Consuelo & Fulvio's wedding photoshoot in SIENA, Italy

Italy still has a provincial sophistication that comes from its long history as a collection of city states. The resultant street life is very rich. Siena strikes me with its beauty, but what impresses me more is the beauty of the Siennese themselves. They are dark, fierce, and aristocratic, very different to the much paler Venetians or Florentines.

Our picture shoot had to pay homage to two characteristics that distinguish Siena: the aristocratic grandeur of its palazzos and the vibrant street life. This is why, when visiting towns like this, I enjoy photographing my couples in the streets (with the inevitable sneaky shot of a street musician or an artisan at work thrown in for good measure): there is so much raw beauty in people's everyday lives. It would be a deconstructed, clinical view of Siena if I ever photographed my couple in an empty street; it would be an illusion. No, this city is bustling, and love it it because of it!

To fulfil the vision, we started at the Grand Continental Hotel, which earned the appellation "grand" when the queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoia chose it as her residence in Siena. This 17th-century palazzo was built around 1501 and presumably realized in the present form by Pope Alexander VII as a wedding gift for his niece Olimpia. Today, it continues to attract elite visitors with its Renaissance architecture adorned with original frescoes and priceless antiques. No words can express the magic of photographing in its grand Salone delle Feste, a Renaissance jewel, ideal to host weddings and ceremonies in the heart of Siena. The honour of photographing in this room was indeed immense.

We went outdoors, photographing in Piazza del Campo, then the small alleyways, and ultimately the magnificent Assumption of Mary Cathedral in Siena.