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Weddings

Wedding in Haarlem

Many wedding couples choose Haarlem as the location for their wedding. And it's a great choice! The old town hall has a lot of character and the centre of the city is beautiful. Also, the beach and dunes have great options for beautiful wedding locations. More than enough reasons to get married in Haarlem.

Wedding in Haarlem

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Wedding in Haarlem

The preparations

Melissa and Mark were rather close to each other during their preparations. Because close relatives live in the same apartment complex, they decided to divide the preparations over two apartments in the same building. Mark on the lowest and Melissa on the highest floor. Very convenient for me because of the fact that I only had to travel by elevator to get to the groom saved a lot of time.

The preparations went smoothly. While Melissa is getting her make-up done, others put on their shiny shoes, eat a sandwich or help each other tie that complicated tie (I'm not an expert myself, but luckily video tutorials on youtube always offer a solution). Things start to get really exciting when Melissa puts on her dress and she enters the room like an angel. Her father's reaction shows that the dress looks very good on Melissa! There is also the first look between Mark and Melissa, when they first see each other they are rather speechless and can only give each other a huge smile.

Wedding portraits and ceremony

Now that everyone is ready for the day, it is time to leave for the dunes to take the wedding portraits. Although the wedding couple is already being photographed by the family a lot, the responsibility to tell the story of the day is mine.

We take a walk along 't Wed, a small lake in the middle of the dunes between Haarlem and Zandvoort. It is a place where I come regularly and which is normally quite busy, fortunately, that is not so bad now because it is a Friday. There is a funny moment when the wedding couple is admired by a group of children who are on an outing with their teacher. The weather was very good that day and luckily there were also some beautiful abstract clouds that I gladly use in my composition. Melissa was also well prepared for this day, never before have I seen a bride before that walked on Dr. Martens shoes all day. And also very handy, because walking through the dunes with heels is an impossible task.

After a relaxed walk and a lot of photos taken, we drive back to Haarlem to start the official part, the ceremony. Haarlem's town hall is truly a fantastic place to get married. The main hall is reminiscent of an old knight's hall and with a view of the main square and the big church of Haarlem, it really feels like you stepped into a time machine. A beautiful ceremony follows and afterwards, we  immediately leave for Zandvoort to celebrate everything big by the sea.

Party!

Melissa and Mark arrive at the beach club Plazand in Zandvoort. They are already greeted there by friends and family who welcome them with open arms. Not much later, the other guests also slowly pour in and the fun starts. Many sweet words from parents are shared, a toast is made and the cake is cut. And as with any wedding, there is also the tradition of throwing the bouquet. The only thing that was not planned was that it was caught by a person who should not be among the 'flower catchers'. No problem, after this funny intervention the bouquet was thrown again, this time with people who actually wanted to get married next.

A party isn't a party without party peeps and they were also well represented this evening. The wedding couple surprised me enormously with their dance moves, but especially the man in the hat stole the show that evening and managed to persuade many people to share the dance floor with him. The mix of good music, a beautiful sunset and a crowded dance floor made this evening a great success. Even the cops couldn't ruin the day of this wedding couple anymore. Although it turned out, all they wanted to do is congratulate the couple on this new chapter in life.

This is the end of this blog post.
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Perhaps you are already convinced and you want to meet immediately. That is also possible! Please feel free to contact me by clicking on the button below and leaving behind your contact details.

Personal approach
The choice for your photographer is a very personal one. In addition to the photographic style, the character and values ​​of the photographer are one of the most important criteria for making your choice. When I hire someone, I like a personal approach where communication and quality is of a high standard. It is for that reason that I also apply this method as a photographer myself.
Wedding photographer Bart Rondeel
Photo: Roxy Sun
Before the wedding

You can expect this approach from me straight away. Call me, app me or e-mail me and you can always expect a response. I can often be found on the mat, the mountain bike and photographing at other weddings, so sometimes I won't be able to respond straight away, but I will get back to you as soon as I can.

So a personal approach is very important to me and that is why I also would like to get to know you as a couple. During our introduction meeting, it is therefore mainly about you guys. I want to know everything about you, because the more I know, the better I can capture the wedding day for you.
Have a look at the photo below. I knew that the bride had a special bond with her grandfather so I was constantly looking for the right time to capture that bond. This has become one of the most important photos for this bride.

Bride dancing with grandpa

Of course, we will also talk about the planning and how photography, and especially the portraits, can best be fitted into the schedule of your busy wedding day. I have all sorts of practical tips which you can use for your wedding. I would simply like to hear everything about the wedding day so together we can also make the photos to a great success.

You'll also get access to the online portal. Everything about our collaboration ends up in this online environment. During our introduction meeting, I can explain everything about the online portal.

In addition, you can always contact me during the preparations for questions or tips. Changes to the schedule can be communicated through the portal, I will see any changes you make instantly.
Shortly before the wedding we will schedule a call to go through all the details for the last time to make sure that I am aware of everything that will happen during your wedding day. And then the time has finally come!

