The last wedding was Meagan & Andrew’s last Saturday and for the first time in quite a while weather wise we had a brilliant day – the sun was out which I love the photograph in, it breaths life into the photos and you can feel the warmth of the sun just looking at it.

We had a ball with the energetic bridal party and as you will see from one of the last image we had a bit of Movember fun as well.

Maybe the main difference in this wedding (and it is something we have done a few times) is that we did the bridal party photos before the ceremony.  Sarah & Ben are a pretty laid back couple so when I suggested that we do it this way they were all for it, if we did it the traditional way because of time restraints we wouldn’t have been able to get the photos they wanted.  A few other differences is they also had a large bridal party of 12 and all the girls wore a different coloured bridesmaids dress – which looked brilliant!

You can’t help but have fun with big bridal parties, the energy is contagious and it really shows in the photos I think, it does take longer to wrangle them into position but that’s half the fun sometimes.

I photographed Sarah’s sister Tatum’s wedding (check it out here) not long ago so it was great catching up with everyone again and capturing another part of the families history.

I think you get a real feel for the day looking through the photos.

The difference with destination weddings to the ones I shoot in Melbourne is that you get to spend quite a bit of time with the couple and their friends and family in the days leading up to the wedding at dinners, drinks etc so by the time the wedding comes along you feel like part of the family so to speak.  Kara & Cliff are an amazing couple and Heidi & I have got to know them quite well and it was an absolute honor to be in Hawaii to not only document but to witness their wedding and we now consider them friends for life.  It’s also a bonus that their little angel Mataya and our daughter Lola are only a day apart in age and are now bff’s, they are very cute together.  Not only do Kara & Cliff rock but all their family and friends we had the pleasure of meeting were heaps of fun too and made our trip all the more enjoyable hanging out with them.

Now to the wedding – I will let the photos do most of the talking but just viewing Kara & Cliff together in the images you can tell that have a great connection and are head over heals for each other.  Being such an intimate wedding where 34 people had traveled from Australia and landed on a beautiful beach 1000′s of km’s away was such a buzz, you could feel the excitement and love as the crazy Captain Howie proceeded over the ceremony.

The reception is where the switch really got turned up into party mode (I was right at home), it was an amazing setting overlooking Waikiki beach on sunset cocktails in hand a traditional Hawaiian band playing in the background complete with hula girl, the perfect end to the perfect day.  Once the camera was away in the bag the cocktails kept flowing and we had a great night partying with all the other guests.

Thanks Kara & Cliff for an amazing experience I hope the photos do it justice.

So below you can see a full finished album design from a recent wedding, which is exactly what Kate & Ben (click to see their original blog post) will be getting when they pick up their album later this month.  When someone not associated with the couple look through an album I want them to get a sense of what the day was like, the feeling, the mood and the couple.  If that permeates through from the design, treatment and images then I am happy that I have done my job and executed it well.

Does this album evoke an emotional response in some way from you and do you get a feeling of what the wedding was like and the essence of the day?, if so great that’s all I ask and it’s what my clients expect.

footnote – the first image is a single page and so is the last but the rest inbetween are double pages.

I am seeing more and more that the bride & groom don’t necessarily know then ins and outs of all the traditions and are guided by the elder statesmen of the family so to speak, it is great that these couples respect their heritage and family enough to continue these traditions.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Jo & Allan’s wedding which featured an Asian tea ceremony.   I have had the pleasure of photographing a few of these at different weddings, the bride & groom offer each family member some tea one at a time and in exchange they give the couple a red envelope with a gift of money.  I believe it is done to formally introduce each other to their families and welcome them.  It is also a sign of respect as the ceremonies are started off with the Matriarch/Patriarch of each family down to the youngest.

As well as the tea ceremony they had a traditional ceremony and we captured the bridal party photos in between the two at some great locations around Melbourne

Although Renee doesn’t practise photography now there was a little added pressure shooting the wedding knowing she is a keen photographer so I had to make sure I bought my A game.  I love shooting weddings at Ballara, the gardens are beautiful and it is all at the one venue making it easy and stress free.

The autumn light was just perfect for the day and really helped capture the mood and essence of the wedding which was fun, energetic and vibrant.  In all the weddings I photograph I want to bring out the personalities and connection between the couple and the vibe of the day – I think I managed to do that with this wedding.

enjoy!