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.

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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.

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.

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