I love photographing weddings in cooler weather and with a hint of rain around. Even though most brides would probably freak out that there is a chance of Wedding day rain. Can you imagine a Bride walking down the wedding aisle in her beautiful white wedding gown and the heavens open and rain pours down? And the groomsmen standing in line waiting for the bride to finally hop out of the car with water dripping all over them.
Nicole and Scott were a little bit different. It was obvious that they were in love and of course a little bit excited for their wedding day, and as the clouds hovered around and a few drops fell from the sky, I could tell that nothing was going to bother them at all.
In fact, this beautiful wedding couple actually was quite happy for a few drops to be falling from the sky. It had a very personal and sentimental meaning to them.
Wedding Ceremony
The wedding location was the Gosnells civic gardens. Nicole walked down the aisle to Scott and his entourage of groomsmen waiting excitedly for the moment in which they would exchange vows and rings and become husband and wife.
There are lots of things I like about this couple. They are kind and fun, they have unique personalities and styles and they have a great love for each other and their family. You could tell from the guests reaction, how much this wedding couple is loved.
Wedding reception
The wedding reception was held back at their family home less than 1km from where the ceremony was held. There was nothing fake about the reception. People genuinely enjoyed being there and mingled freely. Nicole and Scott made sure that their personal touch was evident. Decorations were simple yet lovely and after some cheeky and emotionally speeches, friends and family of the bride and groom cranked up the BBQ’s to get the party really started.
For all those prospective brides and grooms and those who see a hint of Wedding day rain, what do you do? My advice is to follow the lead from this wonderful couple and go out and enjoy yourself and embrace the moment. If you do you will have a wonderful wedding celebration just like Nicole and Scott did.
Scott & Nicole’s Wedding day at the Gosnells civic gardens
This Wedding album is the story of two very wonderful people. Vanessa is Filipino and Aaron is Samoan. She is Catholic and he is Mormon. Luckily they have a love of travelling in common. They are currently on their honeymoon, travelling through the Caribean and USA. When they return they will get to relive their amazing wedding day.
The 8th of April was a beautiful Autumn Friday in Melbourne. Aaron and his groomsmen prepared themselves for the Wedding at Hoppers Crossing while 10 minutes away Vanessa and her bridesmaids and her family were getting themselves ready for this momentous occasion.
The ceremony was in a lovely little catholic church and was conducted by the wonderful Father Paul. Family photographs were swift and to the point. This was a bonus considering the large contingent of family members from both sides travelling from many parts of the globe.
With the sun appearing and providing warm radiant light we set off for a series of bridal party photographs in Williamstown. The botanical gardens proved to be a great place to start things off. Our next location was the foreshore in Williamstown which provided a beautiful backdrop of Melbourne city. There was one more location on the way to the reception in Richmond, and that was along the winding South Yarra banks. As the light dimmed down we squeezed in one last set of wedding portraits of the bride & groom.
The reception was beautiful celebration embracing the coming together of 2 cultures. The lavish venue was finely decorated and the music from the live band was exceptional. Later during the night, Aaron showed us his talent in singing by joining the band on stage. Confidently he took the mic and in perfect key sang a cover of “My Girl” to his stunning new bride. His young nephews and cousins brought the house down with their synchronised dance moves, and even Vanessa joined in on the party.
As the night proceeded so to did the formalities. Parents of the bride and groom spoke highly of their children’s achievements and toasted them their best wishes during the speeches. This was followed by some heartfelt speeches from several members of the bridal party. Aaron capped off a memorable night with a beautiful speech and a tribute to some beautiful women in his life including his mother and his new wife.
A rush of blood erupted on the dance floor as bachelors and single ladies lined up for the traditional garter toss and the throwing of the bouquet. There is only ever one winner in these contests, and it was obvious who was after the mantle of the next Mr & Mr’s. Aaron and Vanessa celebrated their first dance as a husband and wife. This was followed by a traditional Samoan custom, with family dancing with the bride and groom and launching money at them.
