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. 

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! ❤

 

wedding cake!

so, this definitely deserves a blog post all of its own... bryan and dominiques amazing wedding cake! as soon as a date was set for the wedding, i contacted steph from mocha baby sweets in ellenbrook, (whose instagram page i had been following stalking for quite some time praying that i would one day have an excuse to call upon her for a cake... and woop there it is!) with a inconveniently short amount of notice... and thankfully she was not only willing to work with it, but seemed to be able to see exactly what i was describing to her.

fast forward a few weeks, a few more emails and this incredible cake was delivered to the valley view restaurant for the wedding reception. we were so thrilled with it and stephs excellent communication up until the day... and the best bit? it tasted just as good as it looked! the bottom tier was chocolate mud cake, covered with fondant, painted with a gold coat and the top was red velvet cake with vanilla buttercream icing. amazing!! 

seriously can't wait another excuse to use her, she is amazing!

jen and mat are married!!

"there is a happiness that has no end...
it comes when marrying one's best friend"
yesterday i had the privelege of being the "matron" (yes - matron cause i am married) of honour at the wedding of two of my very best friends, mat & jen. it was pretty scary as jen and i woke up at 5:30am to have our hair and makeup done - only to find that it was pouring with rain. i mean really pouring. but the powers of positive thinking was on our side - and shortly before our car arrived - the skies cleared and the sun peeped through

jen was every bit the most beautiful bride i have seen - looked absolutely amazing and was the absolute picture of calm. i was so excited to see her all dressed and ready to go. after a short(ish) ceremony in the valleyview restaurant gardens, the bridal party went to the nearby mallard duck for photos and then returned to the valleyview restaurant for the reception.

jen and i

doug and i - all dressed up! :)

jen and mat and their fabulous (and yummy) cake

i am so happy for mathew & jennifer and wish
them all the best for their
"happpily ever after"
xxx