Perspectives Wedding Photography

Hi guys,

On Saturday, we headed down to Matamata to photograph Steve & Ashley’s wedding at the Red Barn. It was the first time we’d had the chance to shoot here – so we were excited to get out & play in some new locations!

Our day began with the boys, who were relieved to see that the torrential rain from the day before had stopped, and the sun shining.

Steve was looking very sharp in his suit…

We hauled the big lights out of the car & set up this shot in the backyard – this is almost straight out of camera, hardly any Photoshop apart from a slight bump in the contrast. But essentially, this is what we saw on the back of the screen – nice, punchy colours from the lighting.

Then it was off to the girls place, down the road.

This shot of Ashley’s dress is again almost out of camera – the dark vignette around the image comes from the flash being restricted down so it only lit a small section of the wall & dress. It’s cool being able to see the scenery outside too (although Ashley’s dad will be disappointed that none of his llamas feature in the background!)

Ashley looked gorgeous in her dress – and it was also great to see Sam (bridesmaid here) and Alan (groomsman) again – we photographed their wedding a year ago, and Steve & Ashley were in their bridal party!

The chandelier in the foreground really sets off this gorgeous, warm shot…

We headed outside for a few shots with the girls…

And then it was off to the Red Barn – where the guests had arrived, and everything was set to go.

I always feel a little nervous for the Best Man at this point… but Ben did a perfect job of not losing the rings!

We headed off around the grounds at the Red Barn for a few shots with Steve, Ashley, and their bridal party.

The driveway is incredible – and luckily, the clouds came to the party & gave us the soft light we needed for these shots..

Then, we all climbed a fence, and made our way into a rock field…

After a few more shots around the grounds….

The bridal party headed back to the reception, and we snuck off to Karapiro with just Steve & Ashley for a whirlwind, 5 minute shoot..

When we arrived at this little landing, there was a family picnicking there… we asked the two little 4 year old-ish girls if they didn’t mind us borrowing their wharf for 5 minutes to take some photos… and as we were packing up the car to head back, we overheard “GOOD – they’re GOING”… hehe. Nice to know where you stand!

To finish up… one more sweeping epic shot…

Thanks guys for inviting us along to capture your wedding day – we had an amazing time, and love the photos!
Enjoy this little sneak peek – and more on the way soon

Isaac, Amber, and Holly.

Hi guys!

On Friday, we headed down to Cambridge – where Holly, Amber and I caught up with Matt & Lizzie out at Sarnia Park for their wedding day!

Both the guys & girls got ready at Sarnia – which is great, as everything is in one place, and makes for some perfect photo locations!

We headed down to meet the guys first up…

Then on down to the ladies – who were chilled out, having some bubbles before the ceremony!

I loved the design on the front of this bottle…

Even sitting there having makeup applied… Lizzie looked stunning!

Mum did such an awesome job lacing the dress that the bridesmaids just got to chill..

Stunning.

Lizzie looks amazing in black & white – classic & elegant.

Holly was waiting at the bottom of the stairs – while we were taking our places over at the ceremony lawn… I love this shot:

We had some (very welcome) cloud cover for the ceremony – which made the light nice & soft, but also took a little of the heat off!

But sometimes, it’s just easier to sit down.

Seeing the ceremony through someone else’s eyes…

Matt taking a break from his job… to do ours!

They had a photo booth set up, which was really cool – giving the guests a chance to play up & catch some great photos… and Matt & Lizzie got into the action too!

We headed off for some shots with the bridal party, around the grounds at Sarnia Park. The backlight in the trees was lovely…

Then off for a couple of shots around the lake… you know you’ve got a gorgeous couple to work with when they can pull off this angle & look amazing! Love the sun flare up in the corner, too.

We had a little time left – so we raced the gathering clouds, and headed down with just Matt & Lizzie to Lake Karapiro.. where we were treated to some lovely stormy skies..

I love the moodiness of this next shot – the water splashing up in the foreground really adds to that stormy, windswept feeling.

”

On the way back to Sarnia – we stopped in at a favourite field…

And then it was back to the reception, to enjoy the party!!

Thanks so much for having us along guys – enjoy this little sneak peek at what’s in store

Isaac, Amber, and Holly.