The night quickly came to an end and it was time for the wedding couple to depart. They did this in fine style with a boat picking them up from the jetty at the bottom of their reception centre. As they walked down the stairs, their dear family and friends lit sparkler to guide them on the way out. And so ended the Petaia Wedding in Melbourne.
For me as the professional photographer, it was a big week. I had flown over from Perth a few days earlier to prepare for this beautiful wedding. A couple of days had been spent scouting out locations and meeting the bride and groom to be. Plans and timelines had to be finalised gear to prepare. After the Wedding, I was able to travel to Mount Gambier to attend to some other business. This included some glorious sight seeing along the way, stopping at the 12 apostles and several other magnificent sightings in rural Victoria.
The images for this Wedding album were photographed on the trusty Canon 5D Mk3. A variety of lenses were using including wide angle, prime and telephoto. Images were created using a combination of natural light and off camera flash. Images were processed in Camera raw/Photoshop and the album custom designed using Indesign.
Aaron and Vanessa have chosen one of our popular and contemporary “LifeArt” series for their Wedding album. This style of Wedding album is printed on archival photographic paper and flush mounted for a sleek and modern style. ‘The LifeArt’ Wedding album comes with a minimum 20 sides included as standard. As we photographed so many gorgeous images from the day, the lucky bride and groom will have over 70 sides to choose from to fill their wedding album. A complete “LifeArt album for our clients can contain anywhere from 20-80 sides. In larger wedding where more than 80 sides are available, our clients can consider adding a complete 2nd volume wedding album to compliment their main volume.
I heard from the grapevine that Tom is a little camera shy, while the bubbly personality of Renee loves to shine. Well after spending the day with them on their Wedding I discovered that only 50% of this was correct. You can look at the photos for yourself and tell me what part you think is correct.
It was only a few weeks ago that Tom & Renee met me early one morning for some customary pre wedding portraits. That particular morning we braved the cool fresh wind and hiked up to Stathams quarry to watch the sun rise. Well to keep the story short, the sun didn’t rise that morning, but we did get some amazing pre wedding portraits which you can find at this link. Tom and Renee are definitely in love, and after a little while they began to love my camera. Lets skip forward a little bit
So the day finally arrived and what a beauty it was. The Wedding was the day before April fools day but there was no joke about it at all. The only funny thing, if you want to call it that is the fact that poor old Tom had suffered a fracture in his knee and would have to hobble around on his Wedding day, eventually finding a walking cane in our adventure in the pine forrest.
Tom & Renee celebrated their Wedding with family and friends making the large journey from far and wide including Sydney and New Zealand, and the weather turned on a treat. Now its not everyday that a Bride and Groom chooses a Thursday for their Wedding. From a professional photographers point of view its actually pretty good, it free up a day from the usually busy weekend and the only thing you really have to deal with is the weekday traffic. Now this was a small problem as we ventured to our Photographic locations while busy commuters picked up children from school and drove home from work, while a convoy of 4 vehicles containing bridal party made their way to our secret spots.
Tom and Renee were sealed in a private ceremony at the LDS Temple in Yokine. In this sacred ceremony they were sealed together as Husband and Wife for time and all eternity. The sacredness of this ceremony has a strong significants to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints, and photographs are only permitted outside of the holy temple.
The family enjoyed some snapshots with the Bride and Groom as they exited the Temple and then we made our way to a quiet spot in the Gnangara Pine forest for some Bridal party photographs before enjoying cracking a bottle of non-alcoholic bubbly at Kafarela’s Vineyard in the Swan valley. Finally things wrapped up with a lovely warm reception in the hall of the Warwick LDS chapel.
Now by the way if you want to know, it takes at least 6 goes at jumping to get the bridal party to jump in sequence.
Jarom & Remy are finally getting married (so all their family and friends say) and we are the lucky professional photographers . This lovely couples wedding day has crept up so quickly, and now it is only a day away.
