She said she first noticed him at the gym, and although I did ask, neither would own up to who liked whom first.  So I think the attraction was mutual, and here we are, four years later and they're preparing for their wedding.  And I can tell you, it's going to be nothing short of spectacular!

A quick stop at the cherry blossoms and the light yet again was beautiful. 

Christina's smile is so lovely, simply gorgeous.

Pollard Park put on a beautiful show of flowers and light for us today.  Bravo Pollard Park, Bravo!

So cute together, they are!

Brendan knows how it's done.  Awesomeness, right there.

Gorgeous people in Spring.  How on earth can you go wrong?

Christina is going to make the most beautiful bride.  I can hardly wait!  See that necklace?  Brendan bought that for her, you have GOT to give the man serious props for his jewellery buying skills!

How cute is this?  Stunning.

Working it.  Working it good.

Christina and Brendan, thank you so very much for choosing us to be your photographers.  We're really thrilled to be able to capture your big day coming up in December.  Bring it on!

Young, softly spoken and gorgeous.  I met Jenna this afternoon, and we got on right away.  She turns 21 soon, and so this photo shoot serves as a beautiful wee time capsule for both her and her family. 

I saw the cherry orchard in bloom on the way to Jenna's house.  Quickly pulling over to the side of the road, I sent some messages off to the appropriate people, and before we knew it, we had our permission and we were in!  Yes!

We were told to watch the bees as they're very active at the moment.  Well, they weren't kidding!  This was just one lot huddled together on a branch.  I have no idea what the attraction was right there, but they seemed keen to hang out there.

Bees have got to be the cutest, most amazing little creature!  (sooooo glad I didn't get stung while taking their photo!)

This is Jenna and her horse Maisie.  They've been great friends for six years.

See, I told you she was gorgeous!

I'm pretty sure she surprised herself with her 'working it' abilities.

Hair and makeup thanks to Deirdre at Locks and Lashes.  Awesome job as always Deirdre!

Beautiful eyes!

Hello beautiful light!

Jenna, thanks so very much for hanging out with me this afternoon.  I had such fun with you!  Can't wait to show you the rest of the images!

I am greeted by the most gorgeously decorated house, everything was perfectly in it's place as Leanne glides down the hallway to greet me.  You look amazing!  I gasp, realising that she had a baby only the week before.  She shows me to Kobe's basinet as I peak down and gasp again.  I'm such a girl when it comes to babies.  Well I'm SORRY but I had to have a cuddle, right there and then.  From Kobe that is.

Awww, just look at him!

Kobe's Dad, Aaron, is a builder, and I just love the contrast between the rough man hands and the brand new baby feet.

Mummy loved this hat.  Daddy not quite so much.  I think Kobe tends to side with Daddy on this one.

See?  What a cute little family!

This next series has every mother sighing deeply.  This is exactly why I wanted to have so many babies.  Moments like this. 

Baby lips.  And fat, fat cheeks.  What's not to love?

 

Sorry Kobe, prepare yourself for a lifetime of Mummy kisses.  That's just how it has to be.

Leanne and Aaron, HUGE congratulations on your most spectacular boy.  You guys did good.  Real good.

You can't not like Paul and Julie.  It's just not possible.  They're young and cute and oh so in love.  I have no idea how I am so often blessed with couples that just make me smile.

Sure, Facebook is responsible for a lot time wasting mindless games about farms or pets, moments of sheer frustration (no Mahumabidijam, I don't know you!) but it's also responsible for these two getting together.  And because of that one single fact, I have forgiven Facebook for all of it's ills.  For now.

I've been looking forward to our engagement session for ages, and even though I thought this weekend was going to be nasty, due to what the TV guy was telling us is a massive storm the size of Australia hovering over us, this morning was just beautiful!  So we shot out the door as quickly as we could and off we went to hunt down Spring!

This is one of those photos that made me gasp out loud when I downloaded it.  They both look so gorgeous.  And happy.

A now for a little bit of impressionism.  I love the swirly effect.  Total fluke, but don't tell anyone.

Julie is pure fun.  I think she spent the solid two hours laughing, at Paul, at herself and (thankfully) at my jokes.

Love love LOVE it!

I've had my eye on the A&P park for sometime now, waiting for the right couple to take there.  Paul and Julie wanted to do whatever I wanted to do... woohoo! 

 

How cute are they?

There was a bout of rain.  Pouring down rain.  Thankfully it was short lived, so we only got a little bit wet. 

