Coinciding with the weekend of Te Kuiti's biggest (and only!) events on the annual calendar - the national shearing championships and the 'Running of the Sheep' - Doug and Rachael had some strong competition for their wedding. However, 3000 odd sheep being let loose down the main street the next day only added to the weekend's fun, and this little farming town, near Hamilton, turned on absolutely stunning weather for their special day.

Doug and Rachael are an amazingly fun couple. I only met them on the day of the wedding, but they are the kind of people you feel like you have known for a long time.

I hung with Doug's family before the ceremony...he waited calmly and patiently while everyone else ran around getting ready!

The themes throughout the wedding were music and food...two great themes if you ask me! Doug and Rachael (and their families!) are both incredibly talented musically, and their culinary skills were also evident later on at the reception meal.

This is my beautiful friend Elinor, Doug's sister, entertaining and playing while Rachael walked down the aisle. I like her a lot :)

Rachael just laughed ALL day! It was so great. Even walking down the aisle...she was laughing!

The Bolger family is a very large family - Rachael has 8 other siblings...and most of them have partners and some have children!! The most impressive part though, was that despite being spread all around the world...the whole family was together again! So, while the Millar side was slightly out-numbered, it definitely was a wonderful family affair.

We then jumped in the 4WD's, and headed to the Bolger's farm, just out of Te Kuiti for some awesome photo opportunities.

With their powers combined....

You can take a girl out of the farm...but you can't take the farm out of the girl! It wasn't long before Rachael's wedding shoes were swapped for good old gummies...

The reception to follow was held on the family farm, looking out at the beautiful views from Rachael's parents' home.

These little girls were just tooo adorable! I couldn't stop photographing them while they waited patiently for Doug and Rachael to arrive so that they could throw petals on them!

And lastly, but most definitely not least... the reception. Stirred on by two of the most competitive families I have ever met...the whole night was filled with table rivalry, sibling rivalry, and finally... a choreographed dance-off between the two families. I must admit, I may have been one of the instigators of this dance-off with the Millar girls (with a tragic dance to "Boom boom boom boom" by the Vengaboys), but as you can see, the Bolgers came back in true style. They all ran outside and made up a dance to "Walk like an Egyptian", which we challenged with a bit of MJ and "Blame it on the Boogie". After four impressive fully choreographed dances, a truce was reached. I would put more photos up, but I fear the embarrassment of some people...so I will just leave you with this one...

Thank you SO much Rachael and Doug (and your awesome families) for an incredibly fun day photographing you. You were so natural in front of the camera... I have soooo many more photos for you to see!! I wish you all the best for married life, and I look forward to the next dance-off.... :D  xoxox

Little Ella Redhead is such a gorgeous little poppet, full of fun and smiles! We had an awesome wee photo shoot with six-month old Ella, and her Mum and Dad (Steph and Marty)! You may have seen her before on my web page, in the form of a big bump on Steph's belly. She is cuter than ever now though...let me show you how much fun we had!

To begin with, Ella was a little unsure about the whole camera in her face thing....

but as Mum and Dad sung and danced to "Under my umbr- Ella, Ella, Ella, eh eh ehh"... she warmed up to the idea :)

These guys are one seriously awesome family! Steph and Marty are absolutely beautiful, amazing parents! You can tell how much Ella adores them... and how much they adore her ;)

Check out that tongue!

What a great family! Ella is very lucky to have incredible parents like Marty and Steph.

This was a very special blanket knitted especially for Ella by her lovely Nana! Cuuute!

Thanks Marty and Steph for giving me the privilege of photographing your beautiful little family! You guys are a great team and it is so awesome to follow Ella along her journey and see her grow into a gorgeous, happy, smily little girl! Lots and lots of love xoxox

Samoa is a country abounding in beauty - it is lusciously green, covered in banana and coconut trees, and surrounded by glorious blue seas and vivid skies. The villages are small and unobtrusive, with children playing together on the side of the road, brightly coloured clothing drying on the grass, roaming animals, many people sitting together in open fales, and others going about their daily business at a pace that is all very relaxing.

I was fortunate enough to have a week in this incredible country with my sister, brother-in-law and boyfriend, before photographing a wedding over there. I want to give you a glimpse into a humbling culture that knows how to live life simply, but to the full.

Samoan children are incredibly beautiful. I wanted to photograph every child I saw, not just because they are all SO adorable, but also because they all seemed to have a story that I wanted to share. In Samoa, kids are allowed to be kids...they spend their days playing with the other children in the village, attending school, and running around in the sand playing soccer or cricket. As we drove by, the children would all wave and yell "Malo!". When I asked if I could take photos, many would clamber on top of each other trying to be seen. Others were very shy, but inquisitive. Let me show you just some of the young faces of this beautiful nation.

