Brad proposed to Rachael atop the Sydney harbour bridge. He even concocted an elaborate surprise to get her up there! They are getting married in September at St Patrick’s Cathedral. I am really looking forward to photographing their wedding and catching up with the family once again!
Mary and Hoi are getting married at Rippon Lea Estate next month. I am really looking forward to photographing their tea ceremony and wedding.
Renae and Darren were married at Highbank in Kyneton and held their reception at the Royal George Hotel.
Despite the heavy (and almost torrential) rains the night before their wedding, it stayed clear all day. In fact, the rains just made the surrounding countryside look greener and more lush from atop the hill at Highbank. Renae’s mother is a marriage celebrant and conducted what was a very sincere and emotional ceremony.
Sweet definitely comes to mind when I think of Darren on his wedding day. Not only did he surprise his lovely wife with earrings on her wedding day, but when I first saw him and mentioned that Renae looked absolutely beautiful he agreed without even having seen her! Hearing that almost made me tear up! How sweet is that?
Renae and Darren decided quite early on that they wanted a day that celebrated their union, along with good food and wine. And that they did! Their wedding ceremony was followed by a lavish high tea in a beautiful country setting. Renae and Darren gathered up their nearest and dearest and put on an amazing spread in their beautiful country estate. They had help though; Tonia Todman hosted the day and ensured they didn’t have to dust off grandma’s collection of cups and saucers and make the lamingtons themselves!
At one point I caught Andy, my assistant, digging into a pink frosted cupcake and looking a little faint. I asked him if he was ok and he remarked that the cupcakes were so good they were making him giddy!
Drinks and canapés followed at the Royal George Hotel. The intimacy of the day was maintained with everyone seated at a single long table, upon which many glasses of wine and course after course of delicious food was served.
I am now Kyneton’s newest and biggest fan. It was such a beautiful and relaxed placed to hold a wedding. I can’t wait to return…
Thanks go to all the Kyneton crew who were an absolute pleasure to work with. Caris and Vanessa the florists from Prunella, Melinda Wain the makeup artist and Tonia Todman from Highbank.
Suppliers who helped make their day special
Wedding location: “Highbank” Kyneton
Ceremony Official: Lesley Gasmier (mother of bride)
Bridal gown: Marianna Hardwick
Grooms attire: Travellers
Shoes: Allan Pinkcus
Makeup/hair: Melinda Wain
Flowers: Prunella
Jewellery: Tiffany Earrings
Music: all guests sent in their favourite songs on the rsvp which we played on the ipod
Bonboniere: lindt chocolate hand wrapped with Florence Broadhurst paper
Invitations: Hand made with Florence Broadhurst paper
Bridal accessories: Millinery by Reny
First night: Highbank B&B accomm
It was really nice to meet them and hear more about their wedding day, wander the streets and snap a few portraits along the way… I am really looking forward to photographing their wedding on Saturday. It promises to be a very relaxed day!
Sara and Nima had always planned to meet before the wedding ceremony to take some photos, so that the ceremony could run straight into the reception. We’d planned to meet in a local park for this “first look”, but just before the wedding Sara rang me and said that things were getting a bit logistically complicated, and that Nima was just going to come around to pick her up at the house. So that he did! Nima was greeted at the front door by the warm embrace of Sara and her family, which was followed by excited squeals. It was truly a unique, completely uncontrived moment. A unique moment for me to capture on camera. That is what weddings are all about—the unique moments.
It was so much fun wandering around St Kilda with Sara and Nima. They just smiled, laughed and joked the whole time. The ceremony was on the deck of the Prince, which was shared with their nearest and dearest who had travelled from all over the world to be there. The sun setting over the bay and St Kilda was the perfect backdrop for their laid-back reception.
It was a truly special day.
A big thank you to Andy for assisting me on the day. He went above and beyond when he chased seagulls around St Kilda!
