Sarah & Kristian - 16th January 2010

For me, the mark of a great wedding is all about how much of a couple's personality goes into the day, the unique details that set that wedding apart and make it unique. For Sarah & Kristian, many of the usual traditions of a wedding were thrown by the wayside (they arrived and walked down the aisle together, Sarah wore a gorgeous wine coloured dress with detailed panel that accentuated her porcelain skin, and fancy floral arrangements and a wedding cake were eschewed), and what remained was the essence of their relationship and themselves, shared with family and friends at the beautiful Crittenden Estate Winery on the Mornington Peninsula.

Cool details: A table was set up near the entrance to the restaurant, with a collection of framed photos from family weddings past.

Alice & Adrian - 9th January 2010

Ah, Melbourne in Summer, one day freezing cold, the next stinking hot! Luckily for Alice & Adrian, the forcast 38 degrees for their outdoor wedding in the Edinburgh Gardens only ended up being around 34 - still pretty hot, but not "sweat dripping down your face" kind of hot! So under the shade of market umbrella's and with the help of some little fans and icy bottles of water being handed out to guests, their beautiful ceremony - complete with readings as diverse as Ernest Hemingway and Dr Suess, and a runaway 3 year old ring bearer - took place in front of the old gorgeous old rotunda in the gardens.

Cool details: The self confessed 'lefty, vegetarian, greenies' had a full vegetarian menu at their reception at the nearby Matteo's restaurant, with each table named after a suburb or town they had lived in during their lives. The 'bridal car' was a silver Prius from www.ecolimo.com.au. And just to prove that not everything has to be so serious their bridal waltz was a slow dance that morphed into the good old wedding staple - the Chicken Dance! (See above...)

Cath & Anthony - November 28th 2009

The thing with weddings is that as much as you plan and plan and plan, sometimes there are things that are just out of your hands... like the weather. What do you do? Will crying and complaining change it? No! So you do what Anthony and Cath did when a torrential downpour put a downer on their plans for an outside winery wedding - embrace it and have fun with it! The ceremony was relocated to a tasting shed on the property, and the guests shuttled down the path by groomsmen wielding big brollies, and in a touch of good fortune, the skies cleared just long enough for us to get out and take some fun shots in the vines. Cool Details: In an attempt to surprise Cath with their favourite musician, Anthony invited local singer / songwriter Chris Pickering to the wedding to play "their song" for their first dance. Unfortunately touring commitments prevented this from happening, but Chris did provide the next best thing - a personal recording of the song addressed to the happy couple.

John & Luisa - November 7th, 2009

On a beautiful day, at a beautiful location, a beautiful couple tied the knot in front of their closest friends and family. A love story that was 8 years in the making, Luisa looking stunning in a 'Hollywood glamour' kind of way, as she married John at Gardens House in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Cool Details: As one who has seen many couples in love over the years, and a way of looking at each other to convey that emotion, I have never seen a groom so smitten with his bride as John was with Luisa. Even when he thought no-one was looking (including her) his eyes were alight with a combination of love and happiness and pride at his new wife. Even for a seasoned professional like myself, it was a very touching sight!

Lorraine & Dan - October 31st, 2009

This was the day when everyone in Melbourne went "Yeah, Summer's here!", the Spring Racing Carnival was in full swing, the sun was shining, and late in the afternoon, on Mother's Beach in Mornington, Lorraine & Dan swapped wedding vows with a perfect backdrop of calm blue waters, cloudless blue skies, and long afternoon shadows creating gorgeous effects on the sand.

Cool Details: When introducing each speaker during the speeches, the MC would read an excerpt from a little book published in 1913 called "Don'ts for Husbands" - written by a very dry humoured British woman, Blanche Ebbutt. Some of her pearls of wisdom include "Don't give up cricket, or football...or whatever sport you have been accustomed to just because you are married. Athletics will stop you from becoming flabby." and "Don't insist on having the last word. If you know when to drop an argument, you are a wise man." Smart woman that Blanche!

Prue & Jesse - August 29th 2009

Sometimes I get a little nervous shooting weddings where one or both of the couple have a Mediterranean background, as there is often an expectation, not necessarily from the couple themselves, but from the family, that the wedding photos should be quite formal and traditional which isn't really what I do. So I do my best to walk that fine line between staying true to what I do, and also taking some shots to keep the family happy. With Jesse's Maltese heritage, I must say I did feel just a tiny bit apprehensive going into this wedding, but it was completely unnecessary - a gorgeous couple with a great family who were such a delight to work with. And the good news is that everyone, Mum and Dad included, were thrilled with the finished results. Yippee!

Cool Details: Jesse, who had spent many years studying at Melbourne Uni had organised for a permit to allow us to take photos on the campus grounds, full of beautiful limestone buildings seeped in history... and while we utilized the University's above-ground beauty, for me one of the biggest revelations was the 70's futuristic underground car park - such great atmosphere and shadowy lighting, and I was wrapped that Prue & Jesse could appreciate it's artistic merit too!

Coming Around Again

Sometimes, as great as our intentions may be, love doesn't always work out the way it's meant to. The good news is, that we all get more than one shot at it, and appropriately for Spring, the season of new starts, I recently photographed three couples, three weekends in a row - Jan & John, Jennifer & Iggy, and Rita & Benny - who were all finding love all over again and making that commitment of marriage anew - all with their adult children in attendance.

Cool details: For Rita & Benny, their wedding was a second for both of them, but with a little twist - their first marriage, ending in divorce 18 years ago, was also to each other! When I asked Julie, one of Benny & Rita's two daughters who were acting as their bridesmaids, if she ever thought she would be a bridesmaid to her mother, she laughed and replied "NO WAY! And especially not for a marriage to my DAD!"