If you’re planning a wedding in a seaside setting, Suomenlinna is one of the most stunning wedding venues in Helsinki, and home to many of my favorite photography locations. A wedding (and wedding photos) at Suomenlinna Castle is always a good choice!

From a photographer’s point of view, Suomenlinna is a very versatile location. Old stone walls, cliffs and seascapes provide a variety of backdrops for wedding photos — along with the legendary iconic tree of Suomenlinna Castle.

I have photographed at all the most popular venues in Suomenlinna: Tenalj von Fersen, Myllysali, Pirunkirkko and Ruutikellar. Regardless of where the party is being held, good photography locations are almost always close by.

Although summer is by far the most popular time for weddings at Suomenlinna, any time of year is great for scenic photos and good vibes on this island fortress. Autumn brings warm tones to the pictures, in spring the sea and the light make the atmosphere fresh, and in winter the snowy fortress is really atmospheric. Just be prepared for any the possibility of unexpected weather and gusts of wind that want to blow you away!

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Kämp Hotel in Helsinki is one of the most picturesque wedding venues in Helsinki. The hotel’s staircase is especially great for wedding photos. The staircase allows you to take traditional shots from below, as well as more creative ones from above, with the couple walking up the stairs or looking at each other hopefully.

In addition to the staircase, Kämp’s Mirror Room is gorgeous, and it’s also a great place to take wedding photos if you are able book it.

Kämp Hotel is located next to the some of the best outdoor wedding photography spots in Helsinki: Aleksanterinkatu and Sofiankatu. Weather and time permitting, I usually recommend that we also take a few photos on these streets to get some outdoor wedding pictures as well.

Are you planning a wedding at Hotel Kämp or nearby? Have a look at the wedding photography packages I offer, and contact me if you are interested in wedding photos like these.

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Siri and Antti held a wonderfully atmospheric wedding at Allas restaurant in Helsinki on New Year’s Eve. Although New Year’s Eve is necessarily the most traditional choice for a wedding day, it provided a natural party atmosphere for the whole evening.

Before the ceremony we held a first look and potrait session at Hotel Haven’s classy restaurant, followed by a walk to Helsinki’s Senate Square and the Helsinki Cathedral to make some dramatic pictures at dusk.

Allas restaurant offered a great wedding + party venue right in the centre of Helsinki. The couple decided to have an atmospheric (and efficient) ceremony on the restaurant’s rooftop terrace, which offered a view of the sea and the market square. After the ceremony, we moved into the warmth of the restaurant to enjoy delicious food, drinks and a joyous celebration.

As the new year approached, the whole party moved outside to the restaurant terrace to enjoy the fireworks. Despite the freezing temperatures, the atmosphere outside was warm and cheerful all round.

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On a wedding day that started off rainy but quickly shifted to some of the summer’s best weather, Johanna and Miika held their outdoor wedding ceremony at Villa Järvelä in Lieto, Finland. We kicked the day off with a damp-but-lovely ceremony followed by some intimate wedding portrait photography with a rowboat on the lake and in the forest, before moving into the villa for a wedding reception full of laughter and dancing.

This wedding was featured on häät.fi.

Venue: Villa Järvelä in Lieto, Finland.
Hair: Yazzhair (Turku)
Dress:  Epok Vintage (Stockholm)
Bouquet, Flower Crown and Boutonnierre: Piia Jaala (Turku)
Venue flowers: juhlakukat.fi
Groom’s suit: Play it again, Sam (Helsinki)
Rings: Thomas Sabo & Kultajousi

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Weddings in the fall are always risky–you take the chance to being chilled, rained out, or even snowed on here in Finland (though, of course, all of these could also happen in the summertime). Thankfully, Jenni and Josa chose the best weekend in October to get married: a beautifully colorful sunny day, though the wind did manage to carry the bride’s veil away at one point during the portraits. Woops!

After photographing the First Look at an overlook in Töölönlahti, we moved to Mechelininkatu for some wedding portraits with the yellowed trees. The ceremony took place at Helsinki’s Vanha Kirkko, after which the guests boarded a rented tram (the only way to travel!) to Kaapelitehdas Hima & Sali, where dinner and good times awaited. The feather in the cap of this beautiful day was a quick portrait session on the roof of Kaapelitehdas, 8 stories up, with an epic view of the sea just after sunset. Amazing!

