I met Nabila last year and she booked me for her religious wedding with Alejandro in Lima. Some time after that I got a phone call and Nabila told me that they decided to have a beautiful civil wedding at Hacienda San Jose in Chincha as well. Luckily I was still available and instantly said yes as I heard a lot about this country estate and wanted to shoot there.  The Hacienda San Jose dates back to the 17th century and was one of the biggest and most prosperous ones in Peru due to their sugar production. The Hacienda San Jose serves now as a hotel and event location and is beautiful backdrop for a wedding (Also see this 3-day-wedding at Hacienda San Jose).

7:30 am I was picked up by Nabila’s driver and we headed south. When we arrived 3hours later some guests were still enjoying the pool, others were getting ready and Nabila was almost done with hair and make up. I met her fiancé Alejandro for the first time there and then as we had no previous Engagement Shoot to this point.

As soon as bride and groom were dressed up we escaped for some couple fotos before the ceremony. Nabila’s champaign colored vintage Wedding Dress was made by Yahel Weisman. When everyone was dressed up and the guests who had not arrived the day before were becoming more numerous we started to take family portraits – lots of them! The family on both sides is huge!

The Civil ceremony ended with some emotional words of Nabila summarizing their time together, their adventures, how they escaped together to travel the entire country without their parents even knowing. The reception was set up in the garden of the Hacienda San Jose with a Peruvian lunch, a bar and a dancefloor for the evening.