So I made it. It was a rather uneventful trip, but on a day where yet another plane fell out of the sky, I was just glad it wasn’t mine. I can thoroughly vouch for the Royal Brunei service. They feed you like there’s no tomorrow. That’s probably in lieu of the fact there’s no booze being served. Which in itself is not a bad thing, because people aren’t up and about going to the toilet all the time after breaking that proverbial seal.

I landed at 6am, justified my reasons for being here to customs, and got the train into London to my hostel which will be home for the next 3 days. After a quick shower, I headed out to pound the pavement and see what I could find.

I’ve been to London once before, but I was 12 at the time, and your memory tends to get a bit hazy over the years. I had this grand plan that I was going to go to all the places on the Monopoly board, but it’s actually a lot harder than I imagined. I’ve found it hard to get my bearings in this place. NYC was easy. Everything was in a grid pattern formation, so it was impossible to get lost. Here the streets are all over the place, and there is a distinct lack of street signs, and the ones that are there are placed on the corner building on about the second story. I’ve been going up and down streets more than a few times trying to find my way!

They’re also claiming here that England is in the grip of a heat wave. I had to laugh because to me it’s just a regular Autumn in Queensland! Despite the reports, I’ve found it quite pleasant outside!

Crowds are a different thing though. Not that I normally mind, but when I’m taking pictures ideally I’d like it to be without hoards of German & Asian tourists posing in front of every single landmark. And it’s not like you can ask a few hundred people to move so you could get a photo - even though the thought did cross my mind!!

Here’s a sample of what I managed to find…

I headed on over to see the queen (who wasn’t home - that will teach me for not calling ahead), and happened on the changing of the guard. It was too crowded to get any decent photos, so instead I just took it all in. And while we’re on the topic, I’m sorry, but the royal marching band playing “Let Me Entertain You”, in my opinion cheapens the whole experience…

Definition of embarrassment. Walking around a quiet church when your phone rings playing “I’m a tits and ass man”….

I love Lauren. I know Tim does too, but so do I. It’s so corny, but it’s true. Lauren is just one of those people who is beautiful, full stop. Inside and out. You can’t help but love her.

Lauren had put a lot of care and attention into planning a day they would truly enjoy. Tim & Lauren elected to have a morning ceremony with lunch-time reception so they could get to celebrate their first evening as husband and wife together. Lauren chose the perfect dress, which looked simply ah-mazing on her, that her Mum had made based purely on a similar dress she had seen on my blog.

To say Lauren was radiant would be an understatement. Her eyes sparkled. And while that could have something to do with make-up by Beautiful Images By Toula, it also helped that she was marrying the love of her life in just a few hours.

Now, I don’t know what it is, but whenever I really need an overcast day - for some reason I seem to get it. Shooting in the middle of the day, in the harsh overhead sun is always a challenge. Not impossible, but a challenge. I’ll often say before the wedding “maybe we’ll get lucky and we’ll get an overcast day” - and you know what - I get lucky (and get your mind out of the gutter!!).

Right as we were heading to Howard St the storm clouds gathered and created beautiful conditions for some 1pm images. We also then quickly dropped into the Marriott for some cool photos of Tim & Lauren together. From there it was over to Allan Border Field where the reception was being held, and some quick shots out in front of the grandstand, and some fun quoting the Oz Brothers (legend, legend, dead set legend).

Thankyou to my one and only Daddy-Poo for flying back from South Africa on Saturday night just so he could shoot with me on Sunday (well, I’m sure that wasn’t the only reason, but it sounded good). But more importantly, thankyou to Tim & Lauren for being so sweet, so fabulous, and so much in love. xxx

Now let us face Launceston and pray…

Gettin’ down to some Wes Carr. Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa…

There’s one in every bunch…

How’s that for some blue steel…

I’ll be back in about a months time with the full slideshow which is gonna be AWESOME!!!

First, its hard for me to believe that I’m actually posting these images the SAME week the wedding took place! What’s even harder to believe is that I’m doing this from London (or how my best friend and I say it to eachother - LONDON BABY!!!)

I’ve arrived over here safe and sound, after spending about 30 something hours travelling. But more important than that is that I shot two fabulous weddings on the weekend, and I worked my butt off all day Monday to get the images ready to share rather than waiting until I get home.

On Saturday, with Poo out of the country himself, I headed out with Rick Faulks to shoot Charlie & Cassie’s wedding. The day started out locally for us, with Cassie getting ready at her house in Brassall. Once again, Beautiful Images By Toula was on hair and makeup, and were long gone before I even arrived. There is SO much to be said for punctual hair and makeup. When I give a time for the bride to be ready by it’s not a suggestion, or a request - it’s what I NEED in order to do the job I’ve been paid to do. I never get nervous when I know Toula is on the case, because I know that everyone will be ready with LOADS of time to spare. That’s just one of the many reasons I love her so much.

