It’s the simple moments that make travel so enjoyable.

One of our joys is observing people from different countries, how they live their lives and what makes their lives different from ours. When the opportunity arises, we engage to ask questions and reciprocate when they enquire about our lives at home. There is nothing more pleasurable than staying in neighbourhoods, enjoying a cup of coffee with the locals and dining at the local restaurants for the authentic experience.

We also love walking through the local markets to observe neighbours catching up with each other as they do their daily shopping. And, we take notice of families in their neighbourhoods, individuals sitting on their doorsteps watching passers-by like us or gossiping with neighbours who stop to stay “hello”.

One of the highlights of our travels is coming across a wedding celebration on our strolls around town. We often come across happy gatherings while wandering through backstreets, or as occurred in Rome, find guests who unwittingly assist us in finding what we had set out to see.

  • A wedding in Rome
    Guests gather for a wedding in Rome

There was the pleasure and honour in being invited to be part of a simple and happy wedding celebration in a back alley in Istanbul as we walked back to our hotel after doing a little last minute shopping. We’ve stood with other tourists outside the Basilica we were about to enter in the Tuscan town of Arezzo to watch a bride arrive at her wedding on the back of a Vespa and experienced the simple happiness of families as they gather to toast happy couples as they emerge one after the other from the Registry Office at the town hall in Nuremberg. The highest privilege of all is when the happy couple takes time away from their festivities to pose of our camera. There have been many such occasions.

  • Italian bride arrives on a Vespa
    Our daring Italian bride made an entrance arriving on the back of a Vespa
  • Outside the Nuremberg Registry Office
    A happy couple releasing doves outside the Nuremberg Registry Office in the city’s main square, Hauptmarkt

We are looking forward to sharing some of our favourite shots taken over the years in the coming weeks on our social media pages. Join us for “Wedding Wednesdays” by following on our social media pages (Facebook and Instagram, or click on the links on the right-hand side of this post).

We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy reminiscing as we share.

  • Stylish Parisian newlyweds posing in the Jardin des Tuileries
    Stylish Parisian newlyweds posing in front of the Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel by the Jardin des Tuileries