Sometimes we think that creating an incredible wedding requires so many things.
An exclusive venue.
A huge setup.
Spectacular catering.
A day planned down to the smallest detail.
Then Silvia and Pablo arrive, travelling all the way from Australia to the Dolomites, and remind you that maybe what you really need is something much simpler.
Two people in love, the right people beside them, and an energy strong enough to fill any place.
Their wedding at Lago di Braies was exactly that.
An intimate, deeply emotional, fun day, imperfect in the most beautiful way, and lived completely.
Not simply an elopement to photograph.
An experience.
Silvia and Pablo live in Sydney, Australia, where they both work as social workers.
They met in 2018 through work, during Silvia’s internship at the organisation where Pablo was working.
What could have been just a professional encounter turned into something completely different.
In May 2022, Pablo chose a family moment to propose, first asking Silvia’s father for his blessing.
She wasn’t expecting it.
And she said yes.
A few years later, that yes would take them to the other side of the world, to the shores of one of the most iconic places in the Dolomites.
Silvia and Pablo love travelling, hiking, discovering new places and spending time in nature.
Mountains and lakes are exactly the kind of places they look for when they travel, so choosing the Dolomites for their wedding made perfect sense.
But what struck me most was not Lago di Braies.
It was their energy.
Silvia is more emotional and spontaneous, someone who easily lets herself be carried away by the moment.
Pablo is more rational, organised and practical.
Two very different personalities that somehow find a completely natural balance together.
And perhaps it is precisely that difference that makes the way they are together feel so alive.
There are the jokes, the silly little dances, the stories they make up before falling asleep, that kind of connection made of things that may seem insignificant from the outside but become a private language within a relationship.
Throughout the wedding, all of this was constantly there.
I didn’t have to create it.
I simply had to be ready to photograph it.
There was no need for a large venue.
There was no need for a huge reception or dozens of elements built around the day.
There were Silvia and Pablo.
And with them, some of the most important people in their lives, travelling from far away, from Australia and Brazil, to share that moment with them.
It was exactly what they wanted: quality time with a small number of people who truly mattered.
And that is one of the things I love most about elopements.
When you remove everything that is not really necessary, what remains becomes even more powerful.
The looks.
The hugs.
The tears.
The laughter.
The way one person immediately looks for the other’s eyes after something emotional happens.
The silence before the vows.
And then that tension that completely disappears once everything finally begins.
Silvia and Pablo were especially emotional about the moment they would read their vows. There was also some nervousness about having to say those words out loud.
And that is exactly what made them feel real.
It is impossible to talk about an elopement at Lago di Braies without talking about the landscape.
The mountains dropping almost vertically toward the water, the colour of the lake, the forest and that feeling of being somewhere much bigger than ourselves.
Photographically, it is extraordinary.
But this wedding once again confirmed something I strongly believe in:
an incredible location is not enough to create incredible photographs.
You can have one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Dolomites in front of you, but if you only think about the mountains, you risk forgetting why you are there.
I wanted to tell the story of Silvia and Pablo.
Their playfulness.
The way they move together.
The people around them.
That constant alternation between deeply emotional moments and others that were completely crazy and fun.
Lago di Braies was the setting.
They were the story.
When a couple travels from Australia to get married in the Dolomites, it can be tempting to use every single minute to create photographs.
One location after another.
One pose after another.
One spectacular image after another.
But for me, a wedding should never become that.
Not even an elopement.
Of course, there are moments when I guide the couple, look for a particular composition or create something more artistic.
But then you have to leave space for everything you cannot plan.
And very often, that is exactly where the most important part of the story begins.
With Silvia and Pablo, this was especially clear.
Their energy was constantly creating photographs.
All I had to do was watch.
This wedding left me with one feeling above all.
That you do not necessarily need to add something to make a story extraordinary.
Sometimes, you need to do exactly the opposite.
Remove things.
Remove expectations.
Remove what is done only because “this is what a wedding is supposed to look like.”
Remove the pressure to constantly create something.
Silvia and Pablo had Lago di Braies, some of the closest people in their lives and, most importantly, they had each other.
Their love.
Their humour.
Their desire to truly live that day.
And it was enough.
In fact, it was far more than enough.
For me, this was one of those weddings where documentary photography and artistic research could coexist in a completely natural way.
Because when real things are happening in front of the camera, my job is not to invent a story.
It is to recognise it.
For anyone dreaming of an intimate wedding at Lago di Braies, my advice is to start with the experience you want to live, and only then think about the photographs.
Braies is one of the best-known destinations in the Dolomites, and planning timing, accessibility and logistics carefully can make a huge difference.
Especially for international couples planning a destination wedding in the Dolomites, having a realistic schedule allows you to actually enjoy the day instead of turning it into a race from one photo location to another.
An elopement can be incredibly simple.
It can mean a small number of people, an intimate ceremony, time together and the mountains all around you.
And it is exactly this freedom that makes it so special.
After the wedding, their story would continue travelling.
Friends had arrived from Sydney and Brazil, and more celebrations with family were planned in Cusco, Peru.
Different worlds connected by the same story.
And perhaps this is also what I will remember most about their wedding in the Dolomites.
Not an event built around a location.
But a group of people who travelled thousands of kilometres simply because they wanted to be there.
Silvia and Pablo did not need much more.
And photographically, neither did I.
Love, energy, real people and the freedom to let things happen.
Sometimes, that is all you need to create an incredible story.
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