London wedding photographer I Janis Ratnieks

LUXURY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IN PORTOFINO, ITALY - VILLA DURAZZO, HOTEL SPLENDIDO AND HOTEL IMPERIALE.

2013-05-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hello people! My apologies for the silence lately - past few weeks have been really busy - I've been shooting some fabulous weddings around Europe - got the honour to shoot in Italy, UK, France and Turkey - now packing my bags for Greece next week - let's have a peek of what I've been up to!

I'll start with a fabulous wedding in an Italian town of Portofino - I had been there few times before and I'm always happy to see it again. It's a place where pure luxury meets elegance - the tranquil surroundings, narrow streets, luxury hotels, the people - it all adds up and makes Portofino a great place for fabulous wedding photos and a great place to celebrate your wedding.

Check out the fantastic wedding venues we shot at - Splendido, Villa Durazzo and Imperiale - they are all highly recommended locations for weddings. If you're ever having a wedding there, please get in touch ASAP.

Well, enough with the words, let photographs talk. Enjoy.

This is Villa Durazzo - stunning wedding venue in Italy.

Guys getting ready at Imperiale in Portofino.

Meet the groom - Brian - look from Imperiale.

And we're good to go!

A pair of nice Louboutins

Meet the bride - Anna.

View from Splendido - my second wedding there.

I Do wedding shoes.

Must be one of my favourite's - this shot is that good.

A fine, fine lace.

There she is, at the entrance of Splendido.

Villa Durazzo wedding venue in Italy.

Love this one - the light and interior works really great for the couple.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Got this one with the help of some Italian tourists - thank you guys.

This is Portofino - a place to come back.

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ALICE IN WONDERLAND WEDDING IN GERMANY - PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIS RATNIEKS

2013-05-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hello guys - I know it's late so it's time for a little fairytale - meet Natalie and Daniel at their "Alice in Wonderland" wedding, which took place in Stuttgart, Germany a moth ago. Wow what a great photo opportunity this was - this was a great place to be a wedding photographer - I hadn't seen this amount of attention to detail for a while - just check all the decorations - cupcakes, sweets, floral design - it's all in theme and all looking fabulous. The party had a quite strict dress code as well - see for yourself! There's one thing I got confirmed - Germans know how to party, that's for sure - anyway, check the images below and live through the fairytale wedding just as I did.

Wedding cupcakes.

Wein aus deutschen Lande.

All set up for about 250 guests.

Delicious.

Meet Natalie and Daniel.

Trendy bridal party photos.

First guests arriving.

Love this shot, they're staring at Playstation.

The Hat!

German wedding ceremony.

German wedding party - bollywood style dancing.

Now that's a wedding party.

It's 2 am, time to wrap it up, I hear it ended at 7am!

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CHATEAU VINCENNES WEDDING IN PARIS - WINTER WEDDING IN PARIS

2013-04-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

This is Paris, right after Christmas and that's the time Simone and James, a couple from Australia decided to have their wedding in Paris - and boy they loved it - together we enjoyed every single bit the most romantic city has to offer - see the beautiful roof terrace where boys got ready, see the vintage french wedding cars, the stunning Chateau de Vincennes for the wedding ceremony and iconic Eiffel tower for the evening reception. Add the photo shoot in various locations in Paris and you'll see they got it all! Travel through the day with my eyes and see where it takes you.

Thank you guys for having me as your wedding photographer, it's always a joy returning to Paris and being a part of someone's big day.

Eiffel tower wedding in Paris.

Wonderful view to Montmartre.

Now that will last the day.

Who knew doing hair was that painful?

Hairspray in the eye!

Love this photo, very Parisian.

Meet the bride.

Old Citroen 2CV wedding car in Paris.

Aussie guys.

Chateau Vincennes wedding ceremony.

Kids say it all loud.

The pries was easy going, so I had the best ever angle for the first kiss.

Wedding photo shoot ideas Paris.

Pareis wedding photography locations.

One of the coolest entrances in Paris metro.

Near Louvre, wedding photos in Cafe in Paris.

Nice spot, not telling where it is.

It's always great to make some new friends during photo shoots.

I'm totally doing this at my next wedding there.

View from the restaurant.

