10.04.2008 | Mclellan wedding photos
On one February day I received a message from an American photographer Sean Mclellan, asking if I would be interested in shooting with him and his wife Mel during their visit to Slovenia while travelling around Europe. After seeing their web page and amazing wedding photos, I started organizing for the shoot. My Italian boyfriend Riccardo was willing to take on the role of bridegroom and flew from Rome especially for this occasion while hair stylist Savo Nardin was ready to do our hair.
For the location I chose a small village Štanjel because of its spectacular landscape and romantic beauty. It is situated in the Slovenian region ‘Karst’ and the whole village is built on a hill made of stone. My mother was born and raised there and my grandmother still lives there along with my three uncles and their families.
The shoot was set for the 27th of March. First Riccardo and I went to Nardin’s saloon in Bukovica (just 10 minutes from the border with the Italian city Gorizia), where he took care of our hair, and then we drove together to Štanjel. The weather was not ideal for the shoot, but Sean and Mel weren’t discouraged. I was surprised how young they were, when I first saw them. They are about my age and already successful Wedding Photographers.
After introductions we drove to my aunt’s house to change and warm up a little bit and then started with the shoot not minding the cold and the rain. We tried just about every possible location – from the tower, to famous Ferarri garden, fountain, old, rustic houses, the church, stairs and finally the Štanjel’s castle. At the end we were wet, exhausted and really cold, but truly content with our efforts. It was a great experience working with such amazing and truly talented photographers. I was surprised how relaxed, fun and easy it was to work with them both.
At the end, I invited them over to my grandmother’s who treated us with some homemade prosciutto, freshly baked bread and a local wine called ‘Teran’ which won the championship title in 2005 and for which the family Kobal received the award at the wine fair in Gornja Radgona and Ljubljana.
I would like to thank Savo for accepting my invitation and for being part of the shoot, to Riccardo for patiently posing with me despite the awful weather, to my aunt and my grandmother for their hospitality and to Sean and Mel for their professionalism and creativity which were evident in their fabulous photos.
