SUNRISE AT PASSO GIAULilly & Vic

July 7, 2026

Lilly and Vic eloped at Passo Giau at sunrise, and it was one of the best mornings I have had in the Dolomites. Passo Giau is a high pass in the eastern Italian Alps, the drive up one of the finest roads in the range, with the sharp pyramid of the Ra Gusela above it. They got married up there in the first light, with almost nobody else around.

Lilly has an eye. The two of them turned up in proper vintage, a green cardigan and a wide-brimmed hat for her, tweed and a flat cap for him, and drove a classic red car up the pass, which is not something you see every day at 2,200 metres. It gave the whole morning a real look, and details like that are the reason I do this. If you are planning to elope at Passo Giau, or anywhere in the Dolomites, I would love to hear from you.

Sunrise at Passo Giau

The three of us were up before the light, which at Passo Giau means a cold, dark road and a lot of coffee. That is the price of having one of the most famous views in the Dolomites to yourself, and it is worth paying. Lilly and Vic wandered the ridges while the sky went from grey to pink, in no rush, waiting for the sun.

Sunrise over Passo Giau on the morning of Lilly and Vic's Dolomites elopement
Lilly in a green cardigan and wide-brimmed hat at Passo GiauPortrait of Lilly at Passo Giau, vintage styling against the mountains
Passo Giau elopement at first light, the Ra Gusela peak still in shadow Lilly and Vic walking the ridge at Passo Giau before sunrise The high road up to Passo Giau winding below the Ra Gusela Vic in tweed and a flat cap at Passo Giau at dawn Couple eloping at Passo Giau as the sky turns pink over the Dolomites
Vic waiting for the sun at Passo GiauLilly's wide-brimmed hat and green cardigan in the cold morning light
The classic red car parked on Passo Giau at 2,200 metres Lilly and Vic beside their vintage red car at Passo Giau Passo Giau elopement, the couple small against the Ra Gusela
Vic in tweed looking out over the passLilly on the ridge at Passo Giau before the sun
The couple together on the grass at Passo Giau at dawn Passo Giau at first light, mist across the valley
Detail of Lilly's vintage outfit at Passo GiauLilly and Vic close on the ridge, Passo Giau
Vic and Lilly waiting for sunrise at Passo GiauLilly in her hat, the Ra Gusela behind
Vic in tweed at Passo Giau in the morning greyThe couple on the ridge as the sky lightens over Passo Giau

When the sun broke over the pass

When it came, it came hard. The sun cleared the ridge and threw long beams across the grass, and for a few minutes the whole pass was gold and mist and light. Lilly and Vic were in the middle of it. I did not have to do much, just keep up. Mornings like that do not come around often, and when they do you shoot fast and think later.

The sun clearing the ridge at Passo Giau, long light across the grass Lilly and Vic in golden light at Passo Giau Sunrise beams across Passo Giau on Lilly and Vic's elopement morning
Lilly and Vic in the first warm light at Passo GiauLilly backlit by the rising sun at Passo Giau
The couple embracing as the sun breaks over the pass Passo Giau elopement in full sunrise, gold and mist Lilly and Vic walking into the light at Passo Giau Long morning shadows across Passo Giau The Ra Gusela lit gold above Passo Giau Lilly and Vic together in the sunrise at Passo Giau Golden light on the couple at Passo Giau Passo Giau at sunrise, the pass to themselves Lilly and Vic in the last of the low morning light
Portrait of Lilly in the sunrise at Passo GiauVic in the warm light at Passo Giau

Gardena Pass, and the rain

Passo Giau was only the first half. Lilly changed, and then it was north to the Gardena Pass, where the weather turned. It came in wet, a proper mountain rain shower, and rather than wait it out, Lilly and Vic walked straight into it. Cold, soaked, laughing. A day that started gold and ended grey, and was better for both. If that sounds like your idea of an elopement, you know where to find me.

Lilly in her second outfit at the Gardena PassVic at the Gardena Pass as the weather turns
Rain moving across the Gardena Pass in the Dolomites
Lilly and Vic walking into the rain at the Gardena PassLilly at the Gardena Pass, soaked and laughing
The couple in a rain shower at the Gardena Pass Gardena Pass under cloud, Lilly and Vic on the road
Vic and Lilly close together in the rain at the Gardena PassLilly at the Gardena Pass, wet hair and a grin
The Gardena Pass in the rain, peaks lost in cloud Lilly and Vic laughing through the shower at the Gardena Pass A grey, wet afternoon at the Gardena Pass
Lilly and Vic together at the Gardena Pass in the rainPortrait of Lilly at the Gardena Pass, soaked through
The couple walking off into the rain at the Gardena Pass Gardena Pass, the day ending grey and wet Lilly and Vic at the end of their Dolomites elopement, Gardena Pass

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