A MIDSUMMER FAIRYTALE WEDDING IN CENTRAL SWEDEN
Wedding guests on a pier by the Runn Lake in Central Sweden. Photo: Djuneid Dulloo / Djunivers.
A Midsummer Fairytale:
How getting married in front of your summer cabin is one of the most romantic things ever.
Wedding Photography and Wedding Film Blog by Djuneid Dulloo.
Recently, I was hired for a wedding shoot in central Sweden right at the time of Midsummer, a nordic celebration of summer rooted in folkloric tradition. I traveled with my Kiwi friend, Brodie, the musician for the event, from Berlin, and off we were to Central Sweden towards a small town bordering the Runn Lake. There is something magical about nature that makes it the perfect scene to capture loved ones, and even more so for the culminating celebration of partnership, a wedding. We were both stunned by the incredible natural beauty, the calm, and as we dug into freshly grilled burgers on the deck of Daniela´s parents´ house, could only start to imagine what the next day had in store for us. The beautiful scenery, the fresh air, and the natural light was already coming together to create wonderful and unexpected opportunities for classy content.
A Fairytale Forest and an Altar on the Pier
Ever thought to get married in front of your house? Well, Daniela and Simon did. They had been constructing their cozy summer cabin for the past years, and the wedding marked a symbolic cabin-warming : the altar arose as a giant wreath woven with plant fibres, stems and flowers at the foot of the pier leading to vast stretch of almost still and glassy waters. The composition was set. Daniela and Simon had chosen their hometown location because it held a special meaning for them, and I felt really honoured to have the chance to photograph them in an environment that was so open and yet so intimate.
The Ceremony Day
Around 10:30am I showed up to Daniela´s parents´ house where she was getting ready. The plan was that her mum and her take a walk together through the woods to reach the altar in front of Daniela´s cabin. Not to forget, Daniela´s canine companion also joined the ceremonious walk, and even had to pause on the way for some very important business. As I accompanied them on the half hour walk through the woods, I thought to myself, what a beautiful ritual. It was truly one of the most beautiful and intimate wedding processions I had witnessed, focussing on capturing the generational bond and the cycle of life. Their arrival through the woods onto the pier was nothing short of an extraordinary, chilling moment. Daniela and Simon had actually met a job interview where she was interviewing him, and
Style Choice: Recreating a Filmic Look
From the moment we agreed to work together, Daniela, an art director, provided me with a moodboard of the style of photos she liked:
and with the following comment: “ I love film grain and cooler tones, not a big fan of warm or too saturated images. Flash is great, not always but sometimes. I prefer color over black and white, but I liked that picture you took of the couples kissing. We should also capture the nature that we will be in as it is quite stunning! and of course all our guests, family and friends. We should do some official group shots too, but mainly spontaneous and fun/natural moments :) ”.
So with this in mind, I chose to shoot with Fufjifilm X cameras to capture the stunning nature and the emotions of the couple in a way that felt like it could be stills from a movie. To mimic the filmic grain of photos while shooting digital, I chose to shoot with 2 Fujifilm cameras: photographing with the Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujifilm X-S10 which I used to capture more of the video content. For some romantic vibe, I used the natural light with the help of a diffusion filter to create a soft glow. I also used techniques such as shooting through branches and leaves to add depth to the images, and of course had fun flying the drone to fish for some aerial perspectives. The other half of the work though was really done in post production, where in Lightroom I developed my own preset/look/filter to come closer to the film stock aesthetic that the client liked.
Capturing Daniela and Simon´s wedding by the lake in the forest of Dalvik, Sweden was a truly magical experience. The location provided the perfect backdrop for a cinematic photoshoot, and the results were stunning. The forest and lake provided the perfect backdrop for the couple, and the digital film stock I crafted added an extra layer of romance to the images. The combination of natural and artificial lighting created a warm, dreamy feel that perfectly captured the emotions of the couple. The final images looked like stills from a movie, and the couple was thrilled with the results. I also offered them polaroid stills as part of their wedding package, as these analogue instant snapshots conveyed a special and tangible reminder of moments from this special day. I highly recommend considering a natural location for your photoshoot if you can. The results are truly breathtaking.
Get Hitched!
Fine Art Photography and Wedding Love Films by Djunivers
The Wedding Film & Highlight Video 🎥
On this Wedding, a video was actually not planned, but I thought, let´s see how it would be to capture some short clips and make a little surprise for the bride and groom. Considering I was focused on shooting photos for this event, I´m quite pleased with the result. However much of the work was done in in the editing room, which is the place where the story is really pieced together like a quilt.
Netflix Style Motion Graphics Intro
The Documentary Wedding Film varies in length ( 20- 40 min) and for this project I designed some personal Motion Graphics in Apple Motion and After Effects to introduce the bride and groom in the film. The documentary wedding film´s intro used the theme song from ´The Office´ series as it was the couple´s favorite. In the Highlight Video above you can see an abbreviated version of this intro as the Documentary Wedding Film is private but viewable for potential clients on request.
Questions and answers from a questionnaire published in a surprise gift to the couple by their family, formed the basis of this animation which became part of the intro.
What would your film look like?
Coming from a painting and fine art background as well, collage is a favourite technique of mine, as it is the art of piecing different elements together to create harmony. This is a style that I most often use in my video and film work. Collage can be as street-arty as can be, but can also be extremely classy and luxurious. In any case, this is a stylistic path I am leaning more towards to these days, and I invite you to follow my work and let me know what you think!