Posts tagged Customs House
Brisbane Wedding – Nirija & Nathan
Mar 11th
Marcus is in the US at the moment at the WPPI conference for photographers, learning lots from all the brilliant photographers from around the world who attend. I couldn’t wait until his return to share this amazing wedding with you. Actually it is two weddings. Nirija & Nathan had a traditional Nepalese Hindu ceremony and then a week later, a contemporary Catholic wedding – the best of both worlds.
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.
Brisbane Wedding – Melissa & Ryan
Nov 1st
Some guys are lucky. Really lucky. Not only do they find a gorgeous girl, but they find one that really gets them. Like Melissa gets Ryan. I mean, what groom gets an original hand crafted balsa wood surfboard as his wedding gift from his bride to be? Only a very lucky one. I’ll admit I was a little jealous of Ryan for the rest of the day.
Melissa is one pretty special lady and this turned out to be one of those weddings where I just had a great time. There were a lot of little touches at this wedding that had so much meaning, not so much because they reflected Melissa & Ryan, but because their whole family played a part in making this a special day.
Melissa has a Sri Lankan heritage & so at the reception they danced the Sri Lankan Baila with family & friends. Melissa’s mum and aunt spent months leading up to the wedding preparing traditional rich fruit cake for all 150 guests and wrapping them individually in lace and ribbon. Wow. That’s pretty special. Their friends traveled from all over the world to be there on their wedding day.
My favourite part of the day was when Melissa’s dad saw her for the first time. There was this tender moment. Funnily enough Melissa later told me that it was a special moment for her because, “when I was growing up, my dad’s health was not stable and there were times I didn’t think he would be there with me on my wedding day. Secondly, because reality finally set in that I would soon be marrying the person that I adore.” Turns out Melissa’s Dad had been sick with the same disease my Mum has so I get why she felt this way.
I just love weddings like this with so much meaning in all the little things. It was great.
I know that you’ll want the details, so the getting ready shots were at the Stamford Plaza, the Ceremony at St John’s Cathedral & Reception at Customs House. Location shots were at New Farm park & surrounds & the cars in the shots were from Continental Limousines. Melissa’s dress was by San Patrick from Spain. The stationery & table details by Urban Weddings.
Thanks Melissa & Ryan for sharing some fun, touching & envy creating moments with me. It meant a lot to be your photographer, and I wish you & your family happiness forever.
Customs House Brisbane Wedding – Deanne & Steve
Jan 9th
I am really looking forward to the weddings I am going to get to photograph this year. The couples I have met so far have some really beautiful plans for their weddings. I realise though that there are still so many great weddings from 2011 that I still haven’t shared on this blog. So I am going to try to post a few more from last year in the coming weeks before I start sharing our 2012 brides with you.
Deanne & Steve’s wedding is one of those that I can’t believe I haven’t posted already. They had such an elegant wedding. It was a classically beautiful wedding for a classically beautiful couple. This wedding also showcases some of the best wedding venues in Brisbane, starting with St Mary’s church at Kangaroo Point, where Deanne & Steve held their very touching ceremony. Their reception was at Customs House , which provides a truly elegant setting right on the river in Brisbane. The room looked amazing. Sometimes you just can’t beat traditional white table settings and white roses. Elegance as it should be. Really if you can’t get the candelabras & silverware out on your wedding day, when can you? Deanne & Steve stuck to a simple colour scheme of white & dusty pink for the reception, flowers & for Deanne’s outfit & it worked a treat. Deanne looked amazing in her Elizabeth de Varga gown.
One of the things I thought was a fantastic touch at this wedding was the car. It was a 1929 Hupmobile. How cool is that? What is even cooler is that it belongs to the Deanne’s Dad. Now that is special. Imagine, arriving at your wedding, seated beside your Dad who is about to walk you down the aisle, in a car that he lovingly restored. I can only imagine how Deanne’s father must have felt on that trip to the church. Here were two works of art – this car and his daughter - that (I’m guessing) have given him years of pleasure and probably years of pain and that his heart and his hands have lovingly moulded into things of beauty. Not that I’m comparing Deanne to a car …..but hopefully you know what I mean.
