A new adventure is about to begin - Laura and Brad are today preparing for the biggest day of their lives - tomorrow they get married!!! So while I prepare batteries and flashes, and clean cameras and organise CF cards, I'm getting more and more excited about the people who are going to be in front of our lenses again tomorrow.

I first met Laura nearly 5 years ago - when she was a bridesmaid at the second wedding I ever photographed! When I got the email that Laura and Brad were engaged and wanting us to capture their big day, I definitely put my hand up with a giant 'yes please'! These two are ridiculously nice, stylish, fun, hilarious, good-looking, flirty, playful, and above all, their love for each other is just a natural part of them... it just flows from them.

We had an awesome night wandering around the grounds at Larnach Castle to celebrate the last week of their engagement!

I think you will agree that these two are rather photogenic!

So.much.fun! You guys are going to be amazing... we are so excited! I hope today goes smoothly and easily, and you get LOTS of sleep tonight! See you tomorrow!!! :D xoxo

I can't WAIT to see you as a bride Laura!

It's engagement shoot time again! They seem to come in waves before wedding season begins, and I adore it. Engagements are one of my absolute favourite things to photograph... I love seeing my couples change from being nervous, camera-shy couples, to totally forgetting I am there and having the best time together.

Katie and Andrew came down from Christchurch for their engagement party, so we took the opportunity to capture their love in this awesome season of life! We postponed it once because of the weather, but didn't have many days left... so on the Saturday we got out and about, even though it had been raining all day and the clouds still threatened more. It was actually the perfect kind of weather for snuggling up in the daffodils with a hot cup of tea...

Katie and Andrew are such a great couple. We have got to know them over the past couple years when they have come down to visit family in Dunedin, and we even got to spend a fun camping holiday with them this new years!

You guys are gorgeous!!!

We had to make use of the STUNNING blossom around at the moment! One of life's greatest pleasures!

Katie and Andrew LOVE the outdoors... they get out running and biking and adventuring as often as they can. So I suggested that we go for a walk up in the hills, because I had awesome visions of gorgeous evening light with the 360 degree views. And THANKFULLY... that's exactly what happened. The stormy sky cleared as we headed to this last location, and out came the most beautiful sun! 

A bit of rain before a shoot is never a bad thing though ;)

Oh Dunedin, how I love thee.

Katie and Andrew, THANK YOU! Was so lovely to see you again and to hang out for the afternoon! You were seriously amazing... I loved having you in front of my camera! Sending lots of love your way. We can't wait to capture your big day in April! xxoo

They admitted to both being very nervous about this shoot beforehand. I told them they only had one job, and that was to go home loving each other even more after a fun afternoon together, and that I would do the rest... and Tamsyn said that was totally what happened! They were SO incredibly natural in front of the camera - their happiness just oozed out of them... I hardly had to direct a thing!

They love reading books together. I think that is one of the cutest things ever. 

Wow I love spring!!! Blossom + these two = total dream!

Swooooon... I love these images. Tamsyn is seriously stunning... she has the most captivating eyes and incredible hair! And then on top of that she is amazingly lovely... I'm not surprised at all that Iain fell for her!

"Woah!! I'm marrying a supermodel!!" = Iain's words of truth when I showed them this on the back of the camera!

Haha, love the movement in the 2nd photo... I know it kinda looks like a Photoshop fail... but actually it's just suspenders suspended in air ;)

They had a couple of requests for their shoot, and that was blossom, and SUN! We were so incredibly blessed with the weather - it was perfection. We ended at the beach with the sun blazing through! 

Sooooo much goodness in one shoot! Thanks so much Iain and Tamsyn, you guys were absolute naturals and I am SO excited about your wedding day! You are such a great couple and we are blessed to be able to capture your love xoxo

Meet one of the craziest couples on the planet... Aleisha and Steve! With enough energy and motivation to rock the socks off anything they do, they actually are an unstoppable team.