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REPORTAGE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - THE CRYPT, LONDON, WINTER

2013-04-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Although Spring is here, I still have a feeling I haven't shared all my winter weddings yet - here is one I shot in London in early January - pure photo journalistic approach to this one and I quite like the mood I achieved. Having taken the place in The Crypt - one of the darkest wedding venues I've seen in London so far, I have to praise Nikon again, couldn't have done it without it. Meet Stephanie and Rob at their wonderful day in "post Christmas wedding" spirit. Enjoy the shots!

Off to a pub they go!

Bride getting ready.

Groom - getting ready as well.

This is how boys start the day - typical for a British wedding.

The Crypt.

Church - rumour has it that there's a tunnel connecting this church to a pub.

Low light wedding photography - this is how you do it.

Love Nikon glass, it's spectacular.

He's actually Aussie.

And so is she :)

Candle lights, Nikon D3s.

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PRE WEDDING PHOTO SHOOT IN LONDON AND PARIS - ANGIE AND TONI FROM KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

2013-04-19T13:52:00.002-07:00

Two days - two cities, meet Angie and Toni at their two day pre wedding photo shoot in London and Paris. We spent day one wondering around London, keeping an eye on London's landmarks. As we did the shoot in March we still managed to avoid all the tourist crowds, which is certainly good. For the day two we took the Eurostar to Paris for a short spring session there. Enjoy the photos as much as the couple enjoyed the day, stay tuned.

View from London Aquarium.

London Eye pre wedding photo shoot.

Piccadilly pre wedding photoshoot.

Fountains near Eiffel tower.

Paris pre wedding photo shoot.

Romantic spot in Paris - Pond Neuf.

A quick look in the Parisien.

Notre Dame pre wedding shoot.

Asian pre wedding photoshoot in London and Paris, 2 day pre wedding photo shoot.

NIKON PRO MAGAZINE SELECTED WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

2013-04-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

Good things happen to those who work hard, and they just keep happening to us. This week I was thrilled to see my work featured in one of the industry leading professional photography magazines - NIKON PRO magazine. To be honest, it's a great honour for a wedding photographer to be recognised by a leading camera manufacturer and that makes me so proud!

As this is distributed to professional photographers only you can't by this magazine in shops, so here's a short peak -

"...photographer based in London who has shot weddings in more than 22 countries. In order to satisfy customers wedding photographer has to give shape to people's fantasies."

"This is my signature look"

That's it for now, more good stuff to come!

Scan from Nikon Pro magazine, spring 2013

This photograph has been taken in one of my recommended wedding venues in France - Chateau de Challain - see the full wedding in my post: Destination wedding in France

Cover of Nikon Pro magazine, spring 2013, photo by Tim Tadder

OUR INTERVIEW WITH LILLA MAGAZINE

2013-04-10T14:54:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone - just to let you know that April issue of LILLA magazine is out and it features an interview with me there.

Screenshot from Lilla magazine.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK - BY WEDDING STYLE MAGAZINE

2013-03-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

Oh yes, we've been published - and on top of that I've been chosen as a photographer of the week by the WEDDING STYLE MAGAZINE - see the full feature here:

The Photographer of the Week

I apologise for the wintery looks, this photo of me was taken back in December 2012.

WINTER WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - WEDDING IN OSLO, NORWAY.

2013-02-15T11:56:00.004-08:00

Hello everyone! I know, it's been a while since I blogged, but trust me, I've been busy! In January I shot weddings in London, Paris, Warsaw and Moscow and a recent one in Oslo, Norway. Add some pre wedding photo shoots on top of that and it explains everything! So - a winter wedding in Norway - sounds nice and it is, meet Heidi and Justin at their beautiful snowy winter wedding in Oslo. It was a cold day (well locals said it wasn't) and made shooting tricky - one thing that made it tricky was the cold and the other was the sun - when it hits the white snow it makes my life really hard :) Anyway - as always I managed to cope with that - actually I made it look beautiful! See for yourselves, they look fab! If you're looking for a wedding photographer for your winter wedding either in UK, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, or Germany please get in touch. New winter wedding destinations like Sweden, Finland, Iceland are also welcome! Check my new destination wedding portfolio on www.janisratnieks.com

With this wedding I also put another flag on my "I've shot a wedding there" globe - Norway made it country number 22.

Enjoy.

Norwegians love their national costumes, they look fab.

A tricky light, but a great moment, love this one.

The bride is walking down the aisle, yep, not a minute late.

The look from the top balcony at Ullern Kirke.

And we're up in Holmenkollen, near Oslo.

Stunning light.

