DESTINATION  WEDDING  PHOTOGRAPHY  SWEDEN

A Magical Woodland Wedding

If you were to think of destination wedding photography Sweden – this wedding would be your mood board. Get your Pinterest boards ready because today I have for you a Swedish wedding extravaganza! Full confession: I have lusted after this wedding ever since I met with Henrik and Thea to discuss their plans. The setting for their wedding was Kroksta Gard; a gorgeous red fronted Scandinavian barn set in the countryside of Upsalla. Found in the middle of the countryside down a long path surrounded by silver birch trees. Walking to the venue felt like you were entering into a Swedish dream.  This beautiful red barn that was rented as a dry hire space was the perfect location for the couples vision.

“All we had hired was a barn” Henrik explained “and although it was wonderful to have the creative freedom to do whatever we wanted, looking back we’re very proud that we, along with our nearest and dearest, managed to pull it off!”  Oh boy did they manage to pull it off the most gorgeous Swedish wedding indeed! Seriously scrolling through their wedding images it is impossible to guess that nearly all the elements of the day were created by the couple themselves along with their friends and family.

Henrik and Thea described their day as a “rustic Scandi farm midsummer nights dream”.  Which they executed to perfection. They’re styling was gorgeous, from hand painted table settings to a personalised VW camper van photo booth.  When reminiscing about their Swedish wedding Thea said that she “had to keep pinching myself all day as I was sure it was all just a dream”.  Guests found their seats written on rustic little pieces of brown paper hanging from the iconic red barn door outside the venue situated between draped green foliage and ate their wedding breakfast from a food truck outside the barn. I mean taco’s for your wedding breakfast – what is not to love about that?  

“The hard work of all out amazing friends and family made everything possible” Thea said. The couples wedding definitely was a labour of love from all parties involved. Where should the list begin? Thea’s mother arranged all the flowers with a close family friend for the day. When I say all the flowers I mean ALL the flowers. The button holes, the table settings, the bouquets – the LOT. It was incredible what they achieved together. The photographs speak for themselves and the arrangements were stunning. Not only were the flowers arranged by family, but Thea’s friend and bridesmaid had sewed every napkin on the tables to be the perfect size and fit for the plates. They were tied neatly with a gorgeous Swedish themed napkin string. It was all of these little touches that made Henrik and Thea’s day so beautiful and personal.

Thea’s wedding cake was extraordinary. Topped with two golden stags and surrounded by gorgeous peony flowers. She herself made the wedding cake for her big day which she was icing well into the early hours the evening of the night before the big day. There are so many personal touches when I write down the details for this unbelievable Swedish wedding. One of my favourite details was that Thea’s Grandad picked and dried all of the confetti from his garden in Australia. He then had them shipped over for her as he could not be there. Pulling together all of your resources is vital when planning a dry hire wedding, but also essential if that wedding is overseas. Thea and Henrik had a family member DJ their entertainment for the evening with banging tracks and their favourite songs – including ‘Vindaloo’ for Henrik and his stag party!

The beauty of destination wedding photography is that as a photographer I always get to the country that the wedding is being held a couple of days early. This enables me to get acquainted with the area and to also arrange meetings with my lovely couples to go through their wedding plans before the big day. The day before the wedding I met Henrik and Thea to walk around the venue and to check in with them both. We wandered around the site and they particularly wanted outside input for their ceremony location “Jesse was so helpful in making sure that we had made the right decision” Thea explained “and advised us on how the light would be in different spots around the woodland”.

The couple had a close school friend as their marriage celebrant which was held in the middle of the most gorgeous woodland. They both agreed that the ceremony was the highlight of their day recounting that “it was such a special location and it was just how we wanted it.”   A school friend sang two gorgeous songs during the ceremony and had the guests join in too. It was truly one of the most magical ceremonies that I have ever had the chance to be a part of.  Looking around there was not a dry eye in the house and it was such a magical experience to be around people who were singing with the couple who had chosen the songs that were personal to them.

Thea and her bridesmaids got ready upstairs whilst Henrik and his groomsmen were downstairs. Thea chose a gorgeous dress from French Connection paired with a pair of cute Swedish Hasbeens. Her bridesmaids all chose dresses that they had in their possession already.  Their styles married together perfectly and complemented Thea’s dress choice and the flowers that went with them. There is something really magical about choosing dresses and outfits that people feel truly comfortable in. So often bridesmaids feel that they have to be matching with their dresses. When in actual fact miss-matching your outfits is a great way to make your wedding stand out and also be more eco friendly. You can see from a previous blog post of mine “How To Have a More Eco Friendly Wedding” that choosing your own dress can reduce the impact on the environment.

The reception featured the most gorgeous tasting table with tapas elements and cheese, along with pink gin cocktails. The couples speeches were held outside in the glorious sunshine by the barn on top of an antique old trailer. As the party continued outside with games of KUBB and dancing we snuck away for some portraits. “We were quite nervous about the couples photographs” remarked Thea “but they are some of our favourites and the time we got to spend together just the two of us was a highlight of the day”. We were really spoilt for choice with the location and as soon as the sun was setting we walked back to the woods where they had said ‘I Do’ earlier in the day.

Together as a couple, Henrik and Thea were unconventionally wonderful. As a couple they broke from almost all wedding traditions on their big day right from the very start “we walked down the aisle together hand in hand and in to married life in our own way” Henrik said.  Perhaps this should be the motto for all couples looking to get married. Step into married life in your own way! Listen to your gut and don’t feel bad when you ask others for help. With Henrik and Thea’s wedding as an example, it doesn’t take an individual to organise a wedding – it takes takes a village!

Being part of Thea and Henrik’s Swedish wedding day was nothing other than magical. They are such wonderful people and surround themselves with the most fantastic friends and family. They were kind enough to say some wonderful words about me which still have me blushing as I write them down now!

I honestly can’t recommend Jesse enough. Her wonderful personality, dazzling creativity and incredible professionalism has given us the perfect wedding photos and we couldn’t be happier.

DESTINATION WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY SWEDEN

THANK YOU

For stopping by and looking through these destination wedding photography Sweden photographs 

Here are some of the names of the amazing suppliers that made Thea and Henrik’s day so special:

Venue: Kroksta Gard

Invites: Paperless Post

Flowers: Brides Mother

Cake: The Bride

Catering: Heta Koket

Dress: French Connection

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

Suit: Zara Man

Entertainment: Elliot Rawson

If you have found this blog post by searching ‘destination wedding photography Sweden’ and are looking for some other wedding inspiration abroad, then look no further! Check out Grace and Craig’s Parisian vineyard wedding in France or my blog post all about working with a destination wedding photographer.