We often get emails come through, asking us about gear / photography / tips / stuff.

Most times, the opening line is:

“I’ve just booked my first wedding”

Which is cool. Everyone needs to start somewhere! So use this blog post as a starting point, and a few things to think about.

Obviously, you’re not going to rush out and buy everything we’ve got here. This gear has been accumulated over a long time, and slowly pieced together.
But – there are a few things that I’d consider to be absolutely essential – and most of them relate to backup. We’ll get to that.

Generally, people ask us “If there is one lens I should buy for weddings.. what would it be?”.

We have 4 lenses on our person at every moment of the wedding day, as we shoot with 2 cameras each.. so it’s a tricky one to answer.
However – Lightroom statistics tell me that this is the order of our most used > least used lenses.

(excuse the crappy P&S photo – it’s all I have when all my lenses are in the photo!)

So… in order of most used to least used – our lenses are:

70-200mm f2.8L IS
35mm f1.4L
85mm f1.2L
50mm f1.2L
17-40mm f4L
135mm f2L
100mm f2.8 macro
15mm f2.8 fisheye

However… if you came to me and said “I’m shooting a wedding, which lens should I buy”… I’d say… “buy a second camera”.

Backup is THE MOST important element of any wedding. On the wedding day, that means a backup camera body, spare batteries, spare CF cards, etc etc. If something goes wrong, you need to be able to keep shooting without losing a beat. Even if you just grab a second hand body off TradeMe – get a backup.

Our cameras we use:

4 Canon 5DmkII’s – we each have two of these on us all day. Because we’re shooting with mainly prime lenses, it means we have a fast way of changing from a zoom lens, to a wide lens. It also means spreading out the coverage between 4 bodies – so that if a CF card corrupted, there would still be 3 cameras with that stage of the day recorded. We also have a 30D and a 40D that sit in the car as additional backups.

So get a second camera, and then think about lenses. If you’ve got no money left after buying the backup camera – get yourself a 50mm f1.8 lens. The “plastic fantastic” – they’re about $200 and for what you pay, you can’t buy a better lens.

Speaking of backups… it’s also super important to buy:

A second battery (and third) for your camera.

And more CF cards than you’ll need. We use 16GB and 8GB cards – so that we can spread the images across multiple cards.. if one ever went bad, we wouldn’t lose as many shots as we might on a 32GB or 64GB card.

Usually, we shoot about 70GB of images at any given wedding.

When you get home from the wedding – back up again!
Our CF cards don’t leave our person until they’ve been multiply backed up. If we go out for dinner on the way home, the CF cards come with us. If we go into the service station to buy gas.. the CF cards come with us.

Once home, the cards are uploaded to the computer. They’re then copied onto another computer, and our server.
We back them up onto 2 external hard drives – which are then disconnected (if there’s a massive power surge or lightning strike, you don’t want stuff connected to your computer. One of these drives lives in our car, so that we’ve got something off-site. Finally – the RAW files are backed up onto DVDs.

I’ve seen too many external hard drives fail, to trust them entirely for backups. The DVD burning process takes about 3 hours, and up to 20 discs. They are stored off site. I can’t stress enough the importance of an off-site backup. If someone breaks into your house, and steals your computer – they’ll likely take an external drive that’s lying around too. Or – if there’s a fire… it won’t discriminate between backups & originals. Store stuff offsite too. Take them to a friends place, your parents, your work, whatever.

Finally – back up your finished JPGs in the same way, once the wedding is post-processed.

So… if you’re off to shoot your first wedding:

1st – ensure you have a backup camera body.
2nd – ensure you’ve got spare batteries, and plenty of CF cards.
3rd – if you’ve still got spare money – now go play lenses. 70-200 is a brilliant workhorse lens. We had a 24-70mm 2.8 as well, but it was crap to focus and I hated it – but loved the length. If you can find a sharp copy of a 24-70mm, buy it.
4th – Backup all of your images from the day, in multiple locations
5th – Give your happy clients their photos that you haven’t missed taking / lost afterwards because your batteries went flat or your computer crashed!

From a gear point of view, that’s about it.

In terms of posing / managing groups / bridal portraits / lighting etc – consider coming along to one of our workshops later in the year, where we’ll go right through a wedding day, with models, and the chance to shoot hands on.

