Rainy Day Rejoicing, by Lato Photography, [RF Wedding of the Week]

May 25, 2016

By Laura Brauer

Italy-based wedding photographers Laura and Tommy, aka Lato Photography, have been shooting long enough to know that nary a wedding goes off without at least one hitch. In the case of New Zealand couple Kelly and Cole’s wedding, the rain never really let up.

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All Photos © Lato Photography

“We held out hope until the very last minute that it would stop but it didn’t,” Laura explains. “So we accepted that fact and just proceeded to shoot all the bridal party and couple portraits in the downpour.” The husband and wife photo duo say the rain also posed a big challenge for their gear and their clothes, because they were shooting stop-motion plus the still photos. Still, says Laura, “we are very pleased with the results. The light and the mood were perfect at the end.”

destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (30)destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (28)And maybe the rain didn’t matter so much because Laura and Tommy had already been struck from the start by how friendly Kelly and Cole were. “All it took was a Skype call for us all to become familiar and build a good relationship,” says Laura. “They met one year earlier at a wedding and the got engaged after few months.They are very determined people and when they heard we were in New Zealand during the time frame their wedding was planned for, they knew that they wanted us as their wedding photographers. They said they were looking for someone to capture the natural, wild and soft summer in New Zealand and thought we were perfect for them. And when the bride told me about having the wedding in teepee tents, on the bride’s family’s property in Waikite Valley between fields and cows—it was even more exciting. The area is a very special place for the bride.”

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destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (36)destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (39)destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (40)Laura and Tommy also loved that groom Cole wrote his bride a song and sang it at the wedding party. “It was one of the most emotional moments of the day,” they say.destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (41)destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (42)destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (45)destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (44)destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (32)destination-wedding-photographer-new-zealand (31)

“The most memorable thing about this wedding were the people,” Laura and Tommy agree. “Throughout the day everyone was smiling in spite of everything, despite the rain. The bride was stoic for more than an hour under the rain but she didn’t want to give up even one minute for the couple portraits.”

See a stop-motion video from the day here.

GEAR:

Cameras: Canon 5D MARK III, Canon 6D

Lenses: Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4, Canon  50mm f/1.4, Canon 85mm f/1.8, Samyang Tilt-Shift 24mm f/3.5

Lighting: Natural light for daytime and dinner, than a Nissin Flash Di 866 for the dances

 Check out more Weddings of the Week, and email Libby Peterson or Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.