I was up there and the old guy punished me with a slightly damaged lens - I slipped, fell, and landed on my lens.

The cover shot.

Oh yes, she's Norwegian!

Great wedding venue - Solstua

And that's game over for Justin, it got too chilly out there.

Following an old Scandinavian tradition the couple was asked to confirm their passion!

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JEWISH WEDDING IN PARIS - PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIS RATNIEKS

2013-01-18T09:53:00.003-08:00

Hello everyone! It's a beautiful day today so I think this is a good time to share another beautiful wedding I've done. Yes, I know it's last year but I still have some more up my sleeve! The new year has started and I've already shot 2 weddings in the first week, but I have to share all of my last year's work! So - meet Clare and Jean-Charles at their beautiful wedding in Paris, France. You might ask what's Marlene Dietrich doing in the first photo - well this happens to be Marlene's suite in Hotel Lancaster in Paris - that's the place where girls got ready (after having wedding breakfast in Hotel Bristol in Paris). Nice, calm atmosphere with lot's of green tea. I like the candid shots I did there - you don't feel my presence there at all. After that we proceeded to a Jewish wedding ceremony in Le Pre Catelan - as it was an autumn wedding it got dark quite early - so you can see all of the colourful lights highlighting the venue. This wedding was special, the couple had booked another photographer to do all the formal shots, so I had all my time sneaking around and purely documenting the big day. I've talked enough, let the photos tell the rest! Enjoy.

Marlene Dietrich, portrait, unknown author.

The tea I was telling about.

The hair dresser was a bit stressed, a quiet time for me!

Love this one - two Divas, for one work still in progress.

Wedding make up in Paris.

Beautiful light coming from all the windows.

Like this portrait of Clare and the dress - she looks confident, she'll look stunning in it.

Le Pre Catelan - my second wedding photo shoot there.

Jewish wedding ceremony in Paris, France.

Cool lens blur - I used Nikkor 85mm 1,4G for this on the Nikon D3s body.

French are always very cheerful as wedding guests.

Kids playing with fire.

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2012 SEASON REVIEW - THIS IS HOW WE ROLL

2013-01-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

Hello all photography lovers, brides and grooms to be and all admirers of our work. I'd like to use this opportunity and say big thanks to all our current, past and future clients for trusting the wedding photography to us - we've been out there for you and put 100% effort into our work providing you with finest wedding photographs there are. I'd also like to thank all our fans both here and on Facebook for your continuos support throughout 2012 and we're determined to being an inspiration to other wedding photographers through 2013 as well.

I'll say it short - year 2012 has been terrific - we've been shooting throughout Europe and added some fabulous destinations to our destination wedding portfolio. New destinations include Hong Kong, Mexico, Greece and Switzerland. We'll keep on exploring the world through wedding photography with some fab destinations already booked for 2013 so stay tuned, you'll get all the updates here!

With this being a photography blog I have to share the photos with you, so here are the highlights of the season through photographs - in no particular order:

A two day Indonesian pre wedding photo shoot in Venice and Italian Dolomites - see the full story HERE - thank you Lina and Raycent!

Wedding Bordeaux, France - see the full story HERE

My first Caribbean wedding - shot in Surrey, UK - thank you Amanda and Fieldman - see the full story HERE

My last flight to Mediterranean on 2012 (yes, the water was still warm in September) - for a Norwegian wedding in Cote d'Azur - see the full story HERE

Lovely place in Italy - a small village called Portofino - a great location for wedding photography - going back there next year! Thank you Stephanie and Dan! See the full post HERE

This was my first wedding on top of St Mary Axe or Gherkin - beautiful views over the City of London - see the full story HERE - thank you Jade and Dave!

One of our three photo shoots in Hong Kong - this was something like "post wedding engagement shoot" - Hong Kong couples like being photographed - thank you Giney and Andy for the dinner and showing us around the city! See the full story HERE

One of my favourite wedding shoots this year - a Japanese couple getting married in a different way! Shot on the grounds of Chateau d'Esclimont, Rambouillet followed by a wedding photo shoot in Paris - see the full story HERE - thank you Shinobu and Daisuke!

