SEASON OF LOVE - styled shoot in Rome

The idea to this Styled Shoot was – explained simply – born from my unexplainable curiosity about Rome. A few years ago, when I decided to move back home to Italy from Germany, a plan had formed in my mind. The plan was to come home to my hometown, get everything in order and then to move right down to Rome. Had I ever been to Rome? No. Did I have any family down there? No. Did I know why exactly I wanted to move to Rome? Again, no. I just had this feeling. I had this feeling, that this city was going to be important to me.

As you may know, this plan didn’t quite work out the way I had expected it to. I came back from Germany and as many of you may understand, life just got in the way. My fascination for Rome remained the same throughout this and so did my dream to shoot a wedding there! Fast forward to a year ago, by chance I was scrolling through social media and I came across this one shot. This one shot captured me so much that I messaged the photographer who took it. Turns out, I had just discovered Rita’s account and let me tell you, I was mesmerised by her work. Fast forward to spring of 2021. I decided not to wait for my dream wedding in Rome to just find me- I decided to make it happen myself.

As it happens, a dear friend of mine, Sarah, had spent a semester during her university years in Rome and was still quite fond of the city. So, I asked her, what she thought about going down to Rome and for her and her boyfriend to be models for a styled wedding shoot. Didn’t take much to convince her! With models on board, I contacted Rita again and told her about my idea. She was in straight away, slowly but surely, we secured each puzzle piece to make the Styled Shoot happen – dress, flowers, rings, hair and makeup. Of course, it was Ilaria taking care of the dresses, I mean, I don’t think I’ve met a more luminous person in my life. Day one flowers were prepared by the wonderful Valentina, day two flowers carefully put together by Nora. Both wedding bands and the engagement ring for the bride we got from Giulia and Daniela, jewellery manufacturers a little outside of Rome. Last but not least, our bride was styled by the amazing Arianna, with a beautiful headpiece by Irina.

The Styled Shoot was going to take place on two days, one day would be shot in the historic city centre, the other day on the sandy beaches of Ostia. Sarah, her boyfriend Simon and I went on a roadtrip to get down to Rome on July 17^th. The day after was going to be day one of shooting, in the old town of Rome. After a little weather hiccup (it started pouring right as we wanted to start shooting), we walked our way through the narrow alleys of Rome, from Piazza Navona to Castel Santangelo and ended up in the Orange Gardens after sundown.

The next day we drove down to Ostia in the late afternoon, about a half an hour drive from the centre of Rome. We enjoyed the ocean air for a bit, had an aperetivo, before we geared up, got Sarah changed into gown no. 2 and took full advantage of the sun setting over Ostia. Starting off in the dunes just above the beach, we walked our way down, cruised up and down the oceanfront and had the couple dip their toes into the water as well. The scenery couldn’t have been more perfect, as soon as the moon started rising above our heads and shining its light on all of us.

This project was so close to my heart, seeing it come to life felt incredibly powerful to me. I’m glad I took that leap outside of my comfort zone, the creatives I got to work with have all opened my eyes to more beautiful work and so much creativity out there! I cannot wait to get to work with them again!

TEAM

Day I

concept & photography: @lisavongrebmer.photography

concept: @amorvincitomnia_ph

dress: @ariel_spose

dress designer: @madewithlovebridal

mua: @arianna_saura_mua

florals: @alchimistadeifiori

jewellery: @orfevre_jewels

jewels: @inoroterni

headpiece: @irinakukulesku

lovers: Sarah & @simon_maybloom