Tag Archives: melbourne photography

Tina + Duncan | Wedding Photographer Melbourne

They travelled a long way for their wedding. A very long way indeed. You could tell from the joy in their guests’ faces though that they were all glad that they had done so. This joyous reunion of family and friends was one of the most important elements of the day for Tina and Duncan, and I was so pleased to have been asked to be a part of it with them.

There was lots of this going on with the boys that afternoon (loved hearing that laughter)…

wedding_photography

And much fun drinking this…

wedding_photography_1

All while full of style…

wedding_photographer_1

Things were just as gorgeous with Tina and her bridesmaids before the ceremony also. There were 12 in the bridal party, including Tina and Duncan, and three of Tina’s bridesmaids were male. LOVED that.

I couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous image of Tina than the one below if I tried. Actually, I did try. After I snapped this and she moved her head back a second later, I asked her to turn her head again in a vain attempt to capture the same shot again. I couldn’t. You can’t ask for moments like this. They just are. She looks so incredibly beautiful here and it’s one of my personal favourites of her from the day taken just at the right moment, in the right light. Bliss!

wedding_photographers_melbourne

As I said to Tina’s mum when she was lauhing at me lying on the floor taking photos of Tina’s shoes, ”They’re Manolos Barb – they need their own space to be admired properly”. Oh yes… they do! Thank you Mr Blahnik from women everywhere ;)

wedding-photography-melbourne-1

Did I say Tina was stunning…? STUNNING. Another two of my favourite images with her before the ceremony. In fact, the one of her girls helping her into her dress is one of my favourites full stop.

melbourne_wedding_photographer

Another image I can’t help but make happy noises about. Love, adore, love, adore – detail on these beautiful nicolangëla bridesmaids dresses. They were honestly the most divine bridesmaids dresses I’ve ever seen.

nicolangela_bridesmaids_melbourne

Their beautiful ceremony was held at St Pauls Cathedral right in the heart of the CBD and was nothing short of magnificent. They connected so beautifully with each other. The images we took after the ceremony make me realise how much I love living here in Melbourne too.

st_pauls_cathedral_wedding

wedding-photography

wedding-photography-melbourne

wedding-photographer-melbourne

melbourne-wedding-photographer

 Tina + Duncan’s Dream Team
Ceremony Location: St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne
Reception Location: Zinc at Federation Square
Bridal Gown: Brides of Armadale
Groom’s attire: Lavin
Bridesmaids: nicolangëla
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Jewellery: Vintage
Makeup/Hair: Anaka
Flowers: Kate Hill
StationeryChapel Press
Cake: La Tropezienne 

Chloe + Andrew | Melbourne wedding photographer

Talk about trust. This amazingly gorgeous couple booked me by email from Dublin and I finally got to meet them in person only days before their wedding day.

I knew I would love them. The way they spoke of one another meant I knew they would be special. Chloe calls Andrew her favourite person in the world, and Andrew said that he adores the love that Chloe has for everyone.

Yep, these two are special.

They were married on a beautiful sunny Saturday at Mansfield in country Victoria. They wanted a location that was special to them, and that meant something. “I am at my happiest when I’m at Mansfield” Chloe said, and it’s easy to see why. “The ceremony in the garden will be very special because we’ve said all along that we want to get married in a place that our children will be able to run around over in the future. Imagine sitting on the balcony in 20 years time, looking at that spot, and remembering back to such a wonderful day that we were able to share with all of our friends and family.”

Don’t you just want to cry?!

We started first with the very handsome groom-to-be and the rest of the boys preparing for the afternoon…

wedding-photographers

wedding-photographer

See, handsome! And he does a pretty mean Roger David impersonation (just ask him…)

wedding-photography

The girls were just as gorgeous – and Chloe was absolutely born to be a bride. She was stunning.

As Chloe’s mum gave her a beautiful ring that her late grandmother had left to her for her wedding, I lost it. Chloe had tears, her mum had tears, I had tears – it was one of the most beautiful moments I have witnessed between mother and daughter at a wedding. This family is truly special.

melbourne-wedding-photographers

Chloe sourced this amazing pin from overseas to add to her dress…

wedding-photography-melbourne

Love this image so much…

wedding-photographer-melbourne

melbourne-wedding-photography

The ceremony and reception were held at Chloe’s parents farm in Mansfield overlooking the absolutely gorgeous rolling country Victorian hills in the distance. The sun was slowing setting as the day wore on and made for some absolutely glorious light for the couples shots afterwards.

