2019 was a very sweet year for me. It wasn’t easy, but nothing ever is. Good things require work, dedication, focus, and some sacrifice. I’ve been planting my seeds over the years and now some of them started to bloom!
Last year was filled with wonderful weddings, many of them intimate (as I like), with a lot of elopements (which I love even more) and many foreign couples who came to Portugal to celebrate their Destination Wedding. I photographed four same-sex weddings (I’m so proud that my country gives us the freedom to fall in love and marry whomever we want) and I attended ceremonies from very different cultures: Hindu weddings, Israeli weddings, Indian weddings, Muslim weddings and, of course, many symbolic ceremonies. I photographed in mountains, lakes, and islands. I did nature weddings, beach weddings, weddings in Lisbon, weddings in palaces, weddings in vineyards, weddings in the best hotels in Portugal, weddings in the Douro, weddings in Alentejo and weddings in Algarve.
2019 started with an elopement in the Azores. It couldn’t have started any better. I stayed a few days in São Miguel – yeah! -, at a time when a storm was on the way. It rained hard every day, except for the elopement! I’m always so lucky with the weather on wedding days. If you want a wedding without rain, just hire me ahahah (just kidding).
I was published in the magazine Cristina Casamentos, with an editorial in the Azulejo (Tile) Museum and I also appeared in Wedding Chicks, with a wedding I did in 2018 in Japan.
I experienced new places like Sublime Comporta, L’and Vineyards, and Quinta da Comporta. But I also went back to venues where I was very happy: the Marqueses da Fronteira Palace, São Lourenço do Barrocal, Quinta de Sant’Ana, Pestana Palace Lisboa, The Quinta – My Vintage Wedding, Penha Longa, Forte da Cruz, Areias do Seixo and a few more wonderful places which we don’t lack here in Portugal.
In 2019 I laughed, cried and hugged my “little brides”. I solved some last-minute problems and I even end up seeing some naked guests (I have proof!). I photographed an elopement at Praia da Ursa organized just a week before! It’s a little crazy, but I’m starting to like this idea of worrying for just a week, instead of a whole year. I also photographed an elopement at the heart of my city. We took a tour of Lisbon, with everything we are entitled to: Alfama, ginjinha, a bouquet from the florist with the most beautiful window in Lisbon (“Pequeno Jardim”), seeing the famous yellow trams, traveling in a cacilheiro and a ceremony to the sound of the Beatles, with the best view of Lisbon. I photographed a same-sex wedding at my favorite hotel in Portugal, São Lourenço do Barrocal – I want to get married there! – where I took one of my favorite photos of the year: the two grooms with a double rainbow! I was lucky enough to finish the year in one of the most incredible hotels in Portugal: Sublime Comporta. If 2019 had a good beginning it couldn’t have had a better ending!
This best-of wouldn’t be possible without these extraordinary couples and their unforgettable families and friends. I was lucky to have been chosen to be the photographer for their weddings and to be able to call some of them friends. A connection that goes beyond work. Another crucial group for this excellent 2019 where the vendors who accompanied me and made my work shine.
Thank you very much grooms, wedding planners, venues and hotels, videographers, makeup artists, hairdressers, flower designers, bride and groom designers, cake designers, DJ’s, catering and all other vendors.
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