I've known Aleisha (aka Hazel) since we were THREE! We were inseparable from kindy... and proceeded to stand beside each other in every primary school class photo from then on (we were always exactly the same height). It's safe to say we've been through a lot together - we made it through all the bad hair styles and tragic fashion faux pas, we've rung each other at 4am to get through all-nighters for school projects, we've danced in our tights and slouch socks like lunatics for hours on end, we've had MANY a hysterical laugh together. All I know is that we will be friends until we are old ladies knitting in our rocking chairs, giggling about the times we performed 'Achy Breaky Heart' in assembly, and fought over who won our after school one-on-one basketball game. Hazel will be the old lady with motivational quotes plastering her rocking chair. It's just what she does.

But now Hazel lives in Aussie... which is sad 'cos I don't see her very often, but it's also been amazing seeing her go from strength to strength at whatever she puts her heart to. She has ice-skated her way around the world, got promotion after promotion in her work, started her own business, and most of all... met the man of her dreams. Haz and Steve are so incredibly happy together... and I couldn't be happier that Hazel has found such a perfect guy for her (even if his Aussie accent has rubbed off on her). Steve is equally insane, and equally awesome. 

We caught up in Arrowtown for the afternoon while they were in NZ doing some wedding planning... the perfect location for an Autumn engagement shoot!!

Told you they were hilariously crazy... ;)

But they also do smokin' hot pretty perfectly too! LOVED photographing these two!

They really are quite a beautiful couple...

Reeeeow! 

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE shooting in Autumn?! This is one reason why...

We found some good looking randoms on the street to join in too! 
Nah, this is Hazel's awesome brother and sister who came along for the ride...

Thanks for an amazing afternoon guys! Was beyond awesome to catch up properly and see you again!
And thanks for the many years of friendship Hazel - I look forward to many, many more good yarns and laughs with you and Steve :) xoxoxo

Meet Dani & Matty... two awesome individuals, who together make a dynamite duo. They are just a couple weeks off marriage, and life couldn't be better right now! They are soon to be one very inspiring, enthusiastic, humble, sweet, and unstoppable husband and wife team.

They've actually just left our house after a final pre-wedding catch up and a tonne of lolly cake... and it's made me even moooore excited about their wedding! Plans are coming together, days are flying by quickly, and April 19th will be here any minute.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves... because I have a glorious engagement shoot to show off! This night was seriously perfection wrapped up in magnificence. Tunnel Beach put on a real show for us - with dolphins (I've never even heard of them around there before!), golden sunsets, and a totally calm, still evening. And when we added in Matty and Dani to that picture (plus a wee picnic, guitar, juice boxes and chocolate)... I was well in my happy place.

Actually, to be fair, I'm always in my happy place at Tunnel Beach. Excuse my side note for a minute... but it's a place I am SO proud of. Right on our back door step, we have the most increeeedible coastlines, awe-inspiring cliffs, and soft, beautiful beaches. It's my favourite place - FULL of memories of times shared with some of my most special people. We discovered it when we set out on a sporadic  overnight camping trip with friends, filling our tent with rocks so we didn't blow down the cliffs (not advisable... we were clueless when we went)!! It's where I spent my first real date with Liam, and where I sat on the beach at 5am watching and photographing a sunrise... dreaming and praying about one day becoming a photographer. A place we have swum, cartwheeled, laughed, had picnics, sung at the tops of our voices, sat and pondered, and puffed our way to the top. A truly gorgeous spot that you really have to check out if you are in Dunedin! Or maybe actually don't, I'm quite happy to keep it secret ;)

But back to Dani and Matty... how CUTE are they?! They have a somewhat playful, childlike relationship... skipping, twirling, running, jumping around the place. But at the same time, they share a very mature, sincere, and deep love. I loved capturing this so much!