Weddings in the month of march are spectacular. The heat is normally just about over and the light is stunning. Its definitely a popular month for brides and grooms to get married.
The Bride and Groom are having a beautiful Swan valley Wedding ceremony and reception at Sandalford Winery (we love shooting swan valley weddings). The boys will get all dressed up in Butler while the girls will doll up in Sorrento. Can’t wait to share some of their beautiful swan valley wedding.
For now here is a fresh look at the images we photographed in the pine forrest for their pre wedding ‘Love Bird shoot’.
Now the big question for tomorrows big wedding day. Will it rain during their outdoor ceremony?
One of the highlights for me personally during my career as a Wedding Photographer is sharing the wonderful occasions and all the magic wedding moments as a Bride and Groom begin officially their union together with their wedding day celebration.
Storytelling with a lens – Its something that I do not take lightly. I see myself as a storyteller, using images to illustrate and tell your story, like piecing together a puzzle, piece by piece.With each new Wedding brings a unique and amazing new experience. This is the main reason I continue to shoot Weddings each week. Of course the challenge is great, and the workload huge, but the experience we share with so many Brides and Grooms is just so wonderful.
The Standard photographs – Each new Wedding I look for the standard set of images, Mum admiring her Bride daughter, or Dad walking his daughter down the isle proudly just to name a few.
On each and every Wedding day comes a wonderful magic, a joy and peace, love and harmony and sometimes tears. We can never in words explain what happens before the event has taken place, but we guarantee that when the day is done, the words have been spoken, the tears have been wiped away and the smiles have stopped, we will have a memorable set of images that will touch your soul.
The magic wedding moment journey – I want to take you on this journey, so you can feel some of these magic wedding moments.Here is a the start of a series of memorable and amazing magic wedding moments we have seen through our lens at the different Weddings we have photographed. Each has a story behind it, each image captured a piece of something amazing and we are happy to tell that story.
These ladies are best friends, helping each other through the trials of life for many years. When one sees a need to help the other they drop everything to do so. This photograph was captured as the Bride nervously prepared herself for her big day. There was much to worry about, weather, the kids and of course new beginnings.
Amongst the chaos, her friend saw the need to fix a little spilt in her dress, the bride seeing the selfless act and knowing her friend hadn’t finished her hair began pulling the rollers out of her hair. Their determination, teamwork and laughs showed the true meaning of eternal friends and what one does for those they care about.
The image I share today is from 2010 while I was photographing India. I was travelling with family back to my mother’s homeland on a family heritage trip. During our stay there we were exposed to the hardships so many from that country experience. I would walk the streets daily absorbing the culture and challenges the local people faced. My heart was full of compassion for the many wonderful people I saw that had far less than I’d ever had to make do with. As I walked, I saw children in age similar to mine walking the streets, begging so that they could survive. I saw industrious hard working people looking for any opportunity to make ends meet. It made me appreciate the wonderful circumstances that I lived in and the great opportunities I could provide for my children. For me personally photographing India was a great joy and a massive challenge. There were many cultural barriers to overcome and the weather was just so hot and muggy too, which is so wonderful for photography.
A Beggar woman in Chennai
This particular image I captured of a local Chennai woman who was waiting outside one of the very few Christian churches, begging. I photographed her as she approached us. I noticed that she sat at the steps of the small cathedral and that many people had passed her by. I noticed her partially deformed and swollen leg, her frail arms outstretched, her body slouched over. Her sad, wrinkled face told me a story of harsh life and sorrow. I could not communicate with her in her language, but I gave her a small offering to help her and in the most beautiful way she smiled and showed her appreciation. My heart beamed in delight, that I could help in a small way another of God’s children. In that instant I forgot the long strenuous drive we were on and the humid sticky weather that I was finding almost unbearable. I began feeling peace and joy for loving someone else. I never saw her again, but this image and my emotions from our encounter remind forever how grateful I need to be for what I have.
