Kat and George’s Romantic Elopement
Kat and George live on the West Coast, and after deciding that actually, a big wedding wasn’t really what either of them really wanted – they then decided to go to Christchurch and elope instead. A phone call to their friends Di and Kevin and the venue was arranged – they would get married on their friends’ deck, under a willow tree with just a handful of close friends.
Kat and her friend Charlotte got ready at Huntly Lodge.
When Kat arrived at Di - who was “Best-Girl”- and Kevin’s – who was “Bridesman” – place, George watched as his bride glided past the full length windows and made her way out to the leafy veranda. There was an audible gasp as he saw her, and now I know where the saying comes from “She took his breath away”.
I love the look the love……
….and Kat looked pretty in love too. Sigh……
The ceremony was taken by celebrant David Adams and Di – who has been George’s best friend since they flatted together as students – read a loving tribute.
I felt like secret squirrel being privy to such a romantic event as an elopement – what an honour to be a part this day.
We did all the photos in the beautiful back yard which was full of roses and apple trees.
How gorgeous are these two……..
Kat and George, so lovely to meet you both and congratulations on your romantic day.
Rachel and Ken’s Kaikoura Wedding
You know those days when you wake up and just know its going to be an awesome day? Well, for me,Friday was one of those days. I was off to Kaikoura to meet up with Rachel and Ken for their seaside wedding and couldn’t wait to see what the day would bring.
Rachel and Ken live in Vancouver and are two very adventurous people. With a love of travel, camping, fishing and diving it made sense to return to the place where so many of their memories lay.
The girls got ready at the beautiful ‘Clifftop’ holiday home overlooking the bay and the Seaward Kaikoura ranges. With incredible gardens that are featured in garden coffee-table books – we were spoilt for choice for our photos.
Rachel found this exquisite lace dress in Canada – sigh. Swoon.
We loved this amazing swing overlooking the ocean…..
…almost as much as I loved Rachel’s vibrant blue shoes!
Over at the venue Ken was trying to relax, but I think he was just a little bit nervous all the same as he waited for his beautiful girl to arrive.
And arrive she did. Stealing gasps and sighs as she made her way down the isle towards Ken.
All afternoon the celebrant Marg and I were willing the cloud-gods to lift the skies just enough to see the mountains – and eventually they obliged just in time for family and group photos. Then we were off for the location photos. Oh Kaikoura, so many places to choose from.
There’s something really gorgeous about the way a groom looks at his new wife.
Now – these guys are not the usual bridal party. Give them something to climb, scale, sidle or balance on and before you know it you have them all over the show and half way up walls or hanging off buildings. Love it.
See what I mean? I indicated some cool rocks I’d found last week and while I meant to merely use them as a back drop – this adventurous group told me “no worries – we’ll climb out to them” and led by our bride in her lace dress, they did just that. Note – the water directly below them was several meters deep and I admit that I had terrible visions of a soaking wet bride should anything go awry. I shouldn’t have worried of course, this party saw this as no more challenging than a footpath – even in dresses!
Well worth the effort I’d say.
Round at South Bay Rachel produced a parasol. A parasol! Ohhhh I LOVE parasols!
Now if you’ve ever hung around a photographer before you may have on occasion heard them sing happily about “The Light”. This my friends is what we are on about. South Bay kindly treated us to low tides, a flat sea, and a stunning nor-west sky.
Ken and Rachel bought this Ford Falcon for the Undie Five Hundred – an annual student car rally from Christchurch to Dunedin, a journey which is punctuated by many pub stops on the way, and each car must be bought for less than five hundred dollars. Ten years on and the car has been lovingly restored to its former glory and was a proud addition to the bridal party.
And yet another chance to play with the light……this time with some crazy poses from the team – I must say that the girls were quite a bit better at the ballerina poses…….
Rachel and Ken – what a fabulous day. Thank you so much for sharing it with us, it was a real pleasure to be a part of your day.
Jessie & Sean’s Home Town Wedding
Weddings are about families. Love. Connection and coming together. Weddings are about community, and none more so than Jessie and Sean’s home town wedding last Saturday.
