Eine Prise Salz

Eine Prise Salz is the one-woman wedding photography business of Marianne, a photographer based in Lucerne who covers weddings, elopements and tiny weddings across Switzerland. Her homepage leads with one distinctive service: a slideshow of the day's first pictures, shown to the couple and their guests on the wedding evening itself.

Who she is

Marianne introduces herself on the homepage as a wedding photographer who has worked for 10 years and has photographed more than 300 weddings, each one different, as she puts it. She works under the name Eine Prise Salz (a pinch of salt) and signs off one section with "Mit einer Prise Salz und ganz viel Herz" (with a pinch of salt and a lot of heart). The same section says her work won a Swiss Wedding Award; the page gives no year or category.

Because she runs the business alone, she writes that she is personally there for the couple "von der ersten E-Mail bis zur letzten Bildbearbeitung" (from the first email to the last edit). A couple will deal with the person who photographs their wedding throughout, rather than with a studio team.

The evening slideshow

The feature she puts first is the Diashow am Hochzeitsabend. On the evening of the wedding, she shows an emotional slideshow of the first images of the day, which she describes as a highlight for the couple and the guests. The practical side is useful too: the page says the couple can send out a small selection of their wedding pictures the very next day.

For couples whose guests have traveled from abroad, that matters. Relatives who fly home the morning after have already seen the day's pictures, and the couple have something to share with those who could not come.

Style and approach

Her philosophy section opens with "Es gibt kein Schema F" (there is no standard formula). Every wedding has its own mood, and she aims to photograph the real moments as they happen. She describes her style as real emotion with soft colors and creative perspectives, and she lists the details she looks for: the smiles and tears during the vows, the loving looks between the couple and their guests, the guests' tears of joy, the cheering.

On the day, she says she accompanies the couple unobtrusively, as an almost invisible "Paprazza" (her own coinage for a female paparazzo), from the ceremony to the party. The page promises natural wedding photos with no posed shots, and describes her as a photographer who thinks ahead with the couple. The settings she names range from a boho wedding in nature to an elegant castle wedding or an intimate celebration for just the two of them.

Where she works

The homepage names Lucerne, Zug, Zurich and Lugano, "oder an einem anderen schönen Ort" (or another beautiful place), wherever the couple's story happens. Elsewhere it says she photographs weddings throughout Switzerland and can be booked at a destination of the couple's choice. Her blog titles give a sense of where she has worked: a wedding with a dog at Schlössli Utenberg in Lucerne, a wedding at Villa Honegg above Lake Lucerne, and a wedding in the Obwalden countryside between mountains and lakes. Other posts cover marrying while pregnant, with tips on planning and staying calm, and why reliability matters in a wedding photographer. The page does not say how travel outside central Switzerland is charged.

Other services

The site navigation lists more than wedding photography. There is a combined photo and film offer ("Foto und Film aus einer Hand"), a wedding song, couple shoots and family photo sessions, plus a page of available dates, an FAQ and terms and conditions. The homepage itself describes none of these in detail, so the scope and cost of the film and song offers are questions for the first conversation.

What couples write

The homepage carries several testimonials, most in German. Deborah and Emanuel, whose civil and church weddings in Lucerne she photographed, write "Sie bewegt sich unauffällig und man merkt fast gar nicht, dass sie da ist" (she moves unobtrusively and you hardly notice she is there), and praise her talent for pressing the shutter at the right moment. They recommend her for her kind, cheerful and calm manner.

Silje and Tobias write that she stayed with them from morning until late evening and, when the service at their different locations was not going well, "Sie übernahm Verantwortung und managte alles" (she took responsibility and managed everything). They also describe the evening slideshow and the tears it brought. Stefanie and Michel mention her uncomplicated and affectionate manner at their couple shoot, and Raphaela and Markus booked her for their wedding after a couple shoot by a lake in autumn.

Working in English

The site is written in German. One testimonial, however, is in English. Martina and Nicholas, married in May in Switzerland, write that Marianne "was able to communicate with our English and German speaking guests effectively as we had people from all over the world together," and that once the formal photos were done, "I did not even notice she was there." That is the clearest evidence on the page that she has worked an international, bilingual wedding. The site itself does not state which languages she offers, so an English-speaking couple should still confirm it when they write.

What the site does not settle

The homepage publishes no prices and does not describe what a wedding booking includes: hours of coverage, the number of images, delivery time, albums or how the files are handed over. It links to an FAQ and to terms and conditions, which a couple should read before booking. Travel costs outside her home region and the details of the photo-and-film package are also open.

Who it suits

Eine Prise Salz suits couples marrying in central Switzerland, or anywhere in the country, who want unposed reportage and a single photographer who handles everything from the first email to the final edit. The evening slideshow is a real draw for weddings with guests from abroad, and the English testimonial is a good sign for bilingual parties.

It suits less well couples who want a formal, heavily directed portrait style, or who need prices and package contents before making contact. For them, the enquiry form and the linked FAQ are the next step.