3rd biggest event on 2012 - the fabulous wedding of Lada and Vladimir in Villa Colazzi near Florence, Italy - thank you guys - see the full set of photos HERE

My all time second Turkish wedding - didn't know guys that you were having so much fun at a wedding! Thank you guys for having me there - this is for all the future Turkish customers - please get in touch, I'll make your day great, just as you can see HERE

Another Asian pre wedding photo shoot in Hong Kong - Thank you Tiffany and Joe for organising everything, I know it was lots of work! Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding! - see the full post HERE

See my documentary aproach to wedding photography- the colourful wedding of Tess and Jody in Voewood house, Norfolk. See the full story HERE

Iconic photo of the legendary Bristol double-decker - see my more reportage wedding photography approach in the full story HERE - thank you Kirsty and Adrian - it was a fabulous Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend.

Pre wedding photoshoot for a Hong Kong couple in London - see the full story HERE

An Indonesian pre wedding shoot in Paris - some stunning photos - see the full story HERE

My all time favourite wedding venue - Chateau de Challain in France - as always there are fabulous photo shoots made there - thank you `Kelly and Bob - see the full story HERE

Mexico is one of my new destinations for the year - thank you Andrew and Marie-Elena for taking me out for a ride in the sun - see the full story HERE

Lots of my clients are Americans - another couple from USA at their destination wedding in France - thank you Lydia and Joe - see the full story of their wedding at Chateau Challain HERE

My first wedding at Eltham Palace in London - very stylish wedding, thank you Jasmine and Tom- see the full post HERE

Another first of the season - new flag on the map - Greece. Santorini is a fabulous location for wedding and pre wedding photography - thank you Wing and Lorne for taking us all the way there - love the result, more photoshoots welcome - see the full story HERE

Hindu wedding - a bit different to what I usually shoot, but very appealing to photographers as there is so much happening - the style is both staged and documentary - thank you Ravi and Kajal for sharing the day. Please see the full post HERE

Ireland is one of the most welcoming places I've ever been - super nice couple Caroline and John having their wedding back home - see the full story HERE

Some dresses are more complicated than others - see the instructions for this one - see the dress in action at a Japanese wedding in Europe - France HERE

The final "new destination" of the year - Switzerland - had a wonderful wedding near Lake Geneva earlier in June. Thank you Tamara and Bala - see the full story HERE

That concludes our little review of the wedding season - there where some more fabulous weddings which I haven't included here - I either haven't blogged them yet or there has been a special privacy agreement between us and the client. We are looking in the future with lots of confidence - next year will be even better than previous and I recommend all the future clients, please get in touch as soon as possible, the dates are filling fast!

Oh yes - on top of all that, the best thing, that happened last year was the arrival of our daughter, this means we will have to stay closer to home but still DESTINATION WEDDINGS ARE WELCOME.

There are more fabulous weddings to come - STAY TUNED!

LUXURY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - WEDDING OF LADA AND VLADIMIR - VILLA COLAZZI, TUSCANY, FLORENCE, ITALY

2012-12-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I'm still keeping up with all my September weddings, have few more to blog - I've got to be honest - September was crazy - I did 16 flights to cover all of the assignments around Europe - well I ended up booking 18 as I missed two of them, but still that's just a part of being a destination wedding photographer.

Todays post comes from Italy. Meet Lada and Vladimir at their wedding in Villa Colazzi near Florence, that's in the heart of the beautiful Tuscany. The event was flawlessly organised by Atom Events they did a fabulous job there! Bride was wearing the beautiful Elie Saab wedding gown and she looked superb! Check out the photos and see for yourself - fabulous wedding , superb photos, good memories.

For those of you who might be interested, here's the vendor list:

Wedding Photographer - Janis Ratnieks Photography

First location - Four Seasons Florence

Second location - Villa Colazzi, Florence

Event planner - Atom Events

Bride's gown - Elie Saab

Bride's shoes - Lanvin Paris

Wedding cake - Peggy Porchen

MC - Alexander Reva

DJ - Guy Preston

Band - Shalom

Band - Quest Pistols

A short note before you start browsing the photos - this wedding was recently featured in Tatler Magazine.

Lada, getting her make-up done

The beautiful Elie Saab wedding gown

Drinks anyone?

Nice setting in Four Seasons Florence

Guys, ready.

Love the mood of this one, she looks stunning!

Wedding photos in Four Seasons Florence, Italy

Bit candid there..

Tons of flowers at Villa Colazzi

First dance.

MCs from Moscow - Alexander Reva and the other guy.

French, very emotional, as always.

OMG I'm getting married wedding cake by Peggy Porchen

Couple cutting the cake.

And shampagne.

