Nike & Braum in Rotterdam
I met Nika and Braum during my semester abroad in Rotterdam. At that time I took their portrait photos for LinkedIn and we also took some couple photos around the old Rotterdam harbour. At the end of the shoot, Nika joked that they enjoyed it so much that I might even shoot their wedding some day.
And about half a year later, when I was back in Prague in the spring of 2021 in the coronavirus lockdown, Nika wrote to me asking if I would photograph their wedding, since they had just gotten engaged. And even though I was no longer living in Rotterdam, I planned a trip and actually went to Holland to photograph their wedding.
As the coronavirus situation in Holland was still rather uncertain in the autumn, the wedding was only intimate with a few of the closest people at the Rotterdam Rauthaus, the local town hall. I didn't understand the ceremony as it was in Dutch. But I wasn't the only one - even Nika herself doesn't speak Dutch, as she is from Ukraine and came to Rotterdam for an engineering position in a multinational company.
The main part of the portraits were taken in the surroundings of Nika and Braum's house - the scenario consisted of a park with bike paths, small houses and of course a modern Dutch bridge. After the ceremony, we had a short photo shoot with the guests at the town hall, as a storm was raging outside in true Dutch spirit. However, after moving to the restaurant where the reception was taking place, we had the unique opportunity of a rainbow over the river. The second part of the couple's photo shoot was subsequently held around the restaurant.
