What a glorious day- so much love and laughter. These two beautiful souls were married surrounded by a LOT of friends and family, in a stunning location way down south near Invercargill.

Stacey is a gorgeous girl naturally, with sparkly eyes, a warm heart and a spirit filled smile.  Nathan’s smile never seems to leave his face and he is fun, mischievous and really fun to be around.

I had a lot of fun with the girls and the pretty things before the ceremony

sweet peas- Because to Stacey’s Mum, Stacey is her sweet pea – lovely

Nathan made this driftwood cross for Stacey- and wrote this gorgeous letter

beautiful girl X

VERY helpful and fun bridesmaids

see!

beautiful Mum

… no words, just love and grace- and tears at my end

Stacey- you radiate inner beauty and it sure does shine

see what I mean about Nathan’s smile!!

the boys are pretty excited about the whole thing

Gorgeous setting- the open air chapel at Garden Argyle Cottage near Invercargill

emotions

Love this moment!!!

married!

YUSSS!

“are you watching?…”

THE KISS

and the gorgeous moments after

precious Nana shares a prayer and wise words

Mr and Mrs NELSON!

the people are impressed

the beautiful details of afternoon tea

AMAZING cake

too cute!

off on our adventures via stop off at the beloved tractor shop

The spectacular Oreti beach

Very fun group of people- stunning colours

beautiful moments and memories

Stacey and Nathan- what a day

It was an incredible joy to be part of your wedding day celebration. You are both surrounded in love and support and you have made an amazing start. May these photos help remind you of the love you shared today and of the people who care about you and the faith that has cemented you together.

xoxoxo I am going to LOVE making your album.

With all my love

Rachel

I met Natalie in my studio, and I knew straight away that I wanted to be chosen SO bad to photograph this wedding. It just sounded so pretty, meaningful and so full of personal touches that I wanted to capture it all!

Luckily, Natalie and Shane felt the same way about me and fast forward a year and we arrive at 4th Feb 2012 for a truly beautiful wedding.

SO much love, thought, care and commitment has gone into the details of this day. Right down to the shoelaces of Natalie’s wedding shoes which were made from her Great Grandmothers ribbon, not to mention each individually and lovingly handmade button holes for family members, to the reception pretties incorporating Grandmother’s lace doilies and napkins. It was a visual and vintage TREAT!!!

Natalie fights a few tears as she reads the card Shane has sent with a glorious bouquet- nice work Shane

Beautiful Mother of the Bride Ali-  a very styley lady indeed

Natalie and Shane’s home is a further extension of Natalie’s impeccable taste. She loves beautiful old things and the home has precious pieces displayed lovingly.

Love this as Joanna helps with the gorgeous marcasite jewellery- a love of which Natalie has in common with her Mum

these earrings need special mention as they were the first present Shane gave to Natalie when they were a couple- very special indeed

The gorgeous Totara Estate just south of Oamaru- very very cool spot indeed and perfect for a wedding

Shane is a bit nervous at this stage as he waits for his Bride

inside the old grainstore, the guests are ready

and are feeling pretty good about things!

Shane’s nerves don’t seem to be bothering him too much here – blue steel moment for sure

and as Natalie pulls up- it’s a bit of the same with her too! Gorgeous Nat!

I love this one

Married!!

I love fun family photos!

Natalie ALWAYS has an amazing smile on her face and a laugh is near the surface always

I love this of Ali and Nat- they have a beautiful relationship

Natalie’s step bro’s Luke and Ricki- very cool dudes indeed

special people

more special people!!

Shane and I ducked back into the grain store for a few moments to catch our breaths and make the most of the stunning light and surroundings

Um- WOW!!! like total WOW

then we all had a picnic- even the picnic blanket had special significance- it belonged to Natalie’s late Grandfather

cute feet

glorious bridesmaids- a lot of fun and they looked stunning in their dresses! So classy

the whole tribe! I loved this tree a lot

boys- they don’t even have to try- they just look so good!! Doing pretty much nothing!

