Ciara you are growing up so fast.  You truly are a  paper bag princess,  and for those of you who have not read this book to your daughters,  then you really should.  Happy Birthday my beautiful daughter.

Leanne you were one very calm bride!!  They girls had their hair and makeup done at Shine studios in Timaru.  Then they were  off to get married at a beautiful old Waimate homestead which is Andrews family  home.

I am sure this made the day even more special.  I loved finally meeting you both and your little girls are just gorgeous!!  All the best for the future.

I loved this shoot.  Kakanui beach is one of my favourite places.  Just before the sun goes there is nothing better than running around on the beach.  Thanks for letting me spend some time   with your wonderful family it was a pleasure.

What a wonderful day.  I was privilged to be the photographer at this wedding, and to meet these two people and experience the great love, and respect they have for each other.  The venue was chosen as it used to belong to the Graham  family.  It was Leanne’s grandparents house and she had found memories of playing there as a child.  Today it is a very unique and stunning venue Casanova House.    I will stop talking now and let the photos tell it all.

I can’t believe I nearly forgot the little people.  These are the gorgeous flower girls from Katherine and David’s wedding.    We can’t have flower girls without flowers so here is Katherine’s Bridal bouquet created by Flowers on Holmwood.

It started very early in the morning for everyone being woken by the earthquake in Christchurch.  Teresa (my second shooter) and I were unlucky enough to have booked into a hotel in Cashel steet and were on the 22nd floor when the earthquake hit.  More about that later,  but it did have to be mentioned as it certainly impacted on the day.  We headed off very shaken to start recording Katherine and David’s big day.  I was delighted to see a big smile on Katherine’s face when I arrived at her house.  The messages started coming in, the hairdresser wasn’t going to make it (oh well there was no power, so what do you do), then there was the call regarding the venue which had crumbled inside, oh well as Katherine said we could still have a BBQ!  Then we got a visit from the priest and we knew this would not be good news.  The beautiful church that they had chosen had crumbled in on the inside as well.  So it was decided that they would get married on the lawn outside the church.  Good news also came in, the flowers where fine, and the caterers had found another venue so no need for the BBQ.  Katherine you were amazing you took so much bad news that morning and still managed to smile and look on the bright side.  Katherine and David your wedding day was beautiful and I wish you both all the happiness in the world.  Thanks for having me along.  Enjoy your pics there are a lot more to come.

Thanks for being so brave it was freezing, not long now untill the wedding.  For those that follow my blog you will recognise this little piece of paradise it is one of my favourite places to shoot in Kakanui I am sure am going to miss this spot.

I have had the pleasure this year of mentoring (trying to at least) two young and upcoming photographers.  One has moved over to Australia and is starting her own photography business (more about Alyssa in another post).    The other is the very talented Teresa who has been working for me for a while now coming along to weddings and generally helping to organise my life!!  What I love about mentoring is seeing someone become their own type of photographer and not just a clone of you.  Teresa’s style is very different to mine and it has been a pleasure to watch her grow.  As I am closing down my business in the little old town of Oamaru and moving it on to Invercargill,  I will miss hanging out in the studio with my friend.   Here are some photos from a recent wedding that Teresa came along and second shot for me.  You will get to know here by her business name Hummingbird Photography.  Enjoy her work!!

To my wonderful bride and groom thankyou again for letting us be a part of your big day, and now you have Teresa’s photos to enjoy with a disk coming your way soon!!

Thank you for having us along on your wonderfully perfect day.  Here is just a sneak peak with a lot more to come.  Enjoy!!

With newborn photography the goal is to try and get some sleepy shots, well this little guy wasn’t having a bar of it.  We managed to snap one frame with him asleep and that was it!!  But if I had eyes that gorgeous I would be reluctant to shut them for photos too.  Isn’t he gorgeous!!