I have to dedicate a section to the Samoan public transport. I fell in love with these buses! Decked out in ridiculously bright retro colours and little decorative LED lights, pumping out loud music, packed with people sitting on top of each other and named things like 'Paradise in Heaven', how could I not?!

It was such a privilege to get a glimpse of life for Samoans, as we slowly passed through each village. Both islands, Upolu and Savai'i, are only really populated along the coastlines, so one road circling each island takes you through the large majority of villages. The simplicity of their lives was inspiring, and I loved the cultural traditions that still prevailed in their daily lives.

The sea-life absolutely blew me away! Bright and colourful fish surrounding the coral, and these beautifully calm and slow-moving turtles were definitely highlights. The characteristics of the surfy turtles in Finding Nemo are pretty accurate really :)

Samoa is packed full of beautiful swimming holes, waterfalls and astounding natural features. While hardly signposted or manned, the 'tourist attractions' are all amazing spots of paradise that the locals charge you only a few tala to experience. Waterfalls that you slide down (quite clearly no OSH requirements there!), giant ocean trenches to swim in, spectacular blowholes, beautiful beaches to relax on, and fascinating coral to snorkel around are just some of the amazing things you have to see and do!

This elderly man made a living by throwing coconuts into the famous blowhole for tourists. We paid him some tala, and watched as the blowhole spat the coconuts waaaaay into the sky! He was such a cute man... very proudly wearing his "New Zealand" tshirt which his son had sent over for him!

Travelling around the southern coast of Upolu, we struck the devastation of the 2009 tsunami. The destruction was still pretty raw, and very heartbreaking. I spoke to a few locals in the villages where it hit. The lady below lost two children, and many, many homes were wiped out.

Recovery is reasonably slow and there is still a lot of debris around. Topless trees, destroyed vehicles, piles of concrete, and graves where homes used to stand are constant reminders of the damage. However, efforts to rebuild fales, tourist accommodation and infrastructure were definitely evident. We stayed in newly rebuilt beach fales on a gorgeous beach in Lolumanu, an area hit very hard.

Churches are everywhere and they are amazing buildings. This church stood strongly in the midst of the tsumani damage on the southern coast, but beside it lay a field surrounded by crosses... a mass grave for tsunami victims. It was a hugely sad scene, but the hope that they share was also quite obvious.

These little roadside shops are EVERYWHERE... tiny little family businesses selling things like canned food, rice, soap, and Digicel phone top-ups!

Every morning (except Sunday) in Apia, the Police brass band marches down the main street. As soon as the national anthem begins, every car, bus, taxi and pedestrian stops, and watches proudly as the Samoan flag is raised outside the government buildings.

Everywhere you look, the scenery is dramatic and vivid, and the flowers are so bright and cheerful! It really is paradise.

We went to a very impressive traditional fiafia (Samoan dance) performance at Aggie Grey's Resort. The singing, dancing and fire-throwing were INCREDIBLE, definitely something worth seeing in Samoa. I did get occasionally sprayed with their sweat to get these photos, but that is the price I pay I guess ;) 

And finally, on a more personal note...I think I left Samoa as the happiest girl in the whole country. I am still buzzing with excitement, and it has become a very special place to me, because my amazing man proposed to me on our last night over there! Exciting new adventures for me ahead. Check out my beautiful new ring... :D

I definitely recommend that you visit this island nation if you get the chance! It is soo beautiful, soooo relaxing, and soooo hot!! The culture is strong and amazing, and they definitely present a different perspective on life. If you are after a relaxing but amazing trip, where you can forget about the hustle, bustle and stress of life... you should totally go! :)

Surrounded by the magnificently blue Pacific Ocean, gorgeous frangipanis, palm trees and a stinking hot 32 degrees, Katrina and Luke's wedding took place on a stunning beach at Aggie Grey's Resort in Samoa! This intimate wedding, with 30 special guests was a relaxed and beautiful day. Kat and her bridesmaids looked amazing, and the environment was absolutely surreal!!

Here is a sneak peek of their special day! The dress and rings were photographed with real Samoan leis that they were gifted the night before their wedding.

Ahhh...tropical paradise! I LOVE frangipanis so much...you may notice they feature a bit!

Katrina was a gorgeous bride, and was cool, calm and collected all day!

Katrina's clever aunty made these amazing bouquets for the girls with beautiful tropical flowers!

The ceremony was held on the beachfront with a stunning island backdrop. I love the adorable looks between Kat and Luke during the service!

Kat and Luke are a great couple! Very cute together...

What an exotic wedding...we all had an AMAZING time in Samoa and are all feeling the cold back here!!
I hope you have enjoyed your first week of married life Kat and Luke! All the best for your future together!!
xoxox