My heart became so fond of this experience and the others that I had on this journey photographing India. I have become attracted to this country and its spiritual power, its amazing cultural diversity and the beautiful buildings and monuments along the way. I have teamed up with my good friends and fellow award winning professional landscape photographer Paul Dowe from Paul Dowe Galleries to take others seeking these experiences and adventures, helping other photographers to use the power of their camera to document the journey of life. Our Wild Light Photographic tours are more than just the average photographic tours, they are a journey – an exploration a life experience not to miss. One that we will be advertising and promoting soon will be a wonderful tour photographing India.
Travelling the long road in African on an amazing Journey
Let me take you on a Photography journey. I have promised on my facebook page that I will showcase some powerful images I have documented from my photography journey. This is part one of an ongoing series of images and stories that I will publish.
How can photography be so powerful? How can photographs take us on a journey? Why do images make us feel and do certain things? Professional Photographers and advertising companies have been studying this for so long and tried many techniques to portray a message to us, the viewer. For many years now I have worked as a Professional Photographer, capturing and creating images that illustrate stories and promote a message.
I have photographed the candid events of the bride and groom’s wedding day; the love and laughter from a family portrait session; followed the brief of the art designer for a magazine. Image-making with my camera has played many different roles and taken me on a wonderful journey. In my travels I have witnessed and captured many profound and amazing stories. Today I would like to start by sharing some of the things that my eye has beheld and my camera captured.
I recently presented a portfolio of images that I documented all over the world to a group of my peers and fellow professional photographers. I shared with them a group of powerful and personal images that have helped me put my life’s challenges into perspective. These images have helped me remain grateful for the wonderful blessings that I have in my life. I will be shortly sharing the first image from that series.
The Wedding day is almost here, only a day waits for this lovely couple. A few months back we did and engagement shoot for Ben & Laura, and tomorrow is their big day. Time has quickly come around for them to begin their eternal journey together, to start their new life as husband and wife. And I get to be there to witness all the amazing and special details that they have put together over the past few months in preparation for the wedding day.
Even though their pre wedding shoot was the first time I had photographed them together ( not that you can tell, they really are professionals and were so relaxed and easy to work with) we have crossed paths on the photography scene before. Laura, the bride in waiting and her creative sister form a talented duo of designers and party planners and operate a growing little business
A family portrait and an engagement portrait in the same session. That’s right, the lovely couple preparing for their upcoming wedding, had us out with them on a lovely morning to get some pre wedding photographs or an engagement portrait.
engagement portrait & family portrait
The cool bit was having them bring their beautiful baby twins for the portrait session. Call it a engagement portrait or a family portrait, either way it was fantastic.
Bobby & Tash are getting married later this year and I am lucky enough to be given the job of being their photographer on their wedding day.
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.
Here is the first look at the Beautiful Wedding of Corey & Kiri-lee. They were Married on a warm Sunny day in October, which is a beautiful month to be married. Its a perfect day right in the middle of Wedding season, plus there is a good chance that you will have nice (not too hot) weather and only a slight chance of rain. This lovely couple were sealed in a private sacred ceremony at the LDS Temple in Dianella. Later they had a Ring ceremony at their reception centre, Burswood on the Swan as the magnificent Sun set over the river and city sky-scrape.
This first preview of images shares some of the beautiful moments they shared with family and friends on the Wedding day. Photographs were taken at Hyde Park, Matilda bay, the iconic Boat shed in Crawley and the back at the Burswood waterfront.
Following the beautiful ceremony and the lovely afternoon of Photographs, the couple sat together sharing many wonderful memories with the family and friends. They cut their stunning Wedding cake and had their Bridal dance to Spend my Life with you by Eric Benet and Tamia. What wedding can be complete without a lolley buffet, and this one was to die for. I must admit I tucked into a few treats myself.
The Bride & Groom have already selected their favourite images and their Beautiful handcrafted album from Jorgensens albums is underway.
