For our #TBT post we present Katie and James: A gorgeous couple and a wonderful day!
Michelle and Russell are two of our best friends so it seemed natural that they would hire us to take their wedding photos. It was double duty for me as I was also a bridesmaid!
Singlefile winery in Denmark was the perfect setting for the vintage inspired wedding theme that Michelle had painstakingly put together. The weather also played its part well; it was sunny and beautiful with just an occasional gusty wind (we almost lost the veil to the pond/lake but I managed to save it!). The marquee ‘vintage country style’ reception was breath-taking, with Singlefile giving it a spectacular backdrop.
Michelle looked stunning in a gorgeous lace gown from Aubrey Rose, which featured a full train; the look was completed with a simple cathedral veil. The bridesmaids wore wonderful pink and cream floral dresses from Review (which we all agreed were very cute and definitely re-wearable) complemented with beaded belts. The bouquets were a delightful mixture of greens, pinks, cream and white which complemented the theme of the wedding beautifully.
Singlefile has a deck that extends over a pond that is surrounded by huge eucalyptus trees providing a lovely setting for the wedding ceremony. The couple looked amazing together with Russell clearly besotted by his beautiful bride. Michelle couldn’t stop smiling at her beau; Russell proved so much a distraction for our bride that she valiantly tried to put his ring on the wrong finger (which resulted in much cute giggling) but eventually she realised her error and the ceremony continued as expected. After the ceremony the bridal party remained at Singlefile for their shots, before the couple departed for some more photos of just them two at various Denmark locations, including Greens pool.
Returning in the evening to their chic wedding reception, they partied the night away, dancing and mingling with friends and family. At 11:00 a sparkler farewell was prepared and the couple departed; a perfect end to a perfect day.
Congratulations Michelle and Russell, we may be biased but you guys were awesome, may you have many happy years ahead of you!
A couple of nights ago I was re-watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (who isn’t a fan!) when I noticed Fleur’s beautiful and unique wedding dress. While we don’t get that much screen time for it I though it worth bring to any budding brides-to-be, particularly if they don’t want the whole traditional white dress thing. According to the Harry Potter wiki,
“French designer, Jany Temime, said that “Fleur’s dress was made in organza and decorated with a pair of phoenixes that face each other on the bodice and form the silhouette of a heart. I chose the phoenix because, like love, it is eternal.”[1]”
It is a lovely and unique dress and if you watch the movie it has a lovely flow to it as well. Fleur also had a matching head piece in a black lace design which was also quite eye catching.
I have noticed that colour is slowly creeping into wedding dresses, whether as a brightly coloured sash, or a blush tinged dress (very popular in the stores), white is not the only option a bride has these days. If you’re into getting a dress custom made and designed there really are no limits to what you can wear. We love seeing original wedding dresses on our shoots, and, even though the vast majority would be classed as traditional, sometimes a playful addition can really make the dress something special.
If you’re not bold enough to change the colour of your dress, why not just wear some brightly coloured shoes – we have seen red, pink and blue heels on our brides, which were an unexpected but lovely surprise.
Chelsea and Chris were just married this weekend!
We wish them all the best in the coming years. May they always look back on their wedding day with joy, happiness and, of course, L-O-V-E!
(We will do a proper blog post about their day soon!)
So, I don’t often mention weddings in TV shows or films, mostly because they’re often pretty generic, cute but nothing to write a blog post about. However the Starz series Outlander is definitely worthy of mention for the stunning wedding dress featured.
For those who have not heard about this show, Outlander, is based on the best selling novels of Diana Gabaldon and are mostly set in 18th century Scotland (with some crossover to post WWII Scotland/England). Its a romance orientated tale with some supernatural elements thrown in and I highly recommend it if you like romances with some historical sword play thrown in. Anyway, back to the dress! See pics!
This dress was truly stunning. Embroidered with cascading silver leaves over a silver grey background in the sunlight it positively shone, plus it really is very friendly to making…am… a woman’s assets stand out (hee! hee!)
