CAPTURE YOUR LOVE STORY IN ITALY
Destination Wedding Photographer Marcel Van der Horst Photographer is looking for couples planning their Italian wedding adventure. Dreaming of authentic and timeless photography that reflects your true personality?
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Engagement Sessions
The perfect way to celebrate this exciting chapter before your wedding. Whether it’s a surprise proposal or a planned session, I’ll create photos that reflect the joy of this moment in some of the most beautiful places on earth.
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Elopements
Intimate, personal, and deeply meaningful. An elopement allows you to focus on what truly matters—your love—without the stress of a large wedding. Whether it’s just the two of you or a small gathering, I’ll document your day with care and artistry.
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Honeymoon Photography
You’ve planned the trip of a lifetime. Instead of relying on selfies and strangers to take your photos, let’s create something beautiful together—images that capture the romance and adventure of your time in Italy.
For couples who appreciate the art of photography, being comfortable in knowing they will receive a service to the highest standard and outstanding communication
Nearly two decades of experience, delivering a personal and exceptional journey from enquiry to album
Your love story deserves to be told in a way that feels authentic, natural, and unforgettable. Whether you're dreaming of a golden Tuscan sunset, a romantic sunrise stroll by the Colleseum, or a dramatic lakeside vista in Umbria, I’ll help you create something truly special. Let’s make magic together.
Timeless Engagement, Elopement & Honeymoon Photography in the Most Romantic Destinations
Italy is a place where love stories come to life. From the rolling hills of Tuscany to the historic streets of Rome, the cobbled roads of Florence, and the mountains of Abruzzo, every corner offers the perfect backdrop for your love story.
Whether you're celebrating your engagement, eloping in an intimate ceremony with just a handful of your loved ones, or capturing the magic of your honeymoon, your photos should reflect the depth of your connection, the beauty of the moment, and the unforgettable setting around you.
This is more than just a photoshoot—it’s a chance to pause, take it all in, and have your love story documented in a way that feels natural, effortless, and uniquely yours. Available from late July until early-mid August 2026.
Planning a Photoshoot in Italy? Start Here.
Getting professional photos taken in a destination you’re not familiar with can feel overwhelming.
✔ Where are the best locations for an engagement or elopement photoshoot?
✔ What’s the best time of day for the perfect light and atmosphere?
✔ How do you make sure the experience feels natural, not posed or staged?
✔ Tips on what to wear and how to feel confident in front of the camera
I can provide help for you to plan the perfect shoot, whether you’re looking for an intimate elopement, a dreamy engagement session, or stunning honeymoon portraits. If you need help finding the most incredible hidden gems, I can definitely assist.
With its mix of historic cities, breathtaking coastlines, rolling vineyards, and hidden gems, Italy offers the perfect setting for every couple. The following list is where I will be touring so you can align my location with your trip in 2026.
📍 Rome & Lazio – Timeless architecture and old-world charm, late July and early August
📍 Umbria – Beautiful Lakeside towns, ancient castles atop mountains, early August
Open to these other regions:
📍 Florence – The epicentre of Renaissance art and epic sandwiches
📍 Abruzzo – The greenest part of Italy, fresh mountain air, the oldest of castles 📍 Tuscany – Rolling hills for days, villas with views over the pool and home to some of the best meats
Not sure where to go? I’ll help you find the perfect location that matches your vision. While I might not know every nook of a location, I will put in the time to survey the location on foot and online first before the shoot.
Your Concerns as an Australian, American, UK Couple?
Dual Euro Citizen due to being born to Dutch citizens - No border or permit issues that you keep hearing about
Can speak basic Italian - Even if you don’t speak a word, I can step in to open some doors. Not fluent but enough to get by
Great Driver - Driving in Italy is an experience not for the faint at heart. Trust me to give you guidance, or if convenient, hitch a ride with me from the airport
Navigating in Italy is a challenge unto itself, with experience even in the most remote areas of the country across 13 regions and over 10,000 km travelled. I am probably even more well travelled than some Italians themselves.
Where Will Your Story Unfold?
REAL CASE STUDY
Real Feedback from Suzi & Marco, Carpi
What made you choose me over any other creative to cover your wedding? If this is obvious due to connection or referal, maybe go a deeper level.
Your prompt responses, communication style, professionalism (while not being pretentious), your timeless articistic style...
From the moment you responded to my cry for help on Facebook, it was warm, direct and not salesy. Your intent to help a stressed bride was very apparent and you made me feel SAFE. Planning an international wedding opens an additional level of vulnerability and complexity but you made me (us) feel safe and looked after. It was easier than planning our local wedding!
Did you feel I met or exceeded your expectations? If not, where did I fall short?
Undisputedly exceeded. Every bride deserves your presence and service.
What was the highlight of our whole journey together?
Getting to know your process and finding out that you were going to arrive earlier to do location scouting in a city that we're both not familiar with. Then having you sit next to us on the bridal table at the wedding meant you were capturing everything from our POV.
How do you feel I can improve my service?
None!! How ungrateful would it be of us if we did have any comments.
How do you feel I can improve my service?
None!! How ungrateful would it be of us if we did have any comments.
Photography FAQ’s
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I spend a lot of the day photographing as it happens, with the goal of capturing the natural spirit and interactions of you as a couple, your wedding party and loved ones. For the more intimate shots, I will begin by staying farther away to help you feel comfortable with the presence of the camera, and then gradually move closer as your confidence increases. I'll make sure you're in the right light and give you prompts to create the kinds of photos you see in my portfolio. This often includes making silly jokes and demonstrating average dancing, but most importantly, I aim to make the experience as fun and relaxed as possible.