When you're proposing to someone, you really want to hear that word "yes!" come back to you pretty quickly I imagine. But when Matty surprised Dani way above the Queenstown gondola by walking out of the bushes with a guitar, singing her a beautiful song and proposing to her, Dani was so surprised and shocked, all she could say first was "um, how did you get that guitar up here?!"!! Matty had carried that bad boy ALL the way up... and so doing it again to Tunnel Beach was no big issue, and Dani was beautifully serenaded again!

Dazzling. Dani, you are SO gorgeous!!!

After the gorgeous golden sun dipped down, we spent the last of the light down on the beach...

I'm pretty sure this is straight from a movie scene...

Dani and Matty, what an amazing evening... thank you SO much for sharing it with me! I loved it so much - you are so comfortable together and in front of the camera, you were a dream to photograph! Liam and I can't wait to shoot your beautiful Dunedin wedding! Sooo excited for you, hope the last couple weeks go well! xoxo

I'm not sure how it happens, but somehow we always seem to manage to get such amazingly lovely and beautiful clients coming our way! When Mandy and Tom first rocked up to meet with me, I just completely knew their wedding was going be amazing, and that we wanted to shoot it! It hasn't even happened yet, and I'm still 120% sure of it!

These guys are so awesome together - Mandy is a super sweet, absolutely stunning, petite wee thing... and Tom is a very friendly, tall and handsome bloke! And together they make a gorgeous, creative couple who totally adore each other. Their engagement shoot was an epic one, heading around the peninsula to lots of amazing locations...

They have just come home from an amazing adventure around Europe for 6 months... so even though they thought their tans were disappearing far too quickly, they actually just made me look like an albino.

They seem to have a taste for jet-setting around different parts of this wonderful world though, and they are moving to Dubai straight after their wedding! 

Happy sigh. So pretty.

I can't wait to see you as a bride Mandy!

Aw you guys, so awesome together! Can't WAIT for your big day! January will roll around pretty fast I'm sure XOXO

Eeee, I am excited to share this shoot with you! This is none other than the lovely Nicole from Nicole Gourley Photography, and her fiancé, Wayne! I had been looking forward to this engagement shoot for ages, and finally we got a chance to do it when I was down south last week!

Nicole is an awesome photographer in mighty Invercargill - she is just going from strength to strength and I can't wait to see where it takes her!

She and Wayne are getting married next year, and I was lucky enough to capture this awesome time for them. They are one good looking couple and they truly looked so at home in front of the camera (and Wayne assured me he was quite the handy man behind behind the camera too...!). Thanks for an AMAZING evening running around in the glorious sun! So much fun xx

How beautiful is Nicole?!?! 

Loooove this so much...

Time for a cute wee picnic?! Of course!

One lovely day, Wayne bought home 'two dozen red roses' for Nicole... and ever since they have been totally in love with them! If you have ever noticed that there are no red roses in the pick'n'mix bins in Invercargill supermarkets, I may have the answer as to why...

The one thing Nicole mentioned before the shoot that she LOVED, was sun-drenched images! Thankfully Invers played the game and granted our every wish! Love me some backlit, evening sun goodness!

In their downtime, they play a lot of scrabble together. But them both playing on iPhones wasn't the best look in their shoot... so we went back to the old school way of playing scrabble! ;)

Thank you SO much for choosing me to shoot your engagement! You guys are amazing - I actually loved every single second of this!! Hope you love them xoxo

Emma and Chris are engaged and we are super happy for them! I flatted with Emma for a year when we were at uni, and it has been awesome getting to know Chris since! Such a privilege to be shooting their wedding in Tekapo next March... can't wait! :D

Getting photos taken isn't always everyone's cup of tea... I totally know it can be an incredibly nerve-wracking experience to begin with. Guys especially need a little extra convincing that engagement shoots are a good idea sometimes... but it didn't take long at all for Emma and Chris them to warm up and get into the groove of things!! We did a sweet wee evening shoot up Signal Hill one pretty chilly spring evening. They did giggle a LOT for the first 15mins every time I told them to look at each other, but giggling is good for the soul... even if it is from nerves! Enjoy xx

