The Gift
This photoshoot was a gift from a groom-to-be for his beloved bride-to-be a ballet dancer. He asked to organize a surprise for his fiancé: A photoshoot of her dancing in a stunning Galia Lahav House of Couture wedding dress around the beautiful streets of Venice, Italy. The best part of the day? Seeing the happiness coming from the bride-to-be!
But let’s start from the beginning, He wanted to do something to make her fiancée swoon, he wanted to give her beloved a memory that would last a lifetime. A memory to share with the generations to come.
I thought it was all about photography so I asked the wedding photographer Paolo Berzacola to achieve a personal way to express his concept of beauty and lightness, in a very different way, I explained him we had the privilege to make a dream come true for this couple. That is all about our job is, to make a dream come true.
The novella by the German author Thomas Mann and the Luchino Visconti movie inspired the photographer Paolo Berzacola; Brides to expose opposite contrasting sides of our souls, ballet dancers were just perfect to give the feeling of lightness and grace.
Was it enough? The idea we all agree it was great, but I thought we were missing something, what would make a difference? We were setting up this Venice surprise shooting for a ballet dancer, who was also a bride-to-be soon.
I knew it, a magnificent wedding gown, a dream-dress that could frame the flying movement of a dancer.
I asked to Galia Lahav one of the most famous and sought-after bridal and evening couture designer for the dresses. Her courtesy (all her team) went far beyond my expectations, few days later we received the wedding and evening gowns, cascading silk tulle skirts, precious Italian lace.
The bride-to-be was moved to tears when she saw the dress, she could not believe it, she was about to has the photos of her taken dancing in Venice streets wearing a masterpiece.
Around the corner another little surprise was waiting for our bride-to-be, her closest friend accepted to be an “accessory” in this crime "a Venice surprise shooting" for her friend; in a stunnig black velvet, silk and tulle Galia Lahav evening gown she was ready to dance acting like her inner soul in a choreography they both knew very well.
The Mood: In the beginning the two dancers did not meet each other. We started shooting at Palazzo Ducale, few minutes before dawn, in a chilly misty morning with the dancer wearing the black dress in the colonnade, figuratively imprisoned by her own overconfidence.
At dawn, near water, our bride-to-be bride moves in the light and free from restrictions.
They are different, they need to find one other and at the same time they repel each other which it leads fatally to merge and born anew.
We shooted in the most iconic and hidden places of Venice, separately; only at the end of shooting they meet on top of one of the Venice’s bridges.
Our dark side will be acknowledged, exposed, embraced finally finding the right balance.
Credits:
Thanks to all of you dear friends and visitors, for joining me in the streets of Venice for this swoon-worthy shooting ... I am still touched by all the emotions of the day.
Marcella Lavarini
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