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I photographed Marika and Kimmo’s wedding on a beautiful winter day in Suomenlinna. The day began with a first look session in Pirunkirkko, after which we headed to the Suomenlinna shore for some windy wedding portraits. The day continued through a wonderful wedding ceremony in Suomenlinna church to the lively party in Pirunkirkko. This was a wonderful winter wedding to photograph.

Church: Suomenlinnan kirkko
Reception: Pirunkirkko, Suomenlinna
Dress: Allure Bridals
Hair and makeup: Olet Ihana! / Jessica & Suvianni
Bouquet: Sointu Rabe
Catering: Ravintola Loop
Cake: Kakkumo Anna

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Valerie and Ben’s wedding was one for the books! Even before they were engaged they joked around with having a 1920s theme wedding–and then for the fun of it decided to do it. It turned out to be a fun, fantastic, and photogenic decision–from Valerie’s vintage style dress (by Rosa Clara), to the perfect 1920s venue (the Valkoinen Sali) to the custom signs designed by the groom, it all just worked.

Not everything at the wedding went according to plan though. The 1930s Ford that was planned as the getaway car broke down on the day of the wedding, so the couple had to sit in the backseat of a cozy 1980s Mercedes. Then the rain started right after the ceremony and continued during the wedding portrait photography session outside of Tuomiokirkko in Helsinki. But none of this fazed the couple: the love and joy was apparent in every moment–from the preparation to the wedding ceremony, the rainy portraits, to the surprise big band first dance. They made my job easy.

In the evening, we stepped out to take more wedding portrait photos on the tram tracks in front of the venue. The tram driver was such a good sport that he stopped in front of the crosswalk and waved for us to take some photos in front of the tram. We ended up with some fantastic, one-of-a-kind photos. When the Helsingin Sanomat got wind of the story, they even tracked down the tram driver and wrote an article about it. This wedding was also featured in a Häät.fi article.

Church: Olaus Petri kyrka

Reception: Valkoinen Sali, Helsinki

Dress: Rosa Clara, a Spanish designer. This dress was part of the 2020 collection and inspired by the 1920s. Fun fact: Valerie spent only 2 hours shopping before she found this one in Barcelona. “There were only a few pieces in the store since they started officially selling them starting 1.9.2019 but luckily one of the sample pieces fit me perfectly.”

Hair: Aleksandra B Salon (though the rain during portraits made it go more natural). 😀

Groom and groomsmen’s suits: Pukuvuokraamo Seremonia

Decorations: Decor from Kirpputori (costing a hefty 8,70e) and the wine bottles for the candles were donated by Storyville bar. The beautiful hortensias were from Fauna&Flora.

Design: The signs, table maps, menus and placement tags etc. were designed by the groom, Ben, who works for The&Partnership. They were printed by Grano.

Catering: Soupster catering (provided by Valkoinen Sali). “All vegan guests were flipping over the insanely good vegan food.”

Cake: Brooklyn Baking Co.

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First look+ceremony venue: Oitbackan kartanon vanha talvipuutarha
Reception venue: Oitbackan kartanon talli

Ella’s wedding dress: AbbyWaits
Jussi’s suit: Corneliani, ostettu Solo for Men
Hair: Veera Jurkka
Bouquet: Inbloom
Catering: Aromikekkerit
Band: Yhtä Juhlaa
Reception flowers: Prepared by Ella and her mother

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Sarai and Rodney held their wedding in Sipoo church and the reception at Haiko kartano. Their story is wonderfully international: Rodney is from Florida and Sarai is from Finland. Rodney’s mother met Sarai in Vancouver, where Sarai was interning, and told her about Rodney. Rodney decided to send Sarai an email, and things moved quickly from there. A few months later, they were engaged and planning a wedding in Sipoo and the wonderful milieu of Haikon Manor.

Ceremony: Sipoo church
Reception: Villa Haikko, Haiko Kartano.
Transportation: Limousine Service
Flowers: Runebergin kukka

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