Wedding of Brett & Tangi:
Photographing a Wedding is the best job in the world. One of the many benefits of my job as a wedding photographer is the fact that I get to travel. With interstate airfares low, and a demand for the classical natural style we produce, getting a commissioned job outside of my home town is happening more often than not.
Brett & Tangi’s Wedding
I had met the groom Brett many years ago while he was a missionary here in Perth. I still remember vividly the night we met.
He was part of a practical joke that we often played when new missionaries came into the area. Keeping the story short, there was a dark abandoned train tunnel, a group of unassuming missionaries and me and some friends waiting in the tunnel to give them a little fright. Oh did I forget we also had a chainsaw. Well nobody got hurt that night, that is unless you count egos, but a few people got a little bit of a scare. but in the end most of us had a laugh. Fast forward 8 years and I get to tell the story of how I am now the Brett & Tangi’s Wedding Photographer over in Melbourne.
I was privileged that Brett called me up about Photographing his Wedding. It had been many years since we had seen each other, and I was very excited at the prospect that he was getting married to a lovely lady Tangi who heralded from the Cook Islands. Normally when we travel for work we take our children with us, but on this occasion and for the very first time we decided that we would leave them behind with their grandparents.
Tangi and Brett are both LDS Church members, and so chose to be Married or Sealed in the Temple through a sacred ceremony. Family and friends enjoyed the beautiful and intimate ceremony and stayed around for photographs on the Temple grounds. Then it was onto Banjo Patterson park, the place where Brett Proposed to Tangi. The Melbourne weather was proving unpredictable, as the sunlight wen in and out from behind the clouds. The rain did stay away though and so our Bridal photo session, although short was without drama. That is unless you count a photo bombing cat. The wedding couple traveled in style with Brett’s Grand father chauffering the couple in a stylish Bentley, and a couple of Brett’s mates driving the bridal party in some of the coolest looking Chryslers around. As much as they stood out, it was still very difficult to follow them through to locations. A combination of hectic Melbourne traffic and last minute decisions on turning nearly proved costly to us.
The reception began with a welcome Cook Island style. The Bride and Groom then performed a ring ceremony for the guest who couldn’t make it to the Temple. The food was then served, and what an amazing setup. Tangis family took care of all the catering in a truly traditional Island style and there was plenty of food to suffice the appetites of the 250 odd guests. The Bride and groom quickly finished off the formalities of cutting their cake and having their waltz. And that is when the party began. The Bride and Groom were spoiled as were the guests with some traditional cook island and Polynesian dancing. Brett the groom showed he is no slouch in picking up his new culture and showed off his impressive dance moves to the great joy of the audience. As the guests of honour and in true Island tradition, family presented the bridal couple with blankets and mats, they quickly mounted up in a huge pile.
The evening came to an end and everybody enjoyed the marvelous event. It was a long hard day behind the camera, but one that I definitely enjoyed. I could tell from the images I took, that the family was super proud and happy for the young newly weds. After the Wedding we stayed in Melbourne for a few more days. I really appreciate the opportunity to Photograph Weddings, and that every now and then I get to attend a very special one just like this.
Please enjoy a few of the favourite images from this Wedding