If you were to label a style, it would be compositionally strong, stoic and fashion driven with a dash of documentary. But I will often adjust to suit the personality and style of the wedding. -
Even though I have been a part of around 1100 weddings over the years, there will be times where I haven’t been to a certain venue. Before the day I will look up on the internet what to expect, but I don’t go into a wedding with many preconceived ideas, as I want make the moments yours, not copied from the venue website. No matter the location, I can make it work….I find light before location and make it more about your connection than the venue. I am quite good at adapting to conditions because of my extensive experience and knowledge of the technicalities of photography.
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I found for most weddings over the years, the added value of a second photographer has diminished as I can normally cover every aspect of the day effectively on my own. In cases where they are of value is when the guest list is greater than roughly 120 people, where covering one of the getting ready aspects of the day is not practically possible or if your ceremony venue might have limited movement allowed or is difficult to move around in or large in size. I always travel internationally with my partner, so I will have an assistant at least that will also take BTS footage for you. Not only do they allow me to concentrate on my job better, they also can assist you and your wedding party with whatever you need.
I can source a second photographer though if needed, I have a large network across many countries plus I know all the crew finder websites in most regions. -
The number of photos can vary depending on coverage time booked and the order of events. On average 60-100 photos per hour of coverage is captured. Your photos are sent electronically in a professionally hosted gallery with the ability to do slideshows, save favourite lists, share with guests and even order prints, albums and mounts directly to your door. You can download them in both high resolution (approx 6000pixels long) or sized for web (2048pixels long), individually or all at once. They are ready to print yourself and is live for at least 1 year after delivery. Delivery time varies from 4 to 6 weeks depending on the seasonality of weddings. Sometimes you might get them in two, it really depends on the seasonal workload and travel plans.
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In order to lock in your exclusive date, I require 30% of your total fee to hold it within 7 days from contract signing. This can be transferable to other services or dates if your wedding is postponed or cancelled beyond your control. This can be expanded upon in an email or on your consultation call. The balance is to be paid one month out from the wedding. All print and album purchases made through your gallery can be paid via direct deposit, credit/debit card, AfterPay or PayPal.
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It starts at capture, my cameras have two memory card slots that write simultaneously for redundancy and are carefully transported back to my lodgings for backup. The same night they are copied to a hard drive system that I mirror to another drive and then uploaded them to a secure cloud server for remote backup in the cloud. Once the job is complete, they are archived on another mirrored hard drive array and synced to the cloud so there is always three copies of them. The RAW files are periodically destroyed to recover space, but the JPEGs are kept forever. For your safekeeping the safest and longest lasting archive is a printed album. I would arguably have one of the best and most robust data management systems in the industry.
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All photos you receive in the gallery have been individually edited with care to provide the best possible print ready file possible as per the editing style on my website. Years of experience with printers and file handling ensure the utmost care has been taken for a quality output, but I cannot control the quality if printed by a third party outside of my providers. I cannot undertake re-edits as the editing recipe I deliver has been used for some time and represents my brand. I rarely use Photoshop unless I had a certain vision in mind or to prep a file for a large print/album spread. Light retouching is applied to close up hero shots where quality is paramount. Your final gallery is all that can be delivered as rejects are taken out for technical flaws or being duplicates. RAW files are a proprietary format that often cannot be viewed or shared, are way larger to archive and deliver. I liken it to handing you the ingredients of a cake and say, bake it yourself, but with no recipe. You can buy the files on a hard drive for a fee if required.
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I endeavour to make our transaction fair and inline with consumer law in my country. When it comes to straight up cancellations, I will keep the initial 30% booking fee to cover the costs associated with booking an exclusive date, the cost of staff and the admin incurred. Postponements can be made at no cost within 12 months of the original booking date, after that or for a second time a 5% fee is applied and no flights and travel expenses booked. If there is special circumstances that need consideration (such as long booking lead time or a popular date), I will look at it case by case.
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As long as I have been operating, this has only happened three times (including severe hospitalisation), and I’ve had to step into the shoes of people that it has happened to as well. I am lucky to personally know some creatives to back me up when needed, I have a very strong network of photographers based in Australia, the Netherlands and even travelling photographers in Italy, so a suitable replacement will be found no problem. You will never be left at the altar without a photographer. In fact I have a couple of photographers on speed dial that know the way I work, my procedures and can communicate with my partner who manages my business in case. I feel I have the best backup processes in the country.
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Pretty much all competitions, magazines, directories are run by businesses to give out awards for prizes or bragging rights based on a paid to submit basis (pay to play). Some are even based on advertising spend with either a directory, magazine or industry body with in most cases a very narrow field of competition. I don’t need awards to show that I have skill with a camera and provide the highest level of service. My folio and testimonials speak to that already. Features in leading publications are more than likely paid promotions or a wedding of exceptional style which represents only 0.002% of the market.
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Not long ago I did offer video from 2019-2024, but I found with a constantly changing crew and editors (mainly due to availability), I was unable to offer a consistent look and feel. I will now refer my clients to the range of reputable suppliers I regularly work with as synergy on the day with a videographer is paramount to produce the quality of service I promise, so feel free to ask for recommendations.
I have basically sold most of the video specific equipment I used to own, so I will leave it to the specialists. I do provide bonus Content Creation by my partner of whom I always travel with.
*Only two wedding spots available
*Two couple portrait spots left
*Only two wedding spots available *Two couple portrait spots left
I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
I want to capture the elation, the tears, you both in the ultimate landscape. I get it, this part of the wedding planning process is just as hard as picking your venue. There are just so many things to think about. I am here to be part of your journey, to listen to your needs and bring you the best service possible only my experience can deliver.
If you have viewed FAQ, drop me a line and let’s get this party started!
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