Wedding balloon detail
During the wedding

Finally! After such a long time the special day has is finally there. You will be able to enjoy this day undisturbed. Me and everybody else who is involved in the organization of the wedding will make sure of that. It is for that reason that I always maintain close contact with the ceremony master and other people involved in the wedding to keep the organization as tight as possible.

Wedding photographer during ceremony
Photo: Eliza Dernovska

At the wedding, I am invisible when needed but present when necessary. For example, I will often work more in the background during the ceremony, but when taking a group shot of all the guests I will make sure everybody is visible and direct them accordingly. During the party, I will be partying with you on the dance floor. I can get much closer and people open up much more when I am part of the crowd, resulting in the best possible party photos.
Not in the mood for uncomfortable poses during the portrait shoot? Fortunately, me neither!
Think of this shoot as a nice walk in the park which I will capture in the most beautiful way. I will of course 'direct' you here and there to get the most best results, but I like movement in my photos, so I would encourage you to do whatever you feel like. Go crazy, laugh, have fun with each other and be yourself, that's how we will make sure these photos will become little pieces of art.
I will enjoy the wedding like any other guest that day. I love weddings because of their great atmosphere and happy people. I genuinely have a great time at your wedding.

After the wedding

The wedding is over, but for me, the work now really starts. After making the necessary backups, it is now up to me to ensure that all those photos are carefully selected and professionally retouched. I shoot thousands of photos in one day and not one of them will go unnoticed. I only select the very best and make sure that they ultimately come into their own in the retouching process by transforming them into my unique style.

I understand that you really can't wait to see the first photos and that's why I always make sure that a preview is ready for you in the online gallery within a week. That way the memories are still clear in your mind and you will experience all the moments again when you view the photos.
Because I pay a lot of attention to selecting and retouching, I need about 4 to 6 weeks to finally deliver all the photos to you via the online gallery. You can share the gallery with all friends and family, but you can also already start making the selection of favourites for your wedding album. When your favourites are submitted, I will design the album and finally upload the design to you again via the portal for approval. You can browse through the pages in your own time and let me know where you would like to see changes before the design is finally sent to the factory. Also, let me know which photo you would like as a print on your wall.

The delivery of the album will take a few weeks and after handing over the album and the print our collaboration will sadly be over. I would appreciate it very much if you would like to leave me some online reviews. Growth is hugely important to me and the best way to find out how my work and approach has been experienced is to ask my clients!

modern tools
Nowadays the internet is indispensable in our daily lives. Everyone owns a smartphone and is online nowadays. This is why I use the most modern tools to provide an experience for you as a wedding couple where convenience, clarity and style are paramount.
Wedding photographer Bart Rondeel
Photo: Roxy Sun
the online portal

All the couples who book me as their wedding photographer receive a complete package. This includes access to the online portal. Not only is this a very cool and handy tool for you, but it's also software that I use on a daily bases and makes sure that all my services and communication run smoothly. In addition, the portal also includes an online gallery that is easy to share with friends and family and can be used to download the high res images, so you can store them yourself. Wonder what your album will look like? The design proofing function will help you to see the design and approve it online.

The gallery

An online environment where all your photos can be seen and can be shared with all friends and family after the wedding. In short, that's the gallery.
USB sticks are already old fashion these days. Technical developments are going forward so fast that the newest laptops no longer have a USB input anyway. Everything is connected to the internet and that is why the online gallery is so enormously valuable.
It is fast, simple, looks nice and very important nowadays, it works flawlessly on all devices. Details such as security and accessibility have also been thought through and photos can even be organised into different categories. Have a look below.

Trouwfotografie galerij voorbeeld

You get exclusive digital rights to be the only one to be able to download the files in high resolution and of course without my company logo. Also, you can decide which photos can be seen by friends and family. You may find some photos a bit too personal and you don't necessarily want to share them, you can easily hide these photos from others who visit the gallery.
The gallery also contains useful functions to select your favourites. This feature is most often used to pick your photos for the wedding album.

Are you interested in ordering prints? Then I can even create a prints gallery for you in which you can easily see what the photo looks like on the wall.

Bruidsfotografie print voorbeeld
Album design

After I have received your favourite photos selection through the gallery, I will start designing the album. The layout depends on the size of the album you choose. Photos really do come into their own when they are printed in large format, so I don't recommend selecting too many photos, it will look messy very quickly.

As soon as I have finished the first design you can review it via the portal in the design proofing section. You can browse through the pages and even make notations where you would like to see adjustments. After the requested adjustments, you can approve the design and it will be sent to the producer. Below is an example of a large album 35x35 cm in which the wedding couple asks to make the text slightly smaller.

Album Design proofing voorbeeld
communication tools

In addition to these parts of the portal, some formalities have also been considered. There is a page that shows all different album types and materials, there are forms to share some contact details with me (for example the ceremony master or contact details of the wedding venue) and there is a very useful form in which you can fill in the planning for the wedding day so there is never a misunderstanding about the schedule. Even the invoices can be viewed and downloaded.
And the best part, it's all online and available whenever you want!