Cassie chose a beautiful Lisa Ho dress as her wedding gown, and complimented it perfectly with a birdcage veil. Cassie is also a trained florist, and personally did all of the flowers for the wedding (if you want her details, let me know!). Cassie is a very easy going young lady, and was very calm and collected.

The ceremony was held at Charlie’s old school, St Josephs at Spring Hill. Charlie has recently broken his finger (and yes it would be his ring finger!) so there was a tense, yet amusing moment when Cassie really had to force the little bugger on his finger.

From there, the rest of the afternoon was spent having a ball down in Captain Burke park, and then hanging around waiting for it to get dark to get some cool shots with the Story Bridge. Once we had that wrapped up, it was off to Victoria Park where they could finally kick back and enjoy themselves!

In order to get both this weekends weddings up before I left, I have had to do away with the slideshow in this case. Rest assured though, once I’m back in the country, I’ll treat you to a full look at Charlie & Cassie’s day. But for now, please enjoy a few of my favourites…

Hard at work!…

If it were possible for me to fall in love with a group of people, then Matthew & Charlotte and their awesome bridal party would have my heart. There was so much fabulousness (that’s a word I just made up) radiating from these guys, that it was just one of those days that rocked.

Enter Charlotte in her Darb gown. Charlotte looked absolutely stunning and combined her beautifully elegant gown with an antique veil that has been handed down in her family for a couple of generations. The girls also shone in Lisa Ho gowns, but it was Charlotte and her piercing blue eyes that stole the show.

Over at St Agatha’s, Matthew & the boys were looking dapper, and were raring to go. The guys were giving Matt a hard time, but keeping him in good spirits with plenty of laughs.

Charlotte arrived in a vintage Rolls Royce, provided by the awesome Kenz Classic. Ken & Robyn are my favourite transport people. Their professionalism, and willingness to go above and beyond just blow me away.

After the ceremony we headed down to New Farm Park. It was there that we discovered a shared love of the D’Gen’s “Late Show” and proceeded to spend the afternoon reciting one-liners. I laughed so so hard, I think if they had of then started quoting The 12th man, I may have just fainted.

It was then back to Customs House where I ditched Poo (he had a plane to catch) and stayed on to cover the reception and enjoy awesome food (I had the lamb - it was to DIE for), very entertaining speeches, and fabulous music. It really doesn’t get much better than that.

Strap yourself in for the slideshow…

Like a tiger…..

A few months ago, I shot Basil & Laura’s e-session on the beach down at Bilinga. Their wedding day finally rolled around earlier this month, and was a spectacular day spent with awesome people!

Laura was an awesome bride (as usual!) because she was so enthusiatic about her wedding images and was willing to do absolutely anything I asked of her. When I was shooting Laura, she asked if I wanted her to smile or not. I will usually tell my brides to do whatever feels most natural for them, and she said “I want to smile!”. She was just so excited to be marrying the man she loves, and she wanted to show it!

Basil & Laura were married at their church at The Gap in a very unique service. A sumptuous afternoon tea was organised for guests to enjoy after the ceremony. The bridal party all then piled into the dangerously low limo, and we headed into the Powerhouse.

I’m so so impressed with Basil. For someone who is not thrilled with being in front of the camera, he did so well. I think he appreciated barely having to look at me, which is good, because his face really did light up when he looked at his girl.

After having a little fun in the dark, it was on to Vino’s where the reception was kicking off. There is no doubt in my mind it would have been a night to remember!

See more in their slideshow….

It’s been a while since I was caught laying down on the job…

I love this shot….

Tonight my Mum & Dad returned home from their latest trip overseas to South Africa. That is good news for me, as it means there might be something on the menu apart from vegemite on toast! It also means Poo can saddle up and shoot my last wedding before my trip with me tomorrow!!!

Mum updated her blog while she was away, so drop over and check out some of the animals they spotted on their safari. (It will make my Mum’s day!!)

This wedding will go down as one of the most challenging I have ever shot. 4.30pm wedding ceremony, in a dark chapel that has windows the size of thumbnails, on one of the “shortest” weekends of the year. It was going to be quite the ride!

The closer you get to June 21, the shorter the days get. (I get much happier after June 21, because it means I’ll be getting more sunlight from here on in!). In the “darker” months, ideally the earlier the ceremony, the better. But sometimes these things just can’t be helped. Andrew & Kristy could only get the chapel at 4.30pm on that date, so we had to roll with that. I gave them the option of either doing their photos before the ceremony, or we shoot their photos in the dark using floodlights, street lights, and any other sort of light we possibly can. And that’s what we did.

