As the official videography and photography partner for the ultra-extravagant Planners Xtraordinaire show, ManiSol Wedding captured each and every nuance of the sheer opulence displayed at the lavish 3-day affair. The all-female team of artists are known to share the same vision, approach, and style to offer their clients bespoke and consistent memories of their festivities. ManiSol Wedding is an exclusive, high-end wedding photography and videography team based in Northern Italy, who has worked all around Italy and in different countries around the world, such as Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. Here are some of the excerpts from the conversation we had with them regarding their partnership with the Planners Xtraordinaire show 2018 which took place at the foothills of the Alps, on the shores of the shimmering Lake Como!
Tell us about yourself and your incredible company. Where did it all start?
Actually, everything began at a Rock concert, back in 2007! Neither of us were into photography or videography at that time, we were just 17. We are great friends before being colleagues, and this is one of the biggest reasons why our company works so well.
We started working together in 2013 – at first, it was only the two of us, Alba and Selene, then as the business grew, we gathered many other gorgeous artists who believed in the vision of ManiSol. Many people ask us what “ManiSol” stands for – actually, it’s the mix of two names (Mani and Sol), the Norse gods of the Moon and the Sun. Selene translates to moon in Greek, and Alba means sunrise in Italian – ManiSol Wedding was the perfect company name for us! Nowadays, we are a team of eight amongst photographers and videographers, with a wide portfolio in the luxury wedding market, and we have worked in various countries all around the world.
What is your expertise and where does your experience lie?
We believe that our expertise lays in our eyes, in our attention to detail. We take great care of every little aspect of wedding photography and videography, but everything starts when we shoot. All the details matter for us and our aim is the pursuit of truth and beauty in every part of our job. We are sure that good memories don’t need a “bigger, better, bolder” approach: we craft our photography and videography products with simple yet efficient tools that allow us not to offer a very elegant, timeless product without being intrusive and invasive. We treat weddings as they are: live events with real people, with real emotions, people who are often not used to stand in front of a camera-candid photography. We take the best out of every situation and person, and we create a very personal narrative and showcase the real recall of the spouses’ love. This way, our couples don’t perceive us as detached artists, but as real people with whom they can really be themselves.
How would you describe your photography/videography style? (e.g. traditional, photojournalistic, creative)
Simple, elegant and documentary. Most of our job is reportage of a live event. However, we never miss the opportunity of finding unique situations and making some magic happen.
What do you think distinguishes your work from that of other photographers and videographers out there?
First of all, all our photographers and videographers are female, and this is a big difference from other studios around us, as we are the only all-female, all-European photography and videography studio. Except for our gender, what really makes the difference is our approach. For us, photography and videography are equally important: this is one of the reasons why we decided not to brand ourselves after our names. We give the same amount of time and space to both photos and videos during weddings. Knowing each other for so long, and working together over a long period of time, allowed us to understand each other’s thought process which helped us during every moment of the wedding day, as we worked in a beautiful, flow of creativity.
What type of technical equipment did you use to capture the lavish Planners Xtraordinaire Show?
Exactly the same equipment we use on weddings: two Nikon DSLR cameras to each photographer, and one Sony mirrorless camera with vintage prime lenses to each videographer. As we said earlier, we believe that simplicity is the key: clean framings, a good eye, and a mind on the spot can do way more than any fancy gimmicks.
How did the venues, lighting, and décor at the event affect your photography and videography style?
We loved all the venues of the event! All of them were wonderfully different and gave a real Italian, yet international vibe. We fell in love with the decor and style of the Gala Dinner: Villa Erba was the perfect location for such an event, and all the vendors involved did a stunning job. We are used to working in very luxurious weddings, handling many people and various light situations, so we didn’t work much differently from what conditions we are used to.
How would you describe your experience of working as a Videography and Photography Partner for the luxurious Planners Xtraordinaire Show?
Long, hectic and glorious! All the ladies of our team did a stunning job, and we as founders had the chance of meeting (or meeting again) amazing vendors coming from all over the world. We had the chance of discussing business with so many amazing people, talking about the present and future of our industry, collecting new ideas and building on relationships to make ManiSol an even larger and stronger reality. Even if we slept very little during these days, it was an experience we would totally love to do all over again!
All photographs courtesy: ManiSol Wedding
