Photographer Marco van Rijt marries Sune Palner in Danish estate nuptials

Copenhagen darlings, Marco van Rijt and Sune Palner’s meet-cute is something out of a fairy tale, if that fairy tale were to include vodka shots and zero memory of the night.

The photographer and CEO/creative directors’ first encounter was an eyes-locked-across-a-crowded-room situation during Paris Men's Fashion Week in 2014. Their eye contact ping-pong continued but neither of them spoke up until much later that night at a party at Palais de Tokyo when Palner mumbled some vodka-enhanced words to Van Rijt who he describes as “a very sober cool cat.” “We had brunch the next day with friends and from then on we were a couple,” says Palner.

But Van Rijt from the Netherlands and Palner from Denmark, texted back and forth until Van Rijt made the move to Copenhagen where their relationship went from strength to strength. Van Rijt proposed four years ago to a shell-shocked Palner. “[The proposal] happened in the middle of beautiful vineyards in Florence,” he says. “Marco went down on his knee, and it was a big surprise as I’m always in control and had absolutely no idea.”

The couple tied the knot this summer in front of 68 guests where everything went to plan, regardless of the small hiccups Palner insists were just as important as any other part of the day. Five minutes before the wedding, the sky opened and the rain came pouring down, but just as the guests started to arrive, the rain stopped, and the sun came out. A better, more romantic start to the ceremony couldn’t have been scripted.

The duo say they knew they wanted an outdoor wedding but could never find the right spot until one fortuitous day Palner visited Clara, a childhood friend at Baroque estate dating back to 1740 on the island of Funen in Denmark. “It all became obvious that the wedding should be held at this beautiful setting,” he says.

When it came to wedding attire, the couple asked guests to wear black so they could “stand out,” says Palner. “We mostly wear black, so we thought it was the right occasion to wear colour,” he says.

“Quite early in the process of planning, Marco found a Bottega Veneta shirt and trousers in this incredible light blue colour, and I wanted something lighter, a more off-white colour but it was hard to find the right outfit.” Palner searched online and even took a trip to Paris, but he eventually found what he wanted on the Bottega Veneta website.

"I deconstructed and took off the sleeves and added a veil to the pocket. We both changed later into a party look – me in a Ludovic de Saint Sernin look and Marco in Filippa K suit.” Friends played a big role on the couple’s wedding day and being married by close friend, Amanda Nørgaard, is a moment they will never forget. “[Amanda] created the most beautiful, spiritual ceremony with words of her own that touched us all. She made us, together with our guests, united in this lovely setting and confirmed our love,” says Van Rijt.

“It was so magical with the sound of the cello and the wind in the trees. She asked all guests to hold hands and send us love. We could feel the love just as a wind came toward us.” They walked down the aisle to their favourite song on the cello, 'Never Knew Love Like This Before' by Stephanie Mills.

In a touching moment, Danish singer-songwriter and close friend of the couple, Aura Dione, played her song, Antony, and when it came to speech time, Scandinavians rarely disappoint.

“We were so blessed with all the speeches – tears and laughter were shared,” says Van Rijt. “Sune had a touching speech for me, and it ended with Rasmus Walter singing the song 'Always On My Mind', which touched everyone and made us both cry."

As the sun went down, 200 candles and disco lights set the party mood under the open air and full moon. “We just wanted a fun special day, full of love.” And from start to finish, this is exactly what the happy, loved-up couple achieved.