On a recent trip to Germany, which was part holiday and part music photography (see www.krisgruber.com/blog for a rundown of my music activities) I had the opportunity to go to a wedding.
Whilst, obviously, I go to a lot (!!) in the UK, I haven’t been to one in Germany for years so I was interested to see what the differences were.
The first thing that struck me was that the ceremony room in the registry office was very nicely decorated, in stark contrast to the majority in this country.
Table decoration in the registry office
I already knew that it not customary for couples to have a wedding photographer at the ceremony, so the obvious care with which the room had been laid out was a surprise. The usual routine there is for the couple to book an appointment at a studio, between the registry office formalities and the church service if there is going to be one, although there is an increasing trend towards outdoor location photos.
I was also surprised to see that the act of signing the register was not only allowed but actively encouraged – there was no dummy register for posed photos after the event.
Signing the register
The registry office in this case, in a small town called Bunde, was in a charming half timbered building next to a river, which provided some good photo opportunities after the ceremony.
All in all an interesting experience; wedding photography in Germany strikes me as a much easier proposition than here, particularly as the photographer has so much more control over the location, lighting and people than would be the case here. On the other hand, it’s the challenges that make the job so much more interesting!
Anja and Andreas, the happy couple
