The core purpose of my trip to Spain in June 2023 was to attend the wedding of my two beautiful family friends.
Whilst my travels commenced already on 13 June from Tallinn with a direct flight to Barcelona, the wedding took place in a small coastal town a mere 25 minute drive from Barcelona, on June 15th.
Exploring Sitges
The itinerary for the wedding celebrations was kept pleasantly light throughout the 2 days, allowing all guests to spend plenty of time basking under the Sitges sun and wandering around the cobblestone-paved streets in Sitges Old Town. Our visit to Sitges coincided as well with the Sitges Pride Festival – bringing a good amount of laughter, joyful people and vibrant entertainment to the little coastal town.
The accommodation of choice for the newlyweds as well as for all guests was the modern and upscale ME Sitges Terramar Hotel, where we were warmly welcomed and ushered to our rather spacious room overlooking the ample palm tree gardens.
On the first evening we took a walk by the seaside and in a quick half-an-hour we arrived in Sitges Old Town and started exploring its vibrant streets, colorful shops and bustling outdoor cafes. Having grabbed some empanadas con carne y queso (pies with meat and cheese) – delicious traditional Spanish savory pastries, we were on our way back to the cozy hotel, as the big day was less than 24 hours away.
The D-Day
Thursday, June 15th was a bright sunny day with not a cloud in sight and the call-time for the wedding guests to gather was 15:50hrs. Having previously gained the go-ahead from the groom (to capture some content from the wedding), I quickly grabbed my camera, and off we went. Most of the wedding guests had already gathered at the hotel lobby, patiently waiting for the shuttle bus to take the partygoers to the wedding venue, which was located a 25-minute drive away from ME Sitges Terramar.
Bringing high energy and carrying a JBL speaker pumping some loud tunes, we were joined by the groom on the bus to take a ride all together to the wedding location. He was pumped, positive yet clearly nervous to step into the most important day of his life.
Arriving at Xalet del Nin – we were blown away by the truly magical castle-like Spanish mansion located on a cliff boasting an extensive garden, larger-than-life staircases, a fountain and of course providing some of the most stunning vistas overlooking the Balearic Sea. What an epic venue to bring this modern day fairytale of a wedding to life!
The wedding was covered by two photographers and two videographers following the couple on every step along the way – from capturing the bride walking down the aisle hand-in-hand with his father, to the first dance, all the way until the after party into the early hours of the morning.
I decided to follow the footsteps of the crew – purely to capture content for my own portfolio, and if there are some great shots in there – share it as well with the bride and groom afterwards. And boy did we snap away in there! In all honesty speaking – it’s not really that difficult to capture some truly awe-inspiring visuals when a) the couple is so photogenic and b) literally every corner of the venue is straight out of an Architecture Digest.
Back to Barcelona
The next two days were spent mostly by the poolside and catching some rays, as the temperature in Estonia was still rather cold for mid-June. And with the Spanish fairytale coming to a draw in Sitges, we headed to the Nobu Hotel Barcelona, which became our home away from home for the next 24 hours. The iconic Nobu Barcelona is a centrally-located one of the city’s finest hotels, which gave us an opportunity to discover around the city on foot across some of the must-see places such as Sagrada Familia, the Gothic Quarter, Cathedral of Barcelona and the Picasso Museum – to name a few. The newly-built Nobu Hotel has just recently opened its Nobu Bar rooftop lounge, which in fact is the highest rooftop terrace in Barcelona, boasting unrivalled 360-degree vistas across the city, and that’s exactly where we were headed for a night cap with our friends who also – happened to be in town during our visit.
All in all, I was in awe of the magical wedding – from its scenic seafront location to the natural beauty of the surrounding areas, and having the chance to also spend some time in Barcelona was just a cherry on top of a cake.
Here’s a small selection of some of the best captures from this truly magical afternoon we were privileged to be a part of:
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