Beautiful Belgium Wedding – Part 5 – ROCK the Dress!

One of my favorite  add-on’s to any wedding package is the Rock The Dress Session! It usually goes without saying that the bride has spent a significant amount of time (and money) on getting THE perfect dress. THE one she has dreamed of for years. It’s a shame to only wear it once.  During the Rock The Dress session – we go out for the afternoon and the bride and groom get to be super models for the day.  This is the perfect opportunity to get some amazing wedding portraits created that would have otherwise been impossible if we were limited to only photographing the day of the wedding.

Since the wedding lasted until 5 in the morning, we opted to schedule Marija and Nico’s Rock the Dress session a couple of days after the wedding. Because, let’s be real – We alllllll needed to recover a little from that extravaganza!

There were SO MANY breathtaking locations in Ghent to choose from. I aaaaalmost didn’t know where to start.
(just kidding – the second I set foot in that town I was already planning out this session – *giggle*)

We started off fairly close to their hotel. Which – just happened to be – smack dab in the center of this photographers wonderland!

If you’ve been following along with this week’s post – you know that I love, Love, LOVE unique doors.

When I first arrived in Ghent, my travel buddies stayed at the hotel to sleep off their jet-lag. I got a teensy tiny peek of what the center of town looked like from the cab ride in, and I just couldn’t sleep thinking about all the insanely gorgeous places that were just outside my hotel walls. I walked around and in my head, I made a list of places I wanted come back to during our Rock The Dress Session.

*Side Note*
There was one place on my list that I knew I would wanted to photograph but, at the time, I didn’t know why. It was this small, triangle shaped, hidden alcove nestled in between a bridge, the river and a cathedral. Is was kinda tucked back, were I was guessing that not a lot of people have been. It probably wasn’t anything anyone else would have looked at and thought was special – but I loved it.

It was only after I spoke to one of the bride’s friends that I learned that the DJ accidentally played the wrong song for their first dance. I found out what the correct song should have been and downloaded it to my phone. I felt terrible that they didn’t get to dance to “their” song at their wedding, and wanted to ‘recreate’ that moment for them. I was trying to think of a way to do it. THEN it hit me! MY ALCOVE! That’s where they can have their official first dance!

We ‘casually’ strolled towards the bridge… and grabbed a few shot along the way…

Dang you two! WORK IT!

   Then we got to “The Spot”. I posed them for a few more shots while Sadi got the song ready on my phone.

Then, on my cue – she started their song. The reaction was immediate, genuine, and one I won’t soon forget (I hope they don’t either).

  

It was pretty cool at the time of the session. We headed back to their hotel to get a cup of coffee to warm up a bit – and of course – I had to grab just a couple more shots.

 

After we warmed up a bit – we continued our stroll around town. It was a Monday morning and apparently a bride and groom are not a typical sight…

This gentleman was my favorite. He stopped. And stared. And watched them pass by like he just couldn’t believe his eyes.

We went to visit their lock.

Then it got serious…

Then….  not so serious.

We REALLY wanted to get some shots inside the grounds of Gaversteen Castle but weren’t sure we’d be able too. Nico, with his James Bond-ness, strolled up to the ticket booth and asked if we could pop in to ‘just take a few photos’. Not only did we get a yes, but – we didn’t have to pay to get in! High-Five Nico!

On the way up to the top of the castle – we walked up these awesome spiral staircases.

It was just begging for off camera flash.

When we got to the top – I wanted to get a shot of them with the city in the background.
Now, you may or may not have noticed that Marija and Nico are approximately 90 feet tall. I – on the other hand, am juuuuust scrapping the 5 foot mark. So to get the shot I wanted – I needed to get creative. The option I chose was much better than the option I was considering which was straddling that very old and not so stable re-bar handrail. Thankfully – the telescope stand was sufficient to get the image I had in mind.

Which was this…

And just a couple more to finish off their Rock The Dress Session.

 
Thanks again for reading and looking through the images. I hope you could tell it was an absolutely amazing experience. One that I would love to do again with other fabulous couples.
Much love and appreciation to you Marija and Nico for selecting me to be your photographer.
I wish you nothing but endless love and happiness together.
XOXO Nicki