Gretchen and Doug came from all the way from California for their Waiheke Island wedding day at beautiful Mudbrick Vineyard last week, bringing 40 of their family and close friends with them.  Their wedding day was planned along with the help of Jenny and Jan from Waiheke Island Weddings who made a splendid job of the day.

They chose to have most of their photographs before the ceremony although we also managed to get several additional photographs after the ceremony in the beautiful golden light as the sun went down at Mudbrick… spectacular.  Consequently, this is a rather large post with over 50 photos in it, so I had better begin to show you some images!  Enjoy…

Doug got ready for the day at The Winemaker’s Loft which is attached to Cable Bay Vineyards.

Gretchen chose to get ready at Lavender Hill which is always a pleasure to shoot at with so many lovely areas to use for the photographs.  Waiheke turned on a stunningly beautiful day, as usual.  Gretchen’s hair was attended to by Hannah Bylo and her make up was by Charlotte Edwardes from Island Beauty.  Floral bouquets by Vicki Roycroft from Wildflower Waiheke.

a little toe-ring became Gretchen’s something blue…

Beautiful!

I love this shot of Lance’s below and how he has captured the American flag in the corner…

We went to a couple of locations on our shoot including a quick stop down at Oneroa Beach where to our surprise we came across a rather larger digger!  As you do…

Gretchen has such a wonderful smile and was quick with a laugh as she danced around in her dress for me.  I was so pleased that we had some time for shooting around Mudbrick because the light was beautiful, especially as the sun got lower.

Thanks for being such a pleasure to photograph Gretchen and Doug – we loved being part of your grogeous NZ wedding!

Ahhhhh, this was a delicious wedding day.  Perfect actually;  blue skies, happy and very organised bride and groom, laid-back vibe, lots of laughter.  The only possible blight on the horizon were the last words my bride said to me at our pre-bridal meeting.  “Emma,’ she said, ‘we are not at all photogenic’.  Now this I hear rather a lot and tend to just let it wash over me like water off a ducks back.  “Oh, don’t be silly”, I say, looking to Troy for confirmation, “I can’t believe she’s never had a good picture” I say to him… and he averts his eyes.  Hmmmmm.  This is NOT a good sign.  They both re-iterate with conviction that funny faces are something of a specialty for both of them and then follow up with this little gem of info…  “Actually, in 19 years together we have NEVER had a nice photograph of the two of us”.  OK.

So…. no pressure or anything.  (Actually it’s ok, because in all honesty as I leave our pre-wedding meeting I still don’t really believe it.)

Enjoy your photos Joanne and Troy… you gorgeous creatures.  And yes, there were a couple of fabulous funny faces in the mix but I have saved (most of) them for your private collection.

The ties proved a bit of a challenge with one of Troy’s groomsmen below receiving a definite F in tiesmanship.

And please trust me when I say that you do NOT want to hear the story that accompanies this photo below…

S_T_U_N_N_I_N_G – I love these shots of Jo.

Jo was led down the aisle by her two nephews who have always played a very special part in her life.

I told the guys to do whatever they wanted to while Jo looked on… and then gave the same message to the girls who managed to step it up a notch.

Jo gives new meaning to my suggestion to “just grab your veil and throw it up in the air”… not quite what I meant but major brownie points for enthusiastic interpretation.

Trying out my “I’m a little teapot” pose… still needs some work I think.

I WISH I could remember what I said to elicit this response – it must have been good (or maybe really bad!)

The Estate looked fabulous as always – I love working there; it’s such a great venue.

Thanks so much Jo and Troy – we had an awesome day with you and your fun bridal party… xx   Enjoy your sneak peek!

Natalie and Mick were married at Te Toki Retreat in Palm Beach and they actually did tie the knot!  They have been traveling the globe working on the high seas for the last year or two so it seemed just right that they should include a hand-binding ceremony using a heavy sailors rope as part of their vows.  It was a very moving ceremony and just lovely to witness. Ahh, I love my job. 

OK, I have lots to share so I’ll get on with the show…

When we turned up at the Te Toki guest house Mick was settling in for a nice cuppa.

Natalie and the girls were completely ready for me when I arrived at the main Te Toki house having had their hair and make up beautifully done by Amber Haldane. Natalie looked completely gorgeous and I L*O*V*E*D her dress from Pronovias

Natalie and Mick elected to do their photo session before the ceremony so that they could spend more time with their guests so we had a little ‘first look’ moment which was very sweet before we left for our pre-ceremony shoot.  Mick was a touch late for the first look which sparked a bit of good natured finger-wagging from his bride to be!

The day was just magic – gorgeous blue skies with just a touch of a breeze.

Nats’ wonderfully bright flowers were by Vicki from Wildflower.  Her girls were in purple frocks with a pink sash and they looked fab!  I loved all the bright colours of Natalie and Mick’s wedding.

This little critter below caught Lance’s eye..

Just gorgeous!  We had a few minutes up our sleeve so we squeezed in a nod to the seas before returning for their ceremony

A lovely lovely lovely day, thank you Natalie and Mick – it was a real pleasure to be part of your wedding day…  All the best for your future globe-trotting!