Jessie and Sean met when they were at primary school in the small town of Waiau – Jessie says she can still remember Sean being introduced to the school at assembly when his family moved to the town – Jess was 7, Sean 11.
It would be a few years before romance bloomed, but at 15, Jessie was in love and that is how it has stayed. 10 years later and living in Australia, Jess and Sean have come home to get married in their town, with their families.
The girls got ready at a beautiful little cottage just out of town. I was lucky enough to have a second shooter with me – Ayson Williams who’s different eye captured some awesome moments.
As I was shooting a portrait of Jess – Ayson got this lovely photo of Jess’s hands – beautiful. As we were both shooting – Jessie was calm and happy and such a joy to photograph!
Here she is – Jessie you looked absolutely stunning! For someone who says she is shy in front of a camera you did exceptionally well at looking glam, poised, beautiful and always with a happy smile!
Yep – this is just one half of the bridal party!
Sean was also calm as he waited for his bride to arrive.
This amazing Koru was crafted by Sean’s great, great, great, great grandfather and means New Beginnings. It was handed down to him today from his grandfather, and one day Sean will also pass it on.
They were married in the yard of Jessie’s family home where she grew up.
There are always so many moments in a wedding. Moments that take your breath away or wet the eyes or just show how beautiful weddings are. Family congratulating each other is often full of these moments of love.
This moment was captured by Ayson. How beautiful to see such pride and love.
A quick photo in front of the family home before heading off for group photos.
Here are the girls……
And here are the boys…..
Each side was full of family as they have all grown up together – here is Sean’s family…..
And here is Jessie with her brothers.
There is a cob cottage in Waiau where Jessie’s parents had some of their wedding photos taken….
…so we revisited it for some photos to add to the history.
Ayson suggested we head to the school since this is where they first met .
And finally it was time for the reception at the town’s hall. Jessie and Sean, thank you so much for sharing your day with us, it was amazing to be a part of such a beautiful event and to be so welcomed on the day. Enjoy the rest of your time in New Zealand, have a fantastic Christmas and I will speak to you again soon.
OfficeMax FunRazor
Yet each year so many of our kids face this same thing of losing their hair through Chemotherapy.
How awesome then, to see these four big-hearted people from OfficeMax Christchurch shave their heads to raise money for kids with cancer. When Pam suggested I pop down and take some photos of the grand de-hairing – I lept at the chance.
Family Shoot at the Beach
Sunday was a warm, sunny and perfect for a beach shoot. I first met Tracy at a talk I gave on photography several months ago – as a fellow keen photographer Tracy and I had heaps to talk about on that day – as only us photographers and camera-geeks can understand! Needless to say it was wonderful to have a chance to catch up again and to meet Paul and their two boys.
After a quick shoot at their home, we took off for the beach – lupins in full bloom and smelling gorgeous …….the feet shot is one that has been done before and these guys wanted an updated version now that some of the feet have got bigger!
Tracy has a photo she took on this hill on Easter morning at sun-rise – it’s beautiful and while we weren’t able to recreate her lovely shot, it was important to get a couple of photos here again – this time WITH Tracy in the photo!
Boys are born with LOTS of energy. So – Action shots were go!
Tracy and Paul have this look that they give each other – kinda like a look that says everything without saying anything.
Tracy – so lovely to see you again – wonderful to meet your family and I can’t wait to get the rest of your photos to you soon.
Delwyn & Blair’s Romantic Wedding
Saturday was beautiful. Another sunshiny day, warm, and lovely and just perfect for a wedding! So I headed out to Clearwater to meet up with Delwyn and the girls where they got ready, then took some time to enjoy the sun and have a few laughs.
Delwyn – you looked stunning!
Bridesmaid Terri was a laugh a minute! And can do the BEST twirls!
Blair was quite relaxed for a groom .
Meet Monty the Best Dog! Monty is a young black lab / German pointer cross and he is utterly adorable.
The ceremony was held at Hintons and Delwyn arrived in a very classic limo.
Dad John met her there.
Julie Lasson delivered a lovely ceremony and the vows shared were very heartfelt.
Happy bride!
