Julia & Nick are cafe/cycle buffs so it was only fitting we started our shoot at The Caffeine Laboratory in New Regent Street and cruise around the city for some cool spots!  It's amazing how you sometimes don't notice the blank, empty places in Christchurch until you see them from above (shot from the Rendezvous Hotel) but there sure are some wonderful things happening in our beautiful city.





































Julia & Nick - you guys were awesome! Can't wait to come back into town to shoot the wedding!  :)

You'll notice the word Spring in my title is in inverted commas.  That means it wasn't Spring weather at all. In fact it was more like middle-of-winter weather.  BUT IT WAS STILL AWESOME!  I actually really love shooting in this type of weather - I think it kind of makes you stretch yourself a little bit more creatively.  You know you've only got a limited amount of time so there's pressure to get some great shots.  Or one shot at least! 

I'd met Jess & Mike once before at Amanda & Simon's wedding where Mike was a groomsman. Jess had told me she doesn't really enjoy getting her photo taken (I get this comment a LOT) so I wasn't sure how she'd cope with a full on photo shoot and a big camera.  Wow, I had nothing to worry about - these guys are awesome in front of the camera and just so natural!

Amy & John picked a perfect evening for their engagement shoot!  This is the spot (Amy's willow tree!) where John had proposed so it was perfect for their shoot.  This shy couple are sooo cute together - their wedding is only next month and I'm so looking forward to being there!


Can't wait till April!!! x

The weather looked ominous for Penny & Dean's engagement shoot this week but the rain held off just enough to take some beautiful shots in the Port Hills.

This loved up couple are getting married in their home country of South Africa in May so they asked me to do their engagement shoot - just wish I could shoot their wedding - these two are soooo good in front of the camera (despite telling me they were a bit nervous!).

All the best for your wedding you two. I'll be looking forward to seeing photos - it's going to be amazing! x


 

You'd be hard pressed to find a lovelier setting than our very own Christchurch Botanic Gardens.  It has everything you could want in a photographic backdrop and outside the museum on a beautiful afternoon, I met Sarah & Chris for the very first time and they were amazing in front of the camera!  Check them out.  :)




Sarah & Chris - I can't wait to hang out with you both again in a couple of weeks!

Vicky & Mark chose Christchurch's inner city as the backdrop for their engagement shoot a couple of weeks ago and it was a beautiful, beautiful night!  I very rarely go into the City and they showed me loads of new things which were so cool to be able to photograph!

I think it's fair to say they were perhaps a little hesitant about being in front of the camera but by the end of it, they were dancing up a storm to beat of their own drums.  This is why I think it's so important to do a pre-wedding shoot if you get the chance!  We knew each other just that little bit more after it and when it comes to photos on their big day, they will be so much more relaxed.



 

Wow, what a beautiful day is was on Monday!  Absolutely stunning!  And I got to photograph a stunning couple too. They are SO sweet, and SO cute together and they are so so so in love!!!  I'm buzzing about this shoot and cannot wait until their wedding in January!

Here are a few images from their engagement session.

 

I think it's fair to say Sarah & Bassam and I hit it off straight away - I showed them my sample album - they gave me tea and chocolate.  And then the fun began!

The couple decided on using the Sandow Riding School in Templeton as the backdrop for their engagement shoot as this is where they met, and it couldn't have been more perfect!




These two are just so cute and laughed and giggled their way through the whole session!


Sefton thinks they're pretty funny...


Sarah & Bassam, I had SO much fun at your engagement shoot and you guys are so lovely to shoot! Can't wait for your big day. x

..... or as I like to call it, a Snog in the Fog.

So it was cold. It was wet.  It had been snowing.  So naturally we had Amanda & Simon's engagement shoot this day!  Apart from being cold and wet, the backdrop was awesome!!  I was in photographer heaven.  Wasn't so pleasant for this lovely couple but I LOVED that they were willing to put up with the weather to get some stunning shots!



Bailey is the couple's gorgeous dog and she loves giving kisses (especially unexpected ones!).  It was also Bailey's birthday on the day we had our shoot!


Aww now that's a lovely family photo.  :)


The wee hut at Sign of the Bellbird was occupied that day so we wandered around in the mist, trying not to lose each other. 




