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?
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.