Thanks so much Paul and Julie for hanging out with me for the morning.  You're both gorgeous!  I had such a lot of fun finding new spots to shoot, and laughing with you both.  For those of you wanting more: FACEBOOK!

It's been quite a learning curve, this 2010 year so far.  It's created possibly some of the biggest highs and most certainly the biggest lows I've ever known.  My Mum's newly diagnosed terminal illness (Motor Neurone Disease) has had a massive effect on us eight kids.  One of the more favourable effects is that it's bringing us closer together, for which I'm so grateful.  We've had a steady stream of family come to visit Mum from all over the world, not the least of which is my big brother Roulf and his new wife, Elisha. 

This is my Mum.  Her bravery through this situation is truly amazing.  She has such peace about it all, which she gives God 100% of the credit for.  We don't know how long she has, and every week sends us a new challenge, but we're sure going to enjoy every moment we have with her and welcome more of the family visits.  Next week my sister arrives from Holland **happy dance** and October will bring even more family.  Silver lining?  I think so!

Roulf and Elisha came to visit from Australia just under a year ago.  That doesn't mean we can't do another shoot though, does it?

Disclaimer: this next pose was NOT my idea!  Such nutcases.

Elisha getting her 'Ninja' on. 

Coming from the Gold Coast, they found the whole knitted jumper, winter and axes thing quite fun.

There's never a wrong time for a large dog to come be nosey at what you're doing lying on the grass.

Quite a pretty thing, this Elisha.  They were married last summer, unfortunately (for me!) in Australia, so I couldn't be there.  You should have seen her as a bride.  That DRESS would stop traffic.  Oh how my camera longed to capture it!

I love this one.  They're both pretending to be asleep.  Unfortunately Roulf is not the best actor.

  

So awesome to see you guys over here!  Can't wait till October till you come back again, YAY!

When Kat told me that she'd like to have their engagement shoot with an urban theme, I was so excited!  It's been a while since I've had a stroll through town, looking for interesting spots to shoot, and just shooting what we find. 

No urban shoot is complete without a stop at the blue wall.  When I asked how brave they were feeling, I had no idea that Chris would be up for just about anything!  Jumping, posing, dancing in a public street?  No worries at all!

Public displays of affection?  Easy peasy.  I didn't have to ask more than once!  Often I didn't have to ask at all!

I love this spot!  The colour, awesome!

Chris is away for work quite a lot, and so every moment they spend together is special.  This makes my job so much easier, Chris just adores Kat!

Then we headed over to this abandoned old building.  I absolutely LOVE this spot!  Look at them, just hanging out, all hoodlum like...

Gorgeous!

Kat is just lovely, and is so natural in front of the camera.

The wedding is only a couple of months away, and it's going to be so much fun, if these guys have anything to do with it!!

Then a quick trip to Harling park to finish off a fun afternoon. Beautiful!

I love this one!

Thanks so much Chris and Kat for spending the afternoon with me.  What fun!  I can't wait to show you all the rest!  See you at the wedding!!

Tim and Shelley are perfect for each other.  The way they look at each other, share their inside jokes, and most of all have fun.  Tim is great fun and makes Shelly laugh.  Shelley is completely fabulous - so much so that her nickname for years has been Wonder Woman.  We were going to get some great photos, I knew it the minute we left for the beach.  With these guys, how can you go wrong?

Shelley had warned me that Tim was a bit of a kid sometimes, so neither of us were surprised when he suggested that she should go and sit on "that log over there".  Great idea Tim, except that that log was dangerously close to that water. 

"Why don't you go sit on that log then?"  We suggested.

So he did.

Pure awesomeness. 

Sorry Tim, but we kind of saw that coming!  Totally worth the shots though!

*cue awesome proposal story*

Tim had all of the right ingredients to an awesome proposal.  One romantic dinner, throw in a trip in a helicopter, add a pinch of "MARRY ME" in fairy lights seen from the sky and a jaw dropping ring = one giant YES.

*cue a collective sigh from all of the women*

Gorgeousness!

I love this shot.  The beach blown hair, the look of total happiness.

Hello Rarangi!  You look awesome!

Then we headed back into town.  Another special request for 'my tree' took us up the hill.

I love letting my couples do their thing, I just stand back and watch to see what they do.  These guys are awesome!

Shelley and Tim could really leap!

Wonder Woman indeed!  Tim is hiding behind the tree, he's such a clown.

Thanks for a fun afternoon guys.  I'm so excited about your wedding, let the countdown begin!