So while the humans were getting wet outside, Bailey was tucked up in the shelter of the bushes.  She loved it. You can just tell.


My favourite shot from this shoot.  Love it.




 

Victoria and Sam booked me to shoot their wedding before we'd met so a couple of weeks ago when we arranged to meet for their engagement session, I had NO idea what to expect.  Mind you, neither did they.  This giggly couple had JUST gotten off a flight from Samoa that morning, so what I was expecting was two bedragled, sleep deprived, dehydrated people.  Instead I got two gorgeous, funny people who make one super cute, adorable couple!  I don't think they stopped giggling the whole time and I'd like to think it was partly my influence but as Victoria put it, "we're eggs!".

The weather couldn't quite make up it's mind that day - the fog kept rolling in and then the sun would come out.  Nevertheless it's still a beautiful sight up by Sign of the Kiwi.


(By the end of our session, you couldn't even see the top of this hill, it was so covered in cloud).


So now we get into the good stuff!  Photos of Sam and Victoria!!!


And keep an eye out for Victoria's cute foot pop too.  It makes an appearance quite a bit.  :)


These guys were so easy to photograph and I know their wedding day will be full of smiles, giggles and the odd foot pop.  :)
 

I have known Sarah for a long time now - our families were really close when we were kids, we all used to play netball together (Sarah's family is very talented in the sporting arena - me, not so much).  And my brother used to babysit Sarah and her sister!  So I was super honoured when they asked if they would photograph their wedding.  And or course I said big fat huge YESSSSS!!!

We met up at Victoria Park (well it's kinda behind the main park area - away from the people), so it was nice and private.



After a few 'go stand in that long grass and frolick around' photos, they ignored me and only had eyes for each other. I LOOOOVE this photo so much.


A bit of dancing practice never goes astray...


At the time of writing this blog, Sarah asked if I needed any more info from her and this is what she wrote:
" Matt was on the Fortune 500 List but lost his billions in the 1987 stock market crash, got a face lift, suckered some beautiful, honest, caring, extremely modest maori girl from Christchurch to marry him and the rest is history".  This girl is seriously hilarious. Matt, you are going to be kept laughing for the rest of your life. If not with her, then definitely AT her. 
 

Corina and Daryl have been coming to me for family photos for over a year now - their beautiful daughter Jade was part of my Baby Grow programme and I just love seeing my families grow! So it gives me huge warm fuzzies to be asked to be Corina and Daryl's wedding photographer and I know there will be a few tears as this gorgeous couple says their vows in October.  They are super cute together and have made the most beautiful baby girl!  This wee family have become very special to me.  Anyway enough of my blathering on... here are a wee selection of their engagement photos from last month.  It was a beautiful Autumn afternoon with the most gorgeous light... ahhhhh.




And I enlisted the help of Daryl's parents....  Sue was the chief leaf thrower.  :)


Jade, you are the CUTEST!!!!!!


Hurry up, October! I want to shoot their wedding already!  :)
 

I loved these two gorgeous souls from the minute I met them.  Both so happy and open and just .. well ...downright lovely!

We met up 5 days before their wedding to do their engagement shoot and the weather couldn't have behaved more!



Keep an eye out for their wedding blog coming soon!!!
 

Louise & Stuart (or Lioux & Stioux as I like to call them) are old friends, with a very long complicated story as to how we met.  Lioux and I used to kind of be related.  Yeah, long story.  Anyway, they're getting married next month so we took the opportunity to do this engagement shoot in Lyttelton where they met.  Awwww.

You can tell Louise is an ex-ballerina, with her beautiful long legs!  Stuart is a photographer so I'm on my best behaviour!

They got engaged on a recent trip away and wowzers, look at that ring!  Stu did a great job choosing (was even so sneaky as to grab an old ring of Louise's to get the sizing right - good boy!!!).



See you soon, guys! Can't wait till next month! x
 

I met up with Emma & Mike for their engagement shoot this week and we used gorgeous Taylor's Mistake as our backdrop. Fred, their fur baby came along for the ride and boy does he keep them on their toes!  Mike pretended he didn't like being in front of the camera but my camera knows better and Emma has THE most infectious giggle I've ever heard.  That giggle, is absolutely beautiful.


