And the rest, they say, is history...
It was January 4th. Long gorgeous summer days were upon us, and Jennifer and Caleb were holidaying in glorious Kaikoura. Caleb went for a run along the beach in the morning... but little did Jennifer know he had sneakily written in the sand and planned a beautiful proposal during that time! Shortly after, they went for a walk together along that same beach (how very convenient). Caleb was nervously waiting for Jen to notice the writing in the sand ahead of them... but it didn't happen as easily as he thought. Jennifer even stopped to take a photo which actually has the big question written in the back of it, but still... oblivious! Getting closer and closer, Jen still wasn't paying any attention to his marvellous plan... so since walking right past it wasn't really an option, he had to point out of the obvious - "oh look, what's that in the sand?!". And the rest, they say, is history... Jen and Caleb are super relaxed, easy going, loveable people! They are a couple you instantly want to be friends with. Somehow, all these beautiful, awesome couples keep finding us... and we love it! I think it's super sweet that they first met in high school. They used to go for picnics in the park just down the road from Caleb's house... so we went back to that very same spot for their engagement shoot! They even had the same drinks and the same dinosaur lollies they used to share! Snuggling in amongst those little white flowers that make you smell like garlic for hours afterwards... romantic! They're a bit cute eh?! Ahhhh so much fun! Thanks for an awesome afternoon - just got me even more excited about your wedding rolling around! Hope the planning goes well for the next two months!!! Lots of love xoxo
0 Comments
My job is the best! I get to work with awesome couples... best friends who adore each other! What a flippin' big privilege! My absolute favourite thing to photograph is people in love. We give complimentary engagement shoots, because we KNOW the value of them! Tina and Josh weren't too sure about doing a shoot before their wedding, but they have since told me it was the best thing they could have done! Now they won't be nervous for their big day... sweet deal. Josh loves the beach, and Tina loves beautiful expansive views... so we mixed it up with a bit of both! Totally didn't expect to have two completely different types of weather and light when we just we drove up and over a wee hill, but that's Dunedin for ya I guess! And it's what I love about shooting outdoors... it always provides different opportunities and challenges - I love playing with gorgeous natural light! Gives me warm fuzzies seeing awesome love like Tina and Josh's! Oh I love your smile Tina! You are so beautiful and funky! I'm so looking forward to seeing you as a stunning bride! Doesn't look like it's going to end well... Thinking we weren't going to see any sort of view anywhere in the foggy haze we were in, we left behind the moody clouds and drove up the hill quickly... to find gorgeous sunlight beginning to set down over the harbour! MmmmMmm... it took me forever to drive home, because I kept stopping to photograph our gorgeous city in this beautiful light! Tina and Josh, you totally rocked your shoot. It's got me so excited about your wedding day - I know it's going to be full of love and fun! xoxo
Meet Alix and Johnny and their gorgeous kiddlywinks, Matt and Hayley! They are one beautiful little family and we can't wait to see them again in October for their big wedding day in Port Chalmers! We decided it was super important to include Matt and Hayley in the engagement shoot, because they are obviously such a massive part of Alix & Johnny's lives and their relationship. They have been together over 5 years, and the next big adventure of their love is about to start - marriage! These kids are really ridiculously cute! Hayley is about 11 months old, and has the sweetest little face and cheeky grin, and four year old Matt is full of energy and personality! I just loved watching Alix and John interacting with their beautiful children - they obviously completely and utterly ADORE each other, and have such playful and loving relationships! Here is where all the mothers reading this have a mini heart attack, and all the fathers wanna go out and see if they can chuck their son even higher... We tired the kids out with running around, boxing, getting thrown in the air, and doing flips... and then we let Grandma take them away, so we had some time with the awesome couple by themselves! They spent most of the time fighting with each other. But not the yelling type, or the silent treatment type, or the evil looks type... more like the flirting, giggling, poking, hassling, play-fighting type! Alix and Johnny up a tree... K I S S I N G!! These two love birds used to spend hours and hours sitting talking in a huuuuge tree at a primary school when they first got together... so a giant tree was a must for their photos! Alix, I cannot wait to see you as a bride on the 26.10.13! You are going to be GORGEOUS! These two beautiful engagement rings have the four different family birth stones in them! Soooo pretty! Alix and John, you guys are so awesome together - and it was soooo amazing watching your incredible parenting. You are such a fun family... bring on October!! xoxox
