Pedro and Yi were married at Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal, in July. They live in San Francisco, Pedro is Portuguese, and they had a second home near Cascais, so the wedding was always going to be here. I flew out from London for it, as I do for every destination wedding.
The headline detail is the mist. The morning was clear and hot without a cloud in the sky, and then, as the ceremony started on the terrace, the cloud rolled up the hill from the coast and sat below the palace. For the portraits afterwards the couple were standing above it. You cannot plan that. You can only be there with the camera ready.
Getting ready near Cascais
Yi got ready at their villa, a glass box on a hill above the Atlantic about forty minutes from Lisbon. The villa is rented out to holidaymakers most of the year, which tells you what the view is like. Her bridesmaids were in and out of the hair and make-up chairs, and their twin boys were being kept busy by the nanny.
With a house like this I keep the preparations simple. Dress in the window, shoes on the deck, make-up by the big glass doors where the light is soft and even. Then one portrait on the roof terrace with the ocean behind, before the dress gets anywhere near a car.
The drive up to Pena Palace
Yi went to the palace in a black 1940s Citroën. I followed it through the countryside to Sintra and then up the steep, winding road through the forest to the palace itself, which gave me the car on the road with the trees closing in overhead. If you are marrying at Pena Palace, this road is worth a photograph. Ask your driver to go slowly for the last few bends.
Pena Palace is a mix of yellow, red and grey, with arches, towers and tiled courtyards. Before the ceremony I walked Yi and her bridesmaids through the white cloister and the yellow and red courtyards. The colours are strong, so a white dress and an orange and purple bouquet stand out without any effort from me.
The ceremony on the terrace
The ceremony was outdoors on the terrace with the towers of the palace behind the guests. Pedro was waiting at the front while people found their seats. The light at that time of day, late afternoon in July, was still bright, which is where the mist helped. It softened everything.
If you are planning a July wedding here, a ceremony at five or later gives you better light for the vows and leaves the last hour before sunset for the portraits. Pedro and Yi had it about right.
Portraits above the clouds
After the ceremony we had a short while on the curved balconies on the outside of the palace with the cloud below and the sun going down behind it. These are the photographs from the day that people remember, and they did not take long. A short walk from the terrace, a few frames, and back to the guests for champagne.
Champagne, dinner and flamenco
The champagne reception was on the terrace with live music and canapés, then everyone went inside for the wedding breakfast and speeches in the vaulted dining room. The tables were simple: white linen, orange flowers, a seating plan on an easel at the door.
After dinner there was flamenco, which I had not expected in Portugal and which went down very well, then the cake, the first dance and more live music to finish the night.
Pedro and Yi
Congratulations to you both, and thank you for flying me out. A clear sky, a palace, a 1940s Citroën and a cloud that turned up at exactly the right moment. I still use the balcony photograph on the front of my destination page, which tells you how I feel about the day.
Getting married at Pena Palace?
I photograph destination weddings from London, with one collection for every destination (£3,995 for eight hours), travel at cost and your gallery within a week. The palace is about forty minutes from Lisbon and takes weddings on its terraces and in the dining rooms. Send me your date and I will tell you straight away whether I am free.
Related: pre-wedding shoots abroad, what destination wedding photography costs and London wedding photography prices.
More weddings abroad
If you are getting married abroad, the destination wedding photographer page has prices, how it works and the places I have photographed.
Jayssen & KarunaA garden ceremony at Villa Eva and portraits on the Terrace of Infinity.
Rose & HenryA church in the old town, a horse and carriage, and fireworks over Lake Maggiore.
Holly & HammadTwo days at a château an hour south of Paris, ending with fireworks.
Layla & RichardThe Plaza, a first look in Central Park and a black-tie wedding on East 91st Street.
