Layonie was kind enough to do this interview for us, to give you a bit of a glimpse of what's gone into making this place as spectacular as it is.

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I was born in Dunedin and trained and worked as a nurse and a midwife.

I spent 10 years travelling and working overseas before settling in Marlborough in 2001.

My partner Denham and myself fell in love with Old St Mary's Convent and purchased the property in 2006. The convent building had been moved here in 1994 from Maxwell Road in Blenheim, St Michael's Church followed in 2000. The original owners - the Holtrop's had an amazing vision and transformed an empty paddock and nearly derelict building into a beautiful oasis and stunning B&B and Wedding venue.

Since taking over the property we have completely refurbished the building inside and out, including a new sitting room  and have worked extensively on the grounds adding a large car park, outdoor swimming pool and major replanting. Always looking for ways to improve we are currently installing a rose arbour and gazebo with a knot garden - should be good for wedding photos!!

How long have you been doing weddings?

4 years

What made you get into them?

Old St Mary's Convent is the ideal location for a small church or garden wedding.

Is there something you do really well - something that separates you from the others?

Being able to offer a reception venue (in marquees) as well makes it a little different. We have amassed a huge list of contacts offering quality services and are able to assist in putting together a stress free event.

Have you got any interesting wedding stories to share?

One of our most romantic weddings was a couple just by themselves who wandered around the garden with the celebrant saying their vows. We acted as witnesses.

Another young couple got engaged here and came back a year later for the wedding.

We have also had a christening in the church  -  the product of one of our first weddings!

Brides arriving by helicopter is always exciting.

How many weddings do you usually do?

We usually do about 12 weddings a year half of which would hold the reception here as well.

How quickly do you get booked up?

There are always gaps in the calendar but people do start booking about 18 months out.

Do you have any special advice for those planning their big day?

Relax and enjoy the process, never be afraid to ask questions, trust the experts, and book your photographer fast!!!

If you could spend a weekend anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Florence, Italy

If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?

Limitless energy

Sport or books?

Books

Contact Details:

web: www.convent.co.nz

email: retreat@convent.co.nz

phone: +64 3 570 5700

Vaughan and Nicola... what a perfect day!  Not only did they totally adore each other, which makes taking photos so easy, but they picked the most FUN bridal party I have ever been with.  At the end of the day I asked Vaughan and Nicola if they would consider hiring them out to other couples.

Nicola was gorgeous before she even got into her wedding dress.

Ok, so someone slap me.  I have totally forgotten this little girl's name.  But with or without a name, this photo of her and her Granddad is just gorgeous.

This must be every little girl's dream.

Meanwhile, Paul was at Spy Valley Wines with the guys....

While they waited for everyone to arrive....

Ah, yes.  Here they are!

This is just as Nicola is about to walk down to see her groom for the first time. 

Dad gives her away, while Vaughan watches.  Don't just quickly skip past this one!  Really look at it.  Maybe it's just the memories of when my Dad gave me away, but this right here is one of those moments.  You know.  THOSE moments. 

Mum and Dad.  Sigh.  See?  I told you this day was perfect!

This is Daisy, one of the bridesmaids.  Fantastic violinist, and a lovely friend to Nicola.

This is Fran (remember, Scarlett's Dad?) He made the formal family photos so much fun!  Someone had given him the mic, and before we knew it, it was (in his best airline announcing voice) "Bing Bong, would all the Hoopers come to the photo taking area please?  All the Hoopers...." 

Then off to a wee lake.  This is where the day gets really fun.

The under the veil shot? 

The bridal party had seen it all before....

Paul on the left there is a brand new Dad.  His wife had a baby only two days ago.  No wonder he's smiling so big!

Fran and Liz, you look great!

*Oh my gosh* these two are just so cute together!

You only have a veil like this for one day of your life.  Are you just going to drag it around, or are you going to have some FUN with it?  Limbo, anyone?

Awesomeness. 

Vaughan and Nicola, thank you both so very much for including us in your day.  It was our absolute pleasure to share it with you.

