October 24, 2026

Live Wedding Painting at Moschti Stäfa: The Groom Couldn’t See Me, and the Sky Wouldn’t Cooperate

Khanh Linh Dang

There was one rule at Luana and Adrian’s wedding: the groom must not see me.

Everything depended on it. I was there to paint a surprise, and a surprise stops being one the second the person it is meant for walks past your easel.

There was a second rule, an unspoken one. It was not going to rain. I had manifested it, as I always do.

The sky, unfortunately, had not read the memo.

Bride and groom embracing in front of Lake Zurich at Moschti Stäfa. Photography by Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie. — Luana and Adrian above Lake Zurich. | Photography: Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie

A Secret Between a Bride and a Painter

It started with a message from Luana. She was getting married at Moschti Stäfa, a venue with a magnificent view over Lake Zurich, and she had a very specific idea in mind.

The garden there has something special: a natural dome of trees, with the lake just behind it. It is the kind of place that looks like it was designed for a first kiss. And that was exactly what Luana wanted.

She wanted me to paint their first kiss during the ceremony, right under that dome. And Adrian, her future husband, would know nothing about it.

Dome of trees in the garden of Moschti Stäfa with Lake Zurich in the background, reference photo for the live wedding painting — The tree dome in the garden of Moschti Stäfa, where the painting was meant to begin.

The 0.5% Question: A Rainy-Day Plan for Your Live Wedding Painting

I tell every couple the same thing on our first call: it is not going to rain on your wedding day.

Then I ask them the question that matters. In the 0.5% chance that it does, what do we do?

Because there are two ways to go, and it is far better to choose them before the day than in the middle of a downpour:

Keep the scene you dreamed of. I take two reference photos: one of the background you first imagined, and one of the moment of the pose. Then I bring them together on the canvas.
Keep the authentic moment. We paint what really happened, with the backup ceremony indoors.

And on the wedding day, the 0.5% showed up.

Luana and Adrian chose the first option. The painting would show the ceremony as if it had happened in front of the tree dome, with Lake Zurich behind them. The weather could change the plan, but not the painting.

Operation Tree Dome

So the mission was set. Photograph the dome. Don’t get caught.

When I arrived, I went straight to the garden and took my reference photos as discreetly as I could, because the groom was somewhere nearby. I will admit it felt a little like undercover work at a wedding.

Then the ceremony began. While it was under way, I set up outside under a big parasol, safe from the rain, and got to work on the canvas: the backdrop of a kiss that was still waiting to be photographed.

Live wedding painter working at her easel under a parasol between wine barrels at Moschti Stäfa. Photography by Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie. — Painting outside, under the parasol, while the ceremony took place. | Photography: Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie

And Then, Adrian Found Out

After the ceremony, the secret was out. Adrian discovered the surprise.

Now I needed the missing piece: the kiss itself. I took a photo of the pose the couple wanted, and from it, I rebuilt their moment, right there on the canvas.

From Sketch to Painting, in Three Steps

This is my favourite part to show, because a live wedding painting does not appear all at once. It grows. Here is how this one did.

Step 1 of a live wedding painting: sketch of the tree dome and Lake Zurich on an orange canvas — **Step 1: the sketch.** The tree dome and the lake appear on the orange ground.

Step 2 of a live wedding painting: the couple’s faces painted first while the rest is still a sketch — **Step 2: the “floating head.”** The couple arrive face first. Trust the process.

Step 3 of a live wedding painting: the couple’s kiss under the tree dome at the end of the night — **Step 3: the end of the night.** The first kiss, under the tree dome, ready to be shown.

But a live painting is never quite finished on the night. After the wedding, I put more work into it in my studio. Here is the canvas after those touch-ups (oil on canvas, 50 × 60 cm):

Finished live wedding painting of a couple’s first kiss under a dome of trees at Moschti Stäfa on Lake Zurich, oil on canvas — The final painting, after the studio touch-ups.

Luana wrote to me afterwards:

Oh Linh, we absolutely love the painting! You are truly amazing! All the details you managed to capture are fantastic. Thank you so much for this wonderful memory!

Luana KoopMoschti Stäfa, Zurich, Switzerland

Plot Twist: A Second Canvas, and I Barely Touched It

You would think one painting was enough. Luana and Adrian did not.

They wanted a second canvas, and this one was going to be much more participatory. An abstract painting, where the painters would not be me. They would be every single guest.

So I prepared everything in advance:

the canvas,
paints in the colours of their wedding,
and a few simple instructions: clean strokes, such as verticals and horizontals, rather than drawing any particular shape.

Then came the real question. What happens when you hand a brush to a whole wedding party, say almost nothing, and step back?

Honestly? With no input from me beyond those instructions, they absolutely rocked it.

Bride and groom painting the abstract guest canvas together at their wedding at Moschti Stäfa. Photography by Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie. — Luana and Adrian adding their strokes. | Photography: Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie

Close-up of the couple adding brushstrokes to the abstract guest painting at their wedding in Stäfa. Photography by Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie. — The abstract canvas, growing stroke by stroke. | Photography: Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie

If you love the idea of guests painting at your wedding, an abstract canvas is a wonderful, low-pressure way to do it. No one has to draw anything, and everyone’s hand ends up in the final piece. It is also the kind of keepsake that looks great on a wall long after the wedding.

You can see where my guest-painting idea started at Ferme du Lignon in Geneva, or see how guests joined in at Château du Feÿ in Burgundy.

The Details

Wedding table with candles, glasses and dried flowers at Moschti Stäfa. Photography by Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie. — Table details. | Photography: Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie

Wedding table centerpiece with a white chrysanthemum and pampas grass at Moschti Stäfa. Photography by Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie. — A centrepiece of white chrysanthemum and pampas. | Photography: Geraldine Rhyner Fotografie

What the Rain Taught Me

A backup plan is not pessimism. It is what allowed this painting to stay a surprise, even when the sky changed everything.

If you are planning a wedding in Switzerland and wondering how a live painting would fit, you can find out more about my live wedding painting and its prices, or browse the portfolio.