A Villa Elopement at St. Charles Hall: Evelyn & Terry
Evelyn & Terry · Hong Kong
St. Charles Hall, Meggen & Weggis, Lake Lucerne · August 2026
Just the two of us, at a historic villa
Venue: St. Charles Hall · Stay: Hotel Royal Luzern
Planning and photography by ROOXI STUDIO
Evelyn and Terry first met as children in kindergarten. For their wedding they wanted something as personal as their story: no guests, no rush, and a place with a sense of history.
Why St. Charles Hall
St. Charles Hall is a historic villa in Meggen on the shore of Lake Lucerne, with white salons, crystal chandeliers, old tapestries and tall windows that open straight onto the lake. Evelyn and Terry fell for the feeling of the villa the moment they saw it, and it gave us everything an elopement for two needs in one place: a winter garden for getting ready, a grand staircase, a white hall for the ceremony and a lawn by the water.
To finish the day we added the lakeside village of Weggis, twenty minutes away, for portraits by the water and the boats.
The day, hour by hour
11:00 Getting ready in the villa’s winter garden.
11:45 The first look on the red staircase.
12:15 The ceremony in the white hall.
12:45 A quiet lunch at the villa.
13:15 Champagne by the lake, the piano and the childhood photo in the salons.
14:20 Lakeside portraits in Weggis.
Lace, names and hand-painted paper
Evelyn and Terry brought their own details: a lace-edged hanging printed with their names, their vow cards and custom hand-painted stationery. Laid on the villa’s chairs with their old embroidered flowers, the whole set looked as if it had always belonged there. We let the villa be the décor and kept the flowers to a classic rose bouquet.
For the first look, Evelyn came slowly down the red staircase in her hand-embroidered lace gown and tapped Terry on the shoulder. He turned around, and it looked like a painting.
Vows, rose petals and a duet
They exchanged vows in the white hall, with Lake Lucerne outside the windows, and Evelyn was in tears. As they walked out, we let rose petals fall over them. White walls, soft light and a shower of petals: one of my favourite moments of the summer.
Afterwards Terry opened the champagne by the lake with surprising skill. Evelyn is a piano teacher, so back in the villa they sat down at the piano and played a few pieces together.
Twenty years later: recreating a kindergarten photo
Evelyn and Terry were classmates in kindergarten. They grew up, went their separate ways and lost touch, until many years later they met again and fell in love. It sounds like a television drama, but it is their real story.
So there was one photo they wanted more than any other. They brought a picture of the two of them as small children, taken back in kindergarten, and asked us to recreate it on their wedding day. In the grand hall of the villa, with centuries of history around them, we matched every detail of that old photo: how they stood, where they looked, even their expressions. The same two people, twenty years apart, now as husband and wife.
The poses made all of us laugh, and then it made all of us a little emotional. Sometimes fate really is that wonderful.
Waving at the boats in Weggis
We ended the day on the pier in Weggis. Lake steamers came and went, and I asked them to wave at every boat that passed. Many of the passengers waved back and cheered, and those turned into some of the most joyful, most Swiss photos of the day.
In their words
“Our makeup artist was brilliant: the makeup lasted all day and our family and friends loved the hair. The photography was quick and efficient, the angles were perfect and the timing so sensitive. The assistant happily filmed little videos for us too. Seeing the story you posted moved us so much. Thank you.”
— Evelyn & Terry
Planning your own villa elopement on Lake Lucerne
Stay in Lucerne, dress at the villa. Start the morning at your hotel and change into your gown at the villa, so every minute there goes to the day itself.
Mix the villa with the lake. A historic interior and a lakeside village give you two completely different looks in one day.
Bring something only the two of you have. A childhood photo, a song you play together, your names in lace. These are the pictures you will love most.
See another day at the same villa in an old money intimate wedding at St. Charles Hall, or a Villa Honegg elopement above Lake Lucerne. Ready to plan yours? See how we plan elopements in Switzerland.
Rooxi Studio is run by Ruxin, and experience wedding and elopement photographer who along with a team of talented photographers photographs weddings and elopements in the enchanting Swiss mountains. The signature style is visual storytelling that celebrates connections between couple. To book Rooxi Studio for your wedding or elopement, head to our contact page. See more of our work on our portfolio pages.
