Cisternino in Puglia is such a beautiful place to get married in Italy and as a wedding photographer it’s a dream location for me to photograph a wedding. Ever since visiting Cisternino several years ago I’ve been in love with the trulli (white cone shaped houses), the amazing surroundings and the tasty food! Over the last couple of years I’ve started working as a destination wedding photographer as well as my usual Kent and UK weddings. Why? Well I love travelling to different places, I love experiencing different cultures, eating different food, seeing different archietcure and seeing different light. Here’s a few reasons why British couples getting married in Italy will want to take a British photographer with them to their wedding. The first reason is style. A Bride and Groom to be want a photographer who’s work they are really keen on. I work as a documentary wedding photographer in a very unposed, natural way. In some parts of the world you won’t get photographers with this particular style, it’ll be more posed. The second reason is communication. If your photographer is based in the same country as you then you can meet them before the wedding in person to get a feel for what they are like and you can communicate with them on the day with no language barrier. My rates for destination weddings aren’t usually much more than my UK rates but I do ask for my flights and accommodation to be covered. If you are getting married in Cisternino and are interested in having me to do your wedding photography then please email me with the date and location. Here’s a few images from a recent destination wedding that I photographed in Italy.

Jack & Sophie’s Wedding

Jack & Sophie’s Wedding at Castello il Palagio was a dream wedding to be part of. I’ve always loved travelling to Italy and have really appreciated the relaxed culture, the food, the buildings and the scenery so to get the chance to photograph a wedding there was too good an opportunity to turn down! I arrived in my little Fiat 500 (when in Rome… not quite Rome…) at Castello il Palagio to photograph Sophie, her family and Bridesmaids getting ready. It was 36c outside and the castle was a little cooler inside (good news!) There were lots of lovely moments to capture between Sophie, her Parents and Sister Lily (I had the pleasure of photographing her wedding last year). Sophie’s Bridesmaids saw Sophie in her wedding dress as Sophie was up in the Castle balcony and everyone else was beneath. As Sophie and her Dad Gordon walked down the Castle steps I was having to remind myself that this was real and wasn’t a dream. Everything was so beautiful! Jack and the chaps were getting ready in a villa nearby and James photographed them getting ready (James kept me company for the trip, was an all round hero and took a few of the photos I’ve used beneath). The guests made their way by funicular railway up to the ceremony. The ceremony had the most beautiful light I’ve known. The sun was bouncing off a wall behind us so there was this gorgeous golden glow on everyone’s faces. In Italian ceremonies the Bride and Groom get to kiss twice and the lovely Francesca (who helped plan the wedding for Jack and Sophie) was on hand to translate everything for them too. After the ceremony everyone had drinks outside the town hall (including a local man who definitely didn’t want to move from his regular spot!) before we went back to the Castle for the evening reception. The food was incredible- we all had 5 courses- the pasta, fish, meat and cake were delicious! Bearing in mind that it was 36c for most of the day we were all pretty hot. Also factor into the equation that there hadn’t been rain there for 6 months. When the dancing started in the centre of the castle (with no cover overhead) very light rain started. It was amazing to be dancing in the rain after such a hot day. Jack was paraded on his Best Man’s shoulders and also had a go at DJing(!) Jack and Sophie were so lovely to get to know and were so kind to James and I as well. I’ll never forget this wedding because of the stunning place and the great people and I hope to be back out to Italy soon to photograph another wedding. Enjoy my favourites from the day!

Sophie said “Olly was an absolutely amazing photographer for our wedding. We chose Olly due to the excellent photos he took of my sister’s wedding last July. We knew he was the photographer for us as he was easy to get on with right from the start and we didn’t even notice him but the photos he took were amazing and really captured her day.

For our wedding, Olly was excellent from the first meeting. He clearly knows his stuff and was great to chat through things with. He was always excellent at communicating throughout which was particularly helpful as there were lots of logistics involved with our wedding as it was in Italy. Olly has a clear passion for photography and is great to be around, which made us both feel very relaxed. On the wedding day itself Olly integrated well with all the guests and captured some truly amazing shots of all our friends and family enjoying themselves. The USB of our photos arrived extremely promptly and we had a great time watching the slideshow with family. We literally love the photos so much. Olly created a slideshow which summarised the day so well. It was so nice looking over it and being reminded of it all. Thank you Olly. We would recommend him to everyone!!! Sophie and Jack”