Vendor Shoutout:

Hair and makeup: Arthur Devine

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Spy Valley Wines

Fowers: Flowertime

Food/Catering: Posh Nosh

Toddlerism: when a small squishy person does very immature things, like eat leaves or dribbles. 

Liz and Fran are going to be in this Saturday's bridal party for Nicola and Vaughan.  So it was awesome to get to know them a bit better, as well as making friends with Scarlett.

Could they be any cuter?  I don't think so.

Scarlett is Nicola and Vaughan's goddaughter, as well as being the first grandchild on both sides of the family.  So yes, she's number 1!

She seems to be developing a love for golf, just like her Dad and Granddad.  Maybe next time we'll include the club and ball.

Ooooo baby fingers!  Love them.

Although I am somewhat disgusted in how summer was this year, especially now that it's over, I am secretly pleased that Autumn is upon us.  Prepare yourself for lots of autumn colours in the next couple of months.

I'm looking forward to shooting Fran and Liz again on Saturday.

And you can see why!

But today really belonged to this gorgeous little thing!

Thanks for coming out this morning guys!  I can't wait to show you all the rest, see you at the wedding!!

However, donned with our cool-as-heck cameras, we get let into people's ultra awesome weddings!  Stephen and Carissa's wedding was one of those.

Another stunning Marlborough day, the wedding once again held at Old St Marys Convent, and beautiful and fun people.  It's a win/win.

This is the invitation for Carissa's grandmother, who passed away a couple of months ago.  Weddings are such a special time, it's always nice to remember family and friends who weren't able to be part of the day.

Stephen had a gift for Carissa, and by the look on her face, I think he did good!

And this is it, a bracelet that perfectly matched her dress.  Good job Stephen!

Father Paul O'Conner came all the way from Wellington to celebrate the marriage.  He taught Stephen as a teenager, so it was lovely to have someone special to him to take the service.

Meanwhile, Stephen waits for his bride.

During the message, everyone sat in the pews.  I love this shot.  This is why you have bridesmaids.  Priceless.

Gorgeous!

This was just as they were about to exit the church as man and wife.

Inside the car, and yes, happy!

The flowers were absolutely beautiful!  Done by Jane Fowler at Fleurs.  Gorgeousness.

Then off for a quick walk down the grapevines before the reception at MVH.  

The room was beautifully decorated, and the flowers...stunning!

We were so grateful to be part of your day Stephen and Carissa.  Enjoy married life together, and make the most of the summer here in NZ and on your honeymoon before you head back over to the UK!

Vendor Shoutout:

Ceremony Venue: Old St Marys Convent

Reception Venue: Marlborough Vintners Hotel

Cars: Marlborough Limousines

Hair: Vanessa from Vogue

Flowers: Jane Fowler, Fleurs

Recently I got together with the Clarks for a family portrait for their wine company, Boreham Wood Wine.  We've been photographing for them for a couple of years now, and it's been exciting watching their wine take off all over the world.  Not that I'm surprised, it's absolutely beautiful stuff. 

So there we were, for a group portrait - but there was far too much cuteness going on for me to leave after one photo! 

This is Anna, pure perfection.

Her brothers, Abraham and William, and they're also pretty spunky!

You can see why this one isn't a black and white! 

I had found a new spot a month or two ago and have been dying to shoot there.  Cute kids + evening light = WIN!

This is Jen and Craig (the Corban part to the family).  I LOVE this shot!  I had Jess the dog sitting there all pretty for about 2 nanoseconds, and then BAM, off she went!  I love the wake of the family behind her.  I think this is an even truer family portrait than everyone sitting there and smiling!

I can hear great grandmothers all over the world shrieking in horror at a family portrait like this....  but this is what small children DO.  And before you know it, they're grown up and boring like the rest of us.  To me, this is a priceless family capture.

I'll sneak one more of Anna in.  Who can resist that little face?

Another part to the Clark family is Simon and Donna.

And their totally yummy little guy, Adam.

