Getting married at Lago di Braies.

Walker and Joe got married at Lago di Braies, on the jetty in front of the boathouse. Their pictures run through this page, and each section says briefly how it went for them.

They came all the way from Canada to South Tyrol to get married here. People know this lake on the other side of the world. Walker and Joe wanted to see it the way few people do: quiet, and almost to themselves.

Lago di Braies, Pragser Wildsee in German, lies at the end of the Braies valley, a side valley of the Pustertal, at almost 1,500 metres. Depending on the light the water is green or turquoise, with the Seekofel above it. On the shore, the wooden boathouse with its jetty and rowing boats: that's the picture most people know before they've ever seen the lake.

For us it's a place for small weddings and elopements: just the two of you or a few guests, a symbolic ceremony on the shore or on the jetty, then pictures out on the water. A symbolic ceremony isn't legally binding. What a legal wedding takes is in our guide to getting married in South Tyrol.

For Walker & JoeFor them, the ceremony belonged outside, by the water and beneath the mountains. At Lago di Braies they found both in one place.

Summer. From June to September the meadows are green, the boathouse is open and the lake is busy. If you want pictures without people, you'll be on the jetty at sunrise.

Spring and autumn. Quieter, with softer light. In October the leaves along the shore turn. The boats run roughly from late April to early November; the boat hire sets the exact dates each year.

Winter. The lake freezes and lies under snow. There are no boats then, but it's quiet.

For Walker & JoeEarly October. The leaves along the shore were orange and the boats were still at the jetty.

The boathouse. The jetty and boats belong to the boat hire La Palafitta. Before it opens in the morning, you can reserve the boathouse with two rowing boats for an hour and a half, just for you, directly on the boathouse booking page. The exact time depends on the season: in spring and autumn the hire opens at ten, so the boathouse is yours from 8:30 to 10; in high summer it's earlier. Dates for the whole year are released on 2 February, and summer mornings go fast. If you want to marry in summer, it's best to book that same day.

You won't be alone. The lake is public, and even at quiet times there are photographers and hikers about. We know spots along the shore where you still have it to yourselves.

Nature park. The lake lies in the Fanes-Sennes-Braies nature park. Drones aren't allowed there.

In summer: from 1 July to 15 September you can only reach the lake between 9 am and 4 pm with an online reservation. Before and after those hours, and outside those weeks, you don't need one. The rules for the current year are on prags.bz.

For Walker & JoeIn October the boat hire opens at ten, so the boathouse was theirs from 8:30 to 10.

1. 7:00Getting ready at the hotel, we're already with you.
2. 8:00Arrival at the lake, the jetty is still quiet.
3. 8:30Symbolic ceremony on the jetty. The boathouse is yours until ten.
4. 9:00Pictures in the rowing boat and on the jetty.
5. 10:00The boat hire opens; we carry on along the shore and on the rocks.
6. 12:00Lunch and a break.
7. 15:00Up to the Plätzwiese or a nearby alpine pasture.
8. 17:00The low sun of the late afternoon, the last pictures.
9. SummerEverything about two hours earlier: in high summer the boat hire opens at eight.

For Walker & JoeThey were at the jetty at eight, the ceremony was at half past eight. Then out in a rowing boat and up on the rocks by the shore; the pictures at the lake took until midday.

There's room at the lake for a small group: family, witnesses, a few friends. The path from the car park to the boathouse is short and flat, fine for older guests too. After the ceremony the guests often head to the hotel for breakfast while the pictures on the water are taken.

Couples who travel far often take two days. On the first evening you write your vows in peace, in a mountain hut for example, and we join you for a few pictures. The next day is the ceremony at the lake, then a picnic on an alpine pasture. That way nothing has to be rushed on either day.

For Walker & JoeFor them, one day was enough: after the pictures at the lake they went up to the Plätzwiese (Prato Piazza), the high plateau above the Braies valley, in the afternoon. That's where the hay bale pictures were taken.

Photography and film can be booked separately or together. At the lake we're there before you and stay as long as the light is soft. See photography, film and elopement for how our work looks. More places nearby: Pustertal and Dolomites.