We can also do one-on-one mentoring – flick us an email if that’s something you’d be interested in.

Happy shooting!!

Isaac & Amber.

Hi guys!

On Saturday, we headed down to Whangamata on the Coromandel, to photograph Jacqui & Jamie’s wedding on the beach.

The first thing we discovered … was that in the bridal party, Jacqui, Jamie, Jolan, Jane, and Jeremy.. all had names starting with J. 5 out of 6 ain’t bad!!

After stopping in at the salon to say hi to the ladies… we headed around to the bach to meet Jamie, and catch up with the guys.
It was SO HOT – plus the humidity… luckily, the 3-piece suits had been avoided, which made things a little easier!

We stuck to the shade as much as possible…

But if you’re at the beach… and want photos on the beach… sometimes you just gotta go for it!

After a few shots with Mum and Dad..

We left the boys to do their own thing.. and headed off to the girls place.

When we arrived at the apartments, we had beaten Jacqui back there… so we busied ourselves with the details, the dress (which was gorgeous!!), flowers, … and then Jacqui arrived, looking stunning.

Then (time flies) it was time to get into the cars and down to the beachfront bach – which was perfectly set up for the wedding, with shade tents and a little aisle.

I love the contrast between the expressions here – Jacqui looking excited, Dad looking solemn. It just perfectly sums up, to me, what this moment is all about.

Setting the scene. What an amazing spot.

After the ceremony, we had some time to spend around a few locations in Whangamata… it was still crazy hot – so we kicked off with some shade..

Followed by a meander through the dunes…

I figured it was about time to get the generator out of the car & set some lights up – so that we could shoot straight back into the bright sun, and throw enough light onto Jacqui & Jamie to light them up against such a vibrant sky.

Here’s the final effect:

Down on the beach again, to finish up…

And I wonder why I get sand in my camera gear:

We got some faint reflections in the sand too, which was cool..

Jacqui and the girls – in gorgeous backlight..

Is this straight out of a bridal fashion shoot, or what? So gorgeous.

It was only 5 minutes back down the road to the Whangamata Golf Club – where their reception was held.

After dinner, we snuck back outside and set up the lights again – and whisked Jacqui & Jamie out for a sunset shoot… huge thanks to their MC, who was very gracious with juggling some of the schedule around so that we could line up sunset perfectly with a break in the proceedings!

Back inside, after the speeches, they took to the dance floor. And there were bubbles!

Around 10pm, in the pitch black, we loaded our gear into the car… and then drove back to the beach… where Amber sat & guarded the gear – and I went for a swim!!

It was a perfect wedding day – and we had so much fun capturing the moments as they unfolded. Thanks guys, for inviting us along to share a part in the day!

Enjoy this little sneak preview of what’s in store

Isaac & Amber.

Hey guys!

On Friday, Amber, Holly, and myself headed down to Sarnia Park in Cambridge – to photograph Nigel & Carrie’s wedding.

Our day began at Ohinewai on our way down, where we caught up with Nigel, his 5 groomsmen, and one ‘groomsmaid’!

By the end of the boys’ shots, the rain was falling in a thick mist – and we were a little worried about what we would find over in Cambridge.

Nothing to fear though – when we arrived over at the motel where Carrie & her bridesmaids were getting dressed, the weather was gorgeous.

Carrie’s dress had some super unique elements, which she had designed herself – great to see some fresh takes on traditions! That was to be a theme for the day… doing things a bit differently!

I love this silhouette shot – it was lit with a flash placed behind the screen door in the other room, which creates the nice white, contrasty background. I love how it accentuates the layers in the dress

Carrie & Nigel’s two gorgeous sons played a role in the day… but first needed to check out that cool tent which Mum was wearing!

It was then off to Sarnia Park – where Dad was waiting to help Carrie from the car..

A few deep breaths..

The line of petals not only showed where the bridesmaids would stand.. but provided some great ammunition to throw over Carrie & Nigel during their first kiss!

Adrian was the ‘chocolate boy’ … which I reckon is waaaayy cooler than flowergirl.. because you get to eat the chocolates!!

If there were two “moments” in an entire wedding day that I just LOVE to see… it’s these next two shots. The groom’s face as he sees his bride for the first time..