Dancing with her father - billionaire Yury Shefler

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TURKISH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - CHATEAU D' ESCLIMONT WEDDING IN FRANCE.

2012-11-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

Wait a minute, I've seen that place before - that's what a careful viewer might say. Yes, we're back at Chateau d'Esclimont for another fab wedding and great wedding pics. Last time it was a Japanese wedding, this time it's a Turkish wedding. Meet the happy couple from Istanbul having the time of their lives. Beautiful day and beautiful wedding photography - sit back and enjoy.

Chateau d'Esclimont.

Grandes étapes Francaises.

Bride getting ready.

Glass of cognac, that's how we start the day.

That's a Turksih wedding tradition - writing on the shoe soles.

Love the dress.

Now that's a group shot!

This is also a group shot.

Cheese wedding cake, look stunning.

First dance.

Party animal :) they kept partying until 4am!

Third dance.

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JAPANESE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IN FRANCE.

2012-11-22T12:55:00.000-08:00

We're still shooting weddings in France, I'm sorry if you've been missing British weddings lately, but that's how it is - we generally shoot nearly half of our work in the UK, other major location is France followed by Italy and frequent travels to other locations. So, I'll still keep updating you with the work we've been doing in France. The following wedding was a small elopement for a Japanese couple. I'm obviously getting very popular among Japanese, Singaporean, Indonesian and Hong Kong couples as I've been doing lots of assignments for them lately, they must like my style of photography. The following shoot took place earlier in summer in the wonderful Chateau Challain, France. I'm looking back at this photoshoot and having some wonderful memories about the day. Check it out yourselves and see what I'm talking about.

Wearing a wedding gown is obviously super complicated.

Last touch ups by Etsuko, the wedding planner and we're all set.

It's going to be a small, intimate wedding ceremony.

Love this one, the light is so beautifully shaped.

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COTE D'AZUR WEDDING - PHOTOGRAPHY IN FRENCH RIVIERA.

2012-11-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

We're still in France, travelling through the south and shooting weddings. Our next weddings takes us to Nice - a beautiful location for wedding photography. The event was organised by Imaginez - Cannes based production company specialising in creating luxury events. I'm really honoured they invited me to do the photography for them. Our heroes of the day where Jeanette and Magnuss - a super cool couple from Norway - join them at their wedding and check out the photos below.

The calming palm trees, reminds me of Cannes.

Some say Picasso used to live and work in that village.

All prepared.

Like this one.

Anglican church in Nice.

Had a short photo shoot - about 5 mins.

Sunset wedding photography.

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BORDEAUX WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - DESTINATION WEDDING PHOTOS IN FRANCE.

2012-11-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

Hello World! Good news, I've finally caught up with my work and have some spare time for blogging. During the coming weeks I'll be indulging you with hot, summery photos of the weddings never seen before. I'll start with the one I shot recently in Bordeaux, south western France near the tranquil village Sainte-Emilion. Meet Liza and Yannick at their beautiful wedding in sunny vineyards. The day was seamlessly planned by Et-Voila wedding planning agency and photographed by me - Janis Ratnieks wedding photography. Check out the photos and see the comments below for more info on them. Other than that stay tuned and come back in few days.

St Emilion - a beautiful location for wedding photography.

Bride getting ready.

Final preparations and we're ready to go.

Check the hand.

Vineyard - beautiful spot for wedding photos.

Beautiful light - tricky to shoot at, but looks awesome.

Love this one.

Cool reflection of the bride.

Marquee wedding in France.

Man's best friend - invited, as always.

Cheers.

This has to be a local vine - Bordeaux.

Shot in moonlight - Nikon D3s and Nikkor 35mm f/1,4G

What's cookin' ?

Lighting up the chinese lanterns.

This is for photographers - Chinese lantern, candles and moonlight.

Cutting the cake - beautiful light and the final photo of the day.

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CHATEAU ESCLIMONT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY, PARIS WEDDING PHOTOSHOOT.

2012-10-31T06:39:00.002-07:00

This is a rare opportunity, that I'm allowed to publish a pre wedding photo shoot I've done for one of my mane Japanese clients. I have to admit, it is a bit different from the thing we usually do, but I still love the result. We did the shooting in two locations - Chateau d'Esclimont near Rambouillet and central Paris. Daisuke and Shinobu - thank you for the endurance following my orders over two days, you are both really photogenic. Dear readers - please enjoy the last days of summer, I know it's cold now, but that's how it all looked a bit more than month ago.

