Cheeky Groom + Gorgeous Bride + Heron Island = Bewdiful Destination Wedding!!!!!!!

So Tina, Isaac and I were off to Heron Island this past weekend to photograph the wedding of Courtney and Calum on the 15th October 2011.  This was Isaac’s very first destination wedding (although he’s a bit little to shoot yet….give him another year or two!) and Tina’s first shoot back after welcoming our little monster into our lives.  Eight months is a lot of creative energy build up for Tina so she couldn’t wait to get snapping away.

After a plane trip and a two hour boat journey via the Heron Islander,  we finally landed on the stunning Heron Island.   This place is absolutely picture perfect – crystal clear waters and coral reef right off the Heron Island Resort door step.  What else could you ask for!

What started as a postcard perfect day on the Friday,  quickly turned into a feral freaky storm on the morning of the big day.  Tina and I were more than a little nervous to be honest.   Yeah we can deal with a shower here and there but thunder, lighting and bucketing down rain……that’s a different story all together.  Cameras and big rain = sad cameras and sad photographers

While eating breakfast in the resorts restaurant,  we were kicking into emergency backup plan drive and decided – we need to see Abi ASAP.

So who is Abi you may ask, well Abi is the resorts Fabulous (yes with a captial “F” cause she’s fantastic) Wedding/Groups Coordinator.  Abi could not have been more helpful from our very first email contact right through to showing us around the island and walking through her ideas for wet weather plans.  I wonder if we could clone Abi and take her with us to all of the venues we shoot at……….hmmm.

In the end our prayers for good weather were certainly answered as the day turned into an absolutely gorgeous spring day.  The colours and natural lighting were just perfect for photographing weddings.  We felt so lucky to end up with perfect weather and an awesome couple to photograph.

Now, on to the fun stuff – the wedding……..

When writing blogs I often try to think of ways of introducing you to our couples,  a brief description of what we see as their photographers.  Well with these guys,  its simple….love.

Amongst all the planning and chaos that goes along with a destination wedding,  these guys just seemed so calm.  Even with the crazy weather we faced on the Saturday morning,  neither Calum nor Courtney were even the least bit concerned.  They were cool, calm and collected; they were just stoked to be getting married to each other.  That to us is a perfect example of what marriage is all about,  it doesn’t matter if the plans don’t go exactly right…..its all about saying I-DO to the person you love.

We first caught up with Calum and the fellas whilst they relaxed with a few beverages by the pool and had a quick game of chess.  Chess you ask? Where else can you play chess with kiddie size chess pieces and views out over a coral reef – it was an obvious place for some chillaxin before the nuptials. We even got the man of the moment to give us his best supermodel poses – which of course were egged on by the boys.

Courtney and her lovely girls were busy with their final touches when we arrived at the islands Beach House.  We quickly saw the awesome photo opportunities provided by the private beach access and decided this would be the perfect backdrop for photos with the girls.  Courtney had previously mentioned how much she loved the forest areas on the island so we were over the moon with the natural setting of the Beach House.

Tina always raves about her favourite moment of a ceremony being the groom’s first look at his stunning bride and Calum didn’t disappoint.  He even fought the urge to sneak a look as Courtney walked through the shrub lined path to the poolside ceremony area.   Calum’s expression and telling Courtney she looked beautiful when she finally reached him,  just magic!

As photographers we have the pleasure of witnessing, and capturing, those cute candid moments each couple share during their ceremony that often go unnoticed by family and friends.  For Courtney and Calum,  the cheeky moment we got on film was Calum licking his lips as Anne Donaghey said “you may kiss your bride”.   Hahaha, gotcha Cal

Well we could rave on and on about how much fun we had with Courtney, Calum and their family and friends but at the end of the day……the photos tell it all.

Courtney and Calum…..thanks so much for letting us be part of this very special moment in your life.  We hope that the images help you to remember all of those little moments that will remain forever in your heart.

Take care and we can’t wait to get cracking on your album.

Nigel and TIna

My beautiful wife bought a ticket to Top Gear Live in Sydney for my Christmas present. We ended up staying in Sydney for 2 nights with some friends and decided to make it a holiday. Once we arrived and checked into Fraser Suites in the City, we then headed straight to Taronga Zoo. The next day was spent at the Sydney Aquarium then off to Top Gear at Sydney Olympic Park. The show was excellent with the highlights being the car soccer and precision driving. The next day was spent doing laps on the monorail and checking out the city. We found a large chess game underway in Hyde Park then visited St Mary’s Cathedral and the ANZAC Memorial. And don’t forget our visit to the only Apple store in Australia. The glass stairs are amazing.

Here are a few photos from our holiday. Hope you enjoy.