Some weddings you photograph. Others you carry with you.
Emilie and Manuel flew in from the United States. They didn't want a ballroom in New York. They wanted Switzerland — the Alps in the background, a medieval castle on the edge of a glacial lake, and a day that felt completely unlike anything their guests had experienced before. They found all of that at Schloss Spiez. And I had the privilege of being there to document it.
From the moment we read their timeline, we knew this day would be something we would not forget. An American couple. A medieval castle above a glacial lake. A New York planner who had flown in to orchestrate every detail. And fifty-one people who had come a very long way to be in the same room.
Getting ready — where the day quietly begins
The Morning at Hotel Eden
We arrived at one o'clock. Emilie was already in her dress by two. The preparation suite at Hotel Eden Spiez is one of those rooms where light comes in softly from the lake side, and everything feels unhurried — even when the timeline is precise to the minute. Linda Musacchio had been working since eight in the morning. The result was exactly what it should be: effortless, not overdone, completely her.
There is a particular kind of quiet that settles in a bride's room in the final thirty minutes before everything begins. We have been in that room hundreds of times. We still find it one of the most powerful places to make images and film — because nothing is performed yet. Everything is still real.
Details — florals by finestdecor
The First Look
The first look was set for 2:10 PM — somewhere between the hotel and the castle, the exact location left open until the morning of the wedding. That kind of flexibility is something only experienced planners can hold with confidence. Amanda Novena, who had flown in from New York, had the entire day inside her head. She knew when to move, when to wait, and when to get out of the way. Watching a planner of that level work is one of the quiet pleasures of this job.
Manuel stood with his back turned. Emilie walked toward him. And then she touched his shoulder.
We have photographed and filmed first looks at dozens of weddings. We are still moved by them. The reason is not the gesture — it is what the gesture releases. Years of anticipation, compressed into a single second. His face turning. Her breath. The space between them collapsing.
She touched his shoulder. He turned. And in that second, everything they had planned for months became real.
The first look — the moment everything became real
The Ceremony at Schloss Spiez
The ceremony began at 3:30 PM in the castle grounds. Fifty-one guests. Officiant Levi Nelson. And a processional that was carefully choreographed — each family member walking in at exactly the right moment, to music that had been chosen with intention.
Emilie entered on her father's arm to Hit Me Where the Heart Is. The guests stood. The castle was silent except for the music and the wind coming off the lake. We were in position — photo and video — but there is always a beat, in those moments, where you simply hold still and let it happen in front of you. Because nothing we could do would improve what was already there.
The ceremony concluded at four o'clock. The aperitif moved to the castle grounds. The lake stretched out behind everyone. In ten years of photographing weddings in Switzerland, I have rarely seen a backdrop so effortlessly complete.
Schloss Spiez — a castle above Lake Thun that needs nothing added
What Made This Day Different
Emilie and Manuel arrived in a country they did not know, at a venue they had never visited in person, with a team assembled across three continents. They had planned everything from abroad — and then let go completely. That level of trust is the rarest thing a client can give you.
It also produces the rarest kind of work. When a couple is not performing for the camera — when they are simply living their day — the images and the film become something else entirely. Not documentation. Evidence. Of how it actually felt.
What we brought to that day: a photographer, a second shooter, and a videographer moving as one team. Sony Alpha cameras. Photo and film created by the same eye, with the same light, in the same moments. No handoff between two separate teams with two separate aesthetics. One consistent visual language, from the first frame of getting ready to the last dance.
The ceremony — Schloss Spiez, June 20, 2026
The Evening at Hotel Eden
The dinner reception moved to the Belle Epoque room at Hotel Eden Spiez. Classical covers during the meal. Speeches from the maid of honor, the best man, the mother of the groom. The father of the bride said a prayer before the first course. There is something about the formality of that — a father asking for a blessing over his daughter's marriage — that I find quietly profound every time.
At nine o'clock, the dance floor opened with Fred Again. The parent dances followed. And then the first dance — Rebirth by Tinlicker — played in full, unhurried, exactly as it was meant to be heard.
We finished at ten — photo and video wrapped, the story told. The party continued until one in the morning and beyond. But everything that mattered was already captured.
Belle Epoque, Hotel Eden Spiez — the evening begins
Emilie and Manuel — thank you. For crossing an ocean. For trusting people you had never met with the most important day of your lives. And for choosing Switzerland.
If you are planning a destination wedding in Switzerland and want photo and film that feel like they belong together — we would love to hear from you.
