We first met Jakob at 8:00 AM on the morning of our wedding. It might seem odd that the only guest at our wedding was a complete stranger, but in many ways it makes sense. Jakob was our photographer. He is the co-founder of Nordica Photography, a Stockholm based partnership which specializes not in wedding photography but in capturing the stories of couples getting married. We had no clue about Jakob’s personality or appearance, but when he walked in to first meet us at Hotel Búðir, we recognized him instantly and felt comfortable in his presence.
Two hours later I was putting on my wedding dress and putting on my hair and make up while he clicked away on his cameras. Jamie was dressing in a separate room across the hotel, meaning that Jakob was running to and fro trying to capture both scenes as they unfolded. Our ceremony was at noon, giving us little time to prepare. Jamie of course put on his suit quickly and went downstairs to handle things with Páll Ágúst. I on the other hand struggled to do my own hair and make up in front of a tiny mirror without proper lighting. I was so focused on my task that I barely noticed Jakob hovering about, sometimes standing in the shower poking his lens out and who knows where else. On top of his constant shooting Jakob also played the role of sentry as Jamie needed to go in and out multiple times and various staff came to help. The entire morning I could catch the smiles coming off Jakob’s face as he snapped a particularly good shot or as he noticed a humorous quirk that had just taken place. At one point I had asked Jakob the time to which he responded that it was thirteen minutes to noon. He then laughed as I took my needle and thread and started sewing on two buttons not yet on my shrug. By the time I was ready for the ceremony I felt calm and relaxed around him though I can be camera shy sometimes.