After earlier photographing Kristy getting ready at the Stamford, we arrived at St Stephen’s to photograph Andrew & the boys. Kristy arrived, and was escorted down the aisle by her uncle, and emotions were high all round. They emerged from the chapel into the twilight and into the arms of their family and friends.

Andrew & Kristy knew they were not going to have your average wedding photos. Shooting at night obviously is completely different than shooting in the light of day. But they knew they were going to have something a little different, and unique in their own way. So we wandered down from the church, stopping along the way under street lights, or floodlights, or my own trusty video light. We spotted possums in the gardens, hippies attending Greenfest, and made our way back along the river via the Stamford, and over to Gianni’s on Edward Street for the reception.

Thankyou Andrew & Kristy for trusting us to capture your day, especially under these circumstances. Thanks also for giving me an excuse to buy a new camera!! 

More in the slideshow…

Smile for the camera!…

Ryan & Kym’s wedding capped off what was a very busy month of weddings in May. Over the last couple of years, May has become the most popular month of the year for me, more than September which was always “the” month for weddings.

Ryan & Kym hail from all the way over on the north side (or the dark side as I like to call it!) so we trekked over to Kallangur to see Kym & the girls. As with a lot of weddings this month the team from Beautiful Images By Toula had whipped through like a tornado, and left everyone looking spectacular!

Ryan, your typical groom, wasn’t thrilled by the prospect of being in front of the camera. I think he was a bit sceptical when I promised him he actually hardly had to look at me, but hopefully he was pleasantly suprised.

After a lovely ceremony, we headed out to the Redcliffe jetty where the weather then turned against us. The wind picked up and blew straight through us. The rain clouds started to gather and looked particuarly menacing. And what did we do? We sucked it up and headed straight out there into it, cause that’s just what we do. The whole bridal party were absolute troopers. The girls were cold, their hair blowing every which way possible, but they kept a smile on their face, and it didn’t stop them entertaining Ryan & Kim with their own rendition of “I’m a tits and ass man”. Classic.

Once we finished up, it was back to Morgans at Scarborough for the reception. I really need to ask you guys, did all the goldfish survive the evening??

Slideshow time…

Final photo call…

This time Poo got in on the act…

And the boys then did some male bonding…

Over the years I’ve photographed the weddings of sisters, brothers, cousins and best friends. Shooting Hollie’s wedding was a new milestone for me, having photographed the weddings of a mother and daughter.

Hollie is the daughter of my fabulous March 14 bride, Susan. Both Susan & Hollie have had quite the year planning their own respective weddings no less than 10 weeks apart.

It was almost a case of deja vu when Poo and I arrived at Mike & Susan’s apartment to kick the day off. I knew it wasn’t going to be hard work photographing Hollie. Being photogenic seems to run in the family! Having already photographed her as Susan’s bridesmaid, and with Hollie having modelling experience of her own - photo’s were a walk in the park for her.

Sean & Hollie also elected to see eachtother before the wedding. We met up in the foyer of Admiralty Towers II, and then headed outside with the bridal party for some photos in and around Howard Street. We then hit up the Admiralty rooftop, where the boys and I put aside any fear of heights we might of had to get some cool shots.

Then it was showtime, and over to Snug Harbour at Dockside where the boys prepared for the ceremony. Hollie was escorted down the aisle on the arm of her Dad to her groom, and they were pronounced husband and wife in front of their family and friends. Everyone had a little bit of time then to relax, unwind, and enjoy the afternoon. Just on sunset, Poo and I stole Sean & Hollie away for some quick last minute pictures on the boardwalk, and down at Captain Burke Park by the light of the Story Bridge.

I’ve loved every minute of being involved with both Susan & Hollie’s weddings, and have grown to feel like a part of the family. Thankyou from the bottom of my heart for making me feel so welcome and allowing me to capture these moments in your lives xxxx.

Sean & Hollie seeing eachother for the first time….

Feel like a slideshow??…

A photo with the happy couple….

And with the awesome Mike & Susan…

Sarah-Jane from Cake That! did the wedding cake, and left these cupcakes at the venue for me to take home. Thanks SJ!!!!

How I like to roll…

Hollie being really really excited about just getting married!!….

Around this time last year, I shot portraits of the adorable little Cohen & Aspen. Hard to believe twelve months has gone past already, but it was time to catch up with them again and run the gauntlet that is childrens portraiture.

Looking back at last years images, they have grown so much! Being another year older, it actually made them a little easier to work with. They are the sweetest of kids, and how loving they are towards eachother really warms your heart. Something tells me Cohen is going to grow up to be very protective of his little sister!