Engagement, Anniversary, Honeymoon? Walking in Rome with a photographer could be for you.

A Personal Wedding in Rome.

A wedding is the most personal moment and even though you may be getting married thousands of miles from home, like this couple, they showed that you really can have the day exactly how you imagined. This couple from the US planned everything themselves and put together an unforgettable wedding in Rome.

The venue for the wedding ceremony was the rooftop terrace garden 'La terazza del Cesari' at the Albergo Cesari and both the bride and groom made their preparations in the rooms below. 

I photographed the groom and his entourage first as they made their final adjustments to their suits and then it was a across to the bride's room where we got some great shots of her final preparations. 

Whilst this was happening the wedding guests were making their way upstairs to their positions on the terrace.

With a few minutes to spare before the ceremony was to begin we took a moment to get some shots of the bride in her room.

The window made the perfect frame for the shots and the light fell nicely to really accentuate the bride. 

And the decor of the room really lent itself to this classical black and white feel of the images.

The weather had been pretty changeable all day but their luck just about held out and with a break in the rain everyone was in position for the ceremony, awaiting the arrival of the bride.

When I'm photographing the bride and her father beginning their walk down the aisle I often wonder what last words of wisdom are said!

With the arrival of the bride we were ready to begin.

I love outdoor weddings and among the rooftops of Rome was a great place to hold a wedding ceremony.

With the vows complete and the exchanging of the rings the wedding was complete.

The ceremony was taken by the grooms sister and the flower arch under which they all stood was actually brought out with them from the States! Nothing like the personal touch on your wedding day.

The weather just held out as the couple made their way inside for aperitivi. 

I always enjoy this next part of the day when everyone's mingling after the ceremony. Although it can be a tricky to keep the bride and groom in shot when you do catch them it makes for some lovely dynamic shots.

And even with several guests between myself and the couple there's always the chance to pick out a few details from the day.

After all that planning it all happens so fast, I love this picture below as it catches the bride just taking a  momentary pause.

And in the end blue skies prevailed so we took the chance to go back out onto the terrace and really capture the beautiful backdrop.

And from the other side of the terrace too the weather was coming good.

For me Rome is all about the architecture and I love the textures in the building below with the shutters and the weathered stonework it's a picture that is so typical Rome.

While the guests too a breather, myself and the bride and groom made a quick outing into the streets of Rome to get some shots around some of the iconic locations. First stop was the Trevi fountain where the couple received a great ovation and lots of attention. And as usual everyone was very kind in making room for us for a few minutes.

From the Trevi fountain we made our way across to the Pantheon, one of my favorite buildings and one of the great icons of Rome.

And of course the great thing about Rome is that there is a photo opportunity around every corner.

Even just a door way makes for a great backdrop in Rome!

Our last stop was Piazza Navona.

And a lovely shot at Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers.

Always time for one more shot on the way back to the hotel of course!

Afterwards the whole wedding party took a stroll through the streets of Rome to Da Pancrazio for a banquet of a meal. 

The couple chose this restaurant for two reasons, the history, the restaurant is on the site of the Theatre of Pompey, the location of the assassination of Julius Caeser.

And of course the fantastic food. Ahead was an evening of many courses of traditional Roman food.

Great credit to this couple for putting together such a fantastic day, organising their own wedding location, ceremony and evening from some distance away. It really had the personal touch and it also encompassed all that is fantastic about getting married in Rome.

Looking for a Wedding photographer in Rome then follow the link through to my website or contact me on this blog.

www.jhalesfotografia.com 

Brides hair and make up was by Janita Helova

Wedding at the Roman Forum, Rome.

Although I've photographed inside this beautiful church before this was the first time I'd photographed a wedding at Santa Francesca Romana in Rome. The church is positioned on the edge of the Roman Forum, a 'gladiators' stone through away from the Colosseum!

And aside it's great location it's the stunning interior that I love. If you are ever in the area it's worth a look, the church dates back to the 10th Century and is steeped in history and contains several interesting artifacts including the stone that is said to be marked by the imprint of St Peter's knees as he knelt in front of Simon Magus.

The couple had chosen this church for personal sentimental reasons and the service was very inspiring. 

As the service finished we had a race to catch the last of the afternoon light on this late September day. Outside the church we had the perfect opportunity to catch the last of the afternoon sun flooding in before we stepped back inside to take the group photographs.

Coming back inside gave us the chance to get some more photographs that really showed off what a beautiful venue this is.

After we left the church we made a quick ride to St Peter's as the evening drew in. It's always a great spot to bring a bride as it has so many different angles you can work with.

And as the crowds were starting to leave it mean't that we could get some great shots of the couple on their own.

This happened to be the last wedding of the summer season for me in 2012 and it was great for me to finish, not only in Rome, but at St Peter's, somewhere I've always loved to visit and to photograph.

I've met so many couples this summer and photographed in some of the most amazing wedding locations you could imagine and although it's nice to get back home again I can't wait for next summer and to get back to Rome, Tuscany, and the rest of Italy.

For your wedding photographer in Italy, follow the link to my website.

JHales Fotografia.

A very special night in Rome

 This has to be one of my favorite stories of the year. Even though I was in the middle of a busy run of weddings in Tuscany I couldn't resist taking on this 25^th wedding anniversary photography tour in Rome.

 I've photographed many weddings in Rome this summer but this was a slightly different brief.

Jen had set up this photography tour as a suprise for her husband of 25 years, Mike. Flying over from the United States Jen had already secretly flown over her original wedding dress and a tuxedo for Mike.  

Whilst slipping off to get her hair done she'd left a note for Mike to open the parcel where he would find his tuxedo. The only other instruction was to wait on the steps of the hotel at 5pm.  

Once Jen had finished having her hair done and put on her dress she arrived outside the hotel to surprise Mike, with me in the shadows to capture the moment!

A bottle of Prosecco was opened and a toast was had and then we went off on a short tour of Rome that I had pre planned with Jen.  

Firstly we made our way to St Peters where we caught the last of the afternoon sun. It's a great spot to photograph not just for the basilica but also to photograph around the fountains and among the pillars. 

It's also a good time of day to catch the piazza a little less busy as the day trippers head home.

And although the low sun made the photography quite challenging it also made for some lovely light for the photographs.

From here we made our way along to the bridge and castle of St. Angelo and then onto Piazza Navona.

It's an easy walk between all of these locations which makes it so easy to cover so many different places in a short time on these tours.

Jen had her wedding dress modified to suit the trip and the original train was now used as a shawl, we made sure we got this shot to show it off nicely!

I love this quarter of Rome to the west of Piazza Navona, there's some beautiful side streets and it's also a good place to stop for something to eat or drink.

Although it was still early Piazza Navona was filling up and there was a great atmosphere  here in the early evening.

 Of course we were attracting plenty of attention and our couple were great sports chatting away with the tourists, police and gladiators!

From here we made the short walk across to the Pantheon and after a little time to look around inside we made our way to Campo de Fiori.  

And to finish off the evening perfectly a group of musicians, on seeing our couple walking through, started up on a romantic number and our couple obligingly took centre stage.  

This quickly turned into quite a spectacle as a crowd gathered to watch them dance and take photographs.

The combination of the music and the crowd struck a chord with our couple and the emotion of the day caught up with them.  

It was a truly special and spontaneous moment and I'm always so grateful to be there when moments like these happen.

Our evening finished with a cold beer before I escorted them to their restaurant where they could enjoy the rest of their night.

So it's not just been weddings this year and although primarily I'm a wedding photographer in Italy and Rome, this was a great job and a pleasure to do.