"By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes, where the sun shines on Loch Lomond, Where me and my true love spent many days On the banks of Loch Lomond..."  (imagine me singing that with an incredible voice and a gorgeous Scottish accent trailing off into the distance before the lyrics turn too sad to suit this blog post)

On the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond is where Duncan got down on one knee and surprised Lorna by asking her to be his wife.  It couldn't have been a better place for Lorna, it was her favourite place in the whole world.  And it was absolutely perfect, so perfect in fact, that Lorna spent quite a bit of time squealing and 'ahhhhing' and when he finally asked her if that meant "yes" she told him that indeed it did.  She was just so excited, she had forgotten to answer.

You could not find a couple more perfectly suited to each other.  They look at each other with THAT look.  You know, the one that makes you melt inside. 

Duncan is a deer farmer.  He totally loves deer, in fact, they both do.  They speak so warmly about deer (when they behave, the deer I mean) that it almost makes me want to get a pet deer.  Well, almost.

Lorna is a vet, a large animal vet.  She looks so gorgeous and glamorous that I can hardly imagine her hanging out with dirty big cattle beasts all day!  But she assures me she does, so I'll just take her word for it.  But right here, right now, Lorna, you are drop dead glamorously beautiful.

Deirdre from Locks and Lashes is doing Lorna's hair and makeup for the wedding in January.  I love it when my brides organise a makeup trial right before our E Session.  It's a great idea to see how you feel the makeup looks on the pictures before the big day. 

I know diddly squat about helicopters.  (note: diddly squat is a real word) but one thing that Duncan taught me is that the Hughs 500 was responsible for helping start the deer industry in New Zealand by capturing the wild deer back in the 80s.  They're quite powerful for their size and highly manoeuvrable and Duncan loves them to bits.  We were lucky enough to get close enough to one to take some shots up close and personal - thanks RidgeAir!

Then, before it was time to go home, we took a super quick trip to the tree.  You know, THE TREE.  It's a great tree.  An awesome tree, in fact.  It doesn't look like a whole lot in real life, but on photos it looks waaaaaay cool. 

Duncan and Lorna, thank you so much for driving all the way up here to have a session with me.  You guys are fun, cute and super easy going and we're so grateful that you've chosen us to capture your amazing day in February!  See you soon!

"That's really neat, Niklas" was what Taryn's Dad said when Niklas asked if he could marry his daughter, from the other side of the world in Germany.  Within moments Taryn's Mum was also on the phone with an excited "Ohhhhh!" which obviously meant she also thought it was neat.

Niklas had always felt drawn to New Zealand, so came over to study here.  Taryn was also studying law and was looking for a contact from Germany, as she's always felt drawn there.  The two met, and love blossomed!  Now they live in Germany and next week they'll be getting married here in New Zealand! 

Deirdre from Locks and Lashes kindly let us use her property for the photos.  As usual, it looked fabulous!

I don't really have state the obvious, do I?  But I will.... Taryn, you are going to be the most exquisite bride!

Niklas was the most patient, obliging and kind guy.  Did I mention good looking?  Yes, well that too!

 

Niklas and Taryn remind me a lot of Paul and I.  No, Paul can't put me on his back, and even if he could, I can assure you it wouldn't look anything like this!  No, what I mean is how they are with each other.  They have spent nearly every day together for the last couple of years - they're inseparable.  They look after each other and really seem to be soul mates.  What's more, Taryn is apparently an amazing cook, that's probably where the similarities stop, actually.

Niklas and Taryn, it was a joy to get to know you both.  We're so excited about the wedding, and the amazing day you have planned.  We'll see you soon!

Back then she didn't like him.

He didn't like her, well so it seemed anyway. He kind of picked on her. And if you were to have told her at the time that she was arguing with her future husband, she probably would've scrunched up her little nose at you. After all, when you're 11 boys are yucky.

Fast forward several years and a grown up Aidan finds a grown up Steph on Facebook. It took a couple of weeks for Steph to see past the little boy she remembered and discover the man that Aidan had become. Love blossomed, and on Saturday they're getting married!

