Wiejce Palace Wedding Photographer | Europe Destination Wedding Photographer
Monica & Rory’s Wedding at Wiejce Palace, Poland
Some weddings are a little more special than others, and Monica and Rory’s wedding at Wiejce Palace in Poland is definitely one of those for me.
Monica is a close friend who I first met on a night out in Leeds around 15 years ago, so when she asked me to photograph her wedding in Poland, it was a pretty easy yes.
It was also one of my first experiences of photographing a destination wedding in Poland, combining my love of natural wedding photography with the chance to travel and photograph a wedding somewhere completely different.
It was a brilliant excuse to head over to Poland with a group of friends and spend a few days celebrating with them rather than simply flying in for the wedding and heading home afterwards.
The whole trip ended up being a proper adventure, with a relaxed day before the wedding that included a trip to a shooting range, plenty of drinks and lots of time spent with everyone before the main event.
Wedding Photography at Wiejce Palace
Wiejce Palace, or Pałac Wiejce, is a beautiful historic wedding venue in western Poland, surrounded by woodland, countryside and the grounds of the estate.
It's the sort of venue that gives you plenty to work with as a wedding photographer. There are beautiful buildings, gardens, mature trees and lots of space to photograph the day naturally without everything feeling too staged.
Monica and Rory's ceremony took place outside beneath the huge old oak tree, before everyone moved into the Orangery for the wedding reception.
It was a brilliant setting, but what I remember most is the atmosphere. Because I already knew so many of the people there, the whole day felt more like being part of a big celebration with friends than simply turning up to photograph a wedding.
And honestly, those are some of my favourite weddings to photograph.
A Destination Wedding in Poland
One of the things I really enjoyed about this wedding was that it wasn't just about one day.
We were all there for several days, which meant there was time to relax, catch up, explore and actually enjoy being in Poland together. From the pre-wedding activities to the wedding itself and everything in between, there were loads of moments worth photographing.
That's one of the things I love about destination wedding photography. When everyone travels somewhere for a wedding, the whole experience becomes part of the story.
Wiejce Palace works particularly well for this kind of wedding, with its beautiful surroundings and accommodation allowing guests to spend much more time together rather than disappearing off to different hotels at the end of the night.
For a destination wedding photographer, it's a fantastic setting because there is so much more to photograph than just the ceremony and reception. The whole wedding weekend becomes part of the story.
Photographing a Wedding with Stephen Whitehead Films
I wasn't the only one making the trip over from the UK. Steve came along to film the wedding, and we've actually been friends for more than 20 years.
We've worked together on weddings for years, so travelling to Poland together felt pretty natural. At the time, Steve's business was known as Capture by Design, but he now works under Stephen Whitehead Films, creating wedding films alongside my photography.
Having spent more than two decades knowing each other, we don't really need to think about how we work together. We know where the other is likely to be, when to give each other space and when we can work alongside each other to capture something from different angles.
It also meant the trip itself was as much about catching up with friends and enjoying the wedding as it was about working, which made the whole experience even better.
Natural Wedding Photography at Wiejce Palace
My approach to wedding photography has always been fairly simple — let the day happen and photograph it properly.
I'm not interested in spending hours pulling couples away from their guests for photographs. I'll make sure we get some great photographs of you together, particularly when you're surrounded by somewhere as beautiful as Wiejce Palace, but the majority of the day is about documenting what actually happens.
The laughs, the reactions, the people, the ridiculous moments, the quiet moments and everything in between.
Those are the photographs that bring a wedding back to life.
And because Monica and I had known each other for so long, there were plenty of familiar faces and plenty of genuine moments throughout the day that I knew were worth capturing.
Destination Wedding Photographer for Poland & Beyond
If you're planning a wedding at Wiejce Palace or looking for a destination wedding photographer in Poland, I'd love to hear from you.
I'm a UK-based wedding photographer specialising in natural, documentary-style wedding photography, and I'm always happy to travel for weddings both across the UK and internationally.
I've photographed weddings in Poland and love the opportunity to travel with couples and document their wedding wherever it takes me. Whether you're planning a destination wedding at Wiejce Palace, somewhere else in Poland or another destination entirely, I'm more than happy to pack the cameras and come along.
Weddings don't have to be close to home to feel completely natural in front of the camera. My job is simply to tell the story of the day honestly, capture the people and moments that matter, and give you photographs that bring the whole experience back to life.
