Lake Como Photoshoot

So, you're diving into the wonderful world of wedding planning, and you want your pre-wedding shoot to be nothing short of magical? As a wedding planner who has been involved in so many Luxury Black wedding shoots, I knew for myself I had to experience something I hadn’t for my clients.

Let's Get Started: How I planned the shoot

Alright, so prewedding shoots – they're like a sneak peek into the fairy tale before the big day. Our shoot was actually what would have been our elopement- Yep, as a Luxury Wedding planner, I was planning to elope!

Picking Picture-Perfect Spots

Lake Como was somewhere we reached by accident and only when I read an instalment of “Dear Future Husband” did I realise that I had written about this in 2019. Our Photographer Jessica was travelling from Nigeria and would be in Italy, so I thought, why not meet her there.

We decided on the idyllic venue Villa Del Balbianello and wow! It is actually stunning. The grounds are gorgeous but the staff is a little rude.

What I remember from the venue is the rude way they ushered us out because they had another wedding (I get it time is up but there is a way to speak to people)

As a backdrop for pictures

PERFECT

STYLE AND SUBSTANCE: Choosing the looks

Now, let's talk style. One of my main aims is for Black weddings to be synonymous with Luxury and elegance. I wanted to wear something dramatic and very different to my everyday style. When doing a shoot you need to think about where the pictures will end up. For me, I wanted them for our home and for them to set the tone for our black tie wedding in London.

Nate wore his late father’s suit and couldn’t have looked any more dapper. We had two looks with our photographer so one was a long dramatic tulle dress and the other the most beautiful white mini dress and pearl veil and shoes. I was thinking, Pinterest inspo meets a little black girl who will see this and just dream.

Things I have learnt

Even though I have done many shoots, this one taught me so much. Firstly, when planning a shoot abroad, be sure to add the costs to the wedding budget. When I started adding up the hotel, transport and surprise fee of the venue licence, I realised that the pre-wedding was a significant investment.

I had to do my own hair and make-up to save on costs because I got quotes to fly a Black make-up Artist and hairstylist to Lake Como and boy! let’s just say that would have taken me over the budget. Be sure to calculate all these costs beforehand before you get a surprise bill.

If you need help planning your pre-wedding shoot send me a message

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