Cicra 2014, shoot no. 8. This year we took the annual Coole family photography story to the beach - though 'cold' rather than 'coole' was probably a more appropriate word! An impromptu game of baseball with Dad's childhood lucky glove had us all warmed up and chilled out.

  World's luckiest bugger, Andrew, first fell in love with Melissa a few years back, and more recently on a whole new level on their wedding day in April. The rest of us soon followed suit, choosing her as the Eva Bradley Photography Bride of the Year for 2014.

One of the things I love most about being a photographer is the way I get to share a slice of the magic between people in love. My first taste of this with Amanda and Craig was on their wedding day several years ago. I was so happy when Amanda's mum snuck into the studio recently to get a voucher for a family session with the two perfect wee boys who have arrived since the wedding, Lachie and Sam.

A truly autumnal wedding filled with low light, deep colours, and two people in love...and laughter. Rob and Caroline Herbert were married at The Old Church in Meeanee, Hawkes Bay.

Love is a little like a maze...sometimes you take a few wrong turns to find the right path. Long-term soul mates Rose and Jeremy Jones are one of those lucky couples who went right past all the dead-ends to lucky-in-love right from the start.

I was absolutely delighted when I received an email from Australian couple Scott and Lindsay in May 2013, filling me in on their romantic plans to sail to New Zealand on a luxury cruise, stopping in at the world's beautiful Art Deco capital, Napier, to tie the knot.

I first met Nicci when I was shooting her brother-in-law's wedding just over at year ago at The Old Church near Napier. I remember thinking at the time, 'now THAT is going to be one hot little bride'. When I arrived in the middle of Suzanne Hardy's hair-and-makeup love-fest (at the aptly named cottage 'The Love Shack', just outside Havelock North), I was already fizzing with excitement.

Emma made her grand entrance up the long driveway of Sileni where Sam waited nervously beside the silver birch trees on the winery's front triangle. The newlyweds wanted their wedding photography to be relaxed, embrace the best of New Zealand and Hawke's Bay and also reflect the sense of fun they share together as a couple.

I have known Ceilidh since she was knee-high-to-a-grasshopper, so it was especially cool when she showed up at my studio about a year ago with a dashing young Brit on her arms, and a beautiful sparkling ring on her finger.I started my day with the boys at their wedding venue, Millar Road, which sits atop a vineyard, high on the Tukituki hills looking back to the distant sweep of Hawkes Bay coastline.

It is with a massive big grin on our face that we present the newly-minted Mr. & Mrs. Thomson. They blew in on a stiff summer breeze on the 17th of January, 2014, with a ceremony at Rachael's old alma mater, Iona College in Havelock North.

My driving goal for any wedding is to create images that will remind my couples in years to come not just how they looked on their wedding day, but how they felt. Laughter, tears and all the emotions in between are the moments my camera and I hunt for. Sometimes that can be a challenge, but with Kim and Steve Marples it was a bit of an understatement to say capturing emotion was easy

This is a love story that starts with Chapter One at an institution all Hawke's Bay young people know well - Shed 2. A young, foxy blonde Nicola spied a tall dark and handsome stranger across the room and the rest, as they say, is history.

It gives us the greatest pleasure to introduce to you the latest newlyweds on the block....Mr. & Mrs. Scott. Michelle Fey was their photographer and when she first met Lara quite some time ago, there was much ooohing and ahhhing about the amazing dress that was planned.

Hawkes Bay beach weddings are the ultimate way to reflect the relaxed Kiwi culture, the love of all things outdoors and the sense of togetherness that comes from a great day out with sun and sand.

A year ago, an excited bride-to-be contacted me about a Central Hawke's Bay wedding. There would be a farm that had been in the family for generations...an ancient swing bridge spanning a gully filled with native trees and a woodland dell where lilies grew head high and light motes played in the shade like Tinkerbell.

Here in New Zealand, we like to hold onto our hotties. That's why when Amalie left Hawkes Bay on her world tour and stopped short in Australia for a BLOKE there was cause for concern. But anyone who spends more than half a second in the company of Jason Pearce knows he's a keeper - even if it does take four-and-a-half years to put a ring on his finger.

And so we have her...our winter bride, the very last of 'the season' for the 2013 wedding year, and yet she is first with your hearts and votes and with style, grace and unwavering determination....our Bride of the Year, 2013....Sharon.