Tonight as we sat around the dinner table with our three boys it felt almost like a movie to think how that day so many years before changed the path of both our lives.   It never ceases to amaze me how finding someone can change your course and fill your life in ways you never imagined.  And how that can happen by such chance.

Last year I photographed a couple recently engaged.   Christine & Kevin.   They live in Melbourne.   One day they will look back on this time in their life and marvel at the chance of it all.   Marvel at how this is the start of something wonderful that they will create.  And I got to capture it.  Now.  As it is.  New, beautiful,  filled with excitement, potential, a whole new life on the horizon – one that they can’t really imagine.

Christine & Kevin, I hope I get to photograph you 23 years from now reflecting on all you have done, lived and created together.   I am sure it will be beyond your dreams.

Gareth met Sarah at high school. When he and his twin brother were young, Gareth’s South African parents decided to move their family to Australia for a better life, and now Gareth & Sarah are starting a life of their own.    They celebrated with an intimate wedding with their closest family and friends at  Albert River Wines.

I loved these images when Aurelie showed them to me because I could instantly see how important family was to this couple and how much love there was there on this day.  When I see the photos taken during the speeches, I can imagine the thoughts and feelings of their parents.  It reminds me that one day, Marcus & I might be watching one of our own twin boys in a moment like this, so just maybe, all the hard work, and every sacrifice we might make on the way will all be worth it too.   Really there is nothing more that you can want for someone else than to have real love in their life and a future that they can choose.  Aurelie tells me that in the speeches, it was pretty clear that Gareth knew this was the gift his parents gave him.

Gareth & Sarah, thank you so much for choosing Studio Impressions to capture this special day.   We wish you a future filled with real love.

Here is an absolute divine selection of gowns worn by Studio Impressions brides in 2012.   I LOVED the styles in 2012.  There was a wide variety of looks & so many gorgeous fabrics to ooh & aahh over.   Some stunning french lace and LOTS of beautiful detail.

So many dresses, just not room to share them all, so we, the girls at Studio Impressions have had the absolute most fun putting together a small selection of heavenly dresses to feast your senses on.   Enjoy!

Above: Rebecca’s Vera Wang, & Gemma’s gorgeous Alex Perry couture gown.

The delicate lace of Kirsten’s Clare Pettibone dress.

Hand beading on Salenna’s fitted Max Chaoul gown.

Two types of traditional gowns – Nirija’s Nepalese Wedding Sari and Kirsten rocking a Vera Wang,

Kylie looking statuesque in Bali and Susanne in a classic Daniel Lightfoot.

Alison’s Johanna Johnson masterpiece and Vanessa in a delicate Karen Willis Holmes.

Alice in a Luci Dibella, and Jane in UK designer Johanna Hehir.

Angie’s Jenny Packham gown, and Kate wearing DARB Bridal Couture.

Dianna in a Vera Wang design, and Daniella wearing Daniel Lightfoot.

We received our first International award back in 2003 with this kind of landscape image and somehow in that process, began a new style in wedding photography. This year at WPPI, one of my images, in a similar style, took out 1st place, again.   Of course this isn’t all we do, and our photography has changed and grown with time, and I still love to experiment.  But, it is nice to see, that 10 years on this style is still relevant and that fine art images will always remain classic, and in demand.   All I ever wanted was to create timeless images.  This year, at WPPI, I thought for a moment maybe I am finally doing that.

Here is the image that received 1st place this year.

This is The image that received first place in 2003, when landscapes and wedding photography combined was something new.

Nirija & Nathan held their Hindu ceremony first, celebrating Nirija’s Nepalese heritage at a community hall here in Brisbane.   The next week they were married at All Hallows Chapel and held their reception at Customs House.   Nirija is beautiful.  Stunningly elegant in both her sari and the Ronald Joyce gown she chose for her All Hallows wedding.   Her hair & makeup was done by Smoke and Mirrors beauty (not that you need it Nirija), and Bliss Floral Design provided the flowers.  I keep looking at the images from this wedding – because well, there is just so much to look at.  I think what strikes me most, is the way they look at each other.  Then I notice how their guests look at them and I know they see that deep connection too.

Over the past couple of years, I have been quite touched by the diversity of the weddings we have seen at Studio Impressions.   I know that Marcus just loves that he gets to be witness to ceremonies from all over the world.   It teaches us so much about different cultures and traditions, and opens us to a world full of life and colour.  Some weddings are filled with ceremony and ritual, and some are simple understated gestures.  They are all beautiful for they all have in common one thing – the love of two people.   This might out me as a tragic 90s romantic, but I can’t help think of that classic line from Notting Hill: “After all, I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”

You can see that in Nirija & Nathan’s wedding.   This is a girl standing in front of a boy, asking her to love him.   And he does.      Nirija & Nathan from all of us at Studio Impressions, we wish you the best of all the world, always.

Dorothy & Stanley got married at Alila Villas Uluwatu.

Dorothy’s dress is a Vera Wang   and the shoes, Valentino

Dorothy & Stanley’s story is so special, that they let me record it.  With the help of Adam, we spent a bit of time with them the day before the wedding just talking about how they met & came to know each other.   Here is the result.   I posted this on New Year’s Day as my favourite piece of work for 2012.  It still is.

Dorothy & Stanley, sometimes I get to see the kind of love story that usually only happens in the movies.   Thank you for letting me see it happen in real life.

Yumee and Chris live in New York.  Yumee is Korean but grew up in Guam and her family still live there.   So, in the holiday break between Christmas and New Year, Yumee returned to Guam to marry Chris, surrounded by their family and friends and the warm and loving community on Guam.

There are so many stories to tell about this wonderful weekend.  So many moments that made me laugh and that touched my heart.  There I was, capturing their memories, only to realize when I looked back on these photos, that Yumee and Chris and their generous, big hearted families had created some memories for me.   I’m not going to try to describe every moment.  This time, I think I’ll let the images tell the stories.  I hope they touch your heart too.

Yumee & Chris, you are very special people.  I would wish you all the love in the world, but I think, you might already have it.

Dianna & Wan got married in Bowral at beautiful Milton Park .  I couldn’t resist capturing the rolling hills and vast fields this farm country has to offer, so I took Wan & Dianna into some paddocks for the location shoot.   Unexpectedly a few horses galloped towards them to join in the shoot.   These were gentle horses and Dianna & Wan loved every second of their company.   If that wasn’t storybook enough, as the afternoon wore on and the sunlight softened maybe a close to a hundred butterflies appeared amongst the trees.   A sign that all is as it is meant to be.   Aren’t butterflies a symbol of new life?  Perhaps this was a blessing for their new life together.

Dianna got ready in the Carriage House at Milton Park before their ceremony on the Tulip Lawn under a canopy of flowers.   The flowers, provided by Mandalay Flowers also featured throughout their reception in the Baillieu Room, including on the cake created by Antony at the famous Planet Cake.   The day was not only beautiful it ran smoothly, thanks to the planning & coordination of Susan – Susan Stanford Special Events.

Dianna had two gowns. The first a Vera Wang that she found through Helen Rodrigues in Sydney’s Neutral Bay for the ceremony, and an Alex Perry creation for the reception, both complimented by hair & makeup by Ervan Woo. The best part about her outfit I thought was the accessories.  They were all so special.  She wore the sapphire ring her Dad had given her Mum, her Great Grandmother’s gold bangle, and Diamond Earrings that her parents gave her as a symbolic gift.

Dianna & Wan, thank you for inviting me to share your wedding day.  May nature always celebrate your love and may your life be filled with little surprises.