STORY | AMSTERDAM

A Bachelorette at the Magere Brug on a Summer Evening

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 2 November 2026

Five friends laughing in a row on a canal bridge on a summer evening, one in a wide-brimmed hat, tall gabled canal houses behind

Five friends came over from Helsinki with one plan: to celebrate Aino before her wedding. Their bachelorette at the Magere Brug began on a summer evening, on the white drawbridge over the Amstel. It ended with a toast and a wave.

Five is a lovely size for my group photoshoots in Amsterdam. The group is small enough to walk anywhere together and big enough to fill a bridge. I planned a short route from the Magere Brug into the canals nearby, so they only had to enjoy the evening.

Five Friends on the Magere Brug

We met at the Magere Brug, the white drawbridge over the Amstel. First, I asked the five of them to walk across it toward me, side by side, and simply keep talking. Halfway over, the friend in the striped shirt threw her arms in the air, and everyone burst out laughing.

Five friends crossing the Magere Brug toward the camera during a bachelorette photoshoot, the white drawbridge rising behind them — The Magere Brug over the Amstel on a summer evening

On the second walk, they came right up to me, easy and unhurried, as if they crossed this bridge every day.

Five women walking over the brick deck of the Magere Brug in denim, lace and stripes, one with a hand in her hair, all smiling

Evening Sun by the Magere Brug

Beside the bridge, the low sun hung behind the gabled houses across the Amstel. The five lined up at the railing, and one of them held her wide-brimmed hat in one hand.

Five friends lined up at a railing by the Magere Brug, low sun behind the gabled houses across the Amstel and a hat in one hand

Then I counted to three, and all five jumped at once, arms up and hair flying in the warm light.

Five women jumping at the railing by the Magere Brug during a bachelorette photoshoot, the Amstel and its gabled houses glowing in low sun — Low sun over the Amstel, beside the Magere Brug

Window Ledges and Stoops

From the river, we walked into the quieter canals nearby. On a small bridge, they stood in a row for the frame at the top of this story. After that, they laughed so hard that one of them clapped both hands over her mouth. A few steps on, they crossed the next bridge arm in arm.

Five women laughing at a canal railing, one with both hands over her mouth, a big tree and tall brick houses behind them

Five friends walking arm in arm across a canal bridge in soft evening light, a dark brick house with a gray tiled roof behind them

Amsterdam’s canal houses are full of places to sit. Here, a low window ledge became a bench for five, legs crossed and shoulders touching.

Five women in a row on the low window ledge of a dark brick canal house, legs crossed and shoulders touching under white window frames

Women spread over a canal-house stoop with tall red flowers, two of them leaning on parked bikes and one sitting on the black railing

Next came a stoop with tall red flowers and two bikes parked against it. Two friends leaned on the bikes, while the others spread out over the steps and the railing. That way, every friend had her own height in the frame.

Pink Roses for the Bride-to-Be

Aino had a few minutes of her own on a black stoop railing, above a bush of pink roses. She closed her eyes and breathed in the flowers, and for once her friends were quiet.

Woman with long curly hair sitting on a black stoop railing above a bush of pink roses, eyes closed and a hand raised to her face — Pink roses at a canal-house stoop

Then her friends came back. In a quiet street with flowers and a lantern, I spread them out from one side to the other.

Five friends spread across a quiet street with flowers, bikes and a lit lantern, one sitting on the cobbles in a striped shirt

Around the corner, pale pink climbing roses covered a whole facade, with two bikes parked below. Aino sat down on the cobbles in front of them, and the others spread out along the wall.

Five friends under pale pink climbing roses beside two parked bikes, one of them sitting on the cobbles below a canal-house facade

A Spritz Toast and a Last Wave

To finish, we stopped at a terrace under a big old tree, where the lantern was already on. Five glasses of spritz arrived, and the first toast was for Aino.

Five friends raising their glasses of spritz together on a terrace under a big tree, a lantern glowing on the white wall behind

Of course, one toast was not enough. After the second, they leaned in for one more group frame, straws and all.

Spritz toast with straws at the end of a bachelorette photoshoot, five friends leaning in on a terrace, one in a slogan T-shirt

On the way back, the five stopped on a bridge and waved at the canal houses, as if saying goodbye to the city. That became the last frame of their bachelorette at the Magere Brug.

Five friends seen from behind waving at gabled canal houses from a bridge, the last frame of their bachelorette photoshoot — A canal bridge at the end of the evening

Planning a bachelorette of your own? These bachelorette photoshoot ideas come from real sessions like this one.

Celebrating a friend before her wedding? Discover how my group photoshoots in Amsterdam work.