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.
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…
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!!
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??
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!
This will probably easily go down as one of my favourite weddings of 2009. The moment I met David & Sally I knew their wedding would be awesome. So much fun, and full of excitement. When Sally talked about her wedding plans, it wasn’t about the details like the dress or the colours or hair and makeup. It was about wanting to spend the day with the man she loves, and truly enjoying it. They just wanted to be together. So much, in fact, that they moved their wedding date forward six months because they just didn’t want to wait any longer.
The one thing that was so important to David & Sally was their wedding photographs. The food and cake are eaten, the dress packed away, but photographs are forever. Working with couples who understand this philosophy is awesome, because they trust you implicity. And with trust comes confidence. They’re comfortable in front of the camera with you, and it shows.
So our day got started with Sal and the girls at Aurora. Sally was excited (you couldn’t stop her grinning), but had an air of calm about her at the same time. Even through being sewn into her dress (yes, you read that right), she just shone. Nothing was going to phase her, she was there to thoroughly enjoy this day.
One word that springs instantly to mind to describe David. Cheeky. And with a smile that could light up a room, he makes it hard to get a bad photo of him. Surrounded by five of his best mates, and waiting for his highschool sweetheart to arrive, there was a lot to smile about!
St Mary’s Kangaroo Point was the setting where David & Sally tied the knot. Sally’s bridesmaid, Steph, gave a beautiful vocal performance during the ceremony. Not that we didn’t think she would. Even her warm up as Sally was getting ready was worthy of a Grammy.
From there we headed down the road to Captain Burke park, where the rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out with the bridal party and acting like larrikins. I don’t believe I have ever laughed so hard in one afternoon as I did with these guys. I’m still finding it hard to believe I actually took photos that afternoon. I think the entire bridal party deserve a mention - Steph, Amy, Gen, Dallas, Mark, Alex, Bentley & Keiran you guys were an A+ bridal party and made the afternoon so memorable!
After it got a bit dark, and the lights came on the bridge, it was back to Dockside where the reception got underway. We were booked on to stay and party, and boy do these guys party. What I thought was cool, was their DJ was not your normal wedding DJ. That dancefloor resembled a nightclub on a Saturday (or in this case Sunday) night, and it was packed all night long. No YMCA for this bunch!
David & Sally - I don’t even know where to start to tell you how amazing you guys are. You made my job so easy, and I consider myself so lucky to have been chosen by you to share this part of your new journey in life together. xxx
Funniest.moment.ever…during the signing of the register photos the priest interupted to instruct the bridal party to “say sex!”. Now there’s a priest who’s moving with the times…
Check out the slideshow…
Workin’ it with Sal…
A new look Poo is trying on…
I’m tempted to put this on the front cover of their album….
Regular blog readers will be all too familiar with my “it” couple of 2007, Kim & Dusan. Over the course of the last two years I’ve come to love them and their families like my own, having also shot various friends weddings, participating in family celebrations like their son Kristian’s christening, and just generally being invited round for dinner “just because”.
I was down at the snow last year when Mira, Dusan’s sister, rang to tell me she had FINALLY gotten engaged, and wanted to work her wedding date in with my availability. We went back and forth on a few dates, until May 10 was finally locked in!
Serbian weddings rock my world. The culture, food, traditions, food, music, dancing, food, the sense of community and family… and did I mention food? They know how to turn on a party, and nobody EVER goes hungry, I’m telling you I was fit to burst by mid-morning on the beautiful sweets and savouries that were in abundance.
Nice and early we dropped around to George’s house to see what he was up to. I’ve never seen so many boys running around like mad women, getting ready, and making sure everything was in order! We grabbed some shots of the boys and then got away to go and see what Mira was up to.
Mira looked a-mazing. Would you expect any less when you’ve got Beautiful Images By Toula on your side? We pottered around upstairs getting photos of the girls, while the party was in full swing downstairs. Now this is something I wish would catch on with all my weddings. The guests were already assembeled, and plenty of eating, drinking, and dancing was going on. Then it was time for the traditional “buying of the bride” where Dus drove a hard bargain for his sister.
The ceremony took place in the Serbian Orthodox Church at Wooloongabba, my first wedding in the new church. Straight afterwards we got away to UQ for the location shoot. I am so proud of George & especially Mira with how well they powered though the photos. I know Mira wasn’t thrilled with being in front of the camera, and it can’t have been easy, but she went along with everything I threw at her all day and came out the other side unscathed, and looking gorgeous!
It was then over to Hillstone St Lucia where the real celebrations were only just beginning. George & Mira flew in two bands from Sydney to play at their wedding, a Serbian & Lebanese band, to reflect both their heritage. When they entered their reception, as is Lebanese tradition, George & Mira were lifted onto their guests shoulders as the dancing ensued.
Everyone danced the night away, and as usual there was never a dull moment. We even got to go home with a doggie bag of sweets (that for the record lasted until about midday the next day!!). George & Mira, it might have been a totally exhausting day, but it is always an honour and a pleasure to spend time with you and your families!
My.biggest.slideshow.ever…
I’ve already apologised in advance to George for this one, but a groom using a GHD just has to go on the internet….
Dus proudly shows off the bag of potatoes he got in exchange for his sister!…
Dus & George - the kings of wedding spreadsheets….
One of my favourite little families in the world…
I’m thinking this is a new record for me. With my 4 brides Kim, Dana, Mira, and Anita….
One month ago today, Michael & Kate tied the knot in Kate’s old school chapel at Clayfield College. The day began with Kate and her four bridesmaids getting ready at the picturesque Franklin Villa at Highgate Hill.
After the lovely ceremony, it was time to make our way back to the city where Kate had organised to have photos inside Parliament House. The “stickler for rules” security guard was on that day, so I didn’t get to go to some of the more cooler places in the building where I’ve photographed before. Not that it mattered as no matter where you look in that place it’s beautiful all round.
As it started to get dark, we made a quick excursion to the Uni and into the gardens before hitting the road back out to Geebung for the reception. We hung out into the evening to join in the celebrations (these guys know how to dance!!) and got to partake in the Dreamy Donuts wedding cake (even if I did have to bribe a groomsman to get it!!).
It was also our very first time to work with Nathan & Jared from Bell Productions on video who made it such a fun day!