LOVE this one – Wheat fields- I just can’t help it, I adore them

Natalie you are so incredibly beautiful

playing with the parasol- amazing eyes eh

cuteness!!

beautiful girls xox

then off into the fields for some fun

this car is VERY important. This is Shane’s baby and he had spent so much time doing it up and getting it ready for the wedding- it looked amazing Shane

then for something a little different we headed into the oldest part of the Oamaru cemetery- I really love the textures and mood here. It connects a whole circle of life together- deep eh

back at Portside for the reception, the cheeses cake gets a lot of attention from the ladies

and I think form this expression we can guess that Natalie is pretty stoked when she sees it all finished and pretty!

Gorgeous reception details

Natalie and Shane- I hardly know where to begin. It was such a huge honour to be your photographer (I would have been totally jealous of anyone else if they got to do it!) Donna and I LOVED being part of your incredibly special day and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Can’t wait to show you the rest!!

All the very very best in your future together

with lots of love and hugs

Rachel and Donna XoX

This wedding celebration, highly anticipated and prepared for with love and beautiful touches of detail- was a wonderful day.

It was a glorious sparkler of a day down in the whimsical town of Moeraki, sunshine and glitter on the ocean were the backdrop and gulls gracefully flying about us as Amanda and Grant became husband and wife.

Amanda poured a lot of her creativity and exceptional taste into the details of the wedding and it was so much fun capturing them

Amanda’s dress hangs beside her mothers own wedding gown

Amanda’s Mum looks on with love

Amanda you are gorgeous xoxox beautiful make up and hair by Shelley Harvey of Timaru

perfect spot for a celebration

so excited!!

Grant as he watches Amanda

Son Ryder gives the rings

signed

sealed

The fun and hilarious boys- just after one of the groomsmen split his trousers on the way up the boulder… not that you can tell. Donna saved the day by stitching the pants up in the car on the way to the reception-legend

The lovely ladies

everybody!! so many laughs, smiles and lots of fun

I love this of you Amanda- the sparkles and your beautiful expression, stunning

wow- Love  love love -

look at these details!!! amazing love and care has gone into them

LOVE the way the hall was decorated

Amanda and Grant! What a beautiful day!! It was so much fun being with you to share in the fun and celebration of your relationship! We wish you all the very best together and can’t wait to catch up soon to show you the rest!!!

Lots of love

Rachel and Donna xox

“Do you think he’ll cry when he sees you” I asked Leanne before we headed out to meet Richard for the “First Look”

“I think he will- he cries when he hears the song I am walking down the aisle to- he’s quite romantic.

Richard is my cousin whom I have very fond memories of growing up with on family camping holidays. We see each other regularly throughout the year when celebrating family events and I am always intrigued how each time we gather, how grown up we all seem. He has two gorgeous little girls with Leanne and they are great parents, this little family shares a lot of love.

On this day they celebrated all that they have done together so far and all that will come in the future, through good times and bad they promised to stick it out.

Leanne spent a lot of time and effort planning all the pretty things for this day and she loves vintage vibes.

Pretty details

Richard waits for his Bride and is feeling pretty good about it

I love this!

Here she comes….

We head inside to meet family and to shelter from patchy rain- I love how Leanne holds her dress

A bit of fun with the bridal party inside the Wigram Air Museum in Christchurch

I Love this with eldest daughter Makayla

And then wee Courtnee comes to play

Hello pretty girl!!

LOVE the matching expressions

Lovely

Then off we went into Cashel Mall for some fun- it looks so beautiful with lots of colour, texture and creativity

Leanne and Richard are really fun together

and they apprectiate each other

AND they look super hot as a couple

speaking of super hot

the boys were in no way camera shy- love it

LOVE LOVE LOVE this of Richard- playing with something a little different and liking it a lot

REEEEOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!! LEANNE!! You look spectacular!

I had so much fun with the giant wall photos – you girls look awesome

My lovely cousin Hannah and sister of Richard

Cute!

