Shayla and Joel were married on the 2nd October at the Catholic Church in Innisfail. We have been having some pretty awful rainy, weather lately and this Saturday was no exception. The sun was actually shinning when I arrived at Shayla’s Mum’s and it stayed out long enough for us to get some shots outside in the garden. Shayla looked absolutely stunning in her tea rose pink wedding gown. In over 10 years of photographing weddings Shayla’s was the first pink gown I have seen! Shayla’s bridesmaids, Emma and Jenna, wore dresses in a complimentary dusty pink. Shayla carried antique roses in shades of pink. We took some photos of all the girls together, including Shayla’s best friend Michelle’s little girl who was the flower girl, outside in the garden. Shayla’s horse wanted to have a photo with her too before she headed off to the church!
When I arrived at the church it was bucketing down with rain. I took some photos of Joel and the boys outside the church in a small undercover part out of the rain! Shayla and the girls arrived shortly after in Landcruiser utes decorated with pink ribbon! The rain stopped briefly while Shayla and the girls made their way to the entrance of the church. Shayla was escorted down the aisle on the arm of her Dad, who presented her to Joel so that they could be married. Shayla and Joel’s little boy Jay was the ring bearer and he did a really good job! He wasn’t shy at all walking down the aisle saying hello to people as he went!
The Catholic church in Innisfail is stunning! Cyclone Larry blew it’s roof off in 2005, but lots of hard work has bought it back to original condition. A photographers dream with plenty of light, big white walls and high gabled ceilings, it even has an upstairs bit, perfect for a photo of the congregation from above! After the ceremony Shayla and Joel did the paperwork and then they were Mr and Mrs! Congratulations from family and friends as they made their way down the aisle ensued. The plan was to emerge from the church for family photos, but as it was still raining hard, they turned around and headed back inside! We took all the photos and the group photos inside the church, a much better option than outside in the very small alcove next to the church.
The weather caused a few changes of plan on the day. First change was to head over to the train station for photos with the bridal party. We were going to go to the beach, but thought better of it considering the weather! Then we left the bridal party and headed down to Paronella Park at Mena Creek to take photos in the grounds of the old Spanish Castle. How romantic! Well actually it wasn’t that romantic as it was still pouring with rain! I’m usually good for photos with light rain and an umbrella but a brolly would not have done the job today! Reluctantly we made the decision to come back another day to take the photos. And we did! More about that shortly.
From Paronella Park we drove back to the Etty Bay surf club where the reception was being held. I took some photos of the room and the cake, which Shayla’s Dad had made for her! He did a fantastic job too! I took some photos of Shayla and Joel with the cake then left them to celebrate with family friends.
Last Saturday, 9th October, Shayla and Joel put their wedding gear back on and I met them at Paronella Park at 2pm. Paronella Park is a Spanish castle built by one man, Jose Paronella in the early 1930′s. When you stop and think about Jose’s efforts, apart from the castle itself, he planted over 7000 trees as well as built the many stone buildings, waterfalls and gardens around the 13 hectare property, it is an amazing feat! It has a really romantic atmosphere and is the perfect place for a wedding. You can read a brief history of Paronella Park here.
It was a warm sunny day with blue skies! Hooray! it was touch and go for a while there with rain forecast again! It did actually start raining quite heavily five minutes after we had finished! Phew! This time my friend Fiona, also a photographer came along to assist with my gear on the shoot. It is actually quite a walk around the park, so it was great to have some help along! Thanks Fiona! We wandered around the grounds of the old castle, around to the Theresa Falls, the Kari pine walk, the old change rooms for the waterfall swimming hole and a staff member supervised us around the castle as it is quite old and in need of repair since Cyclone Larry made his appearance a few years ago! To finish off I offered Shayla and Joel a “mini-Trash the Dress” shoot. They were very keen and did not hesitate for a minute to jump in the water!
Shayla and Joel thank you for trusting me to be your wedding photographer. It was fun! You guys were the perfect subjects! I wish you and Jay and Peta-Rose lots of happiness for the future.
Below are some of my favorite images from Shayla and Joel’s wedding (there are too many favorites to chose from!) check out their on-line album to see some more.
