Zeena & James

Wow.
What a trip around the world Zeena & James’ wedding has been.
Italy. Switzerland. England. Australia. The United States. Iraq. I have seen and learned far more from observing the outpour of joy, fête, and togetherness of their traditions than I ever had during thirty+ years of travelling. Nothing makes you grow richer like being exposed to a different culture from yours, and that is even more true when the occasion is … a wedding.
Being lost in my thoughts as I rode on that train along the lake of Zurich, on my way to shoot the civil ceremony. The excited chitchat and mesmerizing dance moves of the all-girl Henna Party that was held at  Caffé San Marco in Trieste, a few days afterwards. The joyful jingle of glasses being held up in the air at the rehearsal cocktail at Hotel Savoia the night before the wedding reception at Yacht Club Adriaco. The extraordinary sense of anticipation in those festivities brought me back to how I felt when guests started arriving in town for my own wedding.
When you have been missing people, family, friends for a long time, and then see them landing in the lovely, remote city you have chosen for your wedding makes you feel like … you’re at the centre of the world. And literally so ! And for me, to be able to relate to what Zeena must have felt as the wedding weekend unfolded made my work all the more special, emotions and memories piling up high while I was shooting.
Photographing an elegant wedding may sound like a beautiful job. And it is, really. Personally though, I have always found it a very daunting prospect. There is no beauty in pictures where there are no eye, heart, knowledge, and message — so to know that clients expect the most from you and to apply all you know in capturing an event where everything is beautiful as it is … that’s when you start questioning your abilities. How much is it me, and how much is it about the details and things …? 
I mean.
Of course I like shooting in a beautiful hotel suite while champagne is flowing …

 
Of course I would have spent the whole night  just shooting Zeena’s bling …

 
Of course the colours of a seaside wedding sort of set it apart from any other …

 
Of course I am proud to be able to say my girls all have fabulous shoes, like her Jimmy Choos …

 
And of course hanging a Jenny Packham wedding dress is always a special feeling …

 
But — that’s not it. That’s not what I really look for when I shoot a wedding.

 

 

 
What I am thankful for is, that I got an opportunity to once again get to know a cool girl who made me feel like a better person because of what I learned from her.

 
What I am thankful for is, I got to meet and work for real people — not just with fine objects and guests in elegant attires.
Real. People. Families. Friends.
People who have a wedding, and have flown thousands of miles to become … one.

 

 

 
What I am thankful for is those eyes. What I am thankful for is that photo I shot calling Zeena from out of the balcony from which I was about to fall over. The glance she gave me and the soul she shows in what is, and forever will be, one of my favourite pictures.
Zeena …………?
Boom.

 

 
And above all. What I am thankful for is that I get to do this job that I love so much. And that I got to do it in the quaint little city where I was born and where I can’t seem to go back often enough. A place I escaped long ago, chasing things that I couldn’t have had, couldn’t have learned, and couldn’t have been had I stayed. Trieste — a gift in itself, has given me the biggest present.
That of doing something that makes you feel useful, and good about yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Zeena and James. {Here we go. The legendary Zetadrama.}
Zeena and James. We said we would meet again — and considering our inclination for flying around the world, we probably will. Bang bang ! you may hear me knocking at your door one day. The door of that beautiful house on the lake, in Switzerland. Banging loudly and excitedly, like we do in Italy.
But even if we never got to see each other again … your wedding pictures are meant to stay, and to be looked at.
So one day, as you leaf through your collection … I’ll likely be around in Trieste.
Maybe I’ll be walking on the banks. The Rive.
No doubt, at some point I’ll stop in my tracks.
For sure I’ll stand still and speechless.
And for just one moment, we will be looking at the same thing.

 
Thank you to the lovely Guido, Giulio, Paola and Anna for introducing me to Zeena & James. My photography is and has always been a family affair — and no one embodies like the four of you do the values to which it is inspired.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to my second shooter Silvia Tacconi. With her good eye and great sensitivity — but also with her patience and support, she was crucial for my job on that day. Brava !!!
The above pictures were captured as part of an event coverage and their publication is restricted to the present website. Though I wish I’d had the time to meet all of the lovely people who attended, I may not be able to contact them all individually in order to request their OK. A proper release will be sent out to whomever may prefer to sign one, just email studio[at]giuliazeta.com with your kind request. Similarly, whoever wishes for their image not to be featured in this blogpost, please email me at giulia[at]giuliazeta.com and I will promptly remove them. Thank you.