Nicola Da Lio

For twenty years I have been telling the stories of days that never repeat themselves: villas, village churches, farmhouse courtyards and mountain refuges, always with the same way of standing aside.

What interests me is the soul and the personality of the people I photograph, more than the pose: that is where a couple’s most natural moments come from, and my job is to let them happen rather than ask for them.

Every wedding has a rhythm of its own. Mine grows out of listening, observing and a quiet presence that leaves room for people and for real emotion. I don’t interrupt, I don’t direct, I don’t restage: I wait.

I bring the same care afterwards, to post-production: full colour where the day had it, black and white where colour added nothing. A wedding photograph has to hold up for thirty years, and fashions don’t hold up for thirty years.

I take on only a few weddings a year, so that I can give each one the time it deserves — before, during and after.