“Christie was wonderful to work with, and we are ecstatic with how the photos turned out. I booked an engagement session with her in Porto, and she helped pick out the perfect location for the proposal and made sure everything went smoothly. We would highly recommend Christie and KrystaPhotos!“
“Our experience with Krysta was outstanding. From her professionalism , creativity and her kindness, everything was top-notch. She captured our love story beautifully, creating stunning photographs that exceeded our expectations. I highly recommend this photographer for anyone seeking exceptional photos.“
“I was fortunate enough to find Christie online for my trip to Portugal. I was planning to propose and wanted a photographer to capture the moment. She was flexible and very helpful as we planned the meet up – even providing suggestions since she was the local and we were coming from abroad.
Her engagement photo package was great. Would recommend ⭐️“
“Christie was a wonderful part of our wedding day. She was great to communicate with and clicked in instantly with the tempo of how we wanted our wedding day to run. We had great feed back from our wedding guests, people commented on how polite she was and how well she integrated with everyone. We are also really pleased with the photos. Christie managed to use different ares of the wedding venue, rainbows and umbrellas to capture some amazing pictures. Would highly recommend booking Christie in to capture your special day.”
A beautiful, rustic wedding in the Douro Valley through the eyes of a professional wedding photographer in Portugal
I shot Devon and Robert’s wedding in June of 2019 at a charming little resort, in the middle of nature. They are originally from New Zealand, living in the UK and decided to celebrate their love in one of the most beautiful and alternative wedding destinations: the Douro valley in the north of Portugal.
Their families and friends flew all the way from New Zealand to celebrate with them. The wedding took place at this beautiful rustic resort in the Douro Valley called Casa Fontelheira. Everyone was really friendly and helpful and they made all of us feel so welcome!
Rainy day on your wedding? No problem, let’s create some magic!
When you plan your destination wedding, it can be quite stressful. One of the things that are impossible to control when you set your wedding date is the weather: Everybody wishes to have a big, warm sun shining on their wedding day!
Well, this wedding was the perfect example on how to absolutely rock your wedding day and have the time of your life even with rain. Hopefully, since I live in Porto and I am used to such unpredictable weather conditions, I was fully prepared.
When you are a wedding photographer, your main job is to find great photo opportunities everywhere and be able to create stunning images under any conditions. Just because that magical golden hour photoshoot cannot happen, it doesn’t mean that you cannot create amazing and memorable images for your couple: Rainy weather is still a perfect opportunity for unique and moody shots that you can’t find at any wedding!
I can still remember the smell of the flowers’ freshness spread all around the place and in addition to the smell of the rain, the atmosphere was simply wonderful.
Capturing the magic: family love and pure happiness
What followed after, was one of the most beautiful scenes I have experienced as a wedding photographer so far: I was so moved when I captured that moment! I want you to stop for a second and take a closer look: The father’s jacket is soaked wet as he holds the umbrella to protect the bride (his daughter) from the rain.
They are both smiling so much because they don’t care about everything being perfect or going according to the plan, they are just happy to have their beautiful family gathered in a lovely rural venue in the North of Portugal. In this photo there is love and pure affection, truth and nature, all blend perfectly together with some rain drops. I am just in love with that moment and how it turned out. And not to mention just how GORGEOUS this family was.
This photo sequence reminds me why I love shooting weddings (or working with photography in general) SO MUCH. It is about blending the moment, the emotions and the technique, forgetting about yourself, walking backwards with the fear of falling into a puddle ? and do whatever it takes to capture it because this exact moment WILL NEVER REPEAT ITSELF!
It’s just unique and amazing and so rewarding.
I felt so happy that before taking off from Porto I remembered to bring my transparent umbrella with me just in case. We used it during the quick couple photo shoot and it was such an appropriate prop for that fantastic rainy day!
Devon wanted to take a photo with all the baby guests of the wedding. That was the best we could do before they all started crying at the same time!
Thank you so much for trusting me Devon and Robert! I had the best time working with you and your amazing families.
I wish you a lifetime of cool adventures and rainbows!
