ceremony was filled with unique touches, with friends and family doing readings. Julie and Kris’ handwritten vows were beautiful and intimate, showing how in tune they were with each other and, judging by the response from their guests, they agreed with every word.
After the ceremony, the reception began with lawn games and champagne in front of the castle, we took this opportunity to explore the grounds and seek out some gorgeous backdrops for their portrait session. Then it was straight into the speeches, which we soon learned, are taken very seriously in Norway and there are a number of traditions that they adhere to. The first is, if the groom leaves the room, the bride can receive kisses from male guests. If the bride leaves the room, female guests can approach the groom for a kiss. At any time during the speeches, the guests can request the couple to kiss by clinking their glasses. This happened throughout the speeches which provided neverending entertainment for the guests! Another tradition is that everyone will want to speak at a Norwegian wedding, it’s truly an honour for guests to make a speech so a lot of thought goes into each speech. This was hands down the most emotional, funny and heartfelt series of speeches that I have ever heard in my time as a wedding photographer.
During a break in speeches, we managed to sneak out for some evening portraits to capture the sunset over the lake and it was so worthwhile. Before they knew it, it was time to hit the dancefloor, and with the soundtrack of traditional Irish music, Julie and Kris danced the night away.