Shooting back towards what used to be- in the damaged Christchurch CBD

Then back at Wigram Air Museum for a very special and unique ceremony amongst the old planes! It is here I should mention that Richard always loved planes and now works as a Logistics and Maintenance Engineer specializing in specific airoplane engines- it all sounds very technical what he does. It was incredibly special and significant to have the ceremony and reception here. Plus it looked awesome.

and yes he did cry- Big bro Tim looks on

Makayla holds on too- adorable

Approval!

A very dramatic reception! The vibe was very cool indeed

Everybody is feeling like this is a good idea-

Richard and Leanne- it was such a privilege to be part of your very special celebration. I am looking forward to catching up with you soon and to show you the rest of the photos!

Lots of love

Rach

It turned out that Gareth lived next door to my cousins growing up in Invercargill and upon this discovery quite late in the piece, Gareth was even more convinced that I was a good choice of photographer because my cousins are all very talented in their own ways and he figured that my family had good creative genes – stoked.

Emma and Gareth are fun, natural, easy going and their wedding was such a pleasure to be part of. Surrounded by their friends and family they became husband and wife after a journey together that has taken them from being high school sweet hearts, to university life, travelling to now being  married with careers and dreams yet to be fulfilled.

We started the day with the girls, pretty details and the MOST adorable golden retriever you ever did see- Austin is a charmer and I secretly hoped he might just jump in my car and never want to get out.

The lovely Anna and Shyla

Nephew (and winner of the cutest dressed guest award)  Logan- dressed in a kilt made out of his Nana’s dress- complete with watch strap buckle!

Austin waves goodbye

Gareth waits nervously for his bride… we did a first peek at Company Bay

Here she comes

LOVE this

then off to Hoopers Inlet for some fun – LOVE this of the boys Adam and Simon

EMMA!!!!! LOOK AT YOU!!!!! WOWZER

I love that the ceremony was by the Pool of Reflections- how very appropriate

reflecting

This has got to be one of the greatest candid moments ever! The ring didn’t go on quite as easily as expected- priceless expressions

everybody approves

woohooo!!

special people, special moments

I love photographing at Larnach’s Castle- it is so elegant with amazing ambience

Emma and Gareth- thank you SO much for choosing us to photograph your beautiful day! We had so much fun with you all and it was very cool to make so many new friends and connections.

We wish you all the best for your journey ahead and we hope it is full of laughter and fun.

Love

Rachel and Donna xoxoxo

I met Carolyn and Bevan well over a year ago, back when their wedding was scheduled for January 29th 2011.

Their wedding day was postponed due to Carolyn becoming extremely ill the day before the wedding and things were put on hold until she was well again.

It has been a year of looking after each other and taking things slow- they are a wonderful team and have so much fun together. Bevan is a very talented  painter ( click here to see his work) and Carolyn is a music therapist, so between them they are very creative and have a circle of friends with many talents.

The wedding was lovely, very relaxed, very organised and very special. One thing that stood out to me about this day was the quality of smiles- they were everywhere and were somehow extra infectious.

Beautiful details- including Nana’s crystals

Lovely sister Vonnie is there to help- love the wedding photo in the background

and pappa bear Kelvin keeps an eye on the time….

last minute touch ups

the bride arrives!!

love this of Bevan- nervous, happy, overwhelmed…. so many emotions all rolled into a blur

but it’s not surprising

because this is what he is seeing

the stained glass makes a dramatic backdrop for “The Kiss”

fabulous friend and exceptional cellist  takes a bow

love this sneaky peek during the song

hey there cutie pie

Married!!!! YAY!!!!

so many beautiful hugs and kissses

and this dapper chap won my secret best dressed guest award

rose petal fun

the weather held off really well, UNTIL we headed off to the beach where it poured- but that didn’t stop us from getting into the groove zone

Carolyn plays her Grandmother’s precious Violin- this is a shot I like to call “Bride and Groom Sax and Violin duet feat bridal party in the rain with brollies”

Bevan is whispering in Carolyn’s ear how he felt when he saw her walking down the aisle xox

Beautiful Carolyn- such a natural and elegant beauty

I love this one of you both

The very fun and super cool bridal party!

bling admiration

and the “boys” bring their fierce – Rachel is Bevan’s sister and honorary groomsman- she rocked the hot

prettiness

deeelicious cake

Carolyn and Bevan- what an honour it was to finally be part of your wonderful wedding celebration.  You are so well loved and it was so nice to be surrounded by the joy of your friends and family.

