Jan Van de Maat

It was the 2nd of April 2022 and my couple wanted a 'city lights' photo on top of the Euromast, a tall observation tower in Rotterdam. So we went to the top and stepped outside at the panorama deck and there was a very strong and cold wind. So I had to take the picture very quickly. I remember the softbox was held by two persons to prevent it from falling over the edge due the strong wind. The result however was worth all the effort!

Nine out of original ten flower girls walking towards the white castle where the wedding would take place that day. I had some extra time with these girls only so I let them hold hands and told them simply to walk away from me. A nice detail; all dresses of the flower girls are made by the mother of the bride, who is coupeuse/designer of wedding dresses.

It was late November and it was already dark at the end of the afternoon. There was a beautiful gazebo in the garden of the wedding venue I would use for a photo so I set up two flashes. One aimed up in the trees and one aimed at the couple. When this was ready and tested I just asked the couple to step outside and could take this image in a few minutes.

This wedding was very special for me because it was in Denmark and I could not speak or understand Danish. But everyone could speak English as well and so I could ask a few girls to help the bride with her preparations for her big day. I placed them just in front of the window to get this beautiful classic image.

The mother of the bride has made this beautiful emerald green dress. It was mid november and autumn was showing full color. I tried to let the bride run a bit to see the long dress was floating behind her. That worked out beautiful so I decided to let her run again and I stood upon a small staircase and made this image. It looks like a cover of a novel is the comment I receive a lot at this image.

This is actually an unique photo because the beech trees in the lane are probably a few hundred years old. Unfortunately they suffered from disease and a couple of trees were cut down recently. The tree lane will not look like this anymore in the next hundred years. Besides that I love the soft light and the trees because ik looks like they bow down to watch the couple.

It was early spring when I took this image. So early that there were no leaves on the trees yet. The tree lane is actually a road right through a walnut orchard. People can pick the fallen walnuts for free in the autumn. The trees are very old and form a sort of tunnel. The oldtimer was owned by the grandfather of the bride and made it quite special to use it in the final image.

Large windows and long curtains always attracts my attention when I am on location. This time I was lucky I found one and placed the bride in front of it. The back of her dress was created beautifully with a lace design and I wanted an image that showed this. I asked her to move the curtains a bit and this is the result!

The photo location was a castle and we were quite early in the morning to get there for the photoshoot. It was a bit foggy and there was a small road that leads to the castle. The couple drove in front of me and I saw this image in my head already. So I stopped, gave the couple instructions to wave and drive slowly forward. The couple and I are still very happy with this final image!

The couple had some spare time between their reception and dinner so I took them to a room with large windows I spotted during the day. The windows had long curtains and there was a small mirror on the wall. My first intention was to pose the bride between the curtains and as I was working towards this I noticed the small mirror and placed the groom so I could see him and have him included in the final image.