Deanne & Steve, sorry it has taken me so long to post your gorgeous wedding on our blog. You are two of the loveliest people I have ever met and it was my privilege to capture this important day in your life. I hope your marriage is filled with times you will cherish forever.
Malisa & Daniel
Sep 9th
Weddings are always special for me to photograph, however this recent wedding was even more so.
Over the 12+ years I have been photographing weddings, I have made many great friends from my clients. Some of them have let me share not just one moment, but many of the joyous moments in their lives. This is something that makes me so proud to do what I do.
The George family is one of those families who I have come to know well over many years. After photographing the first son, Lawrence’s wedding to the lovely Josephine, they invited me back two years later to photograph Steven’s wedding to Jacqueline. In between I’ve shared in a birth, a christening and a 50th wedding anniversary. A few months ago, the George’s asked me to photograph the wedding of Steven’s twin brother Dan, to the beautiful Malisa.
Every wedding of these siblings has been unique, due in part to their very different personalities and due in part to the personal touches of each of their chosen brides. Malisa’ Macedonian heritage played a large part in the day, and for the first time I got to experience some Macedonian traditions. I loved it!
The day was filled with wonderful dancing, very loud music and special ceremonial aspects. One of the traditions, which I’ve captured in a few of the snaps below, was to have the youngest and oldest females in the family bake a bread together. So Malissa’s grandmother and her niece baked the bread. When the bread went into the oven, a dance starts. All the female members of the family unite in one swift line to the loudest beat. I am sure it could be heard many streets away. The dance is so powerful, and the feeling so strong that as the music came to an end each of the ladies were hugging and crying …and then another dance! What an amazing experience! This was a true family connection right in front of me. It really was a reminder of what life is all about. Thanks Malisa for letting me be there for something so personal.
Their ceremony was at Our Lady of Victories in Bowen Hills and the reception at Customs House , Darb dressed not only the bride, but also the bridesmaids and at least 10 of the guests. You have to admit Brad knows how to dress a woman in style!
Amongst all those boys in the George family is one jewel, their sister Jennifer who also features in some of the images below. I have had the pleasure of capturing her joyous celebrative tears at each of her weddings and look forward to the day that those happy tears are at her own wedding.
Thank you Malisa and Daniel for allowing me to be part of your day and record a little part of your family history. Thank you for sharing your traditions and your special moments. This is why I love photographing weddings – because I’m invited into peoples lives and I get to experience something real, something genuine, something that forms a footnote in the hearts of these people, moments that they will remember for the rest of there lives. Malisa & Dan, I hope I did your day justice.
Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Malisa & Daniel’s sneak peak slideshow.
Wedding guests are welcome to view all images on the online gallery.
(Slideshow and gallery are password protected. Please contact Malisa & Daniel for access.)
Katharine & Murray
Jul 14th
Wedding images more than reflect the day the couple had, they reflect a time in their life, and sometimes, their history too.
Katharine and Murray have just started a new chapter of their lives, together. Two individuals choosing to share the memories they have, then create new memories, together. I don’t think marriage is about two becoming one. It is about each appreciating the other and supporting them as they grow and change through life.
Katherine and Murray’s wedding reminded me of this, so I decided to try and capture a little of their individual lives in their wedding images. The two of them, in the places that were important to them once as individuals.
Katherine studied medicine at the University of Queensland. Her parents are also both doctors, so what better backdrop than the majestic building of the UQ Medical School at night time? I love the shot below. We also took some fantastic shots at the Northey Street Community Farm, where Murray spends a lot of time helping grow fantastic organic vegies. (Check out the markets on a weekend – walking distance from our house & we LOVE it).
Their ceremony was at St Clement’s Church, Stafford and reception at Customs House. How nice did the venue look again? It doesn’t matter how many weddings I photograph there, Customs always looks stunning and always different.
For the girls…..Katherine’s beautiful dress was designed specifically for her by MXM Couture, and the flowers that simply finished the perfect picture were by Flower Trap.
Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Katharine & Murray’s sneak peak slideshow.
Wedding guests are welcome to view all images on the online gallery.
(Slideshow and Gallery are password protected. Please contact Katharine & Murray for access.)
