Italian wedding reception themes, decor and ideas

Deciding on Italian wedding reception themes or moods can be difficult. Some people decide to embrace their location and choose a theme that matches it. Others find this an obvious choice and so they prefer to do something different as they enjoy the contrast of styles.

The wedding reception is a part of the day where you can really inject your style into your wedding. You can make a statement about who you are as people – it’s time to show your originality and individuality.

After a short session to take some portraits of you and your partner, we will most likely head to your wedding reception or dinner. I like to photograph the dinner in a way where I capture the atmosphere of that occasion, where it happens what it is like and so on. My preference is to photograph it in a way where I can tell the story of that moment without interrupting or disturbing the guests as they eat, drink and enjoy themselves.

I prefer to wait for the spontaneous moments such as any impromptu toasts or maybe you have planned speeches. I will photograph the people speaking, yours and the guests’ reactions. the laughter, tears and beautiful genuine emotions of the moment.

Many photographers only get to photograph one style of wedding reception décor such as shabby chic, however, I have been lucky enough to photograph all sorts of styles. I welcome the challenge of capturing different styles of décor and they all deserve a different approach.

During your aperitifs or drinks/cocktails, I will dedicate a few minutes to taking some shots of the dinner area, the floral arrangements, the mise-en-place, the placenames, menus, favors, and so on.

After all, you and your team have put a massive effort into the design in order to create the right atmosphere. I have my individual way of photographing those details so I like to allocate some time to do this, especially considering you will have spent a lot of money on that part. It is nice to get some good photos to remember it by as it will all be gone a few hours later.

Taking these photos before the guests sit for dinner is also important as it is nice to capture the perfection of the decor before everyone destroys it!

The internet offers an endless supply of examples. Wedding blogs, Instagram and Pinterest are probably the best resources for inspiration. You can find thousands of mood boards that will allow you to imagine better your event. If you are working with a talented design team they will help you express your dreams.

1. Make sure whoever is setting up the chairs, dinner service, glasses etc lines them up. A photo of a long table with chairs that are all in slightly different places is very annoying for me!
2. If you have lots of candles in your design make sure they are protected inside glass or similar vessels as if there is any wind they won’t stay lit or they will burn down very quickly.
3. Make sure your planners and staff have finished their work and setup sufficiently early to allow the photographer to do their work.