And a father’s face as he hugs his daughter one last time.

Little Julian had the important job of bringing the rings up to Dad. But he didn’t want to let go.

I talked earlier on in the post about Nigel & Carrie doing a few things differently.
When the ceremony concluded, they headed into the ballroom, and upstairs… while the guests made their way across… they didn’t know what, or why.

Then – down the stairs came the newly married Carrie & Nigel.. and much to everyone’s delight – performed their first dance!
The skirt on Carrie’s dress was designed to unhitch – converting it into a gorgeous shorter dress.

They were congratulated by their guests…

This shot has all the makings of one of those childhood moments that develops into a lifelong argument… “You pushed me”… “No, you fell…”
Luckily – everyone stayed dry and the argument was averted!

We took the chance for a few quick photos inside… before heading out to join the bridal party..

Then it was back outside into the heat – and off around the Sarnia Park grounds…

These next three photos were all taken within about one minute of each other… and I love the way it shows the different ways we’re seeing things, the different lens choices, and different end results.

Isaac:

Amber:

Holly:

We then bundled everyone into the limos, and headed into Cambridge for a few more shots… here’s a few of our favs!

These are only the tip of the iceberg – so many gorgeous shots of a fabulous day!

Enjoy these photos – and thanks for having us along to share in the fun that was your wedding

Isaac, Amber, and Holly.

Hi guys!

Here’s the (belated) follow up to Becs & Fraser’s wedding blog post.

If you’re a regular follower of our blog, or our Facebook page, you’ll see that we often share many of the sweeping, epic, glamourous images from the bridal party photo shoot. Many of these we carefully craft & direct – to ensure that while the people / expressions all look natural, they’re also “perfect” pictures that will look amazing in an album, or up on the wall as big canvas prints.

However, a wedding day is so much more than that – and about 50% of the imagery we create on a wedding day is purely documentation – taking photos of what’s happening around us. We’re aiming to tell the “story” of the day through the images we capture. In many of the photos, it won’t even be immediately apparent to the casual observer what the significance is.

But when the images are of the stories that unfolded during YOUR wedding day, then the images bring back the memories, the little joys, tears, and laughter that make up a wedding.

Every single wedding we photograph has moments which are completely unique to that couple, on that day, at that point in time.

Becs & Fraser have kindly agreed for us to share some of the stories that go behind these images – we hope you enjoy them.

At the ceremony, the guests passed the wedding rings amongst themselves, offering their own private blessing.

While our cameras are usually trained on the B&G as they walk back up the aisle during the recessional, we are also keep an eye out for other interesting stories.. like this little man giving them a clap.

As the bridal party entered the reception, they were each presented with a lei. Then, they all had a special little dance that they entered the room with!

And the guests were suitably impressed.

They had a lolly bar, with lollies for the guests that tied into the green colour theme:

And scrabble letters played a significant role in the reception theme too –

We were honoured to be included in the festivities – even getting our own place setting cards. Becs had taken the time to write every guests’ name in scrabble letters on a board, photograph it, and then print them as the place settings. So what is essentially an unassuming photo of mine & Amber’s place settings – is actually a story about amazing attention to detail, fabulous insight, and DIY skills!

The scrabble letters were also used on the cake – important terms which really summed up the experience of the whole wedding day.

The story this image tells is of respect & remembrance, for those that have gone before… or couldn’t be there on the day. I think it’s also testament to the longevity of photographs themselves. It reminds me of a quote by the famous NZ photographer Marti Friedlander.. “One day, we will all be only photographs”.

Their dessert at the wedding was displayed on an impressive tower – the tables made by family, and the chef in charge of the dessert doing the arrangement as a surprise for them. I love that you can see the bridesmaids in the background admiring it!

On each table, there was a bunch of loose scrabble letters. During the evening, there was a competition – the table that could form the highest word score with their letters was the winner!

I love black & white photographs when the focus of the image is on the people & their expressions. The absence of colour draws your eye right into the important elements – what people are doing, and their reactions. These were taken around various tables while they tried to make the highest scoring scrabble word:

This table thought they were the winners…

But unfortunately, the victory dance was performed by another table who managed to score one point higher!

