Wedding album that took a year to shoot... and ended with ‘I do’
FILLING a wedding album with happy memories can account for a hefty slice of the time and money spent on most couples’ big day.
But Niels and Agne Vollaard went to extraordinary lengths to make theirs perfect, with snaps taken around the world over the course of a year.
And, when they finally walked down the aisle in their home city of Edinburgh last month, they didn’t need a photographer – because the album was complete.
Taking their wedding outfits with them, they jetted off to countries including Iceland, Italy, Spain and the Seychelles, to capture 21 breathtaking images. The couple arranged all the trips in secret without telling family or friends
Mr Vollaard, 42, said: ‘My favourite photo is probably the one taken on the beach at sunrise in the Seychelles.
‘Most of the photos were taken very early in the morning, when it was very cold, so it was quite difficult for Agne. We had a three-day hike in the Dolomites, with all our wedding gear in our rucksacks, and we only managed to get one photo there.’
Mr Vollaard and wife Agne, 36, a PHD psychology student at Edinburgh University, met eight years ago at a climbing wall in Edinburgh.
‘We both enjoy climbing,’ he explained. ‘We wanted to get marphotoshoot ried at the top of the Inaccessible Pinnacle, the most challenging mountain top in the Isle of Skye.
‘It’s an amazing location – but you have to confirm your wedding date at least 28 days in advance, and it would have been impossible to predict what the weather would be like. So we thought, why do we need to take our wedding pictures on our actual wedding day?’
They began the jet-setting in May 2016, after only three months of planning.
‘We had been talking about getting married for a while, but I never really officially proposed. It was more like we had the shared idea of taking our wedding photos in different countries,’ said Mr Vollaard.
They took almost all of the photos themselves, using a drone to capture many of the stunning shots.
But Mr Vollaard, a lecturer in Exercise Physiology at the University of Stirling, said the year-long wedding photoshoot was not without its complications: ‘Not all of the photos we were hoping to get worked out.
‘We only managed to get one photo in the Dolomites, after a three-day hike carrying all our wedding gear, because we got caught in a thunderstorm for about three hours.
‘The route uses iron cable to help you get around, so it was quite risky in the storm. Luckily we managed to keep dry because there was a bit of overhang.
‘The photo of us in the rowing boat in front of the castle was actually taken one morning when it was zero degrees, and we had rowed ten kilometres to get there.
‘We had been waiting for days to get that photo because we had to make sure there was no wind and the loch was completely still.’
He added: ‘Every photo has a story attached to it as well as the stories about photos we didn’t manage to get. That’s what makes the pictures so special.’
The couple ‘eloped’ last month, with a register office wedding in Edinburgh in the presence of two close friends. And after wearing their wedding outfits around the world, they dispensed with them for the actual event – Mr Vollaard got married wearing jeans.
‘Hike with wedding gear in rucksacks’