My heart leapt buildings when Myriam & Reza asked me to photograph their intimate destination Morocco wedding

This was something I didn’t expect would happen in my (now) 3 years as a wedding photographer, but I’ve come to realize it’s sometimes the most serendipitous of meetings that help you grow. And truth be told, I’m often at my best when I get to combine my two loves of travel and weddings. In this case it all happened quite quickly: on a summer’s evening in downtown Vancouver, I met with Myriam to discuss their wedding plans and to finalize my involvement as their photographer. With an ocean between Myriam (in Vancouver) & Reza (in Germany), it made sense to meet and get married in a location that would soon represent a time when two families bonded even further over impromptu boot camps, explorations around North Africa, and French-inspired Moroccan food

A few months later, Amy and I would find ourselves flying across the Atlantic to land in Casablanca, the first city on our three week itinerary in Morocco. We spent the first two weeks traveling the country

And then we spent nearly a week with Myriam, Reza, and their families at the Villa President just outside of Marrakech. Most days were spent bonding over breakfast and relaxing around the pool; at night, we would have a family-style dinner and enjoy several rounds of ping-pong (Myriam played professionally in her youth). As a wedding photographer who had been hired to be there, I had never felt more welcomed, relaxed, and encouraged to become “a part of the family” as I did then. It wasn’t just Myriam & Reza who kept reminding us; their families immediately made us feel like we were really there to enjoy each other’s company

It was an incredible honour to say the least, and when the wedding day arrived, it was if I had known these two and their families for much longer than those 7 days at the villa. Thankfully, we got to bond even further still during our adventurous elopement style shoot in the High Atlas Mountains. Myriam, Reza, and their families and the country in which they decided to host their intimate destination Morocco wedding will stay with me for years to come—you can be sure of that

Venue: Villa President in Marrakech, Morocco
Music: Postcard from 1952 by Explosions in the Sky