STORY | AMSTERDAM

A Belgian Bride-to-Be in Amsterdam, Surrounded by Orange

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 6 November 2026

Nine women in shades of orange throw their arms wide on the cobbles of an Amsterdam canal, the bride-to-be in white in the middle

Febe, a Belgian bride-to-be in Amsterdam for the weekend, came with eight friends, every one of them in orange. Her wedding was a month away, and she had no idea what they had planned for her.

Lien, her oldest friend, had booked a bachelorette photoshoot in Amsterdam as the surprise of the weekend. I only stayed in touch with Lien, so Febe knew nothing in advance. On the day, her friends simply walked her to our meeting point.

Orange on a Canal Bridge

The orange was Lien’s idea, too: a friendly wink at the Dutch. Everyone picked her own shade, from tangerine to deep red, while Febe came in white.

I chose a quiet part of the canal belt, where bridges, stoops and canal walls lie a few minutes apart. With nine people, that matters, because the hour goes into photos rather than walking. We started on the cobbles by a narrow canal, with small boats passing behind them, and that frame opens this story.

Then I sent them across a bridge, arm in arm, and let them walk toward me. Nobody had to pose. They talked and laughed, and the gray sky kept every face soft.

Arm in arm across a brick canal bridge, nine women in orange and red walk toward the camera under a gray April sky — A canal bridge at the end of April

With every step, the laughter grew. Febe wore a black blazer over her white dress, so she stood out without trying.

Laughing as they cross an Amsterdam bridge, the bride-to-be in a white dress and black blazer walks among friends in orange

Some of my favorite frames came from the edge of the row, where four of them could not stop laughing.

Four women in orange and cream laugh out loud on a bridge, the bride-to-be in a black blazer at the back, a gabled corner house behind

A Belgian Bride-to-Be on the Steps

Next came a frame built around Febe. On the stoop of a canal house, her friends filled the stairs behind her, one per step, along a black iron railing. She stood in front with her gold sash.

On the stoop of an Amsterdam canal house, the bride-to-be in a white dress and gold sash stands below friends lined up on the stairs — The stoop of a canal house

Then I looked down on the same stoop from the top step, and the railing became a line through orange and white. Nearby, a tall brick building with a big shop window gave us one more set of steps.

Seen from above, eight women in orange fill the steps and iron railing of a canal house, a white dress at the bottom of the stairs

A tall gabled corner building of dark brick with a big shop window, nine women in orange standing together on its front steps

A Canal Wall and a Passing Boat

After that, all nine sat down in one long row on a low canal wall, their feet above the water. I crossed to the other side, so the old gabled houses could join the frame.

Across the dark water of a canal, nine women in orange sit in a row on the brick quay wall, gabled houses and a leafy tree behind

Feet dangling above the canal, the women wave from a low brick wall in front of canal houses, the bride-to-be in white among them — A canal wall with gabled houses behind

From an arched Amsterdam bridge, the bride-to-be and her friends in orange wave as a canal boat flying a Dutch flag passes under the arch

On a bridge nearby, they waved from the railing just as a canal boat slid under the arch below.

Down by the water, another boat passed so close that it joined the photo. Meanwhile, people on the bridge above stopped to watch.

On an Amsterdam quay below a bridge lined with bikes, the bride-to-be and the others pose as a small boat full of people glides past

Arms Up for the Bride-to-Be in Amsterdam

Toward the end, I asked for big gestures. First, they leaned on a railing and threw their arms out to one side, all at once.

Leaning on a black railing, women in orange stretch their arms out to one side, dark canal houses and a lamppost behind them

Then came one long hug in a row, with parked bikes behind them.

Nine women hug in one long row in front of parked bicycles by a canal, a white dress, patterned trousers and many shades of orange

After that, they closed in around Febe by a wide canal lined with young trees.

Close together by a wide canal lined with young green trees, the bride-to-be in white and the women around her smile into the camera

For the very last frame, they turned their backs to me and raised their arms over the water. Lien later printed it for the wedding day: a Belgian bride-to-be in Amsterdam, surrounded by orange.

Seen from behind, nine women raise their arms over an Amsterdam canal, the bride-to-be in white in the middle of the row — The last frame, arms up over the canal

All their photos were in the gallery within a week. Planning a day like this for a bride of your own? My photoshoot ideas from real Amsterdam sessions show what worked for others.

Celebrating a bride-to-be in Amsterdam? Discover how my group photoshoots in Amsterdam work.