STORY | WEESP

A June Wedding on Ilford Delta 100

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 2 November 2026

Bride in an off-shoulder dress and groom in sunglasses under a hedge arch in a Weesp garden, a wedding portrait on Ilford Delta 100 film

On a bright June day in Weesp, a couple said yes in the old town hall on the Nieuwstraat, with only their closest friends and family there. Besides my digital camera, I brought a film camera, so this was also a wedding on Ilford Delta 100.

Weesp is part of Amsterdam today, so on film I work here just as in my analog photoshoots in Amsterdam: I choose the spots and guide, and the couple simply enjoys the day.

Why Ilford Delta 100

Ilford Delta 100 is a black-and-white film rated at ISO 100, with a very fine grain. In bright sun, it keeps a white dress soft and a navy blazer deep. Shooting a wedding on Ilford Delta also makes me slower, in a good way: I wait for the moment instead of firing a burst.

A Bench Facing the Windmill

Once the toasts were over, we walked down to the river. A wooden bench stood in the tall grass, facing a windmill on the far bank, with boats moored along the shore. The groom leaned over to kiss his bride on the cheek, and she smiled behind her sunglasses.

Groom kissing his bride on the cheek on a bench by the river in Weesp, a windmill and moored boats on the far bank behind them — A bench by the river, a windmill on the far bank

Then they sat close, his arms around her waist and her hands over his. In the bright sun, the film kept every detail: the net of her veil, the stripes of his shirt, the rose on his lapel.

Groom in round glasses holding his bride from behind, her hands over his and a rose on his lapel, a close frame on Ilford Delta 100

Bride in a birdcage veil turning her face to the sun as the groom holds her close, fine black-and-white grain on a summer day

For one more frame, I stepped behind them, with the clear umbrella hanging closed from the end of the bench.

Newlyweds seen from behind on a slatted bench by the river in Weesp, a windmill across the water and a closed umbrella hanging from the bench

Through the Tall Grass

Next, a grassy path led us into a meadow where the grass stood high. I stepped far back and let the pale sky fill most of the frame. Between the swaying stalks, they kissed, small and quiet in all that space.

Couple kissing, small in a meadow of tall grass under a wide pale sky, a quiet wedding moment on Ilford Delta 100 — Tall summer grass under a pale June sky

After that, I asked them to walk on hand in hand and look back at me. One try was enough. Then they stood face to face in the grass, the bouquet between them.

Bride and groom looking back over their shoulders hand in hand in tall grass, a soft bright haze across the bottom of the frame

Bride and groom facing each other in a meadow, holding hands with the bouquet between them, tall grass soft in the foreground

On the way back, the groom turned to say something, and she laughed, her bouquet swinging at her side.

Couple seen from behind walking hand in hand through tall grass, the groom laughing over his shoulder, on Ilford Delta film

A Quiet Garden with Stone Benches

Last came a quiet garden full of old trees. Against a wall of glossy leaves stood a stone bench. The bride sat down, closed her eyes for a moment and touched her chin. Then she looked straight into the lens, calm and a little amused.

Bride on a stone bench before a dense wall of glossy leaves, eyes closed and fingers at her chin, her bouquet resting in her lap

Bride in a white dress and birdcage veil looking straight into the lens from a stone bench, a black-and-white wedding portrait — A stone bench against the garden hedge

Meanwhile, the groom couldn’t resist. He pulled out his phone to take his own picture of his bride, and she burst out laughing behind her hand. A little farther on, under two old trees, she sat on a wooden bench and smiled at us both.

Groom taking a picture of his bride with his phone as she laughs behind her hand on a garden bench, a candid frame on Ilford Delta

Bride beaming on a wooden bench under two tall tree trunks, bouquet in her lap and a stone planter beside the gravel path

The Last Frames on Ilford Delta

The groom wandered down the gravel path, talking and gesturing with one hand. Then the bride slipped a light coat over her dress and sat on the edge of a stone bench. Holding a clear umbrella dotted with white over her, he turned his face to the sky, one palm open, as if checking for rain.

Groom in a dark jacket, striped shirt and light chinos on a gravel garden path, one hand held out, a frame on Ilford Delta 100

Groom holding a clear umbrella over his bride in a light coat on a stone bench, his face turned to the sky and one palm open

Under the umbrella, he leaned in for a kiss on her cheek, and both of them laughed. The last frame of the day was hers: a smile behind the little veil, the bouquet in her hands.

Groom kissing his bride's cheek under a clear umbrella dotted with white, both laughing, on black-and-white Ilford Delta film

Bride smiling under a birdcage veil with a small white flower, a loose bouquet in her hands on a sunny garden path — The last frames of the day, in the garden

In that same garden, they also stood side by side under a hedge arch, and that frame opens this story. It was a fitting end to a wedding on Ilford Delta: no rush, one frame at a time.

The ceremony, the toasts on the town hall steps and the colors of the day are in the story of a summer town hall wedding in Weesp.

Dreaming of black-and-white film, on your wedding day or any other? Discover how my analog photoshoots in Amsterdam work.