Imagine a glorious, sun-drenched wedding day, wearing a breathtakingly beautiful ‘boho-luxe’ wedding dress, with one of the world’s most photographed icons in the background. Here, we bring you a captivating wedding shoot courtesy of international wedding photographer Maddy Christina, in collaboration with the acclaimed five-star Address Downtown hotel, in Downtown Dubai, and regional wedding vendor talent.

The UAE is home to so many beautiful wedding locations, from vast desert dunes to lush green lawns and shimmering beaches — all with scenic backdrops of blue skies, azure seas or golden sand — but having an iconic view of the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, overlooking your wedding day is hard to beat.

If you’re a modern, free-spirited, city-loving bride-to-be, let Maddy’s wonderful wedding shoot at the Address Downtown inspire you for your big day in Dubai. Enjoy.

A Note From The Hair And Make-Up Artist – Monica Hernandez, MHG beauty

Above: Monica Hernandez

Brides-to-be, I hope you feel inspired by this wedding shoot, designed to take you on a journey of what your wedding day could look like. To help me create the story I want to portray I always start by making a moodboard, not only of the wedding’s overall style, but the bride’s particular look too.

Try creating a moodboard on Pinterest: start by selecting photos that you like and then begin to find a theme as you see them all together; eliminate the photos that don’t go with your story, and voila, you have your moodboard! I love to see how the photos present the ideas for the day when they all come together. Creating a moodboard will help you narrow down options and really tailor your wedding to your specific taste. And believe me, your wedding planner will thank you for it. As the famous saying goes: pictures speak louder than words. Wedding planners, florists, photographers, cake designers, makeup artists, and pretty much everyone from the wedding industry, will get a much clearer idea and understanding of what you’re looking for if you can show them through pictures.

I created just such a moodboard for this particular wedding shoot, too, with an overriding theme of ‘avant-boho chic’. We wanted the wedding day to exude elegance and modernity with a free-spirited feeling.

The wedding shoot started in a luxury hotel room in the Address Downtown, where talented photographer Maddy Christina took stunning shots of model Julie Brisson, our beautiful ‘bride’, getting her makeup and hair done. These pre-ceremony, ‘getting ready’ pictures are priceless, so make sure you book your photographer to come early and capture these special moments.

Everyone involved in the shoot became speechless when we saw Julie emerge looking breathtaking in a Bo & Luca wedding dress from Ginger and Poppy Bridal in Dubai. Julie’s partner Jan Haraslin (yes, they are a genuine couple), her handsome groom, was especially awestruck when he arrived and saw Julie, and Maddy captured the magical first time they caught sight of each other.

We then staged some couple shots of the bride and groom, photographed on the scenic palm-lined outdoor walkway that runs from the Address Downtown lobby through to the hotel’s Zeta restaurant, our special venue for the wedding ceremony. Zeta’s chic terrace has a remarkable view of Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Fountain, and it’s the perfect place to say “I do” for any couple wanting a memorable backdrop. Zeta’s bridge walkway, decorated with brass-stems topped with white orb lights, conjuring a metallic floral display, is simply enchanting. Creative and talented wedding planner and stylist Julie Ziani, from Julie & Romeo Wedding, set up the perfect ceremony by the water’s edge: stunning pampas arrangements set the scene and she took advantage of Zeta’s minimalistic metal arches — part of the restaurant’s al fresco décor— by styling them into an aisle, using knots of dried palm leaves and white flowers for our gorgeous bride to walk under.

Once the ceremony shoot was complete, we moved to our last location for the wedding reception pictures, The Garden restaurant at the Address Downtown, a verdant tree-lined venue. Here, Julie styled a romantic tablescape setup with a combination of nude-toned tableware, individually-detailed menu cards, golden wheat sheaves and pampas, and simple, undecorated white candles, to create a scene that matched the desired look of the shoot — a theme of warmth, sophistication and boho-chic style — topped off with spectacular Burj Khalifa views from the Address Downtown. We hope you enjoyed this wedding shoot as much as we did!

The Dream Team

Organised by: Maddy Christina and Monica Hernandez / Venue: Address Downtown / Photographer: Maddy Christina / Wedding dress and accessories: Ginger and Poppy Bridal / Wedding stylist and flowers: Julie and Romeo Wedding / Models: Julie Brisson and Jan Haraslin / Makeup and hair: Monica MHG beauty.

If you are interested in booking any of the featured vendors in the above article, just click below.

If you are interested in booking any of the featured vendors in the above article, just click below.