Ruud Claessen

I just love staircases. While shooting this lovely couple in a beautiful hotel, I came across these amazing old wooden stairs. It was obvious that we had to use these stairs for our photoshoot. I set up the couple in a simple, but romantic pose and let the beautiful setting do the rest. I’m very happy with the result!

This photograph was shot during my last wedding of the season. It was a lovely autumn wedding with falling leaves and amazing colors. The couple actually got married in a converted tree hut. At the end of the photoshoot, we needed to hide a for few minutes, because they didn't want the arriving guests to see them yet. So we decided to hide near the entrance of the hut. There was this beautiful wooden wall, which I loved right away. The colour and texture of the wood was a great fit for the autumn theme of the wedding. Combine that with a beautiful couple in love, and this is what you get!

Shot during one of the warmest weddings of the year, at a beautiful Landgoed de Salentein in the Netherlands, a venue I absolutely love. Near the main entrance of the venue, there was a wooden pier. I placed this wonderful couple on the pier, facing the water, with the venue behind them. I really wanted to get as much of the venue in the frame as I could, so I shot through the groom's shoes using a super wide-angle lens. The majority of the shots from this perspective were of the fun and laughing kind, but in this particular photograph, I really like the intense looks, making for a great photograph!

Some things never get old. Throwing leaves at people is one of those things. Since this wonderful couple had an autumn-themes wedding and the leaves were falling from the trees at that point, I couldn’t let this chance let me go by. Two people were assisting me in making this photo. I told them to pick up as many leaves as possible, and throw them into the air at the count of 3. So they did, resulting in this photo. I especially love the expression of sheer joy in the bride’s face. It doesn’t get better than that!

This awesome couple wanted something a bit more spectacular than normal sprinklers at the end of the evening. Being huge fireworks fans (especially the groom), they arranged 8 emergency flares. These flares are usually used on sinking ships, or other types of emergencies. Because these flares are very bright and possible dangerous when not used correctly, we made this shot as safe as we could, with this great photo as a result.

Throwing rice at a newly wed couple is a very old, Oriental tradition, wishing the newlyweds a fertile and prosperous marriage. Unfortunately, nowadays it's forbidden in the Netherlands to throw rice at public venues. However, my lovely couple Rianne and Jan-Willem got married in a private venue, which was an abandoned factory that actually belongs to the family. So after the ceremony, there was a lot of rice throwing, resulting in this great photograph. I especially love the couple's expressions. So much joy!