It's my job to discover who my couples are and capture that, kind of like a time capsule. It didn't take me long to discover who Steph and Aidan were. They were 100% pure fun. It's almost like they were made for each other, they're entertaining each other constantly and making it very easy for me to get to know them. I was in stitches. I like them.

I suggested they might want to pretend to be a tree.  Aidan made an okay tree.

"But I want to be a bush!" He exclaims.

And now, a log.... of course.

Steph was what is known in our household as one of ballet's "big girls". When my girls were four and five and at ballet, Steph was everything they wanted to grow up to be. Steph was a "big girl". Steph was all kinds of awesome. Funny now that my girls are the "big girls" at 14 and 15. How time flies!

We had our E Session at Rarangi as it is special to both of them.  To Aidan because he used to live there as a kid.  And to Steph because her Nana used to live there.

A romantic stroll along the water's edge?  Not likely.

This is "Lover's log".  We had to go and have photos there.  But romantic photos?  Not so much.

This seat has been donated in the memory of Steph's grandparents, Fran and John Wilks.  What a beautiful thing to remember someone with.

Steph and Aidan, Saturday is going to be an absolute blast if our E Session is anything to go by!  Bring it on!

They were casual acquaintances, and hadn't seen each other in years.  Then she popped up out of the blue, and although all she wanted was a house to rent, his offer for a coffee date was accepted.  In no time at all they were best of friends and planning to leave South Africa to start their lives together in New Zealand.

Chantal mentioned that she loves the wide open spaces, and the beautiful New Zealand landscape.  So we followed the light and the sky to some gorgeous spots. 

I wish I could show this one to you HUGE, then you'd see the full impact.  I think it would make an amazing canvas!

I gasped when I saw Chantal's engagement ring.  It's absolute perfection, I've never seen another one like it.  Turns out that most engagement rings look like that in South Africa.  You see, you learn something new every day! 

Chantal, you are gorgeous!

This is the second Ian I have photographed in a month.  And although that might not be astounding in itself, how about the fact that they've both just become Chartered Accountants and they both live in Christchurch?  Seems to be a strange coincidence...  (clearly small things amuse me).

Ian and Chantal are the kind of people I wish lived in little old Blenheim. I think we'd be great friends. We just chat chat chatted away. That's the thing I love about this job, constantly meeting new and interesting people. People experiencing one of the happiest times in their lives, and I get to take pictures of them. What's not to love?

Chantal and Ian - you guys are great.  We can't wait to shoot your wedding next month!  See you soon!

Karl and Francesca met while they were at school.  They were friends at first, and then, like all good love stories, things progressed from there after about a year or so.  True blue high school sweethearts!

Karl has a thing for planes.  I asked him, as we were driving to Omaka Aero club if he just liked them or actually worked with them.  "I just like them," he said.  A friendly slap from Francesca reminded him to finish the story.  "He's a pilot," she said. 

Why is it that pilots get extra cool points?  I mean, if he had said he was a bus driver, I'd still like him just as much.  However he flies planes, and that's just super cool.  I'm such a girl sometimes.

Karl had managed to get us access to this beautiful beast, an old Chinese war plane, which he actually does know how to fly.  Not that you'd get Francesca doing loops with him, she said. 

Francesca is as sweet as she is beautiful, and that's really saying something.  She tells me that she's been a blog watcher since 2008 (gasp!) and that she had always planned for us to photograph their wedding, well before they were engaged.

Then we headed off to Rarangi, where the light had me making all sorts of girly squealing noises. 

Francesca, you are perfection!

Double Rainbow!

Rarangi is special to Karl and Francesca as they spent many hours here when they were teenagers.  On a visit back to Blenheim last year Karl surprised her with a proposal, on this very spot.  Well, we think it was this very spot.  After some discussion, we decided to assume this was the very log he proposed on.

She said yes.

