Lake Como, Tuscany or Prague: how to choose a Europe pre-wedding destination

We shoot Lake Como, Tuscany and Prague every year, and the first question couples ask is rarely “which one is prettiest” — it is “which one looks like us”. The three produce completely different pictures. Como is water and vertical layers, with light bouncing off the lake and mountains stacked behind you. Tuscany is horizontals and distance: cypress lines, open hills, one lone Romanesque chapel. Prague wraps two people in stone — gothic portals, baroque facades, a skyline anyone recognises. Pick the wrong one and the photos will still be good; they just will not feel like you.

Three visual languages: water, hills, stone

On Lake Como the water throws light back into faces and the mountains give you height. Couples stand at a stone balustrade, on steps down to the water or at the bow of a boat while the dress catches wind. The palette runs cool, so blue, champagne and grey tulle hold best, and a forty-five-minute private boat is the core frame of the day. Tuscany works with lines and distance: cypresses as verticals, hills as horizontals, and a small chapel such as the Vitaleta between San Quirico and Pienza making the couple small inside a large landscape. Warm white, nude and simple long dresses suit it. Prague is about enclosure. Portals, facades and cobbles frame two people tightly, with the Tyn Church towers and the statues on Charles Bridge as the giveaway backdrop. Structured gowns, true red or burgundy and full formalwear never look like too much there.

How many days, and which airport

Lake Como: land at Milan Malpensa and drive about ninety minutes to the Varenna side, or take the Malpensa Express into Milano Centrale, a one-hour train to Varenna-Esino and a fifteen-minute ferry to Bellagio. Two days is enough — one on the water and in the villages, one in villa gardens. Tuscany: land in Florence, collect a car and reach Pienza and the Val d'Orcia in about two hours. The locations are spread out, one to two hours of driving a day, so self-drive or a driver is close to essential and three days feels comfortable. Prague: thirty to forty minutes from the airport to the old town, then everything on foot and by tram. No car, and two days covers the old town, the castle and the bridge.

Seasons, light and crowds

Lake Como runs May to September. The hour after sunrise is when the lake is still glassy and reflections hold; by ten the tour boats and day-trippers arrive and the balustrade spots are gone. July and August are brutal at midday, so put interiors and shade into those two hours. In Tuscany the wheat is green in May, and after the harvest late September and October bring gold and morning mist. The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset are the only hours worth scheduling, so keep midday for driving. Prague is best April to June and September to October: Charles Bridge is close to empty before seven and a wall of tours after nine. Snow is beautiful, but dark arrives at half past four and leaves a two-hour window.

Budget, permits and the usual traps

None of the three is “arrive and shoot”. Private villa gardens on Lake Como usually need booking and a location fee, and boat time depends on weather and the captain's calendar. Tuscan estates often charge a photo fee, and historic centres are ZTL zones where the satnav will cheerfully send you into a camera. Parts of Prague Castle require advance permission for commercial shoots; the Old Town Square and Charles Bridge need none, but the crowds are the real cost. For the same level of service, Prague is the cheapest, Como sits in the middle and Tuscany is highest, because the money goes into a car, moving between many locations and staying out in the countryside.

If you are still deciding, work backwards from the pictures you want: Prague for ease and city drama, Tuscany for open countryside, Como for a resort feel and a big dress. Two cities also work for a Europe pre-wedding trip — in via Milan, out via Prague, ninety minutes in the air. We write up each destination separately on our Lake Como, Tuscany and Prague pages; when your dates are set, send them over and we will build an hour-by-hour plan for the season.