Recently I photographed Christie and Gary’s wedding at the Point in Albert park. Christie and Gary live in Adelaide with their three teenage boys. The boys played a major role in the wedding as Gary’s best men, but it was obvious they also played a significant part on Christie’s side too.
These are just a small sample of photos from the wedding…
Some of the details:
Wedding location: The Point, Albert Park, Victoria
Venue Decorators: Magic in the Middle, Melbourne
Ceremony Official: Catherine Taylor, Melbourne
Bridal gown: Bridal Couture by CPop, Adelaide
Grooms attire: Suits by Spurling, Adelaide
Makeup/hair: Makeup by Ellinda in Melbourne and Hair by Martin & Ben from South 21, Adelaide
Flowers: Growers Flower Factory in Fitzroy
Jewellery: Earrings by Oroton, Bracelet from Tiffany
Wedding Rings: Tiara’s in Adelaide
First night: Crown Towers, Melbourne
Honeymoon: Lorne, New Zealand & Europe
Emma, who is one stylish designer herself, had put so much thought into all of the details, including sourcing suppliers from Etsy and working closely with them to make personalised everything! Every time I looked around I spotted another amazing detail to photograph.
I loved what made the wedding uniquely Australian: the venue was set on a old homestead and surrounded by beautiful old gumtrees. Emma and Ben’s choice of mixing Australian wildflowers into their decorations matched seamlessly with their surroundings.
Emma and Ben were such fun to work with, and nothing was ever a problem. I was extremely flattered at the effort they went to include us. Ben fondly recalled the story of how he realised our table was missing a ‘crepe poof’ at one of the settings. He worked frantically to make another on the very day he was walking down the aisle just to make sure that we didn’t miss out! Doing this may have also given him further appreciation of how difficult they were to make, and the time Emma had put into all the little details!
I thought I’d post something that Emma wrote to Vanessa, my studio assistant, as I felt the very same way about working with Emma and Ben.
“Lizzy made us feel so unbelievable comfortable, our time with her didn’t make us feel like ‘photo time’ was a chore, it was more like chatting with a friend who was really good at taking pictures of us having a great time. Her interpretation of the feeling we were trying to achieve throughout the evening was spot on – we can’t wait to see her final product!”
This is just a small selection of the photos and the details from their wedding day….
Hope you liked the little animation at the end!
The suppliers who helped make their day include:
Wedding location: Emu Bottom – Slab Hut.
Ceremony Official: Melissa Jacob from ‘The Ceremony Store’
Shoes: Brides= Jimmy Choo, Groom= ‘vegan’ friendly shoes by CBC available from SoleDevotion
Makeup/hair: Ashlee Cousins email:ashleecousins@y7mail.com and Lisa Tehan of ‘Lisa Ann’ hairdressing
Flowers: Blooming Brides
Cars: Family friend – gift from Ben’s uncle
Wedding Rings: Ellissi Melbourne (bride) and Raymond Jewellers, Moonee Ponds (groom’s family jeweller)
I think I find it hard because I need to find a way to express in words those moments each couple will never forget. How do I express the joy, the emotion and the fun in a way that captures all that I witnessed in one day?
I don’t think I can. But I hope the images can.
Having said that…
Some standout moments that I noticed, which will be etched into my memory from Chris and Dom’s wedding were…
Dominik’s dad standing proudly in the corner with a grin that stretched from ear to ear as he watched the boys going through the routine of preparing for the day, and struggling and debating over ties and cuff links.
The boys deciding that it was a good idea for Dominik’s mum to iron their shirts, and then lining up in succession to have their shirts ironed!
Chris comfortably switching between English and Greek as she conversed fondly with her grandmother.
Chris reverting to childhood innocence and excitement when she looked to her bridesmaids, when she was all dressed up.
The kiss, and the moment that Chris and Dom stole straight after the ceremony while waiting for the guests to come and offer their congratulations.
The tears in Chris’s mother’s eyes and her beaming smile during Chris’s speech.