One of my favourite wedding portraits.

Final touch ups and we're ready to go.

portrait of the groom, chose to edit it black & white, that works out well.

Parks of Rambouillet, pricey but great location for a wedding photo shoot.

Table for two served at Chateau d'Esclimont.

by now I consider myself a wedding cake expert, have tried them all, this was phenomenal.

Early evening, beautiful light, nice setting.

Cutting the cake.

Chateau Esclimont wedding venue, France.

Our first photo shoot location in Paris.

Some snapshots from our minibus.

Under the Pont Neuf, a nice spot for romantic photos in Paris.

Pont Alexandre pre wedding photo.

VOEWOOD WEDDING - TESS AND JODY

2012-10-16T01:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to share a very , I mean VERY laid back wedding. Tess and Jody got married at Voewood, North Norfolk, late July. This has been one of the easiest going weddings I've attended lately. Just check the wedding photos - they are all relaxed and cool, guys sipping drinks all day, kids running around, Radio Barkas, the cool Dutch DJ van playing music - now that's a party.

Enjoy the photos and stay tuned for the next shoot.

DESTINATION WEDDING IN FRANCE - CHATEAU DE CHALLAIN

2012-10-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

Destination weddings are great for photography and here's why - people usually go the extra mile to get the most out of their photographer. And so did Lydia and Joe at their intimate and elegant wedding in Chateau de Challain in France. As the thunderstorm was approaching, we decided to do the photoshoot before the ceremony - that's little odd for Europeans, but happens a lot in other parts of the world! I'm really happy we did that - as the storm passed the sunflower fields where impossible to shoot at (considering brides dress). Long story short - Lydia and Joe where one of the best models I had this season and I'm happy they chose me as their wedding photographer. Here's a short vendors list for you to consider:

Photographer: Janis Ratnieks photography - www.janisratnieks.com

Venue: Chateau de Challain, France - www.chateauchallain.com

Invitations: Vintage Invitations - www.vintageinvites.com

Joe's Suit: Pierre Balmain - www.balmain.com

Wedding Gown: Lazaro - www.jlmcouture.com/lazaro

Hair: Bride's own styling

Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo - www.immychoo.com

Lazaro Wedding Gown

Jimmy Choo's with a nice reflection.

Love the light on this one!

Just look at the atmosphere of this one , great!

Did I have a ladder for this one? Nop, the roof of the van!

The storm is coming.

And finally, the ceremony is about to start.

Chateau de Challain - a venue for your fairytale wedding.

Now the giraffe has found her match - the French wedding cake.

HINDU WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY AT BHAKTIVEDANTA MANOR

2012-09-04T09:48:00.001-07:00

Hindu wedding photography - that's our entry of the day. Although this was a while ago I still want to introduce you to the way Hindus celebrate their weddings in London as I like it so much - the tradition is so different to what I'm used to and the colours are spectacular. Photographing Hindu wedding is never an easy job, but the result is worth the effort and the extra mile. Location wise the wedding took place in Bhaktivedanta Mano r, Watford on a lovely summer afternoon. Thank you Kajal and Ravi for choosing me to be your wedding photographer, I'll never forget the day and the touching ceremony you had.

Bride before the first Hindu Ceremony.

Hindu Bride getting ready.

Inside the Bhaktivedanta manor - nice window, great for wedding photographs.

The main ceremony is about to start - 2 hrs of non stop shooting!

Lots of details to capture - great material for wedding photography.

Love this one!

Add some Bollywood and the story's there.

The final part of the ceremony.

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CARIBBEAN WEDDING IN SURREY BY JANIS RATNIEKS, WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER LONDON

2012-08-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Good news everyone, my first ever Caribbean wedding is now LIVE here on our blog. Thank you Amanda and Fieldman for choosing me to be a part of a truly amazing day. The boys look smart, the girls are stunning, awesome hair and they're off to go. Let the photos tell the rest of the story, this ain't no "50 shades of grey" here:

Wotton House in Dorking, Surrey

Yeah, this is how it's done.

Practicing the dance moves, just wait for the night girls.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's superman!

Cool hair!

Girls practicing their dance routine.

Yes, she's ready!

Love this one, the light is stunning!

Yep, that's a tune from Star Wars Princess Leia's theme!

Believe it or not, this is un-staged, purely caught moment, some might even call this documentary wedding photography.

Wotton House, front view, people coming for a group shot.

