Sebastian & Ute, Stuttgart, Germany

I know what you’re thinking: Did I really shoot a wedding in Germany, and how in the world did they find me? It okay! I was just as surprised as everyone else was when I got the first email. 🙂 Quick answers are yes and Instagram, but really, it’s lot more detailed than that. My brother-in-law moved to Germany in late 2015 to be with his wife, who is from there originally. Born and raised near Cologne, she opted for a foreign exchange program her last year of high school. Believe it or not, that program landed her in Talequah, Oklahoma, where Jeff (my brother-in-law) was attending Northeastern State University. They met, dated, fell in love, and seven years later married. It was always her dream to one day return to her home, hoping Jeff would be willing. He embraced it wholeheartedly. After a year of living in Cologne, and spending so much time with Sebastian and Ute (pronounced oo-tah), Sebastian confided that he planned to propose to Ute. She squealed a loving “YES!!!”, and the wedding planning began. The biggest hurdle they faced was finding a local photographer whose style they not only appreciated, but also loved. After many, many meetings with many, many photographers, Jeff told them that I, his brother-in-law, was a professional photographer in the U.S. They found my Instagram, and loved my images. I received a message from them asking if I’d be willing to travel to shoot a wedding, and when they told me the location, I knew I had to find a way to make it work. Ute’s uncle owned a small hotel, and they offered me as many rooms there as I needed, free of charge. My plane ticket was paid for, and we negotiated a price we both felt fair. I flew out with my entire family, making an historical vacation out of it, and toured many parts of Europe. We found ourselves in Stuttgart, Germany, the day before the wedding, and met the bride and groom. I brought forty rolls of film with me, and shot the majority of their wedding with Portra 400 color film, and Ilford black and white. They were beyond thrilled with the results, as was I, and I hope you love the images as much as they did. Thanks for looking! (For some context, it is customary in German tradition to play many games. One included “The Dating Game”, several more included skits. According to German tradition, the couple must confirm to the wedding guests that they can and will work together as a couple, and must demonstrate this by sawing a block of wood in half. If left incomplete, in the olden days, it was the decision of the guests to nullify the marriage or not.)