While it is undoubtedly a 18th century gown there are elements here that I could see in being translated to today’s fashion, particularly the embroidery, the full skirt with overlay, the delicate sleeves and the bardot neckline. Swoon! I just loved it.
For those interested season one of Outlander has wrapped, but a second season is due next year.
Happy Valentines Day!
To celebrate this fine day we are posting up one stunning couple’s, who were recently married, pre-wedding shoot. So I present Tanya and Marco!
Tanya and Marco’s pre-wedding photos were taken in the picturesque Swan Valley. Their joy and happiness is self evident in the photography, and it was clear they were going to be a joy to work with on their wedding day. Exploring this little corner of the Valley introduced us to a myriad of locations from rolling fields to cute waterfalls. We even managed to get some pics with Tanya’s favourite animal, horses (Okay, their small and in the background but they are there!).
Of course such a natural landscape comes with its own hazards, with our lovely bride-to-be braving some pretty impressive ants, but even these critters couldn’t dampen her smile. It would be a challenge to take a bad photo of these two, and they made our job ridiculously easy!
Sam and Michael had to travel all the way from Kalgoorie for their pre-wedding photography session which we did in Kings Park, Perth. Spring had finally arrived in Perth (it took a while to get here) and the day was bright and beautiful. Bringing their gorgeous daughter Alexis (Lexi) along, it was a fabulous opportunity for a fun and casual family shoot among the green bush. There was no problem getting great photographs of this couple, although I think anyone would find it hard to compete with the gorgeous Lexi, who took hold of the camera at one point taking some of her own shots! (We might have to watch out for her in the future 🙂
It was great pre-wedding photography session that could only indicating we would all have a great time on their wedding day.
Sam and Michael, Our lovely couple
Show stealing Lexi being adorable
Kissing!
The whole family cuddle!
Check out our lovely bride Cari and her wedding in the Real Wedding section of Perth Bride. Cari was married in the gorgeous Laurance Wines in Margaret River. It was a magical and fun occasion and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with her and her lovely beau, David. Our professional bridal photographs are featured in her magazine spread, and you can see our original blog post here for even more.
Perth Bride’s digital edition is free (!) on all platforms so why not check it out here. Not only is it free you can do the following as well:
- Search, bookmark and share pages via Email, Twitter, Facebook &, Google+
- Make and store notes on your advert with the desktop version
- Details of vendors (Like us 🙂 ) on mobile devices along with links to their website & email.
Click the pic to go directly to Cari and David’s Real Wedding in Perth Bride.
Details for Cari and David’s Wedding:
Dress: Dion for Brides
Decorations: Wez Enterprises
Venue: Laurance Wines
Flowers: Sweet Pea Designs
Cake: Kingdom Cupcakes
Limo: Twilight Limousines
Makeup: Temily Herring
Hair: Vonnie Fava
Shoes: Suna Shoes
I have confession to make: I think the wedding in Twilight is possible the most beautiful wedding setting I have ever seen. Now, to clarify, I am not a huge twilight fan (the movies are okay, they are just not my preferred viewing) but the wedding scenery was stunning. I love the forest setting, all lush and green, the twisted branches benches, the hanging wisteria and the bower that the couple stood in for their vows is stunning. Its a glamorous and elegant setting and, despite not being a Twihard, I can see the obvious beauty of it.
Unfortunately, I can only guess how much it would cost to recreate the look (those hanging wisteria alone would cost a fortune) but bits and pieces of it have inspired brides in their own romantic vision. For one, the forest setting is actually doable, even in WA, particularly if a bride isn’t averse to holding their wedding down south…imagine being married in the Pemberton region with those gorgeous Karri’s and Tingles! Not to mention the studding on-location shoot opportunities. The petal covered aisle is also something that can be achieved and also, while hanging wisteria maybe difficult to get not to mention setup, its probably far easier to get a florist to make the aisle enders (or whatever they’re called!). I have also seen people mimic the canopy effect with chiffon, lace and lanterns. In fact, one of the lovely things about this look is the heavy use of greenery, which is usually cheaper than having heaps of flowers and is definitely more resilient.
