New Year's Eve. 2010. Some people were getting ready to party the night away - celebrating the end of yet another year and entering 2011 with a bang. Some were wondering if they would even be able to stay awake until 12am. And some were relaxing with family and friends - with new hopes, new dreams, and plenty of new year's resolutions that might last a week if they were lucky.
Ansilea and Mike, however, were preparing for the biggest day of their lives! Not only did they have a huge bunch of friends and family to celebrate the new year with - they were celebrating the love that had brought them this far, and the love that would continue to grow in their marriage.
One thing that we weren't exactly celebrating was the large amount of rain falling from the sky. However, this didn't seem to phase them, and the outdoor ceremony that was planned was relocated just a few metres, to inside the Chingford Park stables. It was an amazing day - I had so much fun photographing them. A perfect end to my amazing 2010!
Ansilea is incredibly talented, and made her OWN wedding dress, aaaand the bridesmaid dress!! They were stunning and were beautifully made.
Ansilea and Mike, however, were preparing for the biggest day of their lives! Not only did they have a huge bunch of friends and family to celebrate the new year with - they were celebrating the love that had brought them this far, and the love that would continue to grow in their marriage.
One thing that we weren't exactly celebrating was the large amount of rain falling from the sky. However, this didn't seem to phase them, and the outdoor ceremony that was planned was relocated just a few metres, to inside the Chingford Park stables. It was an amazing day - I had so much fun photographing them. A perfect end to my amazing 2010!
Ansilea is incredibly talented, and made her OWN wedding dress, aaaand the bridesmaid dress!! They were stunning and were beautifully made.
Ansilea's beautiful veil was worn by her mother on her wedding day in the 1960's! Awesomeness.
Ansilea and Mike were outstandingly relaxed - with not a worry in the world, their day was a reflection of their different but complementary personalities, and their ability to have a bit of fun in life. You can see by Ansilea's face how excited she was to be marrying the man of her dreams, and how much they laughed through the ceremony...
I loved Mike's face as he watched his beautiful bride walk in. It was an emotional moment - I don't think there were many dry eyes in the whole room.
Both their vows were personal, sincere, and extremely funny. I love everyone's reaction in this photo!!
Instead of flower boquets - all the bridal party held full champange flutes! They also splashed out on some cute personalised M&M's for all the guests...
Ansilea is originally a Dunedin girl, but now she is a navigation specialist in the New Zealand Navy! The first time I met Ansilea to discuss weddings, she had come down from Auckland on a large Navy ship. What an awesome job! Mike is a builder originally from Waiheke Island, but he loves Dunedin and is trying to convince Ansilea to move back down. Some of Ansilea's favourite locations are in Dunedin, so she had some great photo spots picked out.
Kahu and Mike were trying to have a pull-up competition...
But it ended, well, with just a bit of man-love really...
Beautiful couple!
St. Clair beach was a fitting location, considering Ansilea's love of the sea. The rain even ceased for our beach shoot which was handy!
Mike is a VERY keen bowler. In fact, so much so, that him and his father both played in a bowls tournament the morning of the wedding. That is commitment right there!!! There was mention of the boys and family turning up to the wedding in their bowling whites! So for our final location, we made our way to the North East Valley Bowling Club, where the other players were just winding down in the bar. This meant they had a large audience watching, and much to Ansilea's disgust, Mike won this bowl. They really rocked the synchronised bowling though - what a perfect couple!
The rain caused some rather large puddles on the bowling green... so we just made the most of them!
Mike and Ansilea, you guys were fabulous to photograph! Thanks for having me as part of your wedding - I thoroughly enjoyed it! I wish you all the best for your married life, and hope that you continue to make each other laugh as much as you do now.
Lots of love xx
Lots of love xx
