Jul 28th
Ivy & Ju just came in to finish the design of their wedding album. I asked them what the most memorable part of their day was and this is what Ju said…. “When we were standing and facing one another. We felt so emotional. It reminded me how many years we had waited for this moment together.”
What a beautiful thing to say. I knew what he meant. It wasn’t that Ivy & Ju had had a really really long relationship. He was referring to all the time before they were together too. He was talking about that long journey we all take to find that person - the one that makes us feel complete. Ivy is that person for him. Their love makes me smile.
Ivy, from China & Ju, from Korea meant that their wedding was a wonderful mix of their western lives and their Chinese and Korean heritage. It was colourful, musical, beautiful. Their family & friends, including Ivy’s mum travelled all the way from China and Korea to see them marry here in Brisbane – their new home. And Brisbane did not disappoint. The weather was perfect for their outdoor ceremony in the heart of our city at Roma St Parklands. Perfect for getting in a Porsche and heading to the Hilton for the reception. Perfect for a glorious wedding, with a touch of magic from The little white wedding company, Styled Events and Always Fabulous Flowers. And almost as good as Ivy in her Vera Wang dress and Gucci shoes. Then of course there was the cake (you’ll see what I mean in the photos) – that is the work of the talented Greg from Sweetums.
The most memorable part of the day for me…..Ju’s Dad taking to the stage in traditional Korean costume to sing a special song to Ivy & Ju in Korean. I didn’t understand it, but I loved it!
Ivy & Ju I hope in these photos, I’ve given you that moment, forever, and I wish you many many more special moments together.
Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Ivy & Ju’s sneak peek slideshow.
Wedding guests are welcome to view all images on the online gallery.
(The gallery and slideshow have two separate passwords. Please contact Ivy & Ju for access.)
Jul 25th
Each year we sponsor the Powerkidz program at the Brisbane Powerhouse. It’s a fantastic week of school holiday entertainment for the family and the perfect way to introduce your kids to all kinds of creative art. We usually just capture some of the fun & festivities. This year though, we wanted to go a step further an introduce kids to the fun of photography, so we enlisted the help of the team at In the Booth. Steve & his team set up a Photo Booth just near the Costumer Corner at Powerkidz and we just let the fun happen! There were some hilarious shots of kids in all sorts of costumes, and of some mums & dads too. Even Penny & my 3 boys couldn’t help to get in on the fun, although with boys they weren’t too keen on the costumes.
We’ve worked on a lot of weddings & events where In the Booth has provided the guests with hours of fun & entertainment at the reception. It really is a great way to have a little fun posing for the camera.
Thanks to In The Booth for helping us bring a little more fun to Powerkidz this year!
Jul 13th
“The moment I feel in love with Marcus Bell was when I opened my inbox and saw these pretty pictures…….
……It’s just that a wedding photograph rarely leaves me speechless.”
Abby Larson | Style Me Pretty
visit Style Me Pretty, the world’s most visited bridal blog to read the feature and the comments.
Combine an epic location with a magnificent couple, add a swag of supremely talented family and friends and you have the ingredients for magic. Charisse and Aldo from New York City had all that and so much more in their awesome Bali wedding.
So many special details for this very special couple. Charisse is of Chinese descent, so Charisse & Aldo incorporated a traditional chinese tea ceremony into their day. The intricate outfit worn by Charisse for the tea ceremony is called a “kwa”, and was originally worn by Charisse’s grandmother (who has now passed) for her own tea ceremony over 60 years earlier, and brought all the way to Bali from LA by Charisse’s uncle. All the brides in Charisse’s family now wear their grandmother’s kwa for their tea ceremony. What a perfect way to celebrate your family heritage!
Charisse & Aldo’s family & friends brought so many special touches to the day – it is hard to know which ones to tell you about. First there was their influence on the outfits - Charisse’s jewelry chosen by her sister Candice, the renowned jewelry designer from Hong Kong specifically to match her Vera Wang dress & Valentino shoes, Bridesmaid’s outfits & accessories by 57 Grand whose co-founders Saukok Tiampo and Carmen Ho are close friends of Charisse & Aldo, and then of course the Converse shoes customised with the names of all Groomsmen in the wedding colours – how cool did these guys look?
THEN there was the music. Aldo’s cousin and one of the groomsmen, was MiG Ayesa who just happened to be one of the top 3 finalists in the reality TV show Rockstar: INXS & is now performing on Broadway as Stacee Jax in Rock of Ages - so who else would you get to sing for your first dance? MiG sang one of Charisse & Aldo’s favourite songs ”Baby I love your way”, and it was one of the most touching bridal waltzes I’ve experienced. Not to leave it there, MiG joined with close family friends Michael, Joe & Franco Chan to kick off the dancing with a Beatles medley. Throw in some spontaneous singing throughout the night, a play list to die for, guests that can’t stay seated & you have the recipe for a broken dance floor – yes I am serious – they broke the dance floor! Now that’s a party.
Alila Soori Villas provided a gorgeous backdrop and fabulous food topped off with great service and a Mille-crepe cake specially created by Chef Aston for the Bride and Groom, and topped with little wooden likenesses of Charisse & Aldo with their two dogs – another gift from someone close.
Thanks so much Charisse & Aldo for inviting me into your wonderful circle of friends for this very special day. May music fill your heart and your home always. What a fantastic wedding. What a dream job.
Jul 9th
Excited to see that one of my favourite weddings is featured on Polka Dot Bride’s wedding website. The wedding at the Greek Orthodox church, “St Georges” in Brisbane’s West End and followed by the reception at the Brisbane Greek Club was certainly a sophisticated affair with so much love, laughter and tears of joy.
You can read all about Athena and Dariusz’s amazing wedding here, on Ms Polka Dot’s gorgeous bridal blog.
Bringing photography to life
Describes what we do. This blog is about exactly that - here we will share a little of our life and a lot of what we love - people, art and photography. Whether you are planning a wedding, a family portrait or building your own professional photography business, I hope you find something to inspire you here. Thank you for visiting.
- Marcus Bell | Brisbane, Australia