And, as if that's not enough cuteness for one family, this is Sarah and Roger and their BRAND NEW baby Claudia.  We weren't sure if she was going to be still inside while we were planning the shoot.  But she made her appearance 6 days before.  Sarah, you're a legend for coming out so soon after your first baby!

About a week or so later I popped in to Sarah's place and took some more photos of Claudia.  Look, DIMPLES!

The problem with this job is that I get so clucky! 

But how can I help it?

Thanks guys, for an amazing photoshoot with you all.  You have an absolutely beautiful family!

And, well, when you're this gorgeous, why WOULDN'T you want your photo taken?!  Not surprisingly, like most people, they were a little nervous of my big camera to start with.

I know, I know, they don't have heads in this shot.

Carissa commented that she loves New Zealand scenery, big open spaces and hills.  So off we went, to big open spaces!

And the BLING!

Seriously beautiful. 

I love this one!

I'm SO excited about their wedding coming up THIS SATURDAY!  Watch this space, because it's going to be stunning!

(more pics on facebook, for those of you who haven't joined me there yet!)

In other news:

Paul has tweaked the comments box for me.  He was up till 2am busily programming.  So now it's even easier to leave a comment.  So go on, give it a try! 

My new 16-35mm 2.8L lens arrived this morning.  I'm in love.  I didn't think I could love a wide angle lens as much as I love this one.  I'm pretty sure my life is now complete.   

These guys are probably the nicest people you could ever meet.  I dashed inside to let Paul know they had arrived and I remember blurting out "Quick, come meet them!  They're soooo nice!  Oh, and bring Charlotte, Justina wants to meet her."  Yep, she even knew my baby's name.  Totally hooked, I tell you!

The entire wedding was to be held at Old St Marys Convent, and so I don't even have to tell you how excited I was knowing that the day would be just lovely.

Justina and her Dad arrived in STYLE in a horse and carriage.  It's hard to top that!

I adore this shot of Simon's Mum as the little chapel was filling up.  Could she possibly be prouder of her son?

And then they arrive!

*sigh*  Perfect.

This was one of those weddings where I had to keep myself in check, "Don't cry.... don't cry.... you go to weddings most weekends, woman, get a grip!"  Thankfully, this was my inside voice. 

This was while everyone was singing a hymn, and every now and then Simon would look up at Justina and just give this gorgeous grin.

Oh and yes, it's another cute kid wedding!

MARRIED!  They didn't stop smiling ALL afternoon!

This is Cody.  Cute.

And Olivia.  More cuteness.

Justina is a Nanny which accounts for some of her niceness I think.

Gorgeous flowers by Jane Robinson at Mayflower.

So gorgeous!  I love this shot!  I have to admit to it being Paul's though.  Actually, quite a few of these are, so clever he is!

This is the marquee that the reception was held in.  This is still at Old St Marys Convent, a part called 'The Willows'.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Simon and Justina, thank you SO much for inviting us into your special day.  You guys are truly special, may you have a fantastic life together!  See you soon!

Vendor Shoutout:

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Old St Marys Convent

Horse and Carriage: Hawkesbury Carriages (03 5727280)

Food/Catering: Posh Nosh

Flowers: Jane Robinson, Mayflower

So it's Valentines Day, so lets get started with Nina from Pink Poppie. 

Nina and I have done a few weddings together now, and her work always impresses me!  She's sweet and friendly, and definitely worth a call if you're planning a wedding.

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Born in Christchurch 1977, Mum, Dad, My Sister & Brother & The Cat all moved to Blenheim when I was 4. Started in Floristry at 15 as after school / weekend job doing all the horrible jobs and getting paid $3.50 per hour !  I didn't really care about the flowers at that stage - just wanted my tiny pay packet at the end of the week to put towards the new shoes or top I wanted to wear out in the weekend......... until about a year later when I was offered a full time job and an apprenticeship that's when my passion of floristry started to develop and hasn't really stopped. At the age of 19 I went on an adventure by my self to America as an Aupair - an amazing experience! and returned a year later with a broken leg from a skiing accident, keen to get back into floristry but found Blenheim "oh so boring" after living and travelling in America, decided Wellington was perfect for me.  I hit the streets with my CV and after a few weeks to let my broken leg heal a bit I was off again. 

