Before I tell you about wedding films, I'd like to tell you how I ended up here.
I learned to observe.
After school I travelled alone.
I wasn’t running away from anything.
I simply wasn’t sure who I was yet.
Travelling gave me space to observe the world around me – and myself.
My only true companion was my Nikon FM, a couple of lenses a notebook and a pen.
I have travelled in many different places for an extended period of time, often in countries where I didn’t even speak the language.
Being alone taught me to observe.
We always grow up with an idea of who we are, often shaped by the people who know us. Being alone taught me to observe the world around me, the people and the real me.
I learned to see.
The camera taught me to notice things other people walk past.
It was a film camera, and I think that had something very important to do with the way I learned photography. Shooting on film taught me patience.
Every frame mattered.
You couldn't simply hold down the shutter and hope.
You learned to wait.
To watch.
To recognise the right moment before it disappeared.
In a very natural way, the camera became not just a companion but also a tool that let me work and make a living. Still photography first and motion video after.
I learned what I never wanted to forget
It was on one of my trips, in the south of China, where I met the girl who later became my wife and business partner, Karolina.
Together we became better human beings and better professionals than we were as individuals. She brings an artistic side to my more documentary orientated eye.
We chose Richmond in West London as the best place for us to live.
After all, London was the first place I went after school, the beginning of my travelling, and the place I kept coming back to in the years to come.
Alyssa was born on a sunny day in April and everything has changed since.
I immediately felt a bond I had never experienced with any other human being before. I think that was the time when I made my final switch from still photography to video.
I wanted to remember not only how she smiled, but what made her smile.
I felt the need to record the sound of her first words, the clumsiness of her first steps. That is when I realized that for me photography wasn’t simply enough anymore, I had to create videos.
Photography gave me beautiful memories.
Video gave me voices.
Laughter.
Movement.
Silence.
Suddenly I wasn't remembering moments...
I was reliving them.
Wedding filmmaking brought those things together.
When I think about my wedding, the thought that comes to mind and made it so special was having some of my best friends from different parts of the world all reunited to celebrate such a milestone.
From London, to Ireland, Copenhagen and Brisbane, we were all reunited with my family in my hometown on the hills of north Italy. A simple ceremony in the local church followed by a reception at my brother’s bar right outside the church, and a good meal at the local restaurant a stone's throw away. Nothing fancy, yet so special...
Those are the moments I hope to preserve.
Looking back, I realise I've spent most of my life doing the same thing.
Paying attention to moments that disappear almost as quickly as they happen.
My wedding films are not made to impress, they are made to preserve what matters in life.
I'm going to end this manifesto with some pictures of myself and with the video that I think best explains my approach: Alyssa's 5th birthday.
Thank you for reading so far and for considering me to capture the moments of one of your most important days.
If my approach resonates, I would love to have a chat.
The film that best explains how I work.
The best moments are never directed.
This is my daughter's 5th birthday.
Whether I'm filming a wedding or my own family, my approach never changes:
Unstaged.
Focused on real emotion.
Captured with a cinematic eye.
This film reminds me why I picked up a camera in the first place.
One day she'll be older.
She probably won't remember every detail of turning five.
But she'll be able to watch this film and see herself exactly as she was—laughing, playing, exploring, completely unaware that these ordinary little moments would one day become precious.
That's exactly what I hope every couple feels when they watch their wedding film years later.
Not that they're watching a beautifully produced video.
But that, for a few minutes, they're transported back to one of the happiest days of their lives.
Exactly as it happened.