I love colour, I loooove playful affection, and I love engagement shoots! Elyse and Adrian pulled themselves away from the dairy farming life in Heriot to the big smokes of Dunedin for an afternoon, so that we could capture their fun and light-hearted relationship! I wholeheartedly adored this shoot! They gave me many disclaimers beforehand - 'Adrian hates cameras', 'we are both really unphotogenic', 'we are so nervous'... but it was like they had already done a million photo shoots before and they were here to nail it for this one! And that they did... They are so cute together! I know that is very unmanly for me to say about Adrian, but seriously... they just laughed, smiled, were cheeky to each other, and showed so much affection the whole time! And how can you not feel happy looking at so many colourful balloons! Love love love... How stunning is Elyse going to be as a bride?! I can't wait to see... she is so beautiful... and one of those girls who just oozes happiness! Seriously you guys, you were amazing! Thanks so much for coming all the way up - this just proved to me over and over again that your wedding is going to be amaaaazing! I'm sure March will roll around super quickly xoxo
I'm playing catch up! Woop woop! Here I have for you just a wee taster of just a few awesome portrait shoots that I want to share from over the past few months... in no particular order! (In fact, all out of order... ohhh look at me going out of my comfort zone!!) Heather & Doug - Just 'Cos We Can!Time with our very close friends, Heather and Doug from Heather Ellis Photography and DpointR Photography, is ALWAYS awesome! They stayed with us for a few days last week and we went on heaps of photo adventures... but the first up was a night of off-camera flash above the city! Mmmm Mmmm I loooove lights and bokeh... and this gorgeous couple!! They are both incredibly awesome photographers, AND look so good in front of the camera. How do they do it?! Doug is also a lighting genius, so this was just playing around, learning lots, and having fun! :) 'Deep Grey' Workshop - ChristchurchWay back quite a while ago, I left Dunedin at some ridiculous hour of the morning and drove all the way to Christchurch for less than 24hrs, all in the name of learning more and more about my craft. I sung my heart out to keep myself awake, and arrived to find an awesome bunch of photographers chilling out in the sun... about to start an awesomely inspiring workshop taken by Brisbane-based Adam, from Deep Grey. We spent the day learning how rock our businesses and to make things more and more awesome for our clients in the wedding and portrait photography world. And just as the gorgeous sun went down over the gorgeous farm land, we went out and photographed this gorgeous couple... in some veeery pretty light! What better way to spend a day?! Play and work in one! The Family Connection...A gorgeous surprise for Christina and Maggie's father... precious family photographs for his birthday! Aashna is one!I photographed Abhishek and Puja's maternity shoot, and then their newborn shoot for little baby Aashna... and now she is ONE!! And completely and utterly gorgeous! Anna, Richard and Charlotte!Precious time to capturing gorgeous wee Charlotte - with her beautiful, mischievous streak, and her awesome parents! Thanks for looking! xoxoxo
It was the wettest day Dunedin had seen in a loooong time. After absolutely stunning weather the day before, the heavens opened, and the rain arrived in epic proportions. But there was NOTHING that was going to stop the plans that one boy had that day. My heart was beating with a mix of excitement and nerves from the moment I woke up that morning. Some sweet kiwi ingenuity was necessary to keep our gear somewhat dry, and we put on our jackets and made our way through the botanic gardens. We searched for some sneaky trees, and each found our hiding places. And then we waited. And waited. And got a little sopping wet... annnnd looked like absolute stalkers hiding in the bushes with giant cameras. But that didn't matter. It was a big day for our awesome friends, and we felt hugely privileged to be a part of it! Is it ok to lie when there needs to be some serious convincing to get a girl out of her warm car, and get her walking through the gardens in the pooouring rain? I won't tell you the marvellous plan Ollie conjured... but after a few secret texts, and an exquisitely planned and timed phone call, Ollie managed to convince Chu that she needed to come with him. She was none the wiser about what was about to happen. We first spotted their umbrella bobbing up and down as they walked through the pathways, and we could see Chu trying to tell Ollie over and over that he was going the wrong way! He's a pretty smooth talker though, and he got her right where he wanted her... on a beautiful bridge, nestled amongst the incredibly gorgeous colours of autumn! And then with spine-tingling romance and the all-necessary element of surprise, it all happened... I think that's a yes!!! Through the laughter and tears and all the hugely exciting emotions, we forgot about the rain briefly! It just got heavier and heavier though, and by then we were all pretty drenched... so we ran inside the tropical greenhouse for a couple quick celebratory photos! Ahhhh so exciting!!! Soooo happy for you Ollie and Chu - to capture something as incredible as a proposal was definitely a major privilege and a highlight... THANK YOU for inviting us into this incredibly beautiful and personal moment!! I'm SO glad you pulled it all off, and that we didn't accidentally sneeze or something to ruin the surprise!
