A beautiful wedding in Sintra... which I will remember for the rest of my life. When Ana first wrote to me asking if I photographed weddings, my honest first instinct was to say "sorry, no." I had this idea in my head that wedding photography left no room for creativity — that it was exhausting, repetitive, and a little bit dull. I was right about the exhausting part. By the time I finally sat down in the car at the end of that long September day, I barely had the energy to drive. My back hurt, my shoulder hurt, and my elbow and knee were bruised from a rather unglamorous fall outside the church. But the rest of it? I couldn't have been more wrong.
Ana and Angelo got married in September in Sintra — at the beautiful Igreja de São Martinho, right in the heart of the historic centre. I had never shot a wedding before. I told Ana this upfront when we met over Google Meet. She told me what she wanted; I shared my ideas and vision. We clicked. Even so, I spent the weeks leading up to the wedding half-convinced she'd change her mind, and then half-convinced I'd mess it up. I didn't. This is the story of that day — the preparations, the ceremony, the cobblestones, the fall, the rooftop sunset, and everything in between.
the morning: getting ready
I met Ana at the hotel nearby, where she was finishing her preparations. We didn't have a huge amount of time for the getting-ready shots, but honestly? Some of my favourite photos from the entire day came from that room. Ana had her grey hair decorated with the most beautiful blue flowers, and there's one frame in particular — her holding a flower close to her face, looking straight into the camera with this calm, serious expression — that I keep coming back to. The colours, the light, the space in the room that somehow looked much more expansive in photos than it felt in real life. It just worked.
I love bride's morning photos for this reason. There's an intimacy and a stillness to them that you don't really get at any other point in the day. Everything after this is motion and noise and emotion. But in that hotel room, it's just quiet anticipation.
the ceremony at Igreja de São Martinho
The church is gorgeous — small, tucked into the historic centre of Sintra, full of character. Angelo is Italian, and Ana is Portuguese, so the ceremony was conducted in Portuguese with some translation for the groom. There's something quietly beautiful about that — two people from different countries, different languages, getting married in one of the most fairytale towns in Europe.
I won't lie to you: the light inside churches is usually terrible for photography. This one was no exception during the ceremony. But afterwards, when Ana and Angelo went to a small back room to sign the documents, the light there was actually lovely and I got some really nice quiet frames of that moment.
And then they walked out of the church. This is where I fell.
I was walking backwards to photograph them as they came towards me, and I didn't notice one of those small low stone borders they put around the base of trees — maybe 10–15 cm high. Down I went. Bruised elbow, bruised knee, slightly bruised ego. They were very gracious about it and pretended not to notice, which is exactly what you want from your clients in that situation.
exploring Sintra: couple portraits after the wedding in Sintra
After the family photos outside the church, the guests headed to the restaurant for cocktail hour, and I took Ana and Angelo for a walk around Sintra. We didn't go too far, but we made the most of what was nearby. Ana had one very specific request: she wanted a photo with Castelo dos Mouros in the background. The castle ends up quite small in the frame, but it was important to her, and I love that. You could tell she genuinely loves that place.
We also did portraits by the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, which is just an incredible backdrop — those distinctive twin chimneys, the architecture, the whole atmosphere of the place. Sintra has this quality where everywhere you look, there's something worth photographing.
One thing I always recommend to couples: if you're comfortable seeing each other before the ceremony, consider doing your portraits before rather than after. That way your guests aren't waiting around for an hour or two during cocktail hour, you're not rushing, and the light is often better earlier in the day. Ana and Angelo were lovely to photograph, but we were conscious of getting back to their guests, so we moved at quite a pace.
rooftop sunset (and the dancing)
After dinner, I had a feeling the rooftop of the restaurant, Central Palace Hotel, might be worth something, so I brought Ana and Angelo up for a few more portraits at sunset. There were clouds, which I was slightly nervous about, but the colours that came through were stunning. Not a lot of frames — but the ones I got, I genuinely love. The kind of photos where the light does most of the work and you just try not to get in the way.
I stayed a little longer than planned at the end of the night to catch some of the dancing. The dancing photos have their own energy — people in motion, genuinely having fun. That always translates, regardless of anything else.
By the time I got into the car to drive home, I was exhausted in a way I hadn't quite experienced before. Everything hurt. But it was that good kind of tired — the kind that comes from doing something that actually mattered. My first wedding, and I already knew I wanted to do more.
thinking about your wedding in sintra?
If you're planning a wedding in Sintra (or anywhere in Portugal) and you want photos that tell the real story of your day, not just the posed moments but the in-between ones, the quiet ones, the chaotic ones, I'd love to hear from you. I work best with couples who want a photographer that feels like part of the day rather than a stranger with a camera.
Get in touch and let's talk about your day.