They were presented with a little trophy.. and somehow (I still don’t know how) – this guy managed to take their table’s winning word & attach it to his shirt.. proudly on display for the rest of the evening!
(by the way – “questionably” was the top score!)

Becs’ cousins made the trip down to Gore from Tokoroa – and performed traditional Cook Island wedding dances & songs at the wedding.
Now – that’s a freaking cool story on it’s own… but made even more so by the fact that they had spent ages fundraising as a family to make the trip. Just so incredibly special – and they rocked it on the night, too!

Checking from behind the stage curtain whether it was time to go…

The bridesmaids & groomsmen were swept up into the action, too..

Fraser’s family had Niuean heritage – and they also had some performances & traditions …

Including presenting the bride & groom with lavalava and money – so much fun to photograph!

And of course – everyone was up on the dance floor after long, and the party continued!

Storytelling – it’s a huge part of what we do. And we’ll still keep showing you all the sweeping, dramatic, “ooh” and “ahhh” shots… but just remember that in between taking those, we’re often tucked away in a corner, quietly snapping away without people being any the wiser… so that you can look back on the wedding day & remember all the parts that came together as a whole.

Becs & Fraser – thanks for letting us capture, and share some of your stories.

Aroha nui
Isaac & Amber.

Hi guys!

Last weekend, we went on an adventure.

We finished Cameron & Sarah’s wedding in Cambridge at 8pm – and drove back to Auckland in the remnants of a tropical cyclone.

At 1.30am, we had finished backing up their files, charged the batteries, double checked our packing, and went to bed.

At 4.30am, the alarm went. You have to be freaking kidding.
We *bounced* out of bed… and 30 minutes later we were off to Auckland airport, and onto a plane bound for Christchurch.

The timeline was fairly tight – we would arrive in Christchurch, transfer to Invercargill, pick up our rental car, and be in Gore with an hour to spare for location checking.

So when we were delayed for 30 minutes in Christchurch… we were a little edgy.
When we arrived at Invercargill airport with only 2 of our 3 pieces of luggage… we were a little more edgy. We had everything to shoot a wedding in our hand luggage (as baggage handlers aren’t the most gentle of people)… but the missing bag contained some of our lighting gear… and our clothes.

A quick stop at Hallensteins / Glassons in Invercargill – entire new outfits – some stern words to the airport people – and we were off!! All phases complete, minimal damage, and arrival in Gore with 3 minutes to location check!

It’s lucky Fraser & his groomsmen are such nice guys. We instantly felt at ease, and the stress from the trip quickly faded and was replaced by fits of laughter – as the boys alternated throwing back bourbon & colas with trying to fasten the top buttons!

PUPPY!!! (you should see us when we photograph weddings at the zoo!)

We then headed around to the girls – where we met Becs and her bridesmaids.
They were so calm & relaxed – which is relatively rare!

Becs looked amazing in her Jane Yeh designed gown – a gorgeous dress.

Her bridesmaids were the perfect attendants – keeping everything under control – and providing so many laughs throughout the day!

It was time to leave for the church – so we bundled up into the car, and headed into town.

Their ceremony was in the Catholic Church, which was gorgeous inside – and big enough to hold their many guests that were there to share in their special day.

While we were at the ceremony, a courier arrived from the airport, and dropped off one suitcase! Hurrah! We were pretty stoked with AirNZ’s service – the fact they were able to rush our bag the 45 minute drive out to Gore – and get it there in time for when we needed our lighting gear. Good stuff!

So it was off around Gore. And – we loved it! There are some amazing spots for photography, and we used as many as we had time for. (and a few we possibly didn’t. oops).

Kicking off down at the river…

See how warm everyone is managing to look there?? They’re doing a fine job – it was FREEZING! (well, at least by Jafa standards)

Moody:

We then headed off to a cool wall outside one of the buildings… green was one of the feature colours for the wedding, so this was a fun way to incorporate it!

The sprinkler dance…

Andrew has photos from all around the world, featuring him lying down in front of landmarks, monuments, and in the weirdest of places. Now, he can also add Gore to the list.

We raced the cold & the rain to get a few more shots with Fraser & Becs – I love the feeling of these ones.

Luckily that suitcase of lighting equipment did turn up – as it meant we could get images like this one!