After a few months at the age of 21/ 22  years old I was asked to manage a city florist shop - a huge responsibility!  But I was full of the energy that comes with youth..... partying + working really hard = not much sleep! After a year or so of doing that I was head hunted by a lovely shop that did all the parliamentary flowers and before you knew it I was doing some amazing projects ( Prime Ministers office, movie premiers, national events and even flowers for the Queen! ) after 4 or so years of living and working in Wellington it was time to own my own business but it needed to be somewhere I had the support and stability, so what better place than home! I have owned Pink Poppie for over 7 years now and I can honestly say I love my job & my staff  ( It's not really a job when you love what you do but man it can be hard work sometimes) Weddings would be the most challenging part of my work but also my favourite, there is nothing more rewarding than coming up with a concept together with a bride and groom and working through it for sometimes a year or more and then standing back on their wedding day knowing that I  have exceeded their expectations and mine!

How long have you been doing weddings?

About 15 years.

What made you get into them?

Just part of being a florist.

Is there something you do really well - something that separates you from the others?

I love getting to know the bride and groom and their story and translating their vision with sometimes a bit of direction from me ( after so many weddings I've worked out some of the things that work really well and others just flat out don't work) I like to think I can guide a couple to make the right choices to enhance dress design, fabrics, venues etc with the flower choices. I work very closely with my flower / foliage supplier she is a florist herself based in Auckland and we share similar ideas.  She has her finger on the pulse regarding new varieties being imported & introduced into the market and will often send me samples so I know exactly what's available to our brides. Only the best quality product will do ( it makes my job so much easier ) But the thing that I love the most are details, this might be the berries added to a buttonhole, the beading on the bound stem of the bouquets, the colour combinations to enhance fabric samples, the flowers on the tables being placed exactly where they are to go, etc.  I think we can give a couple confidence to know that on their day the flowers are one thing they will not have to worry about, we'll have it sorted!

Have you got any interesting wedding stories to share?

Not that I can tell you really! But I have had a few bridezilla's !!!! The funny thing is "those ones "always turn out to be so nice and grateful on the day..... it's amazing what stress can do to a bride!

How many weddings do you usually do?

It really just depends on how full on they are, we work on a first in first served basis, sometimes we get a couple and all they require is a few bouquets and buttonholes - if that's the case we can easily do 5 or 6.  If they are really big ie, reception & ceremony venue arrangements, 5 or 6 bridesmaids  etc, we may only do one. I strive for perfection and if we take on too much that may slip and that just won't do!!

How quickly do you get booked up?

We have got bookings in from 2 years out!  But usually 1 year and that's great because the couple will get to see what flowers will be in season and available on their day.  In saying that just this week I had a bride come in on Monday and getting married that Saturday, we were able to squeeze it in and it was perfect..... simplistic but perfect!

Do you have any special advice for those planning their big day?

Book early, Choose passionate vendors that love what they do! If they are good they will save you stress and money in the long run!  If you  'click ' with them from the first meeting, they are probably the one.  Give professionals some scope if they are really restricted you may miss out on some amazing creativity and extra special results. Once you have decided on what  look you like and want STOP surfing the net and buying wedding mag's, otherwise the options will drive you crazy and the wedding will become messy!  Ask other vendors who they recommend - they get to deal with each other all the time in the wedding season and knows who does what best!

If you could spend a weekend anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Oh that's way too hard!  Galleries & Shopping in New York , Partying in New Orleans, The Swiss Alps ( not climbing them though , just sitting by a lake looking at them ), Shopping in Melbourne, Ireland with Family, Disneyland with my beautiful niece or down the Marlborough sounds with my amazing beautiful group of friends doing lots of lovely walks and drinking plenty of  Marlborough sav blanc .... am I allowed that many weekends??

If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?

To make wishes come true!

Sport or books?