When we saw these old trucks and HAD to have photos there – especially fitting since Blair is a truck driver.
I think I suggested to them to be romantic…..these two are so much fun to photograph and lots of laughs.
Never have I found a venue with so many interesting places! Amongst the gardens we discovered a gorgeous little cottage. Love it!
Delwyn and Blair, your day was pure joy to be a part of and I loved being a part of it. Best of luck for a wonderful, happy and love-filled future!
Margaret and Alex – Take-Two!
There are days I love being a photographer – and then there are days that I REALLY love being a photographer! Friday was one of the second kind. Margaret and Alex have waited so long for this day to come – originally planned for back in February, after the earthquake they decided to postpone to November, time to let their friends and family and themselves regather and come to terms with what had happened. I still recall the emails, as we contacted each other in shock and sadness in the days following, just four days short of their original wedding day. I hoped that they would be comforted in a small way by their engagement shoot done the week before.
And then, after a few more phone calls, and a few more emails, the day finally came! I met up with Margaret and Penny at the MAC counter in Ballentynes – Christchurch’s iconic department store that had only just reopened in the new Container Mall on Cashel Street.
Margaret was one happy bride! (She’s also one of the most organised and chilled out brides as well!)
The CBD is still cordoned off, and there is a window at the end of the mall where you can see the demolition work of our city as piece by piece it is slowly removed. It is an odd feeling to be standing watching.
The new container mall is a bright, bustling and beautiful new part of the city – a reminder that no matter what has happened – the show (or in this case the Wedding) shall go on!
Love love love the flowers! And the broach is a family heirloom – stunning!
Margaret’s dress was an amazing Grecian design, all floaty and romantic and beautiful – with LOTS of buttons.
Flower girl Hannah was too much cuteness!
The ceremony was held at Alex’s uncle’s incredible gardens in Fernside.
Yup – there’s that look. Don’t ya reckon Alex looks pretty darned happy to see Margaret!
My Nanna always says that her bladder is too close to her eyes and that’s why she cries at weddings. Well – I might have inherited this condition as the vows that Margaret and Alex had written to each other were enough to make me blink a few times that’s for sure.
We all headed off to Ashley Gorge for some photos.
This shot was completely choreographed by Alex – perfect!
And now some of my fave romantic shots………
The best man’s speech was pretty entertaining.
After the bouquet toss it was time to party! Gotta admit that these two looked pretty good on the dance floor! As I left for the night I commented to them that they danced well together – they laughed – with Alex saying that he felt like there was no-one else out there, that all he saw was Margaret. Margaret smiled and said they danced like they did everything else – like a team. And that is what makes these two so amazing, they really are a team, best mates, and soul mates.
Margaret and Alex, thank you so much for sharing your day with me. It was so much fun and well worth the wait. I am so happy you had an amazing day and I can’t wait for you to see the rest of the photos.
Martina – Pure Sweetness!
After months of waiting and expecting and wondering – she finally arrived! Little Martina with her gorgeous dark hair and enviable olive skin – sooo super-cute and adorable. If it were up to me to decide what a name means – Martina would be the name that means “Super-cute-and-scrummy-perfection!”
25 Years of Love
I get to photograph a lot of couples on their first day of married life – and I love this – a whole future to look forward to together, full of adventures and dreams. So how wonderful to photograph a couple on the cusp of their 25th wedding anniversary- and how gorgeous to see that time only grows more love, that the same glint and sparkle I see on a wedding day is still shining in this couple’s eyes 25 years on.
A few years ago I had the pleasure of working with Vinolia and I was happy to see that the same cheekiness was still evident, that same laughter and bright sparkly smile that always brightened any day.
ohhhh I do love sunsets!
Vinolia – how lovely to spend a sunset with you and Sydney, what a gorgeous couple you both are – and here’s to another wonderful 25 years to you both. :)
Family Photos in Westlake
I met up with Anna and Darren at Westlake with their two little boys Jonty & Fletcher for some family photos. later, we were joined by Anna’s sister’s family – including neieces Abby & Lucy, and little Ben. Here are just a few of my favourite photos from the morning.
Learning to walk is a whole lot easier with big sisters to help you along!
