Rochelle and Mark imagined a wedding that was 'a bit traditional but with pops of fun and colour and a spash of glam'. The Mission provided the perfect backdrop for that when we all came together for their spring wedding day.
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Every time I've had an email from a bride asking me to shoot their wedding at Oruawharo in Central Hawke's Bay, I've rushed to my diary in a fever of excitement and always been gutted to discover I'm already booked. When Kate got in touch almost 18 months ago, I was like a kid in a candy story to discover I was free as a bird on her date. When we met at the grand old homestead for High Tea and a planning session, my excitement levels blew out entirely...
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Photography is important for so many reasons but mostly because it presses pause on a passing (and precious!) moment in time. I feel so lucky to have been part of a number of passing moments for the Tod family. Firstly it was to celebrate Matt and Kirsten's engagement, then, of course, the wedding. A newborn session followed with the arrival of their first baby, beautiful little Caitlin. And just last week I got to see her all grown up (well, almost four which is kinda the same when you're almost four, right?).
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What are the things you enjoy the most on holiday with the people you love? Do you even remember? Hayden wanted to make sure they never forgot their Grand Tour around Europe, so during dinner one night at the Imperiale Palace in Santa Margherita, he asked Monique to take turns with him writing down all the highlights so far. Of course he had the trump card up his sleeve - "will you marry me?"
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'Some spots on earth inspire in their owners a very special affection…an occult sympathy betwixt the elementals of the soil and those who touch its surface with their feet' - William Guthrie-Smith.
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I met Rachel at a wedding at the start of the season.When she told me she was planning her own big day I immediately started a subliminal 'pick me, pick me' chant, which turned into what I call 'The Photographer's Dance of Joy' when she booked me a little while later. What a fox. Add to this a 110-watt smile brought on in the presence of new hubby Dan, and you have a recipe for incredible wedding photography.
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It's often said 'the devil is in the detail' but when it comes to weddings, that's where all the angles are hiding too. From the moment we walked into The Farmhouse at The Mission Estate Winery in Hawke's Bay and saw the Tiffany Blue shade of Sarah's Louboutin heels, I knew it was going to be a gorgeous wedding to shoot.
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Love isn't meant to be easy, but I think most people will agree that making it work when you live first on opposite sides of the world and then in different parts of Europe would be a challenge for even the most committed couples. But love got there in the end for Nicola and Thomas, and their investment in each other (and Ryan Air!) finally paid off at The Old Church in Meeanee, Napier, this week when they celebrated their Hawke's Bay wedding.
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We all know weddings are about love, commitment and happy every after. But one thing that became pretty clear as Emma and Pete's day went on is that it was also about having the most fun day of their lives, bar none. Happiness is one of the most intoxicating drugs, and by the time these two were spinning on the dance floor at Craggy Range Winery, my entire face was hurting from smiling so much.
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Levi was never really the sort to dig crosswords. In his view, they were a little bit geeky and certainly not at all sexy. It's funny how a guy's view on things can change dramatically when there's a beautiful blonde involved....
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The very first shot I took at Innes and Carrie's Hawke's Bay wedding pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day: Carrie was sitting cross-legged on the floor getting a massage from her Aunty. Being relaxed on your wedding day is something all brides aspire to but few can pull it off.
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All parents know just how fast children grow and change and how important it is to soak up and enjoy the here-and-now. But it's not always easy in hindsight to appreciate just how magical things were at one small moment in time. That's why Lou and Chris decided that professional photography with their kids was a priority.
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Ashlee & Nick had their 'first look' beside the Maimai on the property they recently bought and will one day live on. I like to think that every time Nick now goes duck shooting there with the lads, he'll also remember the very first moment he saw his future wife.
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For Ashhurst dairy farmers Wendy & Richie, June 20th, 2015 was a day on the farm unlike any other. For a start, the milking shed was swapped for an in-home salon, where six already foxy besties rapidly turned into six smoking hot bridesmaids, and the girl everyone knows and loves in gumboots and jeans had her Cinderella moment and was transformed.
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For our 9th annual winter family session, the Coole kids and I thought we'd earned a sit-down. And so Granny Gretchen had us over for lunch at Rissington - although this was no ordinary lunch...
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