We cannot WAIT to photograph your wedding next year - you are an amazing couple and we know your big day is going to be so awesome. Chu, you are going to be a gorgeous bride! Have fun planning!! :) They are self-confessed superhero geeks. Anything superhero, anything James Bond... anything comic-strip-ish... they know it. And they love it! Libby and Mike are preparing to get married... but they are having some fun on the way! Lots of laughs working with these guys... It's not every day you get to hang out with Batman! There was no stopping him... When they aren't saving the world, Libby and Mike are just an everyday human couple (but a very awesome couple at that!)... totally in love, and super cute together... Liam and I have been 'hereby requested to serve Queen and Country by joining Agents Mobbs and Tyree in the field as part of Operation "I Do' in April 2014'. Our mission dossier even came complete with personal passports to ensure our access is accepted! We are honoured to have been called as part of this mission, and we are looking forward to seeing Agents Mobbs and Tyree in disguise on the big day!
You guys are full of surprises and we can't wait to come over to Arrowtown to complete our mission!! All the best for the lead-up to Operation I Do... we wish you well xx Next time you see Amy and James, they will be husband and wife!! They get married this Saturday at glorious Larnach's Castle - our second castle wedding this week! Feeling rather royal... We photographed James & Amy's gorgeous engagement shoot around Pequeno - a cosy, relaxing, warm lounge bar in Dunedin, with gorgeous European style decor. This vibe suited Amy and James perfectly - they are classy and sophisticated, fun and beautiful together! I highly recommend you check out Pequeno for a catch up with friends at the end of a busy week- it is an awesome spot! Before this wonderful couple went inside for cheeky Monday evening wine, we hit up the surrounds for some love-filled photos... How cute is Amy's dress! Ah, I always have major dress envy with all these pretty girls I photograph! When I first met Amy and James to discuss wedding plans, Amy was a lawyer, and James was a real estate agent. Since then though, Amy has moved to join her future husband (and his family) in the real estate business! So not only are they awesome together, they also work full-time together too! That takes a special couple to make it work! Bling bling. Inside the fire was roaring and the wine was poured... and the love Amy and James have for each other was very obvious! Gorgeous couple!!! Thanks for your patience while we set up the lighting, and for being so awesome to hang out with on a Monday night! We cannot WAIT for Saturday to roll around... all the best for the last couple of days of planning! See you looking all beautiful and amazing on Saturday!! xoxoxo
Once upon a time, a beautiful young girl studied at Otago University. Here she met her Prince Charming, her knight in shining armour. Miss Lisa and Master Jono are super perfect for each other, and a little bit cute too. But shhhhhh, I probably shouldn't say that in front of Jono. I photographed Lisa's graduation in December last year, and also knew Jono a little through university, so my heart did a little jump when I got some emails from a very excited Lisa in June, telling me that the man of her dreams had dropped to one knee and proposed!! It seemed fitting that we would do some of the e-shoot in a university type setting. They are like college sweethearts... and having toughed out the long distance thing for a lot of their relationship, it was awesome to have them both in Dunedin to go around some places that were special to them! How beautiful is Lisa's dress?! I actually loved it so much I had to go try it on the next week. It didn't look near as good on me though, so I left it on the rack. Lisa totally rocked her outfit! Beautiful old bound books, a beautiful ring, and a beautiful girl... Lisa looooooves to read! In fact, she thrives on it. Jono... well, he thrives more on Angry Birds. One of Lisa's favourite things in the world is blossom... who doesn't love blossom in spring! We were so lucky that right outside the library was this gorgeous spot filled with all sorts of blooming blossoms... in Lisa's favourite colour. I just wanted to be Lisa at this very moment - twirling and spinning surrounded in thick white blossom in a beautiful, feminine dress.... ah, every girl's dream right?! I love a crazy couple! Ohhhh I can't wait to photograph this gorgeous girl as a bride! The other location that was special to these guys was down by the marina, where they spent a few dates in the early days of their relationship! Woop woop, 3 months TODAY until your wedding!!!! Caaaan't wait! It is going to be fab! Thanks for being such an easy and awesome pair to photograph! Loved driving around in our sweet matching cars for the morning and having fun with you guys!! Hehe.
