Over the next few months I am attempting to spotlight some wedding services that I have experienced in and around Cairns, Port Douglas and the Tablelands.
I hope these posts will help brides and grooms with the planning of their special day.
So, my first post is about a lovely little wedding chapel nestled at the base of the hill, surrounded by lush tropical gardens, within the grounds of Cairns Tropical Zoo at Palm Cove.
For information regarding the Chapel check out the Cairns Tropical Zoo’s website.
Below are some images I shot at the Chapel on the weekend, you can view more images at the gallery.
Bob and I sprang out of bed (!?) at 2am on Saturday morning ready and rearing to go for Jason and Nanami’s wedding! Jason works with Bob at Hot Air and met Nanami at Hot Air. So, having known Jason for a couple of years, this was a special wedding for us to be attending and photographing.
Bob did the rounds of Cairns picking up the wedding guests in the bus while I picked up Nanami and her parents for the transfer to Mareeba in the car.
You may be asking why on earth we were out of bed at 2am? Nanami was out of bed at 1am having her hair and make-up professionally done by Shae from Tropical Beauty!
Jason and Nanami were married in a Hot Air balloon 1 kilometre above the earth just after sunrise on Saturday morning. 20 people from Japan, New Zealand and Australia climbed into the balloon basket to witness Jason and Nanami exchange their vows. Leisel from Our Ceremony performed a lovely ceremony in English and Japanese, which included a wonderful poem about flying.
The balloon landed a short time later and we all piled into the bus for the drive to breakfast. Breakfast was devoured at Ringer Rest only 5 minutes from where we landed. I took some family and friends photos in the lush paddocks surrounding the breakfast location before everyone boarded the bus for the trip back to Cairns.
We dropped everyone at the botanic Gardens for Coffee and Cake while Bob and I headed back to the shed to wash the bus and car.
All the drivers headed back to the shed shortly after us, where there was a mad rush to get all buses washed inside and out, get changed and head off to the to join Jason and Nanami for their lunch reception at Cherry Blossom Japanese Restaurant.
A banquette of wonderful Japanese food followed! There were speeches and the cake cutting as well as a very efficient Japanese chef cooking ice cream on a BBQ grill!
Thank you for having us at your wedding Jason and Nanami, it was a great day! Bob and I wish you both the very best for a long and happy life together.
Below are some shots from the morning. You can also go to Jason and Namami’s on-line album to see the images from their day.
The first 8 or 9 weeks of each new year are usually pretty quiet for a wedding photographer in the Tropics! For obvious reasons, mainly the hot sticky weather and risk of cyclone, not a lot of people get married at this time of the year.
I like to use this down time to first: have a rest! (I also painted my house! OMG! What was I thinking there?) second, I have been catching up on the last couple of albums from the end of last year and third to learn more about my craft! I feel that you can never know or learn enough about the thing you are passionate about!
I also wanted to, for the first time, do a compilation of my favorite images from 2009 to share on my BLOG.
I had a great time going through the images from every wedding that I photographed last year. Each wedding and image has it’s own unique story to go with it. I remembered what a great time I had on each special day. The Trash the Dress images reminded me of the fun we had “drowning the gown” and how cold the water was for Paula and Jason’s TTD! It took all of mine and Paula’s encouragement and enthusiasm to keep Jason in the water!
I remembered the helicopter flights, the boat rides, the golf buggies, the four wheel drive tracks to get to inaccessible places, the ladders and roofs I stood on to get that perfect group photo and I also remembered the wonderful feeling I get every time I deliver an album to a happy bride and groom!
It was hard! I wanted to put everyone in there! I started out with 190 images I ended up with around 120.
I love being a wedding photographer and I love sharing and being part of each couples special day.
Thank you to all my wonderful brides, grooms, babies, Mums and Dad’s and other fabulous clients!
It was a great year!
Here is a 9 minute video of my favorites from 2009!
My first wedding for 2010! Gary and Adele came all the way from the UK to be married in the rainforest of Tropical North Queensland. It was just the two of them. A very romantic way to tie the knot!
The location they chose was the lush, rainforest setting of Silky Oaks Lodge near Port Douglas.
It had rained quite a lot leading up to their wedding day, in fact the day before, Tropical Cyclone Olga crossed the coast just north of Port Douglas! As usual, after a cyclone, the weather came out nice and sunny! It stopped raining and everything had a wonderful washed clean look to it.
The ceremony was performed by Peter Santarosa at 4pm on the deck overlooking the crystal clear and fast flowing Mossman River.
After the ceremony we headed to the pool for some photos and then took the timber stair case down to the river bank.
Silky Oaks is the perfect place to be married. The surrounding rainforest and river make the perfect backdrop for photos.
I left Adele and Gary enjoying a drink at the bar before sitting down to a delicious wedding dinner on the deck that evening.
Thank you for asking me to be your photographer Adele and Gary, it was my pleasure and I wish you all the best for a long and happy future together.
Below are a couple of images from the afternoon. You can also view Gary and Adele’s album on-line.