50 / 50 Love them both..... nothing better than watching "your" team or person win!  And nothing better than a book that either enlightens or inspires you or just makes you forget about all the stressy things for a wee while!

Contact Details:

web: www.pinkpoppie.co.nz

email: pinkpoppie@xtra.co.nz

phone: 03 5785152

Anyway, I digress again!

Jason is a keen amateur photographer himself, and when someone knows a thing or two about photography, I always get a bit nervous!  Not to worry, he was absolutely fine (holding back any Nikon comments....)

They're so cute together!

I know, I KNOW it's the tree.  But COME ON.  When I find a cooler tree, I'll ditch this one.

Oh yeah, the sky played along!

And I've saved my favourite for last!

I had a great time with you guys - can't wait for the wedding next year!  In the meantime, stay safe and don't step on any snakes!

The dress was simply perfect!

Kathy-Lee and the girls got ready with Deirdre at Locks and Lashes. 

See?  Perfection!

The wedding took place at Timara Lodge, what an amazingly beautiful place that is!

I love the way that Nigel looked at his bride.  Pure happiness, right there. 

And the way that she looked back at him.  Ah, bliss.

Ella is three.  It was the first time she had ever been a flower girl, I expect, and well... the flowers had a bit of a rough ride.

But hey, when you're this cute, it's not about the flowers!

Thankfully Kathy-Lee knew to keep her flowers ON the stems!

I could have spent ALL day on the grounds at Timara Lodge.  It really is amazing, and well worth a look at if you're planning a wedding in Marlborough!

Then off we went to Spy Valley for the reception.  Kathy-Lee works as a winemaker there, and was able to get us into all sorts of very cool spots!  We just needed to trust and follow....

The roof!  How insanely awesome is that!

The girls all had fabulous matching shoes.  Walking on a winery catwalk in these shoes is a skill in itself!

This wedding had the most FABULOUS details!  I was in detail heaven!

And kids - very cute kids too!

And this is where I left them to enjoy their evening with their nearest and dearest.

Thank you so much Nigel and Kathy-Lee for inviting us into your special day - it was absolutely stunning and we wish you all the very best in your married life together!

Vendor Shoutout:

Hair and Makeup: Locks and Lashes

Ceremony Venue: Timara Lodge

Reception: Spy Valley Wine

Food/Catering: The Swisse Guy

Flowers: Linda Avery

There are more images on my facebook page.  Just a little reminder to come and join me over there!

In other news:

I learned how much I really love my camera yesterday during the portraits in the garden.  I had worn shoes that Paul warned me not to wear, but vanity won out - and before I knew it I took a tumble on the uneven ground.  My 5d Mark II and 50mm 1.2L went CRASH straight down onto concrete.  I heard the crack, and my heart sank.  But it was absolutely FINE!  I couldn't believe it!  Yay for Canon!  My ankle didn't fare quite so well, I managed to finish the wedding fine, but today it's a strange shade of purple.  sigh.  So before the next wedding I will be doing some shoe shopping methinks!

I met him and his Mum Nic this afternoon.  It took a little while of just quietly getting to know each other before he'd let me into his personal space.  It's essential with these little ones to let them just be themselves and not to push them for a performance!

Once we had become friends it was all about finding games to play!

Ohhh... those eyes!

You can just see what he's thinking here "Hey Mum, that crazy woman with the camera thought of THIS?"

"Hey, it's not so bad after all...."

Then off to the park.  I LOVE the dribble in this shot - toddler teething time!

I finally coaxed Nic in front of the camera, she was convinced she wouldn't look any good.  Oh how wrong she was!

Thanks for today guys - that was great fun!  Devin is such a gorgeous little man, and Nic - you're an awesome Mummy!  Keep up the good work!

I've just come into the office to catch up on my work to find Paul's latest project still open in Lightroom.  He's just finished doing a job for Bayleys who are marketing Woodend Gardens.  It's already a beautiful place - but last night Paul went when the light was just right.

A small trip in the helicopter gives everything a bit of context.