There was such a wonderful attention to detail for this wedding – bottles of water for the ceremony, personalised vows during the ceremony that made me cry (although, that’s not hard… I cry at everything!) and even buses were arranged for the guests to ferry them to/from the reception and their hotels in town. Just loved this wedding so much.

melbourne_wedding_photography

Probably my favourite from the day…

melbourne_wedding_photographer

melbourne_wedding_photographers

wedding_photography_melbourne

wedding_photographer_melbourne

Seriously…. could this reception have been any more gorgeous?! I think I could have just sat there staring in amazement at this beautiful tent all evening. One of these most elegant marquees I have ever seen.

melbourne-wedding-photographer

Chloe and Andrew’s Dream Team:
Ceremony Location: Mansfield, Victoria
Reception Location: Mansfield, Victoria
Ceremony Officiant: Pat Lane
Bridal Gown: Alfred Angelo
Groom’s attire: Formal Red
Groomsmen: Formal Red
Bridesmaids: Monsoon
Shoes: Pink London
Makeup/Hair: Cinamonstix Mansfield
Flowers: Blooms on Bridge, Benalla
Catering: Magnolia Tree Mansfield
Cake: Gwen Grey

Cherie + Simon: Part II | Melbourne wedding photography

Cherie and Simon’s wedding ceremony was beautiful. There were so many thoughtful and heartfelt words spoken by everyone, and Celebrant Celia Dann did a beautiful job of bringing everything together. She made me want to get married all over again, and you could tell that both Simon and Cherie were so happy to have had her marry them. The readings were so touching, at one point I was listening to those beautiful words forgetting I was there with a job to do – all of the hallmarks of a memorable ceremony.

I had been checking the weather forecast randomly all week to try and gauge what we would be faced with for the wedding. Knowing how much they wanted to have photos taken around this beautiful property, I wanted so badly for their sake for it not to rain. That’s when, naturally, the forecast predicted rain… not just rain, mind you, but thunderstorms. Even the morning of the wedding just before the drive up there, they were still predicting thunderstorms (and how ironic that Cherie works for the Bureau of Meteorology!). The reality though? Nothing but sunshine! In fact, it was so hot that my pale ‘fluroescent white’ skin even got burnt, so go figure! It wasn’t until just before the reception began that the clouds started to form and later that night that the storms began (and boy were they storms…. and great lightning too!)

This beautiful lake below sits just beside the house on the farm with the most amazing wooden deck allowing you to take in the magnificent surroundings. I swear all we needed was a string quartet to serenade us as we walked around and I would have felt like I was in a beautiful movie.

What I think I enjoyed most though about these two was witnessing their beautiful love and connection and being able to capture that for them. Sure, I might have ushered them to a pretty location, but these two were so into each other that there was hardly any direction at all. They danced, they kissed, they snuggled, they laughed – beautiful, tender, love. What made it so lovely is that they concentrated on them, and made those moments theirs.

 

melbourne_wedding_photographer2

So much fun, so much love… some of my favourite shots from the entire wedding we taken in the paddocks that lead into the farm from the road. How lucky we were that we had so much rain prior to the wedding – the grass was lush…

melbourne_wedding_photography5

melbourne_wedding_photography7

The rocking buick was provided by a friend of theirs – handy guy to know!

melbourne_wedding_photographer1

melbourne_wedding_photography6

The reception venue of Glen Erin Retreat was amazing – the timing couldn’t have been more perfect as the sun was just starting to go down behind the vineyard as the reception began. Hazel from Gisborne Cottage Flowers organised all of the floral arrangements for the wedding, and I love that they bouquet theme of the girls carried over into the reception as well for the table arrangements and cake flowers. See – I told you, attention to detail these two!

melbourne_wedding_photography8

A big shout out also goes to the beautiful Lana Bell who flew all of the way from Brisbane to join me for this wedding (thanks gorge!) - we had an absolute ball playing together, and she captured some gorgeous images so make sure you head over to her blog to check them out.

Cherie and Simon’s Dream Team
Ceremony: Private property
Reception: Glen Erin, Lancefield
Celebrant: Celia Dann
Bridal Gown: Deborah Selleck
Shoes: Novat
Makeup/Hair: Allure Hair and Body
Flowers: Gisborne Cottage Flowers
Jewellery: Timothy Sethna for rings
Accessories: Jeeba for earings and Linda Gorringe for other
Groom’s attire: Trevor West Formal Hire, South Yarra
Cars:  Friend
Music: Pat McKernan, Live Irish Folk Musician
Invitations: Rebecca Powers

Cherie + Simon : Part I | Melbourne Wedding Photography

“It is hard to sum up all the things I love about Cherie. She is kind, caring, sensitive to our needs and makes me want to be the best possible person I can be…” said Simon, during the wedding ceremony about his wife-to-be. “Everything we do seems effortless as we make such a fantastic team.  My love for Cherie is not superficial or skin deep, it is deep down inside. I feel our energy for each other will never cease to exist and I feel at peace that I have found such a beautiful and loving lady”.

When I first met with Cherie and Simon earlier this year, it was more than obvious that these words were true. Such a beautiful, loving couple and their infectious energy made it very easy to care for them. They told me how they wanted to marry at a location that was dear to them, and beautiful at that, being Simon’s parents farm just outside of Lancefield and they showed me images of potential sites around the property that they thought would work. That’s one of the things that I loved about these two – their attention to detail. It was amazing. I knew their wedding would be nothing short of beautiful, and I was right. Cherie put it best when she said “Simon is simply a beautiful man… he has a wonderful strength that should be admired”.

