There was not a single person in this small wedding party (bordering on an elopement) that didn’t shed a tear during the ceremony. I might have easily been included in that count if I could have afforded teary eyes while shooting.
Why is that? Well, two reasons in my opinion. First off, same-sex marriages have had a rough patch this last few centuries, to put it mildly. So with that kind of background, finally having the freedom to truly pick your soul-mate and be formally united and recognized as husbands must be really huge!
Second factor is definitely the officiant. Aniello is a long time friend of both of our grooms and knows them intimately. He’s really creative and empathetic, so the pages he wrote were superbly crafted to heighten everyone’s emotions to the brink of… well, tears.
To say that he pushed the right buttons would be an understatement, but also kind of unfair since the button-pushing was just a side effect of a beautiful and touching ceremony that culminated in the vows and teary hugs all around.
He instructed them both to pick up the rings, hold them near each other’s ring-fingers and close their eyes. He then went into explaining the importance of this moment and told them that by the time they opened their eyes, they would be husbands. I could have cut the suspense with a knife!
Anyway, all the guys flew in from USA and spent some time sailing down the Adriatic coast from Split, arriving finally to the island of Lokrum (near Dubrovnik) for their elopement.
As they anchored, I was waiting for them on the dock and a quick dinghy transfer away from meeting everyone. The atmosphere was really upbeat and I loved every second of shooting with them.
After the ceremony, we quite literally sailed off into the sunset to the really beautiful ACI marina, up the Ombla river. As darkness descended, I bid farewell to them and left them to explore Dubrovnik and enjoy their dinner overlooking the city walls.
Join me on this touching story below!
