A summer wedding in Sintra
Why the hills above Lisbon make some of the most cinematic wedding light in Europe — and how we planned the day around it.
Sintra has a particular kind of light. The forest holds the morning mist until late, and in September the sun drops behind the hills earlier than you expect, leaving a long, soft hour where everything glows.
Inês and Tomás chose a private estate with a lake at the bottom of the garden. We moved the ceremony forty minutes later than first planned, so that the water would catch the light behind them as they said their vows.
That is most of what planning means for me: small decisions, made early, that let the day unfold without anyone needing to think about photographs.
