We thought it would rain on their wedding day. And as we kept an eye on the forecast each day, it changed from rain, to ‘possible shower’, to ‘partly cloudy’ and then on the big day, we got nothing but blue skies, sunshine and big white fluffy clouds! It was amazing!

When John caught sight of his bride coming down the aisle, he was mesmerised, and as you scroll through my favourite images of the day, you’ll see why; Maria is one of the most stunning brides I’ve ever seen. She was also one of the most composed brides I’ve seen, which just says so much about her, because this was a big wedding, and she put an incredible amount of thought, care and tireless effort into making their celebration perfectly suited to her and John, and their respective families. Family and friends travelled from around Australia, and from Italy, to be there for John and Maria. The reception was full of warmth, laughter and a lot of awesome dancing! It was an honour to be a part of John and Maria’s wedding day, they are both incredible people and I’m certain that they’re going to be an amazing team in the game of life. Thank you both, for having me as your photographer.

Also, a big shout out to Fiona Carson, from Moss Green Images in Brisbane, for travelling to Canberra to second shoot with me on the day. And keep your eye out on the Untitled Film Works blog, because John & Maria’s wedding film is sure to be amazing.

Now on to Sophie and Jarryd… wow, what an amazing wedding day. It was held on a family member’s property in the mountains near Maleny in Queensland, a gorgeous part of the world, and a first time visit for me. It was a gloriously sunny and warm afternoon. Sophie and Jarryd – with the help of their families and friends – had poured so much heartfelt energy into creating a unique and memorable celebration which was a perfect reflection of who they are, and making sure their guests felt completely looked after. They had brought in 100 tents for everyone to stay in for the weekend! They had designed and built by hand so many things that featured during the ceremony and reception, even the amazing altar they stood on to say their vows! There were dozens and dozens of meaningful, personalised touches that popped up throughout the celebrations. They had organised the day so that everyone was comfortable, and having fun every, single step of the way. I wanted to be a guest so bad!!! (Especially when I found out about the woodfire pizza oven that was coming in for the reception!) But, it was a LOT of fun being a photographer, and admittedly, quite an easy job when you consider:

1. how interesting, beautiful and varied the location was (Fo and I had trouble knowing when to stop)
2. how beautiful Sophie and Jarryd are (beautiful probably isn’t the right word to describe Jarryd, but you get the idea)
3. how beautiful Sophie’s sisters are (she has three sisters, they were all bridesmaids, and all equally stunning!)
4. how completely adorable the page boys and flower girls were (the cute factor was off the scale when they walked down the aisle)
5. how hilarious and fun the entire bridal party were (as in, Fo and I rolled on the ground laughing hysterically, and also may have snorted more than once during the bridal party shoot)
6. how awesome the entire day was… even when a fly flew into my eye, even when Fo got her sunglasses stuck in her hair, even when the temperature dropped by 20 degrees after the sun went down.

So here are my favourite images from Sophie & Jarryd’s wedding…

- Dr. Seuss -

I adored Drew and Karena from the moment I met them, and I have been looking forward to their wedding day for many months. They chose an auspicious date – April 30, the day of their tenth anniversary, which also happens to be my birthday, so naturally one of my favourite calendar dates!

Their wedding took place at the amazing Crisp Galleries in Bowning, NSW, on the most glorious autumn day. Drew and Karena are warm, creative, spirited people – hardworking, full of passion, and perfectly down to earth. The fact that they included words by Dr Seuss in their ceremony says a lot about them. Their day was cosy, personal, full of fun, much laughter and beautiful, happy tears. I had an absolute ball capturing the story of the day.

Drew and Karena, the biggest congratulations to you. I hope this next chapter of your life is even more wonderful than the one that brought you to where you are today. I’m looking forward to seeing the amazing things you do together. xox

Huge thanks to Natalie Bice, for being an awesome second shooter.

Dani & Ben were so amazingly relaxed on their wedding day, it was a joy to be around, and they’d left no detail out of their exquisitely styled day. It was a dream come true for vintage-loving me; painted weatherboard, jars of unusual flowers, baby rosebuds, twine, brown paper, picture frames, and an adorable pair of bridesmaids dressed in my favourite girl’s label. Many of Dani and Ben’s friends and family had travelled from the other side of the world to be there, and the atmosphere was pretty special. I smiled hard all day.

See Bec’s images from the day here, and if you’re getting married in Brisbane (or anywhere else for that matter), look them up, ’cause they are amazing at what they do!

Time with these guys is totally hilarious. I admit, there were a few moments where I got so caught up laughing at their stories and comments, that I forgot I was there to photograph them, because it felt like we were just good friends hanging out.

