Ariel & Nathan, a pre-wedding session at Villa Cipressi, Lake Como

From Los Angeles to Lake Como

Planning a wedding on the other side of the world is an act of trust. Ariel and Nathan chose Lake Como for its light, its gardens that run down to the water and that very Italian way of slowing time down. Their trip this autumn was about seeing it all with their own eyes, a year ahead.

While they were here, it made perfect sense to meet in person and photograph them together. A walk through the terraced gardens of Villa Cipressi, the narrow stone lanes and colourful façades of Varenna, two different looks, and a wooden boat gliding across the lake as the sun went down.

Why a session before the wedding matters

Most couples have never been photographed professionally before their wedding. On the day itself, there is so much happening that the first minutes in front of a camera can feel strange. A pre-wedding session takes that pressure away: it is a warm-up, with nothing at stake except having a good time together.

You learn how it feels to be guided, when to look at each other and when to forget the camera. Within the first half hour, the stiffness melts and something more natural takes over. That is exactly what you want to have already discovered before your wedding morning.

Getting to know each other, both ways

A session is also the moment your photographer gets to know you: the way you laugh, how you move, the gestures that are truly yours. Maddy pays attention to those details, so that on the wedding day she can anticipate them instead of discovering them.

And it works the other way round. You see how Maddy works, how she directs, how much space she leaves you. When you meet again on the day, you are not welcoming a stranger into the most personal moments of your life, you are welcoming someone you already know.

On the day, everything flows

Couples who have done a session arrive on their wedding day relaxed in front of the lens. They know what works for them, they trust the process, and they simply live their day. The photographs are freer for it, and so are they.

There is one more gift: you see the results in advance. Looking at your session images, you already know how you will be photographed, and that confidence follows you all the way down the aisle.

Villa Cipressi and Varenna

Villa Cipressi stands in Varenna, on the eastern shore of Lake Como. Its name comes from the old cypress trees of its gardens, which descend in terraces all the way down to the water, from one botanical room to the next. Today the villa is a hotel, and one of the lake's most romantic wedding venues.

Varenna itself is made for photographs: stone stairways, painted façades in ochre, red and pink, small harbours where the wooden boats wait. Within a few steps you move from a secret garden to a village street and then onto the lake, which makes it an ideal place for a session full of variety.

Lake Como in autumn

Autumn is a beautiful season to photograph Lake Como. The summer crowds are gone, the gardens turn golden, and the low sun lingers on the water late in the afternoon. For a session, it is the perfect setting: calm, soft and endlessly cinematic.