No, this isn't Mike.  I just snapped this poor guy as he was riding.  :)


Ah, here they are!


And wherever Mike & Emma are, Fred isn't far away.


Fred is looking for his biscuit. Hehe.


Can't wait to shoot your wedding guys - February is just around the corner!  x

It was the most gorgeous day on Saturday - I had a portrait shoot at home in the morning, the sun was shining, I got my washing out and I was really looking forward to meeting Jo & Mark that afternoon as we'd already had to put off their engagement shoot because of bad weather.  So when I turned up at the gardens, I saw the clouds, heard the thunder and went back to my car for the umbrella.  A little bit of rain was NOT going to put us off!

Meeting them both was fantastic but they I spied an extra pair of cute wee legs (sorry Mark, not yours) and they belonged to the beautiful Isabella, Jo and Mark's gorgeous wee girl.  What a bright spark - this kid has an awesome vocabulary and could probably (in the right situation, where the scary photographer lady wanted to 'borrow' your Dora backpack) talk the hind legs off anyone!  With a dad as lovely as Mark and a mum as beautiful as Jo, this kid is bound for great things.

So off for a trek around the gardens, trying to find some shelter - these raindrops were getting BIG!


So we set off for our walk...


And it wouldn't be a walk in the park (haha) without "one... two... THREE!".  I even think I see Mark getting in on the action!


I LOVE the way Isabella stares adoringly into her daddy's eyes.


With spring comes new life. Guess what they found by the pond?


"There she is!".  Says Isabella.


Look at meeee!


Gorgeous girl. x


Then it was time for some engagement photos of mum and dad.... not enough time though - it started pouring down so we called it a day.


What a gorgeous family.


Jo, Mark (Chris - haha) and Isabella - I'm so looking forward to your wedding and we don't have to wait too long - November is just around the corner!  xx

To check out Jo & Mark's beautiful wedding, click here!

Oops I slipped up! I was meant to post this back in March when I actually shot this session but somehow I didn't and I get a message from Abbey today asking if I was going to do a blog post for them - of COURSE, I say!  And here it is...  So this is why the foliage looks so awesomely Autumnal - it's because it WAS Autumn back in March!

These two met at D&A where they were both studying photography. Then Abbey left for a bit and came back and it was all on! Ok, ok, I don't know if it was "all on" but in my head it happened like that.

Anyway skip forward a couple of years and they've stuck together through thick and thin, have been through some amazingly rough patches and have come out the other side ok.  They get married next year at Omarino Wine Park and I cannot wait.  I know it's going to be one of those "get your hankies out" type weddings.  I'll make sure I bring mine.

So we met at the beautiful Christchurch Botanic Gardens and of course it was amazing there with all the leaves on the ground.  (Little did Abbey know what Isaac was going to do...).  When I was editing these photos I kept using my Miss Piggy voice saying "kissy kissy!" the whole time. These guys are so super cute and kissy kissy.

Laura and Jack are one of those super awesome couples who are so in love, it radiates from them.  They will also make awesome parents.  Do you know how I know this?  Because of Archie.  He's two and no, he's not their human toddler.  He's the most gorgeous puppy dog with the most gorgeous soft coat and big brown eyes you've ever seen.  In fact I was keen to trade him in for my two kids.

Anyway, we met at Halswell Quarry which is a well known dog park in Christchurch. It was an absolutely stunning day - the sun was shining, the blossom was out and it just made me happy.





Yussss, I got it!!!

Wow.  I had so much fun with these guys on Thursday night at Taylor's Mistake.  They are awesome, and don't they make a gorgeous family!  Kylie giggled the whole way through the shoot (saying she's not photogenic, didn't like photos of herself).  What-EVER!  You guys are CUTE!!!

First off, check out their fusion video.






I love the one on the right especially.  :D














Mr grumpy. Actually he wasn't grumpy at all.  He'd just woken up so he was being exactly how a baby is meant to be when they wake up in the middle of the field and he's faced with a huge camera and expected to smile on demand.




Bye, you two.  See you in October! x