50 years of neil and barbara

 

fifty years ago today my parents said i do. 

fifty years!

when my mother was 11, she told her mum she was going to marry neil goodlet. her mother was of course a little disbelieving and gave her the standard "that's nice dear response" but little did she know what was ahead. mum wasn't kidding. 7 years later, they were married at the melville church of jesus christ of latter-day saints - and fifty years later, here we are.

4 children and 12 grandchildren later - a true legacy of love. i have never seen a couple more in love and more devoted to each other. i was so blessed to be born into a home full of love.

as an anniversary gift, i had this painting done for them from @love.staxx on instagram. i have purchased other items from her in the past and her work is beautiful and she is absolutely lovely. i approached her with a black and white picture, as it's a long time joke in our family about the fact that mum and dad's wedding photographer forgot to bring colour film on the day so they actually don't have any colour photos!

until now, when i made this on the "my heritage" website for them during lockdown last year when they made unlimited colourisations to help those at home wanting to keep busy. legends. stacey from love staxx then painted them a colour portrait and mum loved it.

in celebration of their 50 years of marriage, here's a couple of photos of them over the years...

young and in love at dads 16th birthday party in the backyard at my grandparents elvira street home (which my parents still own coincidentally)

posing at the wishing well in kings park, young and freshly enagaged after attending a friends wedding (who absolutely did not make it to the 50 year mark!)

another one at kings park when we had family photos back when emma kate was a baby. i actually snapped this shot on my phone between the photographers efforts and i love it so much, even all these years later. i love how in love they are, it shows so much. dad is always telling us what a babe she is and it's adorable.

this snap is at my best friend jennifers wedding 2010, i am pretty sure it's the first time that they worked out how to take a selfie by the looks of it.

i just love how much they love each other. it's the greatest thing in my life. i looove to tell people how long they have been together. it's truly the most wonderful love story.

***

as a gift for them, my brothers and i paid for them to visit rottnest together today. the last time they went was newly married, while mum was pregnant with my oldest brother. they (mum especially!) were so stoked, and as soon as dad found out it included multiple tours (including the rottnest train run, and the guns/ war memorial/ tunnels tour) he was keen as beans. they said it was the best day and we are so happy that they loved it. we are so so lucky to have them as our parents. they are simply the best.

baby willows funeral

today was so heartbreaking. my beautiful friends baby who was born with trisomy 18, was laid to rest at the pinnaroo valley memorial park. from birth, the family knew their time with baby was limited and precious and i have never seen a baby more loved. she was so beautiful with her wise eyes and little giggle when she was held. how blessed they were to be her parents.

i truly admire mel and aitu for their strength and courage they showed today, surrounded by family and friends. their little girl was loved by so many. i absolutely couldn't hold back the tears as her little coffin was carried across to the grave by her sisters and cousins. what an incredible gesture.

i was asked to take photos for the family and i have so many beautiful shots of the girls. how much heartbreak they are feeling i can only imagine, but they were so brave the entire day.

melinda spoke of the blessing of having an eternal family during the church service and i know that it is our greatest blessing as members of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. to know that our children will be ours in the eternities to love and hold for all time.

willow you beautiful angel. you've gained your wings, but i know that even though you are separated now, you will be reunited one day and you will be loved by your earthly family for all eternity.

tom and nicole's wedding

our lovely next door neighbours tom and nicole got married today! (yes we have already made the token tom cruise nicole kidman joke to them and i hope they have a much happier marriage than them!) it was such a gorgeous day for it and we loved being able to share their day with them.

they even invited madeline to come to the ceremony too, which was so sweet of them and she felt oh so special. the "bridesman" even handed her a bouquet to mind at one stage so we had to take a special photo of her with it under their arbor.

i really did feel bad for them as they had so many people who weren't able to attend from the uk (tom's family is from there) and from the eastern states (with covid cases running rampant over there they weren't able to get in) but they certainly made up for it with the most hilarious video presentation. they had everyone in fits.