Our final spot was down at Hamilton Park – where a lovely long line of trees is perfect for strolling down. After a few false starts when the sun burst out from behind the clouds (which ruined our lovely soft light & made big shadows – but at least it was warm!) – we we into it.

Becs had purple shoes. They were awesome.

It was then back to the reception – which was amazing. The amount of work, thought, and love which had gone into this hall was just incredible.

And that… my dear readers… is all you’re getting for now.

We’ve been planning to do a blog post about the “storytelling” aspect of our photography… as a wedding day isn’t all about sweeping epic skies & glamourous poses… there are so many beautiful little things that happen all throughout the day. And the night. And we also photograph those.
They often don’t make the blog – as they aren’t the artistic, epic shots… but they’re just as (if not, more so) important in terms of what we do.

So tomorrow, we’ll have a blog post of “stories” from Becs & Fraser’s wedding.

To finish up our story here though… we ate, we danced, and we photographed. It was an amazing evening, focused on fun & family. At about midnight, we headed back to Invercargill – and our day finished 21 hours after it began.

In the morning, we slept in.

Until next time,

Isaac & Amber.

Hi guys,

On Friday, we headed down to Sarnia Park in Cambridge, to photograph Sarah & Cameron’s wedding.

On our way, we stopped in at Muse Salon, in Grey Street – where the girls were having hair & makeup done. I love shooting at Muse – the light inside is gorgeous.

It was also great to catch up with Sam – who was their makeup artist. We photographed Sam & Kate’s wedding just over a year ago.

We then headed around to the boys place, where Cameron & his groomsmen were looking sharp.

Then it was off to Cambridge, where we arrived at Sarnia Park & busied ourselves with the detail photos – Sarah’s dress was so gorgeous that I wanted to see it twice in one image!

Sarah’s bridesmaids were amazing – so helpful, perfectly fussing over ever detail:

But not afraid to have a bit of fun either – Cool Runnings inspired bobsled practice:

Sarah looked stunning in her dress. Every time we shoot at a venue that we’re at often (like Sarnia) – we try and do something we’ve never done before – to keep our creativity fresh & keep pushing the envelope.
Here’s a stairs shot that we lit from the opposite direction to the natural window light – I love how it spotlights Sarah & makes a very light & airy space into something more moody & dramatic.

It was time for the ceremony – so we headed over to the Cherry Blossom lawn, where Cameron was waiting – along with celebrant Roseanne Hannah – who is fantastic

And they were married.

After the ceremony, the family & group shots, and some congratulations – we headed around the Sarnia Park grounds for some great shots with the bridal party.

We stated off walking…

Which quickly progressed to running…

If you’re in the bridal party & I tell you that you’re the “background blur”… I’m usually telling the truth. But sometimes not.

The tuis watched them kiss.

I love this little row of trees fading into the background.

The other side of the lake… is pretty… and covered in duck poo. But if you mind your step, you can get gorgeous shots!

It wouldn’t be one of our weddings without getting the lights out & capturing the dramatic sky..

We headed down to Lake Karapiro to finish up… and on the way, it began to rain. Luckily, we had a brollie in the back of the car..

Back at Sarnia Park – there was 5 minutes before needing to go into the reception, so Cameron & Sarah took the chance to grab some ‘dress rehearsal’ practice for their first dance!!

We had an awesome time with you guys – thanks for having us along to share a part in your special day!!
Enjoy this little taster of what’s to come

Isaac & Amber.

Hey guys,

Last time we were over in Raro (just over a month ago) we caught up with Tai.

He’s a local television personality in Rarotonga, and was keen to get a few shots for his portfolio.

We headed out on the last day we were on the rock – with cloudy, overcast conditions – lovely soft light!

Tai was great to photograph – relaxed & natural in front of the camera. He’ll go a long way.

Here’s a few of our favs from the shoot. If you, or anyone you know, would like photography work done in Rarotonga – we’ll be there again in May, and then we’re based there throughout all of July & August this year.

Enjoy.

Hi guys

On Saturday last week, we made the trip down from Auckland to Taupo, where we photographed Jason & Hilary’s wedding at Huka Resort.

Jason is from Canada (and he, his family, and their Canadian guests reaffirmed my belief that Canadians are some of the most polite, lovely, and genuine people in the world!). It’s winter in Canada.