My first wedding for 2010! Pam rang me about 3 days before Christmas to ask if I could photograph their wedding? Of course!
For the two days leading up to Saturday it had been pouring with rain! Even Saturday morning didn’t look too promising, but the sun came out and it was a beautiful day!
Pam and Ken were married at the Good Shepard Church at Edge Hill at around 3pm. The boys arrived in a big white stretch limousine. It then went off to pick up Pam and the girls from town.
The ceremony was attended by around 200 guests, so the little church was packed to the rafters! After the ceremony we took some photos of Pam and Ken with their families and then we headed down to Centenary Lakes for the bridal party photo shoot. A bit of a walk around the Lake area and over to the bridge, the water lilies were in bloom on the lake and make a lovely background.
Everyone piled back into the limo to drive over to the Colonial Club, where the reception was to be held. I took some photos of Pam and Ken and the bridal party on the magnificent staircase inside the entrance. We were a little early for the reception so when I had finished Pam and Ken and their bridal party clambered back into the limo for a cruise around town!
I enjoyed your wedding Pam and Ken, so thank you for asking me to be part of your special day.
Below are some shots from the day, to see some more images you can also view Pam and Ken’s on-line album.
Kailey and Brad came from Canada in October to be married at Ellis Beach amongst their family and friends. They sent me this lovely email 2 days before Christmas……
Thank you so much for the package, (especially for sending it overseas) we have received the prints and DVD of the negatives and everything looks amazing!!
Through your photos, you not only captured the event of our day but the emotion that went alongside. We couldn’t imagine anything better.
You were so efficient, fun and relaxed and made us feel comfortable - we are so glad you were part of our day!
I received this lovely thank you from Sarah and Brenton just before Christmas….
We were so wrapped with our photos and had so much fun with you on our wedding day and trash the dress….and we have just received the photobooks! WOW! they are amazing!! They are just the best keep sakes and bring back all the wonderful memories from our wedding day and TTD. The personal touches and readings you have included in the album are just perfect, not to mention the organisation of the photos. You are the best! We love them very much!
Sarah and Brenton
Below is Sarah & Brenton’s Trash the Dress photobook album
Adrian wore a suit, something his job as a crane driver doesn’t usually entail! Sasha looked stunning in her fitted satin gown.
The ceremony was around 20 minutes and witnessed by myself and Anna, the wedding coordinator at the Sebel. After the ceremony we went for a walk along the beach and then a wander around the surroundings of the Sebel. I do a few weddings at The Sebel and it is one of my favorite locations for photos inside the resort.
Once the photo shoot was over I left Sasha and Adrian to enjoy a delicious meal at the Sebel.
Thank you for asking me to be your photographer Sasha and Adrian, it was my pleasure and I wish you both all the happiness.
Below are a couple of my favs from the afternoon, you can also view Sasha and Adrian’s on-line album here.
Robyn and Nick had a lovely, small and intimate ceremony on the deck of Robyn’s parents amazing home overlooking the Pyramid Mountain south of Cairns. It was a beautiful afternoon with a slight breeze.
Nick’s Dad came from England and Nick’s Mum and brother and sister joined the ceremony from England via SKYPE on the laptop!
Vivian Reid performed the ceremony which included a reading from Nick’s Mum on the laptop!
After the ceremony I took a combination of photos of everyone and a group photo. We took a walk around the lush and lovingly cared for garden taking photos and then headed down to the timber boardwalk built by Robyn’s Dad amongst the Eucalyptus and grass trees on the side of the hill.
The caterer arrived to prepare a delicious wedding dinner and that was my cue to leave everyone to enjoy the setting sun and spectacular view from the bar!
Below are a couple of photos from the afternoon. To see some more images you can view Robyn and Nick’s on-line album.
I had a great afternoon, so thank you for asking me to capture this special moment for you Robyn and Nick.
On their 1st wedding anniversary Natalie and Rob renewed their vows in a romantic, if a little windy, beach side ceremony at the Sebel Reef House and Spa at Palm Cove.
Nat looked gorgeous in her white dress with cream coloured panels. She carried a bouquet of red roses…my favorite! The bridesmaids dresses were red and really made the theme. Rob and Nat’s daughter looked really cute in her little red dress as well! She was also the “bestman” bearing the rings for her Dad!
Friends and family came from all over to join Nat and Rob in the celebration of their marriage.
Gayle Dean was the celebrant and performed a lovely ceremony, her portable PA system helping everyone to hear the ceremony above the wind.
After the ceremony we crossed the road back to the Sebel to do a group photo and photos with family and friends with the white building and lush gardens as the backdrop. (it was also out of the wind!)
I took Nat and Rob for a walk around the Resort for some photos in the classic surrounds of one of the longest running resorts in Palm Cove. It was built in 1958! We then headed back out to the beach, the wind had dropped a little by then, but we still manged to get some great shots of Nat’s veil blowing in the wind!
Below are some pics from the day, you can also view Nat and Rob’s on-line album.
Thank you for asking me to capture this special day for you Rob and Nat, it was my pleasure!
