This wedding was exactly how I had it pictured in my head. Having met Anna and Phil for their engagement shoot a couple of weeks ago, I knew the wedding they described would suit them perfectly. Simple, beautiful, with an emphasis on spending quality time with family and friends. Sometimes a wedding day goes so quickly that the all-important parts get squeezed in between the less important parts. What I mean is, I love when people prioritise mingling time, canapes, drinks with friends they haven't seen in months, over a long photoshoot.

The way they managed this so successfully was that they had no bridal party! No bridesmaids, no best man, no groomsmen. The wedding was all about them, and then a big group of family and friends. Simple! It also means you don't need to agonise for ages over which people to choose for these jobs. These guys still had close friends helping them get ready, assisting with all the important stuff, but when it came to portrait photograph time.. we just slipped away with Anna and Phil, headed to the old quarter of Oamaru, and worked it!! Haha. I know it sounds like overkill saying this all the time, but these two are just lovely. Really genuine people. I'm a very lucky photographer.

Oh and wow, I LOVE Oamaru! I'm going to head up with my parents to hang out in all those cute little shops and galleries. In my head it will be warm and balmy, but in reality it will probably be like today. Raining.

On to some photographs!

Steven is out with Elmer (it's raining) and I feel a sense of urgency to get as much done as possible before they come back. Post-baby, my idea of what can be achieved in two hours has increased considerably. You can almost get a whole week's work done in two hours, surely! Hee hee.

Another wedding for the blog. Kelly and Owen married at East Taieri Church out in Mosgiel. I love the lighting there in the afternoon as it's generally really soft backlighting, and the building itself is simple and cute. Oh and another civil ceremony inside a church, this is all new to me!

I met Kelly a couple of times before the wedding and we got on really well, but I only met Owen on the day. Not that I expected anything otherwise, but he is lovely! A very kind, decent guy. Kelly wasn't originally the wedding type, but then when she decided she did want to get married, she conjoured up an elaborate plan to propose to Owen on the way to a concert. She'd managed to find out which ring size would fit him, and bought him a ring to seal the deal. The communication didn't quite go to plan, and Owen thought the ring was a gift. And he doesn't wear jewellery, which was confusing. It all turned out okay though (as you can see)! I love these awkward romantic stories. Kind of like my engagement story, one that I probably won't share on the blog!

Oh, Kelly and Owen also have two really sweet little boys. Makes me want a brother for Elmer at some point.

A few images from the day:

Louise and Simon arranged their entire wedding from London - thank goodness for Skype! The whole day came together beautifully, and despite a cold Dunedin day (no surprise around here recently) the sun came out to warm us up a little. Even their Christchurch guests managed to make it down just a few days after the quake, although Louise's brother was still wiping dust from his recovered shoes during the family portraits!

I love being around during the speeches, because although I get to know people beforehand, it's great to hear the stories and moments that make each relationship unique. Simon and Louise met as students in Dunedin. Louise's best friend and bridesmaid Tomae was in charge of scheduling classes, and Louise instructed her to arrange things so that she NEVER came across that Simon guy since he was so dislikeable and arrogant. Isn't that funny? Now they are married! I really believe opposites attract, and sometimes you need to be forced together (or maybe forced to be students at the same institution) to see that actually, you're the perfect match.

Simon is quiet and reserved, but romantic and a real gentleman. Louise is bright and chatty and lovely. I loved Simon's reaction when he saw her at the top of the aisle. It's the kind of reaction that, if you were in any doubt about these two being completely in love, you'd be reassured in an instant. Lush.

Simon getting some double windsor tie instruction:



 

I'm so lucky at the moment, the weddings I'm shooting are in such diverse and quirky little places. Melissa and Mat's is a case in point. The ceremony was held at Ombrello's courtyard restaruant/bar right here in the centre of town. I love working in Dunedin - it's great to be able to hang with Elmer and then just pop in the car and drive down the road.

Melissa and Mat are both really creative types, but also relaxed and down to earth enough not to want to spend every waking minute preparing wedding details. This was a simple, pared-down ceremony, followed by drinks in the courtyard and a reception in the classical wooden-panelled ballroom at the Savoy.

I love the guys suits, Melissa's hair (she's a hairdresser so it had to be good really), the uber-cool car (with a porthole!!!!) and the easy way M&M interact with eachother. Talking of M&M, how cool is that for a couple-initial?? Hopefully now married they will get huge monogrammed matching dressing gowns.

Carrie and Toby live in Perth with their gorgeous baby daughter Ruby, so all our communication prior to their wedding last week was by email or Skpye. Sometimes with a wedding like this where I only get to meet people on the day itself, I might feel a little nervous. However, I think because Carrie and Toby made it so clear how much they trusted me beforehand, this time I felt totally at ease. Carrie let me know roughly the type of location shots she was after, the timetable of the day, and that was it - over to me!

We had a bit of a mission (Liana and I) travelling up to Geraldine, and the journey took longer than we had planned. Therefore our 'scouting location time' was eaten into, and on arrival I asked Liana to drive around and pick out a couple of spots. I trust her. Ideally we wanted a rusticky old barn (in red?), and something a bit vintagey and cute. Oh and take into account the direction of the sun too, I said, we want everything backlit. No pressure! Liana spent 30 minutes driving around and found better spots than I could have in a whole day. A beautiful old red barn in a field of green grass, a super cute barber's shop and an alleyway behind a rusty gate. She was on fire!!

Carrie's wedding style is very much my thing. I think it's incredible how you can buy things on ebay, get crafty and make things, order stuff online, and co-ordinate florists and suits and dresses all from thousands of miles away and have it come together this well. I'm in awe! The venue - Stoneridge in Geraldine is stunning but simple, and provided a backdrop for a very intimate, loving, stylish wedding full of nice touches, laughter and good music.