KRISTA + LEO

Coupole Suite Hotel St. George Helsinki
 Häät | Ravintola Olo Häät | Urbaanit Cityhäät Helsingissä

Fun fact: Krista and Leo re-watch the Extended Edition of Lord of the Rings every year in September.

Krista lived most of her life abroad but always kept up with Finnish traditions and culture. On the other hand, Leo has mostly lived in Finland but never quite kept up with the Finnish traditions. They have been together for over a decade, and just when they started talking about getting married, the pandemic hit. As a result, the wedding planning came to a halt. But then, jumping on a significant opportunity to move together across the ocean, they decided to marry. And indeed, they arranged an intimate urban wedding in just 6 weeks.

The Coupole Suite – Hotel St. George Helsinki Häät

The most essential element of Krista and Leo’s day has been the intimacy of celebrating their wedding just with their parents. They chose a beautiful setting by booking the Coupole Suite at St. George Hotel, aiming for a simple yet elegant ambiance. In fact, Krista specifically appreciated the contrast between the closeness of their ceremony and the distance that separated them during the pandemic.

Ravintola Olo Hääjuhla

The second important element of Krista and Leo’s day was topping it off with good food and wine in a more relaxed yet excellent restaurant setting.

Coupole Suite Hotel St. George Helsinki
 Häät | Ravintola Olo Häät | Urbaanit Cityhäät Helsingissä

Krista and Leo left me one of the most touching messages just a couple days later, before even receiving the images. This is what they wrote:
“Leo and I just wanted to reach out to send a big thank you to you for your amazing work for our wedding on Friday. You are so professional, but also so genuine and approachable. We could tell instantly that you take your work very seriously and that you are incredibly talented. In particular, we appreciated how structured you were and how much help you provided with your gentle guidance throughout the day. In fact, you were already a huge help to use during the planning call when your questions helped us focus on what was still missing and what details we still needed to consider, and then on the day, you were such a comfort to us with your confident, grounded and pleasant manner.

We really felt that we were being guided by the best possible hands (and eyes!). The portrait sessions with you before everyone arrived and before we went to the restaurant were so much fun – which was such a surprise since we generally really dislike being photographed, but we both felt really comfortable and really enjoyed ourselves! Your no-nonsense attitude and your clear passion for your work are really inspiring, so thank you for sharing our day with us!”

Urbaanit Cityhäät Helsingissä

One of the coolest parts of Krista and Leo’s day was taking wedding portraits in urban settings. I have a background in Architecture, and am always thrilled to cover Urban Weddings. We had so much fun waking around historical Sofiankatu street for a short portrait session between the ceremony and dinner. If you’d like to see more Urban Weddings, you can browse my portfolio here.

Ceremony: Coupole Suite at Hotel St. George Helsinki
Dinner: Ravintola Olo Häät

Hair and Makeup: Puuterihuone Raili Hulkkonen | Wedding dress: Ted Baker | Bride’s Shoes: Emmy London | Vail: Dream Veils | Hair accessory: Lola & Alice | Wedding rings: Svendsen Jewellery | Bride’s jewellery: Astrid & Miyu | Groom’s suit: Hugo Boss | Groom’s shoes: Barker | Flowers: Kukkatehdas | Band: Riikka Myller ja Tomi Hassinen  | Stationery: Asha Annauth at Babooche Calligraphy