And the gardens themselves are really awesome, we've photographed several weddings here already.  

Like!!

And this is the spot that the ceremony is usually in.

Awesome job babe!  You're my hero....

These guys are a super cute couple who are getting married in March.  I first met them about a year ago when they were planning their wedding which still seemed so far away.  They walked back into my office the other day, and I couldn't believe that a whole year had passed!

Anyway - Nicola had seen the Japanese Gardens on the blog, and quite liked the idea of that - so off we went!   For those who don't know where they are, they're up the end of Howick Rd.  Not a whole lot of people know about it, well so it seems anyway.  There's a big cage with cardboard in it that the kids use to go scooting down the hill.  Very fun.

How cute are they!

Nicola is a doctor and in the process becoming an anesthetist - such a cool job! 

This is THE TREE.  I know - I feature it a lot.  I love the tree.  It's worth the trip up the hill to get there.

I can't wait for your wedding Nicola and Vaughan, it's going to be spectacular! 

One thing Jasmine Star encouraged us all to do at her workshop in Christchurch a few weeks ago was to put more of ourselves on our websites. 

I guess I've been struggling lately with exactly who I'm writing to.  I'm STUNNED (and extremely grateful!) by the amount of visitors I get to this blog everyday, and because I don't exactly know who you all are, I'm not quite sure what you're interested in reading.  You see, if you're a photographer, you probably don't care that I'm running (ahem, crawling probably) a half marathon in a few months.  If you're a bride-to-be you couldn't care less about what fstop or lens rocks my world lately.  I suppose there's always the possibility of the hits all coming from my Mum (must call her more often...).  So I'm going to just write about whatever I please, because not writing much at all is not much fun for anyone.

This year I'm going to try to start a couple of different series.  One will be for brides (and grooms, but you know, it's more likely to be brides!) and the other will be for photo geeks like me.  I've been getting emails from other photographers with questions that may be useful for others as well.  I certainly don't claim to know everything (not even half of everything...), but if I do know something that you also want to know, go ahead and ask and I can share it with the everyone else.  You can either email me, or join me on facebook and ask there or use the comments section below.

This was us at Jasmine's workshop, taken by JD, Jasmine's husband.  I'm the one second from the right, in the red top, smack bang next to Jasmine (I'm totally namedropping right now).

So, I've got to build a section on the website about us, which has to include (*gasp*) photos.  I HATE having my photo taken, which is why I can sympathise with my clients on a daily basis!  But sometimes it just has to be done!

Ok, so that's me for now!   Over and out....

Some days I have to admit that I forget how blessed I am - and it's not all that often, but sometimes life just gets a bit too busy, the phone keeps ringing and the washing is piling up.  I think it was a day like that when I met Pip and her beautiful family.  When I told her how many kids I had she exclaimed something like "Oh, you're so lucky!" 

She's such a lovely Mum and one small conversation with her and I felt a million times better about the towels that still hadn't been hung out, the baby that was possibly going to wake that night and the groceries that need constant replenishing.  I am blessed, amazingly blessed.

So this is Pip's family - really nice people! 

Mickey the kitten, saw fun everywhere!

I love this brothers shot.

Often I don't include the head in photos.  Sometimes I get funny looks from people, as in "You missed our heads?"  Yeah, I did mean to.

In other news:

I'm not sure what's going on right now in the 'engaged couples' world, but they're all coming out of the woodwork!  I'm getting so many requests for pricelists lately!  Even requests for as far away as 2012.  We don't actually book more than a season away, but if you've got your heart set on a certain date, I'll pop your name on the calendar so that I know you're interested.  We're planning on having our 2011/2012 Summer Pricelist out in about 6 months, when we'll open bookings for that season.

I knew that Kelly was fun and easy going, but I had expected some kind of nerves, or even a mini freak out - as most brides have the hour before their wedding.  But nothing.  Cool as a cucumber.  She was absolutely the most perfect bride. 

We had the whole day at Old St Mary's Convent, and as usual it was gorgeous.  I love it when they get ready there too as there's all that excitement of secretly watching people turn up.

