Anton & Breanna 07.20.24
Anton and Breanna first met while working for Mercy Ships, providing free medical services in Sierra Leone, Africa. As time went on, their friendship started to grow, and the seeds of love started to take root, proving that you can find love in the most unexpected places. Anton was born and raised in Sweden, while Breanna was born and raised here in Canada. Their wedding took place in the small Swedish town of Stöde, where Anton grew up, just over 5 hours north of Stockholm. When Breanna first contacted me about their wedding, I was literally shaking with excitement at the possibility of capturing a wedding overseas; it felt like a dream come true. Traveling and photographing weddings has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager, so to say I was over the moon when they hired me would be an understatement.
Anton got ready in his childhood home, while Breanna got ready at the home of one of Anton’s uncles just down the road from the church where the ceremony took place.
The two shared a first look in a clearing surrounded by wildflowers, trees, and the mountains. I had to keep pinching myself because it felt like I was dreaming. We took full advantage of the wildflower covered clearing, and the surrounding forest; I mean just look at that view!
Their wedding ceremony took place at Equmeniakyrkan Bethel Stöde, a beautiful church founded in the middle of the 19th century. Their Christ-centered ceremony was so beautiful, though I have to say one of the highlights for me was the performance of the song ‘No Matter Where You Are’ by Us the Duo from the motion picture The Book of Life. Performed by family friends of Anton, backed only by the sound of the piano, causing the tempo to slow down substantially from the original recording, it was one of the most beautiful song performances I’ve ever heard. It truly opened the floodgates of tears; I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. I had never heard the song or even heard of the movie before writing this; the original isn’t my favourite version, but while researching for this blog post, I came across their wedding version, which is the same version of the song that the family performed during the ceremony. I highly recommend listening to the song while looking through these ceremony photos; it'll feel as though you were there.
I’ll forever wonder how his film shot turned out.
After the ceremony, A&B were showered with rice as they exited the church before joining their guests in enjoying Fika. Fika is a Swedish tradition where you stop and take time to relax, enjoy a drink (typically coffee), some sweet snacks, and socialize—a tradition I think we really need in North America. After Fika, Anton and Breanna got into a horse-drawn carriage (a serious fairytale moment) and headed across the river to their reception.
The atmosphere of the reception was relaxed, warm, and comforting, and the space was decorated beautifully. Wildflowers that Breanna had picked the day before and pastel-coloured candlesticks lined the long white-clothed tables, exploding the room with soft colour. Each guest was given a paper crown to wear, and at one point every single guest had one on… including myself. The reception consisted of a buffet-style dinner with classic Swedish dishes, an open mic for speeches, 3 delicious cakes made by the bride, a game of Kahoot to see who knew the couple best, and, of course, a mini dance party.
I would go back to Sweden in a heartbeat. The landscape, the food, the people, and the culture changed me for the better.