In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’ve been thinking back over the romantic scenes I’ve encountered during my travels. One that comes to mind is from a tour I led to Cuba a couple of years ago. I was walking near the main plaza of Trinidad with some members of my group when we saw a bridal party making its way across the square.
A UNESCO World Heritage–listed colonial city on Cuba’s south-central coast, Trinidad is always a delight to wander through, with cobblestone streets, colorful houses, and historic buildings, set against a backdrop of the deep green Sierra del Escambray mountains. Coming across this bride and groom was simply the icing on the cake on this particular Trinidad day. As the couple posed by the church on the square, their wedding photographer went to work snapping pictures — as did several members of our group. Once the weding party found out that we had a National Geographic photographer (my co-leader for the trip) among us, they were happy to let us take as many photos as we wanted!
The bride wore an intricately detailed dress and a flowing veil, and carried a bouquet of small white roses. It all contrasted brilliantly with the backdrop of the buildings and the cobalt-blue sky.
But my favorite photo was a closeup of the couple gazing at each other with love and tenderness. Just what a wedding should be all about!