I can wait to photograph their wedding next month, it’s going to be awesome!

I forgot to mention the cupcakes!!! Karena owns and runs Sweet Petite, a delicious cupcake business – you can find her at the Canberra Handmade Markets. I was hoping that Karena would smoosh a cupcake in Drew’s face, but I should have known it would be the other way around. I think Olive was hoping that someone would do it to her too.

Chris and Averil are pretty amazing human beings. When we arrived, Averil was doing yoga, and that pretty much set the scene for the day; everything was beautifully paced, so there was plenty of time to stop, breathe, and enjoy each moment as it unfolded. They had a moving ceremony in a beautiful outdoors setting. There was a lot of fun and laughter, and I found myself tearing up many, many times throughout the day – I must have asked Christine at least half a dozen times if I had mascara all over my left eye (the one I shut when I’m looking through the viewfinder). The love, warmth and heartfelt words from family and friends was beautiful, and it was so very clear to me that Chris and Averil were always meant to find each other and grow old together. I wish you both a lifetime of love and laughter.

Thank you Christine, for asking me along to help you out. You can see Christine’s photos of the day here.

Kate and Steven’s day was an absolute joy to be a part of, and I found myself deeply moved on several occasions. They shared the celebration with family and friends and their adorable 20 month old daughter Allegra, and the vibe was so warm and fuzzy I wanted to put the lot of them in my pocket and take them home with me!

I’d never attended a vow renewal before, and there was something so very real and so very beautiful about seeing two people who have been through such a big part of their lives together proudly telling the world again how much they truly love one another and their lives together. It was very, very special, and I loved capturing it very, very much.

On Sunday I joined 11 other photographers to learn from the awesomely inspiring Liana Hall (nee Lehman) in an intense 2.5 day Business Bootcamp. My butt was seriously kicked, and as a result, I have a very busy few months ahead, but I am sooooo excited and grateful for all I have learned and can now put into play for heartstory. I do have a love affair with my calculator and a few excel spreadsheets on a fairly regular basis, but the art of business is not a natural talent, and this truly could not have come at a better time.

Bootcamp was super hard work, so we finished it off with some super hard fun in the form of a high fashion bridal shoot (which Liana specialises in) down at the NMA with the most gorgeous couple ever, Natalie and Victor.  Their wedding was photographed by the amazing and talented Kelly Tunney just three months ago (thank you Kelly for organising for them to come!).  They were so much fun to photograph, and I was on such a high afterwards.

The gorgeous hair and makeup was done by Heather Turk.

Thank you so, so, so much to the darling Christine Pobke for organising for Liana to come out to Australia this year. I met Christine at Jesh de Rox’s Life {as an artform} workshop in December and she is fast becoming one of my closest friends. (Head over to her blog to see her take on the bridal shoot!) And if you go to Liana’s blog, you’ll see photos of all the bootcamp survivors, including yours truly! Thanks again Liana, and thank you Kelly for having us at your studio.

I have to say, photographing a wedding is quite possibly the most exhausting gig I’ve done, but gee it was fun! I really hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. Thank you so much L & Y for being such great sports – look how beautiful you both are! I hope you treasure these forever, because I know I will. xxx

I was so happy to have Casandra from caspix photography to shoot alongside me, and I’ll add the link to her blog here once she has posted some of her shots from the day. Naturally photographing in a professional capacity gave me a different impression of the day than I would have had as a guest. I asked Cas if she would photograph the ceremony alone, so I could enjoy it as the proud big sister, without a camera in front of my face – hence the lack of any ceremony photos in this post. [It was just as well really, because I cried the whole way through!]

It was a cloudy day, but the rain stayed away, and the garden was so green – a perfect complement to the bride’s stunning dress! The food was delicious – courtesy of my brother (the family chef extraordinaire), our mother and the bride’s mother as well. The wine was plentiful - and I did make sure to stop for a few minutes to enjoy a glass of Seppelt sparkling shiraz – mmm mmm!

How amazing are these rings? There’s no denying that the bride and groom have impeccable taste.

Apparently my brother helped choose the wedding dress and the jewellery – what a catch!

We arranged to photograph their ‘first look’, just before the guests started to arrive. Such a beautiful moment to behold – I could barely see through my tears!

Around the garden, before the ceremony.

Right: Toby was keen to sneak in a kiss with the bride asap. He adores her!

Left: our father giving a touching speech. Right: the groom and his best mate having a quiet moment in the kitchen. 

Part two is coming soon - we finished off the day with a rather unusual location shoot.