How cute is this!  Dad needs his own picture!

Kelly was certainly glowing.

Paul found the boys getting ready.  I love it how every groom seems to need help putting his flower on.  I mean, really, how often in life does a guy need to do that?

Here come the troops!

This is an amazing moment.  While we were waiting for Kelly to make her grand entrance down the stairs, this is her Mum glancing at her Dad.  Sigh.  Beautiful.

And this is Kelly looking at her groom.  Sigh again.....

Jane Fowler from Fleurs was one of the bridesmaids and did an amazing job with the flowers!

Another moment.  Right after the ceremony Hugo's Dad congratulates his new Daughter In Law. 

I have to say, this wedding had more than it's fair share of cute kids.  So many that I really can't even blog them all, but you get the idea:

Sometimes I like how children are so.... well.... short!

I'm not sure where the awesome red car came from, but I liked it.  A lot.

You know what?  Sometimes I just shoot random things, like chairs, just for me.  This is an awesome photo, and I don't even know why. 

Wow, what a great wedding guys!  I wish you guys all the very best - and Huxley too.  See you soon!

This was on the way home from the wedding the other night.  Clearly one sheep had found the way out, and all the others followed, as you do, when you're a sheep.

I had asked them if they had anything they'd like to bring along and include in the pictures.  Yes indeedy, check out Huxley!  Don't you just want to pop him in your handbag and take him home?!

We went to the Japanese Gardens, it's such a pretty place!

I love this, check out Huxley being all guard doggish!

I love this!

It was so nice having that little bit of time to get to know them better before their big day.  The wedding was super fun as well - but you'll just have to wait for the next post for that one!

Kelly got ready at Locks and Lashes, an absolutely beautiful spot out in the middle of the vineyards, definitely worth the effort if you're a bride still deciding on where to get hair and makeup done!  Deirdre does a really awesome job.

I love the 'proud as punch' look on Kelly's parents face.  Gorgeous!

Kelly looked absolutely spectacular!  She had such a beautiful vintage look about her.  She's such a sweetheart too, she's a school teacher, and I think you have to be a special kind of person to be able to pull that off!

This was the guys just before heading off to the ceremony.

The ceremony was held at Hortensia House.  Wow, what a spot!  I can't even imagine how much time goes into the gardening there, it's just amazing. 

This is Paul's view as we were arriving to the ceremony.

And this is my view looking back at the guys waiting.  Deon's first glance at his bride.

I love this!  Could he possibly be any more pleased to see her!?

After the ceremony we pop off to Pollard Park for some shots.  This one really appeals to me, normally I quickly go past any shots with me in them.... this one made the cut, maybe because it's only the back of my head!  We try and keep our portrait sessions light and fun - and these guys were all about having a great time on the day!

That dress!  Oh my gosh, awesomeness!

Then off to Deon's parents place for the reception.  I saw some sweet light when we arrived and stole them away for a bit to make the most of it!

I love the end of the day at weddings when everything comes together like this! The pressure is off the couple, the beautiful light hits and all is well with the world!

This was Deon's idea!  Brilliant!  Married on the 9th of January.  Well spotted my friend!

How cute are they! 

What a lovely day it was!  Thanks for including us in it Kelly and Deon!  Can't wait to show you all the rest of the images! 

In other news:

Training has started in earnest for a Half Marathon I have, perhaps foolishly, entered us into.  Six babies (and far too much Christmas chocolate, lets be honest) have somewhat ruined me.  So I've got five months to get fit and fabulous.  Well, that might be stretching things a bit far... I'd just like to get to the end of 21km and not be dead, to me that would be a success! 

We went to Pollard Park and chatted the whole time, getting to know each other and going through the wedding plans.  I always love doing the engagement session as it helps SO much when it comes to the wedding, breaking the ice and helping the couple be less scared of the camera. 

These guys are so cute together!

Ok then, just ONE from the wedding!

So watch this space tomorrow, I'll blog some more.  But be warned, there will be some serious gorgeousness!