I have been to a dream wedding on the Danube in my home city, Budapest. The venue was the Európa Boat - Európa Hajó. The bride was Hungarian and the groom was Australian with well over a 100 guests invited. The title says dream wedding on the Danube. It was a dream come true not only for the bride and the groom. As of a photographer perspective it was a dream wedding as well. All the crew was superb. A photographer cannot ask for a better staff. I am not saying they are the only good vendors in Budapest. That would be so not true. It was rather a wedding with amazing service providers working as a team.
It was a warm Spring day in Budapest. I remember clearly. I was rushing to a meeting with a potential client for our first meeting. My portfolio was sent earlier and they have short listed me. It was time for a personal meeting as they were in town.
Normally you could tell, if the meeting is going well after the first 15 minutes. But this time Bryce just left after 10 minutes and left me with her bride Kriszti and Viki the wedding planner. It is best to talk with both of your potential clients so you can have a better picture if you are the best fitting photographer for their dream wedding on the Danube. Budapest has drawn many foreigner's attention when it comes to a wedding. I hope the Danube will still be an attractive point after COVID 19 ends finally.
I went home after the meeting and I felt a good chance I will be photographing a wedding on the Európa Boat. This became the case apparently as I was informed. I got the assignment.
Kriszti was really open to tips and suggestions. We were doing the first look really close to the apartment they were renting for getting ready, so not at the ceremony itself. Many of the brides want to have the first look at the ceremony. They think it is more romantic. This is the time I let them know all the details and the pros and cons. 90% of the time they decide to have the first look before the ceremony. So it can be more intimate and reserved. Kriszti agreed to this as well. Actually, she went even further and asked us whether that is a good idea to do a fake first look with one of the best friends of his fiancé. I instantly said it is a magnificent idea if she thinks that Bryce would love to receive such a joke in an overwhelmed moment like this.
2 photographers and 2 videographers were working on it to make the best out of it and of course the curious friends of the bride gave better depth of our pictures. I asked Attila my second shooter to stand next to Kriszti when we initiated the fake first look. So we could make this memorable moment just like she saw it to stay forever and never forgotten. It was a blast, I could tell. They were laughing so hard that Bryce and the fake bride started dancing and spining. Bryce was even picked up by the fake bride. Before we went to the Európa Boat we had the normal first look and took a walk in Budapest to make some nice pictures before the wedding ceremony. We walked at the small streets of the Castle District.
The ceremony itself took place on the Boat. The Europa Boat and all the boats are not allowed to move during the official ceremony. Budapest is split into different districts and all the districts can delegate an official to tie the knot which marriage than will be recognized by authorities. If we were going all over the place on the river Danube we might be out of the jurisdiction of the official working as the celebrant. Getting married on a Boat in Budapest is not that simple as it turned out to me as well on that day. I did not know that law before.
We cheered, laughed and cried during the ceremony and on the reception as well which was followed right away after the official part. We were taking group pictures and lively happiness as the Europa Boat disembarked for an hour cruising on the River Danube.
During dinner I have prepared a sameday edit slideshow for them. Everyone watched it after the dinner. It was so emotional. Not only Kriszti and Bryce came to me to say thanks for the slideshow but guests were coming to us as well. Probably the fake first look made the guest laugh to more and the moments of the ceremony made us sentimental.
Partying was hard and fun. Probably the fish in the Danube were having there best time ever too. We were able to make Kriszti and Bryce's dream wedding come true on the Danube as the whole wedding party traveled to Budapest.
Before I show you the full staff list, I copy some of the engagement pictures of theirs here. It was not easy to schedule the best time for it, as they were living abroad and on top of that they were moving from a country to another. Eventually Christmas in december was the time we picked. And they could not be more grateful for this as Budapest was all shiny and smelled hot wine all over.
wedding planner: Hungarian Weddings - Viki
master of ceremony: The Wedding MC - Misi
makeup: Bogi Smink - Bogi
hair: Teodóra Géczi Hair Styling - Teo
venues: Európa Hajó - Nóra, Budapest Castle District
videographer: Álomklip - Márk, Ákos
music, lights: Show4You - Csabi
photographer: Wendl Photography - Attila, Péter
Photobox - Photofun Company - Zoli