Violetta . Igor – A Heartfelt Russian Wedding

Recently, I shot a wedding that I truly enjoyed and I couldn’t wait to share it with all of you! The day after the wedding, I quickly backed up and edited the pictures so I could share it with you all. Since I loved this set of photos so much, I decided to talk about it in two separate posts to share as much as I can with you all.

Interestingly, Violetta and Igor are from Russia but decided to have their ceremony in Hong Kong. The reason they chose Hong Kong is because they actually live in Auckland, New Zealand, and their families live in Russia. Hong Kong therefore became their choice as it serves as a middle point between the two countries, with its traditional oriental culture, beautiful locations and renowned service. I’ve actually never met the couple in person before the wedding day and had only been contacting them through email, but the wedding day still went as smooth as we expected!

I really enjoyed shooting this wedding not only because they were a beautiful couple, but because I adopted the photojournalism approach that I’ve always used and enjoyed. I took many pictures of the bride herself because I believe that the wedding is not only about the couple being together, but the stories behind it. A picture does speak a thousand words, and the photojournalism approach really helps to express these hidden stories through visuals so that the viewer can relive the moments through their own eyes.

This lovely day was filled with many touching and interesting stories, which I will share with you guys through the captions in the pictures below. Enjoy!

This picture was taken when the bride was ready to go to the Wedding Registry with her family, and she is saying goodbye to her mother. One of the difficulties of being a wedding photography is that you have to always be ready to press the shutter at unexpected times because there are moments that you have to quickly capture before it’s gone, and I’m happy that I captured this beautiful moment!

Apart from bringing out the bride’s beauty, this picture also fully captures her anticipation at the moment to see her fiance and future husband. Can you guess which famous person she looks like in this picture? Doesn’t she look like the beautiful Princess Diana here?

The couple look really happy because of a funny incident. The groom wrongly put on the ring on the bride’s right hand, when normally the ring is worn on the left!

This picture is definitely one of my favourites from this wedding! Some pictures touch your heart not only because they are just simply beautiful, but because it captures the happiness of the couple and the guests as well as the atmosphere of this special moment. Moments like these only happen once and are nearly impossible to create and repeat.

An interesting and beautiful part of their wedding is where they set some balloons free at Hong Kong Park. This picture really captures the excitement and happiness of this beautiful moment!

The reason why these newlyweds decided to have their ceremony at the wedding registry instead of having a celebrant is because of their tradition where couples have to exchange vows and have their marriage witnessed at the registry. Afterwards, Violetta and Igor had a relaxing cocktail reception at a restaurant in Hong Kong Park. Sometimes, it is not important to have complex and fancy run-downs throughout the day as long as you celebrate this lovely occasion with all your close family and friends.

Although Violetta and Igor’s wedding ceremony was relatively simple where they went to wedding registry at Cotton Tree Drive, Admiralty, we were still able to take beautiful pictures that felt different at this place we are all so familiar with. I truly believe that there is no need for luxurious, fancy locations to capture heart-touching pictures!