Looking at how people have drawn inspiration from this film set is truly inspiring. Below are images of some of my favourites, from people who have bee able to duplicate it completely, to other who have taken one element i.e the bower and translated it to another setting entirely, to others still who have toned it back to a simple forest setting, its amazing how creative people can get.
From a wedding photographer’s viewpoint, the subdued lighting is also something to be celebrated. It may not be sunny and bright but the soft light makes skin look smooth and also avoids heavy shadows. If you like that look, have photos later in the day – an hour or two before sunset and even at, dare I say it, twilight. The photo used as the banner in is this post was taken very late in the day, using the last available light, and the inherent moodiness of that time of day is evident -its dark and romantic because it was taken so late in the day. The forest look can be achieved by using the huge fig trees in Hyde Park or the figs opposite the Swan Brewery, in the cooler months even Bush land can turn green enough for this look.
I am not alone in my admiration of this wedding look, so below are some links I have brought together that celebrate and take inspiration from the ‘Twilight’ wedding.
- Twilight wedding tumblr – focused almost exclusively on the film, but also gathering some real life inspiration for invites, photos and so on.
- Pinterest board of the Twilight Wedding Theme – mixed in with images from the film are some real life wedding settings inspired by the film and more.
- Another Pinterest board filled with stuff inspired by this wedding
- Bride’s Guide has a page that goes from the setting, to the dress to the hair and can help any budding fan recreate the look.
Till next time!
Perhaps one of the most iconic objects of a wedding, second only to the white dress, is the bridal veil. Once upon a time a veil was a must have item but these days many brides choose not to have a veil; for some it is too old fashioned or too uncomfortable to bother with but for many it is an integral part of their wedding outfit. As a photographer I can say that I love veils! Even when misbehaving (i.e. frolicking with the wind and whipping all in the vicinity in the face) veils look beautiful. Whether they are cathedral length or a sassy retro chin scraper, veils are the ultimate romantic emblem of the wedding day. its not unusual for the putting on the veil to be the moment when brides and mums etc. will get all teary eyed (much to the consternation to any makeup artist!).
When brides ask about whether they should have a veil or not I always say ‘yes!’. Lets face it, your wedding day is probably not the last day you will wear a beautiful big dress on but there are few occasions, save a fancy dress party, that you will have an opportunity to wear a veil. In photography veils tend to soften the light creating sort of soft hallow around bride and softening skin tones when doing close up portrait shoots, in full length shots they can extend the silohouette if long in length and (if the wind complies) be used for dramatic effect. Some of my favorite shots are of a veil playing with the wind, generally being a nuisance but producing the most stunning shots in the end.
If you have reservations, remember you don’t have to have a veil that covers your face, and even if you do you can have your dad (or whoever walks you down the aisle) to pull it back right at the beginning of the ceremony so you are not watching everything through a gauzy filter. Neither do you have to wear the veil the whole entire day, take it off at the reception if you found it annoying (just make sure a bridesmaid knows hot to take it out so your hairdo stays intact).
If a veil still seems a bit ‘ugh’, you can always go for a fascinator like head covering but I always caution people not to get anything that covers a great part of the face. I know some brides love a little bit of netting just over one eye (its very vintage), but having hundreds of photos where part of your face is always obfuscated may not be ideal, so really think about it from both a photographic and comfort perspective (I am not saying don’t have one, I am just saying make sure you can see clearly through it and !).
Long or short veils are wonderful romantic symbol of the day and I highly recommend having one.
Till next time!
What our Couples say….
Thank you very much for being our wedding photographer. You and your beautiful wife have done an amazing job. From the onset of our first meeting we were very confident in that choosing you as our photographer that we had made the right decision. We applaud your work, from the way you conduct your business, the countless hours and effort you put in, right down to the fine detailed spectacular finished product. Please know that as well as monetary gain, you also have our copious appreciation.
We will recommend you to everyone we know, and probably even people we don’t.
Mark & Sarah