Tag Archives: wedding photos

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.

 

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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…

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

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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!

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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.

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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!)

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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. 

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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.

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

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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!)

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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…)

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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.

Ivy and Matt – Pt 2 | Wedding photographer, Melbourne

I know Ivy is very keen to see her wedding images from a couple of weeks ago. I thought I would therefore put up just a little slideshow of some of my favourites from her wedding day so far:

{HINT:Wait for it to load fully by pressing pause and then allow the whole thing to play if your download/internet speed is a bit slow – saves the movie jumping around!}