Jaclyn & Joshua | Honeymoon in Nice, France
Wow, what an amazing honeymoon photo session this was in Nice, France! I’m still bowled over by this couple, Jaclyn and Joshua, who were honeymooning in France and Italy. This joyful couple lives in North Carolina with their dog, and love to travel. Being that Nice is so pretty, Jaclyn contacted me about a honeymoon photo session for the two of them while they were visiting, and I was so happy to meet them!
The weather forecast for the week before had been dire. Loads of rain and gloomy weather were forecast. It does rain in Nice in the month of May, about nine days of the month typically have some rain, but it’s often in the evening. Despite the weather, we were going to soldier on, but happily the weather gods and goddesses showed us grace, and we ended up with the most beautiful morning! The temperature was in the upper 60s Fahrenheit and we had copious sun. By the time we finished, the temperature was well into the 70s and the beach was full.
I love to photograph couples in Nice in a couple of key places. First, we nearly always start in the old town of Nice, called Vieux Nice. This charming old neighborhood of Nice is super colorful, with tiny streets (called “ruelles” in French). Here you’ll find several beautiful squares, clock towers and churches, as well as a plethora of restaurants. It’s not uncommon in late morning to start to smell the pizzas being baked. Due to its proximity to Italy, Nice has a lot of pizza restaurants and the tantalizing scent of pizza permeated the air as I walked back from our session.
I met Jacyln and Joshua at the little area in front of the Palace of Justice in Nice. I felt like we were old friends, having talked quite a bit on Instagram. Seriously newly married, just a week ago, they were in great spirits, with tons of energy and so fun to talk to. Jaclyn told me that she’d fallen in love with Nice already, and I could totally understand this. Nice is so pretty and so vibrant, as France’s fifth largest city, it has all the amenities of the city, but with the sea at your doorstep, too, and tons of wonderful places to take day trips.
We walked to some of my favorite parts of the old town, it’s so easy to get lost in the maze of small streets, but that’s part of the fun! The colors of the buildings are extraordinary, pinks, oranges, yellows, reds. It’s seriously enchanting!
It was very clear from the beginning that this is a couple that is truly in love. You could see it in their eyes, in their expressions and just a wonderful, warm feeling surrounded them. It made me so happy to be in their presence. I learned that Joshua is an MD starting out his career in family medicine, and Jacyln is a runner like me. She selected a super cute blue summery fun dress and the color was perfect.
We walked around old town and talked, laughed and danced, all as I captured their honeymoon love story, newly married bliss! Old town does have a lot of stairs and is quite hilly, so bringing flat shoes to walk is a great idea, and Jacyln had switched out into a flat pair of slides for our walks.
After our visit to the old town, we headed nearby to what we call in English, Castle Hill. But in French it’s called the Colline du Chateau. There used to be a chateau on this rock overlooking Nice. It’s long gone, but the views of the top are stupendous. It’s quite a walk to the top, on well cared for stairs, but you have to be up for it. It’s a bit of a workout, but a good excuse to eat whatever you want later!
There’s an elevator that will take you to the top also, but it’s not always in service, so beware. Once on top, we made a beeline to my favorite overlook of the marina. I love the marina in Nice, but I also love the morning light from this spot, it’s simply magical!
After we finished on the hill, we headed below to the Promenade des Anglais, the major boardwalk in Nice. There’s a super cute #ILoveNice sign there, that’s fun to photograph. We finished with a quick walk along the rocky beach. I did not want to say goodbye to this lovely couple! Their love for each other filled each and every frame, and it touched my heart. I know they are going to have a wonderful married life together and I wish them so much happiness!