i have to write down the funniest part so i can laugh about it in the future (because believe me, it was so not funny at the time!). when we arrived at the reception venue - the vines, later that afternoon - twe asked for the room the wedding was held in and were directed to go down the hall and to a lounge for pre-dinner drinks. we didn't think anything of it, because we knew no one other than tom and nicole, but as we sat and waited and waited and waited, we began to wonder how on earth they were running so late as it had been almost an hour. we had seen toms mum walk past twice and the best mans wife with her baby twice so we at least knew we were in the right place - only we weren't. gah. they eventually started showing people in the lounge into their room and it was not the cannon wedding. oh my word. we went and asked at the reception again and were shown to the right room, but i was mortified. especially since we had been early and were now waltzing in pretty much an hour late. thankfully nicole has a sense of humour and when i explained what happened she just laughed. honestly, it could only happen to me. turns out there had been a scheduling mishap at the resort and they've moved their drinks to another place and of course the one staff member who didn't know was the one we got. of course.

it was such a fun day with them though and honestly the best wedding speeches i've ever sat through. it was even better than nicole had kindly sat us with some people she new we would have fun with and as doug not so discretely checked the afl scores for the entire wedding, all the boys at our table were right there with him. for the record, the melbourne demons won the premiership cup, 57 years after they last took it home! it was a great night! congratulations to the bride and groom. 

renay's baby shower

it's not often that i am rendered speechless, but when i walked into my friend renay's baby shower today, i certainly was. i had been asked to attend and assist with the desserts a few weeks back, but then covid threw a spanner in the works and the shower was cancelled. yet as luck would be on our side, not a single further case was reported during our week of lockdown, so renay's family decided they would make the shower happen. oh and did they make it happen.

an entry hall full of dried and strung citrus, along with huge while helium balloons and lights... 

and then exquisite decorations throughout the house

no detail was left untouched, with beautiful florals

greenery and wooden pieces

and crisp whites to set it off

renay herself was a vision, also in white, absolutely glowing. she is so deserving of a beautiful day like today and i felt truly blessed to be a part of it and to be able to capture some memories for her.

i'd been asked to make all the desserts for the party, banoffee pie, carrot cake,

brownies

chocolate chip cookies and lemon pie bars.

plus the drinks, watermelon & mint water and strawberry, cucumber & lemon water

honestly, check out these details, so simple, but effective. glass bottles with greenery, water and a long white candle to complete the look

and the foodwas amazing. renay's mother and sisters had spent hours setting up a grazing style feast for the guests. delicious!

we had a diy pamper section, where guests were able to make themselves a soak/scrub to use at home, led by the lovely dom

and a few games that left guests roaring with laughter

before renay settled in underneath her little arbor to open her gifts. baby honda is definitely very loved already!

the rouse girls

and one with their mum. truly a wonderful family. so lucky to know them. ❤

and this girl? she is going to be the best mum. 

she's amazing.

and for once i actually appeared in a photo. ❤

today was a good day!

 

introducing mr. and mrs. lagden-shepherd

it's been a hot minute since i've taken any photos - and here we are with family portraits and a wedding in less than two weeks. yesterday i had the absolute privilege of taking photos at the wedding of jack and kayla lagden-shepherd. my friend kelly knows them well and when asked to photograph their wedding, asked me to come and help as a second shooter, and i was only too happy to.

it was very warm and sunny, but it was the most beautiful day and we worked so well together. we've really managed to get some beautiful shots and i am loving them more and more as i go through them.

the wedding was held at brookleigh estate on great northern highway in the swan valley and oh was it beautiful. so many gorgeous buildings, tree lined drives and the most stunning courtyard for the reception, plus the sweetest lake side ceremony. it's actually the first time i have ever been into the estate, which is incredible, considering how close we live!

the most special moment of the day for me, was watching the bride, her mother and the bridesmaids quickly stop and have a prayer before walking down the aisle. what a beautiful thing to enter into a marriage, knowing god will guide your path. it was so meaningful to me.

kayla and jack were just so much fun! they giggled along with us and our directions as they snuck kisses and enjoyed every moment of newlywed bliss. i just loved them.

kayla and her ladies 

and the newly pronounced husband and wife... they really just couldn't get enough of each other

and were so happy to go along with all our suggestions for photos.

my favourite parts of the buildings were absolutely these gorgeous entrance doors, i had them over there quick smart for a shot and i am so glad i did. look at that!!

and i still can't stop giggling at this shot. i called out to a bunch of the guests for a shot and it's honestly like a shot from vogue. what a cracker.

we had the best day together and i felt so lucky to be included in such a fun day. i will second shoot for you any time kelly mandin. congratulations to jack and kayla! ❤