The fantastic speech Dom made about their trials and tribulations learning the dance they’d bring to everyone that night. Including their discovery that their shared journey was much more important than the dance, which they took to with a vigorous light heartiness and performed to perfection!
Chris and Dom got married at St Eustathios Greek Orthodox Church in South Melbourne and held their reception at Port Melbourne Yacht Club.
To see the photographic journey I took with Chris and Dom in it’s entirety their pre-wedding couples session photos can be seen here.
Chris and Dom, I hope you are having a fantastic time in Cuba and Mexico on your honeymoon! I hope you also know how jealous I am, right now! And that I expect to see lots of photos!
It was a bit of a drizzly day in Melbourne when we headed out to photograph Sara and Nima for their pre-wedding (engagement) photo session. Not that it was any deterrent for Nima and Sara, who seem to have fun in whatever they do!
I am really looking forward to photographing their wedding later this month. They’ve got some great creative ideas which they are going to incorporate to really personalise their wedding day. It promises to be a very fun and relaxed day.
For a tiny town, Terang has some beautiful historic buildings. Clare and Shane were married in the town’s impressive Thomson Memorial Presbyterian Church.
It was clear that Clare and Shane felt honoured that so many of their family and friends had travelled far and wide to celebrate their wedding day with them.
I, too, felt honoured to be photographing this very special day, as I am Clare’s cousin. It felt very intimate to be given this all-access pass to my cousin’s wedding day!
But at every wedding I photograph, I find that this happens.
I smiled as I photographed Donna and her childhood friend reverting to childhood fits of laughter as they goofed around at Donna’s house. I couldn’t help but get a little sentimental as I captured Ross biting his lip in anticipation as he watched Donna walk down the aisle. Or could I help but absorb the fondness and happiness that came from the speeches from their nearest and dearest friends and family. The feeling of pride and happiness is obvious in the images I captured of the mother of the bride during her speech.
Thank you Donna and Ross for allowing me to capture such a beautiful day and opening a window into your lives.
Donna and Ross had a beautifully relaxed and intimate daytime wedding and reception at Ascot house. Deb Holder conducted a wonderfully unique ceremony in the gardens of Ascot house . The elaborate chocolate tasting which “endured” did not go unnoticed. We enjoyed our Koko Black bomboniere chocolates, thank you!
One thing is fairly clear. They enjoy each other’s company.
I enjoy their company too…
Recently, I went up to the sunny state, which, funnily enough, wasn’t sunny! Despite the unrelenting rain and flood warnings, Fiona and Dylan didn’t shy away from our scheduled portrait session. When I talked to Fiona on the phone (peering out the window at the drizzly conditions outside), her response was “not a problem, we’ll just grab a couple of umbrellas”. So we did! We danced in the rain!
Toowoomba is on the top of the Great Dividing Range, just inland from Brisbane, and often has days when fog engulfs the town—even right in the middle of the day. It’s absolutely beautiful when you head out of town and you can be surrounded by the beautiful Australian bush, which is just visible through the heavy fog.
Fiona and Dylan, as you can plainly tell, are an energetic and fun-loving couple who are up for anything and everything. They are planning a beautiful vintage-inspired wedding at a historic chapel and manor on the outskirts of Toowoomba, which has spectacular views over the Lockyer Valley. They’ve thought very carefully about personalising the wedding and making sure everyone is included. I am really looking forward to photographing their wedding in September next year.
You may have noticed, I may have gone on a bit of a tangent in my last blog post. Just a few random musings on the city I love: Melbourne. But when I met Chris and Dominik, it got me thinking. They made an impression on me.
For the people who know me, I have a roundabout way of thinking. I credit much to the city, but really it is the people I meet and the people I know who make it the place it is to me.
I feel like I meet so many people with interesting stories. As we say- everyone has a story.
I love meeting people. I love their stories. I love to listen. One of the things I love about photographing weddings is that sometimes people let me into their lives and I get the opportunity to tell their story- in pictures.