Hilary is from NZ (Tokoroa, if you want to be specific!) – and is an Iron Woman champion. I have a lot of respect for anyone that can swim. And then bike. And then run. I don’t think I could manage one single stage of either.. let alone the whole lot!

About 5 minutes before we arrived at the boys’ place to begin the preparation shots… my mobile rang. It was Jason – “umm.. the suit hire place forgot to include one of our suits. And it was my one. We had to drive back to Hamilton, and are now in Putaruru on the way back.. so an hour away”…

Oops. So we instead began around at the girls.. making excuses for the boys so that Hilary wouldn’t find out!

The detailing on the back of Hilary’s dress was gorgeous.

The bridesmaids were all school friends of Hilary’s… and they were fantastic. So willing & enthusiastic to help them out, and nothing was too hard. Just perfect examples of keeping the bride stressfree & looking out for her. Well done ladies!

Around at the boys’ place – things were coming together, and Jason was ready to go.
He had a smile on his face the entire day!

The groomsmen did a great job – always on hand to hassle Jason & get him laughing!

Then it was off to the gardens, where they were going to see each other for the first time.
Hilary’s Dad about to help her out of the car..

Anyone who thinks that meeting beforehand to do photos will “lose that special moment when you see one another for the first time”… obviously needs to see these next few shots.

Their parents were also there to experience the special moment – which I thought was lovely.

The boys all had embroidered boxer shorts with ‘groom’ or ‘groomsmen’ written on the back.. and were keen as to drop their trousers & show the girls. This is what they thought..

Then it was off to Kinloch, where we were doing the majority of the bridal party photos.

On the way, we stopped at this great field… and had some time with just Jason & Hilary.

And then we had some more time.

Finally… we had to check out where the bridal party had ended up… their car had broken down. We weren’t toooo worried though, as while we waited we had the time to shoot these images:

The clouds had been rolling in all morning – and the skies were looking very dramatic… so we got our lights out & made the most of it.

We then headed down to Kinloch proper… and caught up with the bridal party. A few little spits of rain were just beginning… but the parasols came in handy as umbrellas!

By the time we finished up, the rain had begun to fall… and the boys hopped into the cars to drive back to Huka Resort. We needed to give them a headstart before following along with the girls… so had time for a couple more shots.

As we drove back to the resort, we were so thankful for doing the photos before the ceremony… as by this time, the rain was pelting down… and it didn’t stop. In fact, the following day, camping grounds in Taupo were evacuated due to flooding – and most of the North Island was battered by the weather. Perfect timing.

It did mean that the ceremony was moved inside the chapel at the resort – which was beautiful. I loved the Maori designs on the paneling inside.

One of the readings in their ceremony talked about a Native American belief that butterflies carried wishes to the Great Spirit. The guests were invited to think of a wish for Jason & Hilary.. after which they released some beautiful Monarch butterflies.. which made their way out the windows of the church and off to the Great Spirit. It was very beautiful.

Over at the reception… they had a canvas which people could paint cute little love hearts onto. But some people were more adventurous in making their mark!

Every single flower on this cake is made from sugar. Isn’t that incredible!

They also had a cartoonist at the reception doing caricatures of the guests. He was AMAZING. Some super cool drawings resulted.

Later in the evening, we were introduced to the ‘shoe game’ .. which is a tradition (from Switzerland?? I think??) that involves taking off your shoes, and each having one of your own, and one of the other’s, shoes. A variety of questions were asked… “who is more romantic”.. etc… and they needed to raise the shoe of the person they thought best fit, without seeing what the other thought.

It was super cute – and they actually agreed on 90% of all the questions!

Later in the evening, we did a few fun photobooth shots with a frame…

Jason & Hilary had prepared a surprise, choreographed first dance – very cool!

Then everyone was showed how it was REALLY supposed to be done:

The party kicked off, the dancefloor was full, and people had a great time!!

Just before we left at the end of the evening, we managed to sneak a few final romantic shots..

We headed home – shattered, but content after witnessing a gorgeous couple having a beautiful wedding.
And we listened to the rain on the roof.

Thank you both so much for trusting us to capture your day – we had a blast doing so.
Enjoy this little taste of what’s to come.

Isaac & Amber.