Thanks guys, you were so awesome! All the best for the rest of the planning! Can't wait to see it all come together... judging by the little snippets I have seen and heard so far, your wedding is going to be beeeautiful!! xoxo

We have so many beautiful and awesome people in our lives... I am so thankful for that! We got to know Anna and Kayne a bit about 4 or so years ago when Anna was working at the hospital with Liam... but she and Kayne took off on their massive OE not too long after. Now they are back home, on a whirlwind trip to get married! We are so excited for them and it's been so awesome catching up and hearing about all their incredible adventures. They have inspired me to go travelling again soon... Iceland and South East Asia are now on my list for the more immediate future thanks to these guys!

We spent the afternoon wandering around some different spring locations for their engagement shoot! I looooooved every minute of this shoot. Anna is insanely beautiful and these two are just so sweet together. They were natural, relaxed and fun. And just think, their wedding is going to be even moooore beautiful! Can't wait!

Love me some spring daffi's! 

The more I look at this shot... the more and more and more I love it!! Belinda (our awesome new employee) picked it as one of her favs from this shoot - and I think she's right! There is something so passionate and romantic about it. I'm also pretty jealous of Anna's hair...

They are totally loveable.

How fun is their wedding going to be?! I LOVE so much that they are sooo excited about it - there isn't a hint of stress or crazy nerves... just pure excitement.

A trip to the beach - Anna was apologising for taking me to the 'cliche' St. Clair sticks... but for people who consider Dunedin home, (plus have spent years travelling and who are off to live in Australia straight after they get married), it's so awesome to have a recognisable slice of Dunedin to take with them! Plus, they do look awesome... especially on a gorgeous blue day!

MmmmMmmmm, yummy scrummy light + a couple in love = winner.

Sometimes I find it really hard to actually end shoots... it goes kinda like this... *having fun* shooting heaps * I tell them we have soooo many awesome ones * we pack up * put on our jackets * have our goodbyes and hugs * start walking away* ... and then I am inspired by something or someone... * Ohhh wait up! * take off jackets* get out gear again * and we get back into shooting! * And sometimes those last shots of the day are the coolest ones... love this final pic! 

Anna and Kayne - you are an awesome couple, and Liam and I are sooooo looking forward to shooting your wedding day! It actually just makes me wriggle around with excitement on my chair as I write this... just over a week to go!! We will see you on the 2nd!! XOXO

Clare and Richard are the epitome of cute. Richard looks at his beautiful girl with total adoration, and they are very playful... yet also gentle, soft and sweet together. Claire was born in the Orkney islands, where Richard proposed to her last year when they went back to visit her roots, and they are tying the knot in December at Grandview Gardens. These guys have some awesome plans for their big day - it will be a really different and interesting ceremony, mixing in some Celtic and Scottish traditions. Can't wait to see everything come together!

Let's get into the sweetness of their engagement session...

Clare absolutely loves yellow tulips - but dislikes the colour yellow! Go figure ;). The tartan around the tulips is called 'Pride of Scotland', and Richard's cufflinks are the emblem of the Robertson family crest (Clare's family), so both are particularly cool!

I just love talking to Clare and Richard - not only because Clare has the most BEAUTIFUL accent that I could just listen to all day - but also because they are really interesting people, with awesome stories, awesome jobs and just generally awesome lives! Clare is a nurse at the hospital, and Richard runs a backpackers in town... and earlier this year he took over the Laserforce / Mini-golf / Mars Bar Function centre, which they are doing up and making completely 100% awesome. That makes for some pretty great work stories I imagine!

Clare and Richard, it was so awesome having you in front of my camera! It was a really fun afternoon trying to dodge the rain! Let's do it all again in December (without the rain perhaps)!!  xox