Wedding photographer. Bruneck. Puster valley & Lake Braies.

Getting married in the Puster valley: the old-town lane, a castle and the Dolomites on the doorstep

Bruneck is the centre of the Puster valley – a compact town with its long main lane, the Ragen house and the prince-bishops' castle above the rooftops. All around lie the side valleys with their Dolomite peaks: the Antholz valley, the Gader valley with the Fanes-Sennes-Prags nature park, and – the best-known destination – Lake Braies with its turquoise-green water and wooden boathouse.

From Naturns I reach Bruneck in about an hour and twenty minutes. I know the route from the old-town lane and the castle to St. Lorenzen with the Sonnenburg castle hotel, and on into the Gader valley and to Lake Braies.

Popular ceremony spots are the Ursuline church and the parish church in Bruneck, the Sonnenburg castle hotel in St. Lorenzen – a former monastery – or a mountain hut on Kronplatz. Lake Braies is a coveted photo backdrop but strictly regulated: in summer there are access restrictions and time windows, so for the couple shoot we usually plan the early morning hours.

I work in a documentary, unobtrusive way, with an eye for the quiet moments between the big ones. A one-person operation with no team, with a Nikon Z6 III and Blackmagic cinema cameras, photo and film from one hand. For aerial shots over the Puster valley I hold the ENAC drone licence for Italy and the EU – in the nature park and at Lake Braies only where it is expressly permitted.

Wedding venues in Bruneck and the Puster valley

Places I know well in the Puster valley:

• Schlosshotel Sonnenburg, St. Lorenzen – Former monastery on a hill above the Puster valley, now a country hotel with a chapel, an inner courtyard and a wide valley view.
• Schloss Bruneck – Prince-bishops' castle above the old town, now with a museum and a panoramic terrace.
• Stadtgasse, Bruneck – The long, arcaded main lane of the old town – a weather-protected setting for the drinks reception and couple photos in town.
• Pragser Wildsee (Lago di Braies) – Turquoise mountain lake with a wooden boathouse against the Dolomites – strict access and timing rules, best early in the morning.
• Kronplatz – Panoramic mountain above Bruneck with lift stations and huts – reachable by cable car, a wide view over the Dolomites.
• Antholzer- & Gadertal – Side valleys with mountain lakes, alpine meadows and churches – quiet settings away from the well-known spots.

How we work together