Cherie’s Deborah Selleck bridal gown was divine – beautiful embroidery detail and lacework around the body, with tiny little pearl embellishments which carried over into her hairpiece, jewellery and accessories. Cherie knew how to style it all in. Allure Hair and Body did an amazing job with her hair and makeup (still loving those lashes Cherie!), with Cherie opting for a beautiful low chignon under her gorgeous full length veil. She bought her beautiful shoes from Novat (who also made my wedding shoes… loved them, super comfy) and sported some stylish Jeeba pearl earrings with her ensemble. She was radiant.

melbourne_wedding_photography-3

She was so calm when I arrived too, just a beautiful peaceful feeling around her like she just knew it was going to be the best day of her life. Her family was also all there to help her get ready so it made it into a beautiful family affair. She wore her two engagement rings on her right hand (yep, two – one from Simon’s initial proposal at Zion Canyon National Park in the US, on a large grassed picnic area backed by towering mountains (um… can someone say romantic?!), and the second was the one she chose after their engagement was official – lucky girl!)

melbourne_wedding_photography9

melbourne_wedding_photography4

melbourne_wedding_photography2

Meanwhile, groom-to-be Simon was busy getting ready at the farm before the ceremony was due to begin. He and his groomsmen opted for traditional Morning Suit with a slight colour scheme twist, keeping in theme with their beautiful romantic feel for the day. The boys were a riot, I had such a ball with them. Cherie only had one request of me as I made my way from her to see Simon that morning – “tell him just to relax”, she said. I told him, but I think Simon, at least on the outside, was looking pretty calm, cool and collected. 

melbourne_wedding_photography1

We went off and had some shots with the boys (see… handsome!) and then made our way into the house and waited for Cherie to make her grand entrance and for the beautiful ceremony to begin.

melbourne_wedding_photography10

See – so much love around… it was everywhere we looked!

melbourne_wedding_photographer3

Stay tuned for Part II to follow , with some more gorgeous images to share from after the ceremony…

A change is in the air | Melbourne Photographer

Yep, it’s a brand new look! The Kristen Cook brand  is growing up! (well, not completely… I’m still a child at heart!)

logo-blog

In honour of new beginnings with this little baby, I’ve now gone through a rebranding process for the business as well with my beautiful new kc logo to start things off.  Things are a bit busy behind the scenes for obvious reasons, so I thought now might be a nice time to introduce you to the change so it can sink in while I have a break ;)

My signature green and pink will still be playing a big part, and I’m having a bit of fun with the new concept, so be prepared to see it splashed around a lot. For all of you who played the guessing game over the last few weeks as to what the change was that was coming (and honestly, I was in stitches over some of your responses and emails!!), hope you’re not too disappointed! A change is as good as a holiday, right?? (and don’t I need one right about now…)

melbourne-wedding-photographer

I am also excited to announce that I also have a dedicated weddings website up and running now as well (there you go Bronnie… finally!). To learn more about my approach to photographing weddings, you can visit the dedicated Kristen Cook | Weddings website here.

Mackenzie + Oscar | Newborn photography, Melbourne

Emma first contacted me when her two little miracles were only teeny-tiny in her belly (just after I announced I was pregnant!) hoping that I would still be able to take some photos of them when they were born despite the fact that I was due in the same month as her. Of course, how could I say no to a newborn session – and not just any newborn session, but twins! Yep, a twin newborn session!

When I finally got the call that they were coming home from hospital, I was seriously giggling like a little school girl. I have not had the chance to photograph newborn twins  in SO very long that by the time their session rocked around, I was so ready! Emma and Brad kept joking that their time in hospital after their birth was a blessing in disguise as it made them super heavy sleepers and pretty much routine babies from day one… hey, works for me!

We played and played all day, and every ounce of newborn goodness we got out of them so was very worth it. Don’t you just want to swoooon?

Wak_131

wak001

{Brad and Emma – finally!! I am so happy to have finally met the new additions to your beautiful little family and capture such an innocent and special time for you. I want you to treasure these for years to come – your miracles are deserving of that!}

Warning: cute kids alert!

I swear I seem to photograph all of the cutest kids in Melbourne… I do not lie. I get the bluest eyes, the blondest curls, the gigantic lashes, the cheeky grins and the belly laughs.

So when people ask me do I enjoy my job, well – it’s tough, but someone has to be there to photograph these gorgeous things:


Miss Chloe had my heart the moment I walked in the door. She was fiesty, independent, made little fuss as her brother knocked her out of the way time after time, and had a cheeky grin to die for. I mean honestly, how can you not look at that face of hers and just melt?

And Master Brayden? Adorable… one of the smartest little kids I’ve ever met. His vocabulary and sentence structure was out of this world, but the part I loved most about him was that he was devoted in his role as big brother to Chloe. He was always there to watch out for her when she got into trouble, would move her away from things that she wasn’t supposed to touch and would generally ‘mother’ her the whole time. Absolutely too cute for words!!

{Rachelle – almost finished proofing this for you, will drop you an email as soon as everything is ready to view for you!! Your kids are the reason I love doing what I do!}

Related Posts with Thumbnails