All the best for the rest of the wedding planning... will see you again sooooon! xoxo I met Michelle and Jason for the first time when we went out for their engagement shoot. On the way there, they warned me (as so many couples do)... "We are both absolutely terrible in front of the camera... so, ah...good luck". So I told them that was sweet as, there's an easy fix for that - we'll just do the whole shoot like this.... ... pfffft whatever! As soon as they turned around, all seriousness and any apparent 'unphotogenic-ness' went aside. Michelle and Jason are AWESOME. They are awesome individually, and even more awesome together. They make a great team, and I can't waaaait to photograph their gorgeous Central Otago wedding in March!!! They love each other in a very playful, fun way. They laughed the whole way through the shoot. The made faces at each other. They made complete fools of themselves. They are the best of friends! And I loved capturing that. Jason's got his pick-up lines sorted. It all begins with "call me"... They have spent most of their relationship doing long-distance. I have huge respect for any couple that can make that work... and make it awesome! They LOVE any opportunity to hang out together, because it has been pretty rare. What a huge blessing it is going to be when they can hang out together every day, as husband and wife! When they look at one another, it's pretty obvious they mean the world to each other. I was ohhhing and ahhhing over Michelle's gorgeous ring... then she told me that is just the 'pretend' one!! Still real gold and totally beautiful... but she is getting another one designed just for her! Luuucky girl! We were super lucky with the weather too - they travelled up from Invercargill especially for the shoot, which thankfully took place in the small 2 hours window of dry weather that whole weekend! I can tell that Michelle and Jason are the kind of loveable people with a lot of awesome friends and family surrounding them and supporting them. I didn't know they were going to bring them all along to the shoot too though... ;) It's veeeeery important to stretch. In front of the camera. I didn't even have to ask... not once. Not only are they fun, and hilarious, and just generally lovely people... Michelle is totally stunning, and Jason can pull out a sweet manly male-model pose when he needs to. That was the beautiful part of the shoot. Then things turned messy. Normally it is me putting the crazy ideas into my clients heads for shoots.... so who am I to say no when Michelle and Jason came to me asking for a mud fight in their stubbies?!?! They are both true born and bred Southlander's... and being a builder, Jase spends 99% of his life in stubbies and gumboots. Michelle is very nearly finished her nursing degree, and she loves going home and helping on the farm. So naturally, we had to find a giant mud puddle. So braving the rain and even snoooow (hellooooo spring)... Michelle and Jason got amongst the elements and expressed their, uh, love for one another... I think.... ;) It wasn't until I picked up my cameras the next day that I realised how covered in mud they were! I thought I managed to keep pretty clean... turns out I was wrong. And then a make-up kiss at the end. Sigh, true love is a beautiful thing! Covered in smelly, disgusting mud, we cranked up the heat and drove back down the hill through snow, and then more hideous rain. The best bit was looking in my rear vision mirror and seeing the muddy, bearded cave-man in my back seat!! Too funny.
Michelle and Jason, you guys are absolute troopers - thanks for braving it and being so much fun to shoot! I hope you love your photos as much as I enjoyed taking them! Can't wait to do it all again in March! (Minus the mud perhaps?) xoxo |
Categories
All
|