A photograph from Carolin and Oliver’s wedding I photographed at Plazzo Publicco, in the heart of Siena’s Campo in Tuscany, Italy won 4th Place in Q3 WPJA contest!

Carolin’s father reaches down to ensure each fold was perfect before she walked down the isle, you can see more from Carolin and Oliver’s wedding here.

Villa Catignano, Tuscany Italy-   Really?  Phil had to demonstrate the qualities of Romance, Humor, Security, Strength and Intelligence before the bridesmaids would allow him inside the villa to take his love to be married.  The tradition stems back to ancient Chinese traditions during times when arranged marriages were common place.  Games, which are still often times played at Chinese weddings, were meant to be ice-breakers to introduce the families and couples who may have been meeting each other for the first time.  Now these traditions are woven into modern celebrations and they certainly added a distinctive flare to Phil and Jennifer’s wedding in the Italian countryside.   Perhaps their inclusion served a similar purpose in providing fun and excitement to the onlooking guests whom traveled from Phil’s native Switzerland and Jennifer’s native New York and Minnesota.  (The full post on Phil and Jennifer’s wedding can be seen here.)

See how Phil fared in his quest to demonstrate his qualities to win over his Love below.

Guests gather around the entrance to the Villa as Phil arrives to be blocked at the entrance by the bridesmaids.  Jennifer, in the suite above looks down from the window to witness and approve/disapprove of Phil’s gestures.

Phil knocks on the door of the Villa to gain access.  The door is market with traditional Chinese characters signifying double happiness.

Phil presents envelopes of cash to the bridesmaid to prove his worth and security.  Here the bridesmaid rejects what she thinks is not enough and more envelopes are passed.

Phil dresses in foolish garb to demonstrate his humor and the groomsmen join in…more unwillingly!

When it came to demonstrate the quality of strength, the bridesmaids asked Phil to do 99 pushups, which were divided among the groomsmen.

The 99 pushups not being enough, Phil is asked to carry all the groomsmen to show his strength.  (This image placed in the most recent WPJA contest!)

Phil expresses his love by writing “I Love You Jen” on pink balloons with the marker in his mouth.

After much bargaining, a lighter wallet, stressed muscles and perhaps a bit of a bruised ego, Phil is allowed to pass to claim his love.

Guests traveled from around the world to the Tuscan hill top wedding of Jennifer and Phil.  They chose this particular Villa for its rustic charm and proximity to both Florence (Firenze) and Siena.  Light rain and sunshine doted the day (which is typical weather for the summer in Tuscany) but did not put a damper on their special day.  Phil had painstakingly restored a vintage Vespa to be their only mode of transportation on their honeymoon in the Italian countryside.  Their luggage included only what they could fit on the Vespa and they had no reservations!    Stay tuned for next weeks post on what Phil had to do to convince the bridesmaids to allow him to take Jennifer away, until then please check out the WPJA award winning image of the series.

I picked up a copy of the Winter 2012 special New York Weddings magazine to read about Dana and Rahul’s choreographed dance featuring a photograph I took of their wedding on Ellis Island.  I was also honored to be included in the editors choice list of photography vendors in the magazine.