My photo of the day, love the atmosphere, best models ever.

This is what they practiced for, cool party guys!

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ELTHAM PALACE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - WEDDING IN LONDON BY JANIS RATNIEKS

2012-08-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Eltham Palace for the wedding of Jasmin and Tom. Both Jasmin and Tom are architects, so they chose this stunning location for its architecture and the looks of the interiors. It rained about 3 times during the wedding, so we had to adapt our schedule several times, but that's ok - we got different lighting conditions which helped the wedding photos to turn out just wonderful. The couple itself was really photogenic and having designed the wedding for themselves I can confirm that they did a good job of blending themselves int architecture of 30ties.

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LAKE GENEVA WEDDING - SWISS WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIS RATNIEKS

2012-08-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today's photos take us to Switzerland where I had to shoot the wonderful wedding of Tamara and Bala - cool American couple from Chicago. Lausanne with it's lake Geneva (Lac Leman) is a great environment for wedding photos - the narrow streets of the old town and the cloudy background with storms hovering over the lake add up nicely. Just add a great looking couple on top of that and there you have it - the perfect wedding photos! Here is what the lucky couple has to say about them:

Oh my God! We simply love your work! You are both fantastic!

We can't even find the words to express ourselves - gorgeous, fantastic, fabulous, awesome pics!!!

Thank you so much for your beautiful art! You have done a fabulous job!

Thank you guys for having me there, it was my first wedding in Switzerland and I'm for sure going back there next year!

Enjoy!

Shot with Nikkor 16-35mm f4 lens.

Vineyards near the lake.

Vineyard wedding

Sunset over Lac Leman - beautiful.

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WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IN WILTSHIRE - THE QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE WEEKEND

2012-07-30T01:07:00.001-07:00

The George Inn, that's where all the cool guys met the other morning - dressed up a bit too smart for the usual morning drink or the street party! That's right, they where dressed up to have a drink with husband to be - Adrian. Please meet Kirsty and Adrian at their two day wedding feast celebrating their marriage and The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. That explained the Union Jacks in every other photograph! The wedding took place in Sheldon Manor which I hear has the oldest porch in England. This is a very documentary example of the way I photograph weddings - all (except three) natural, uninterrupted, storytelling type wedding photos - sometimes I like it simple! OK then - enjoy the wedding, enjoy the party. Cheers.

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HAMPSHIRE WEDDING - FINALLY SOMETHING LOCAL

2012-07-10T03:06:00.004-07:00

Wedding photography in Hampshire - my latest wedding takes me back home in UK - after multiple destination weddings in France, Italy and Mexico I'm pleased to present the wedding of Ellie and Chris. We started out St Mary's Church in Broughton, did a little shoot on the southern coast with some paragliders in the back and had the party at the fabulous Chewton Glen hotel in New Milton. Awesome set of speeches there, although I have no video footage of them I still have some great photos, so you can join the laughter down under. Enjoy!

Getting a surprise gift from the groom!

Check out those Ray Bans

Thumbs up.

One flower girl down!

Love this photo, the lady is so in charge of everything!

Few shots on the beach with the paragliders in the back.

Chewton Glen hotel and SPA.

This is what kids say about all this.

London wedding photographer I Janis Ratnieks

LUXURY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IN PORTOFINO, ITALY - VILLA DURAZZO, HOTEL SPLENDIDO AND HOTEL IMPERIALE.

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ALICE IN WONDERLAND WEDDING IN GERMANY - PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIS RATNIEKS

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PRE WEDDING PHOTO SHOOT IN LONDON AND PARIS - ANGIE AND TONI FROM KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

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JEWISH WEDDING IN PARIS - PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIS RATNIEKS

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LUXURY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - WEDDING OF LADA AND VLADIMIR - VILLA COLAZZI, TUSCANY, FLORENCE, ITALY

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HINDU WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY AT BHAKTIVEDANTA MANOR

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CARIBBEAN WEDDING IN SURREY BY JANIS RATNIEKS, WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER LONDON

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ELTHAM PALACE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - WEDDING IN LONDON BY JANIS RATNIEKS

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LAKE GENEVA WEDDING - SWISS WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIS RATNIEKS

Oh my God! We simply love your work! You are both fantastic!

We can't even find the words to express ourselves - gorgeous, fantastic, fabulous, awesome pics!!!

Thank you so much for your beautiful art! You have done a fabulous job!

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