As surely as the swallows return north from their annual winter pilgrimage to the south, many Asian couples flock to Florence for their destination wedding photographs.

Please enjoy this vintage track while you read below:

 

If it sounds racist to single out couples from Asia, it isn’t meant to be.  It is a simple statement of fact.

By the end of March, Asian couples travel to Florence to get married (I assume they hold their weddings here…I’ve never been invited to one so how can I know?!) or at least to take their wedding photos.  Small entourages of couples and photographers appear in all the usual places–the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio primarily–but the city and its population hardly take note of the activity.  I should think their photos capture many a tourist, as you can sometimes hardly move through the daily ebb and flow of Fioritini and tourists.

There is a definite uptick in the presence of the latter by this time of year.

But, despite the expense and bother, how would you like to have the Medieval wonder of the Ponte Vecchio as your backdrop at sunrise or sunset?

 

 

Like the romance the ballad evokes, the Ponte Vecchio and Il Duomo add a touch of magic to the photos.

A typical scene of newlyweds looks like this small group seen on the Ponte Santa Trinity a couple of days ago.  So interesting is the fact that the brides eschew the beautiful eastern dress for what look like inexpensive western-style white gowns.