Not much went accord to plan on Christie and Zane’s wedding day. It bucketed down all day over the Uki hills with no reprieve. A film crew overtook the area they’d planned to use for their ceremony (if it was sunny) and bridal portraits, and the dense cloud cover meant we lost the light far earlier than usual for an early April afternoon, but Christie and Zane weren’t bothered at all. They were surrounded by their closest friends and family from all over the world – quite literally! A bit of rain and a score of Fox Lights trucks weren’t even a blip on their radar, and their day was magical.

There were so many personal touches that made their day extra-special and drew each element together. Christie is an incredible milliner and created her own hairpiece, as well as the gorgeous hairpieces and hats worn by her bridesmaids, her mother, and Zane’s mother and Grandmother. She also added the custom embellishments on her shoes and the shoulder strap on her dress. This girl is talented! Each table at their reception was named for a place in the world that represented a chapter in their lives, and they surprised their guests with a live bush band and impromptu bush dancing lesson, just like Christie’s parents had at their own wedding. The day was full of joy and happy tears, and I’m so glad I got to be part of it.

Venue: Midginbil Hill, Uki
Ladies’ hairpieces: Christie Millinery Designs

There’s something extra-beautiful about photographing the wedding of a friend. I’ve known Helena (or Noon, as she will always be to me) since we were both eleven years old. It was incredible to see her marry her dream man and help them and their family remember their beautiful day!

Helena and Damian are what I like to call a Disney couple. They are perfect together. Helena absolutely adores Damian. Damien is completely besotted by Helena, and he loves surprising her with the most romantic things – like a smoke-covered dance floor for the first dance as husband and wife (which was a little last minute and required some kitchen-sink dry ice experimentation that morning). Best of all, they’re both completely in awe of their gorgeous son Jonathan. There is so much love in their little family, and it’s obvious at a glance.

Take a look and tell me if you can see it too; the air of Disney one-true-love that this couple’s joy radiates. Congratulations, my beautiful friends!

Ceremony and reception venue: The Abbey Cobaki

There was so much that was special about Tess and Chris’ wedding day. It was the first sunny weekend in months. The boys went skydiving in the morning. Chris survived, so it’s obviously meant to be! Tess and her girls practised the first dance in their hotel room with sparkling eyes. Tess looked like a vintage doll. The two were married by their very charming longtime family friend, father Gerry, in Chris’ school church. EVERYONE got their best dance moves out for the celebration, even Tess’s 100 year old grandmother. Chris’ dad serenaded us all with a sterling rendition of the Joker. And, having lived “down the road” from Chris and his family my whole life, I felt like part of the family. It was a day I’ll never forget.

Vendors
Ceremony: St. Anthony’s Parish Kingscliff
Reception: Cudgen Leagues Club
Band: Fathom

Holly ‘s name fits her beautifully. She has all the radiance of a famous flower, which is lucky because she married a Tulip. Pete Tulip. Excuse me while I get a little cheesy… Their wedding planted the seeds for their incredible future together.

… Maybe that’s why it rained so much.

At the beginning of the day, Holly told me she’d be happy if the rain let up for half an hour for us to get their wedding portraits. Later she said fifteen minutes. She didn’t even get five – it rained non-stop all day – but she didn’t let it get to her. Instead, she hitched up her dress and conquered the rain with some admirable umbrella wielding (with a little help from her new husband and a very chilled out bridal party) and we all made it to the reception smiling, if a little soggy. We were also super-blessed to have the beautiful undercover facilities at Amore Gardens in the Currumbin Valley to keep us dry!

Botanical references abound, even if it hadn’t rained on Holly and Pete’s wedding day, there wouldn’t have been a dry eye at their wedding ceremony. I’ve been to a fair few weddings these days, and even I got teary at Holly’s mother’s proud expression as she walked her daughter down the aisle.

Congratulations, Holly and Pete!

Tess and Chris are all about fun. I can’t wait to photograph their wedding on Saturday!

Here are a few images from our sweet little engagement session at Cudgen Creek.

There’s nothing more adorable than a groom who cries when he sees his bride. That was Leigh.

There’s nothing more beautiful than an already-stunning woman on her wedding day. That was Amy. Who could blame Leigh for getting teary.

There’s nothing more fun than photographing a friend’s wedding day. That was me. I giggled and chuckled and chortled my way through the day with Amy, Leigh and their hilarious bridal party (hands down, most entertaining speeches I’ve heard yet!) and I may have sneakily wiped away a few tears of my own during their ceremony.

Check out all the smiles and some of the tears below.

Vendors:

Ceremony and reception venue: Pottsville Golf Course
Hair: Erin Strong Hair Artistry
Makeup: Makeup By Lorina (0401 243 663)

My favourite part about Tahlia and Beau’s gorgeous country wedding was that it was incredibly personal. Tahlia’s mother personally hand-stitched their wedding date into the hem of Tahlia’s dress in blue thread for her daughter’s “something blue”. The girls made their bouquets themselves. Tahlia made the cake toppers. They were married on Beau’s parents’ property at Pine Mountain in the round yard. They decorated their reception themselves. Beau’s ring is a beautiful and unusual ceramic piece, since as an electrician he can’t wear a metal ring. Their adorable daughter Tilly was part of each stage of the day, warming hearts with her cheeky grin.

Tahlia and Beau also chose to break tradition and see each other before their wedding ceremony in what’s known as a “first look” or “first sight”. It’s a concept that’s gaining popularity – the couple choose a location and the bride approaches her groom and taps his shoulder, he turns around and they get to fully appreciate the first time they see each other on their wedding day, and react – without the pressure of lots of eyes watching! We also took this opportunity to take their bridal party portraits prior to the ceremony at the Wivenhoe Dam, which meant Tahlia and Beau got to head straight to their reception from the ceremony and party with their guests!

There was no part of their day that wasn’t beautiful, and I’m so happy to share it with you.

Vendors:

Hair: Kelly Weaver’s Bridal Hair

Makeup: Tyneale Hahn

Some people are incredibly lucky, and fall in love young – not just first love, but REAL love, the special kind that you have to hold on to because it’s rare and precious. I’m one of those people. So are Mel and Jason. Their gorgeous December Kingscliff wedding was beautiful in its simplicity, and touching in its honesty. And they both do an awesome tiger-face, though I’m going to leave that part up to your imagination!

One of my favourite things about photographing weddings is the way each couple personalises the details of their day. In Meg and Garth’s case it was Meg’s incredible King Protea bouquet, their super tight-knit wedding party, their adorable ring bearer Tay (the sausage dog! What a fantastic idea!) and their obvious devotion to each other. Add a perfect sunny northern NSW day to the mix and you have the perfect recipe for a fairytale wedding.

Emma and Jason’s wedding was FUN. I really can’t think of a better word for it. The whole day was full of laughter and smiles, and a few tears – but only the happy kind. There was a lot of Blue Steel happening. And there was a whole lot of love.
It rained during our wedding portraits session. Nobody cared. If anything it gave us all the crazies and we went into super-epic-silly-photo mode!

Check out all the fun below.