We wish you all the very best in your future together-

oxxoxoxox

Rachel and Donna

Jason came into the studio in November to have a casual chat about his upcoming wedding. The more he talked, the more I loved the vibe and I hoped we would see each other again.

We did- this time with Linda his lovely bride and we made a plan for Monday January 9 2012

The wedding was inspired by a trip to the Timaru Rose Festival where a certain shirt was purchased which  just so happened to start a chain of events which ended up at WEDDING!

It all unfolded in 6 weeks and Linda and Jason had a lovely and very relaxed time planning their day which included 15 guests (all close family) a ceremony on the lawn of their beautiful beach side home, their 2 gorgeous daughters as flower girls and a relaxed reception at the back of the house. This wedding was all about family, memories, connections and tying everything that has gone before with the present and the dreams of the future. It was so incredibly special.

we had so much fun with the girls as they got ready- Isellah and Zoe were two of my all time favourite flower girls, so lovely natured, patient and helpful

Donna again was an immeasurable help and her duties on this day included sewing the bride’s sash just so to turn it into a rosebud… that woman never ceases to amaze me

Grandmother’s brooch

Jason’s Mum Chris gets a well deserved toe pampering

the ladies are ready

a lovely scene

Wahooooooo!

straight after the ceremony Linda and Jason planted a daisy

giving the new plant lots of love

the wedding cake was made with the recipe of Linda’s Grandmother on her wedding day- VERY special

then we all went off on an adventure down the road to the wetlands for fun family photos

then a bit of frolicking in the barley fileds was in order

Linda you are a stunning bride! I love the windswept natural beauty you have here

beautiful table setting details

Linda and Jason- your wedding was such a great pleasure to be part of. We had such a lovely time with you all celebrating your journey.

We wish you all the very best together and can’t ait to see you soon to show you the rest!

Lots of Love

Rachel  and Donna xoxxo

Suzanne and Cavin live in Auckland but came down south for their intimate and lovely wedding at Woodbury. A delightful little village near Geraldine, where tree glades and wildflowers grow happily in the cosiness of country life.

Donna and I had a lot of fun with Suzanne, Cavin the fun bridal party, cheerful family and friends- AND wee Liam, star page boy and son to Suzanne and Cavin.

Suzanne’s very clever Mum (aka floral artist extraordinaire) was responsible for the many floral treats throughout the day including the bouquets, corsages, arrangements for the ceremony and reception AND table place settings!

Suzanne made the flower girls dresses and they were adorable! Orange polka dots!! woop woop!

A very proud Dad

with a very excited Liam

LOVE this- the expression is priceless

here too!

Liam get’s in on the action

and things get a bit emotional

super cute!

Liam has a VERY important job

and he feels pretty good about it!

Cavin’s Mum and Dad have hugs at the ready

the fun and lovely bridal party

the gorgeous Woodbury church featuring the black cab!

then off on our adventures into the Woodbury wilderness- Suzanne you are so beautiful

This is a shot I like to call “groom in a glade of trees looking super cool”

and a wee bit of distraction from the “helpful” groomsmen

had to be done really

We took one of my beautiful chairs with us on location as I thought it suited these two- tick! Quite charming eh

the beautiful table settings

one adorable wee boy

Suzanne and Cavin, Donna and I LOVED being part of your beautiful day! We had so much fun with you all and wish you all the very best in the future ahead.

