Wedding photography · Rome · Lake Bracciano
Your wedding, told the way you lived it.
I am Barbara Cardei. I photograph people in love with a documentary eye and an editorial heart — so that twenty years from now, these images take you right back.
Since 1960, Bracciano
A family story, with today’s eyes.
Photography has run in the Cardei family since 1960, and since 1990 I, Barbara, have been carrying it forward. But I don’t photograph weddings the way they used to be photographed: I live them beside you, quietly, looking for true light and for the gestures nobody staged. Three generations of craft taught me the trade; my eye, though, is entirely of today.
Get to know me →
My style
Editorial in its beauty, documentary at heart.
I don’t build scenes: I recognise them. A father holding back tears, a hand searching for another under the table, laughter breaking out mid-speech. My job is to be there — without intruding — when these things happen.
Then there is the craft of the image: the light, the composition, the rhythm of a story you will leaf through like a fashion editorial — except the protagonists are you, for real. No stiff poses, no smiles on command: just your day, worthy of its own beauty.
A discreet presence
I work on tiptoe: after ten minutes you will forget I am there. That is where the true photographs are born.
Natural light, crafted images
Every frame is considered: light, geometry, atmosphere. The emotion is spontaneous — the aesthetics are craft.
A complete story
From getting ready to the last dance, your album is a story with a beginning, a heart and an ending.
Portfolio
Every wedding is a whole story.
Not a collection of scattered shots: real stories, told from beginning to end.
Where I work
Lake Bracciano, Rome — and wherever love takes you.
My studio is in Bracciano, steps away from the Odescalchi Castle and the lake I have photographed all my life: I know its light at every hour of the day. I work every week between Rome and the whole of Lazio — villas, farmhouses, medieval villages, historic estates — and I gladly follow couples across Italy and abroad for destination weddings.
- Lake Bracciano
- Rome
- Lazio
- All of Italy
- Destination weddings
Words from couples
Those who trusted me, in their own words.
“Barbara was invisible throughout the day and everywhere in the photographs: every image is a memory we thought was lost. We cried leafing through the album.”
Giulia & Marco
Wedding on Lake Bracciano
“We wanted photographs that were elegant but true, without staged poses. Her images look straight out of a magazine, and yet it is us, exactly as we were that day.”
Francesca & Davide
Villa in the Roman countryside
“We got married in Italy from abroad and Barbara made everything effortless — perfect English, flawless planning advice, and photographs we will treasure forever.”
Emma & James
Destination wedding, Rome
Frequently asked questions
What couples ask me most often.
What is your photographic style?
Documentary in approach, editorial in the result. I tell your day as it happens, without posing you, but with great care for light and composition. The result is images that are spontaneous and elegant at once: true enough to move you, beautiful enough for a magazine.
How does booking work?
It starts with a meeting — at my studio in Bracciano, on a video call, or over a coffee — to get to know each other and understand what you dream of. If we click, I secure your date with a contract and a deposit. I photograph only one wedding per date, so it pays to write early — especially for May through October.
How long until we receive our photographs?
Within a few days I send you a preview with a selection of the most beautiful images, so you can relive the emotion right away. The full story — hand-selected and individually retouched — arrives in a private online gallery within 8–12 weeks. Albums and fine-art prints follow your layout approval.
Do you travel for destination weddings?
Yes, gladly. I photograph weddings across Italy and abroad: I take care of all travel and logistics, so you don’t have to think about a thing. And if you are marrying on Lake Bracciano or in Rome, you are playing on my home ground: I know every corner and every light.
Do you work with international couples?
Yes — I regularly work with couples from abroad who choose Italy for their wedding. All communication, from first contact to delivery, can be in English.
Do you also offer videography?
The studio also produces wedding films, with the same discreet, narrative approach as the photography. Ask me at the quote stage and we will build the perfect coverage for your day together.
Is your date still free?
I photograph a limited number of weddings each year — only one per date. Write to me today: I reply personally within 24 hours.
Tell me about your wedding