Lots of love

Rachel xo

I met Maria and Steve earlier this year and loved their ideas for a beautiful vintage inspired wedding.

Steve paid me a very cool compliment when he told me that he liked my photos because they made him smile when he looked at them. So on the day I was  VERY conscious of creating images with smile factor without being cheesy. It wasn’t too hard because these guys were fun and easy going and I was in photographic heaven all day.

There were so many precious things connected to this wedding, a lot of dedication and incredible patience…

Maria got ready in her parents beautiful home which suited the vibe of the day perfectly

the amazing shoes!

the dress

gorgeous Maria

and her two beautiful daughters Brooke and Paxton

Paxton

Brooke

the lovely ladies- special shout out to sister and bridesmaid Kirstie who made the flower girl dresses AND bridesmaid dresses- Maria lovingly hand stitched the beading

waiting ….

beautiful arrival

I LOVE this photo of the shadow from the fabulous bagpiper Scott Shannon from Temuka

Steve watches his stunning bride walk towards him

and she looks incredible on the arm of her very proud Dad

becoming

Mr and Mrs

I loved watching Maria’s Mum and Dad throughout the day- their love for their family and also each other was so very present and obvious

they did it!!!!

all the excitement was a bit much for wee Brooke who fell asleep in her gorgeous aunty’s arm during the ceremony. I LOVE this moment

but she was well looked after by her adoring brothers Griffin and Cody

I love standing back and watching things unfold after the ceremony, the looks, tears, hugs and kisses all bring the gathered guests together in celebration

the very precious aunty Edna was a tear jerker

Wow- just wow Maria

Maria had found these beautiful lace parasols- I love this

you are pure stunning Maria!!!!!

This proves the saying that girls pick men who remind them of their fathers….. seeing double???

We headed out to Pleasant Point where the train and jigger were waiting for us- I LOVE this of Steve

beautiful vintage train love

this makes ME smile

and this is just totally hot

I mentioned hot eh- Maria you are SO GORGEOUS!!!

Reow!!!!

beautiful

cute!!

I love this- so dramatic and romantic

beautiful light, beautiful love

speaking of beautiful love…. sigh

Maria and Steve- what an honour it was to be your photographer. Your wedding was full of love and fun and was such a fabulous celebration of your love and journey so far. I wish you happiness and peace for your future together! Can’t wait to show you the rest!!!!!! xoxoxoxox

Rach

Hannah and Kris are such a beautiful pair- it has been so much fun getting excited with them as their day drew nearer.

I have been anticipating this wedding for quite some time as I have been hearing about the details and snippets of planning ideas from Hannah who pops in regularly to give me the goss!

The Wedding was fabulous.

These two have such a lovely way together, they’re calm and fun, with a vibrant energy that is infectious.

Hannah and Kris were married at Terrace Downs- a truly spectacular venue, it is pure photo-graphical paradise.

The powder room, where the boys prepare to get ready

looking very sharp Kris

the girls details

THE DRESS!!!

beautiful flower girl and Hannah’s niece Emily looking adorable

GASP Hannah!!! SOOO stunning

helped by her bridesmaids and lovely Mum- Hannah is ready

and she looks incredible

off too meet Kris who is patiently waiting at the bottom of the golf course

perfect

these two share a lot of love

and it is very beautiful to watch

they are also ridiculously fun to photograph

the wind made things really fun and very unpredictable

Hannah- you are amazingly gorgeous ox. LOVE this

rocking the shot

the ceremony got moved inside due to the wind, but before we headed to the ceremony, we had some fun with the helium balloons! CUTE

anticipation

Hannah NEARLY manages not to cry – I love this so so much

exchanging and becoming

husband and wife

everyone is feeling pretty good about it!

beautiful

Terrace Downs lovlieness

Hannah and Kris- over the last while as you have journeyed towards your wedding day you have become quite special to me. I have loved being part of your planning of your amazing day. I wish you so much happiness in your future together !

oxoxo Cant wait to make your gorgeous Album!!!

Lots of love

Rachel