I've been to Rarangi many, many times.  I have never seen it as beautiful as this.  The colour, the stillness of the air, just the right amount of mist and a gorgeous couple.  It was the perfect end to a perfect shoot.

Francesca and Karl, you guys are absolutely great.  Thanks so much for taking the extra time to play with the light and have some fun with me.  Can't wait til March!

It was a setup by a mutual friend, but neither of them knew it at the time.  It didn't take long though, once Joanne and Ian got to know each other, love blossomed! 

Joanne and Ian live in separate towns, Joanne in Wellington and Ian lives in Christchurch.  Long distance relationships can be hard work when you have to travel every second weekend to spend time together.  But what is that old saying?  Absence makes the heart grow fonder.  And it won't be long, soon enough they will be living in the same city as husband and wife!

Ian has just completed seven years of study to become a Chartered Accountant.  Seriously!  SEVEN YEARS!  That's commitment for you and a thoroughly awesome achievement!

Beautiful Joanne is not the slightest bit afraid of the camera.  She was an absolute joy to photograph.  She said it goes way back to the days of self portraits in the bathroom with her friends.  The light in a bathroom is usually pretty good!  So mothers, please note, if your teenage daughter spends a generous amount of time taking photos of herself - let it go.  Some photographer, somewhere down the track, is going to thank you for it!

Joanne had told me that she loves colour.  So I knew exactly where there were some gorgeous orange wildflowers!

Ian proposed to Joanne on a weekend away together.  It was absolutely pouring with rain the whole weekend, except for a small window of time and Ian seized the opportunity, took Joanne up a hill, got down on one knee and proposed.  The experience left him with one soggy knee, and also a fiancé!

We had a little bit of time before Joanne and Ian had to get to the airport, so I asked if they had any ideas about where they might like to go.  "What about your tree?"  I almost wanted to hug Joanne.  Of course!  The TREE!!

Apparently Ian is quite a mover on the dance floor, he showed me some of his moves.  Yep Ian.  You tha man!

 

Thank you so much Joanne and Ian for coming to see us during your weekend together.  I'm so looking forward to the wedding!  See you in a few months!

They were just friends who knew each other through their shared love for stock cars.  Kate loved racing, and was pretty darn good at it when suddenly she found herself in need of a car.  John said he'd buy her one.  She didn't believe him.  I mean, they were just friends, why would he?  It was only days later that he proved her wrong and bought her a car.  Just like that.

 

Clearly she saw that this guy was a keeper.  And before long, his work was done and they were an item.  

Kate and John had wanted to go to the beach for their E Session, but as we were driving towards Rarangi we saw the weather start to close in.  Some quick thinking on Kate's part led us in the opposite direction and the hunt for a perfect spot was on!

All three of us saw the paddock and the beautiful farm that lay behind it, we all pretty much sighed in unison.  I drove past slowly.  The man on the tractor didn't look up, smile and beckon to us to stop the car and come on his land to take photos, like I was wishing he would.  He just carried on tractoring, completely oblivious to us longing for his farm.  I stopped the car, and plucked up the courage to go talk to him.  Thankfully he was totally fine with letting us go onto his land.  And what lay beyond that paddock?  Awesomeness, that's what! 

Apparently they don't usually let people go on to take photos, we found out later, which made us even more super grateful for the opportunity! 

Kate and John are such a cute, fun couple.  Easily bossed around by me, and totally into each other.  Bliss! 

Kate loves gates, which is lucky, because there were some pretty funky looking gates on the farm.

She also loves John, so that's like a double bonus!

It's spring, and the grapevines are finally doing their thing again. 

Kate was telling me about a fitness Bootcamp she had just finished.  She said it was fun and increased her fitness level heaps.  I like fun, AND I need to get fit.  So guess what I went and did?  I signed up.  For bootcamp.  Somebody hold me. 

This was John's idea.  I like it when guys have ideas, it's always fun.

So this experience with this uber cool farm leads me to a question.  Do you know of somewhere in Marlborough, that's way cool and not generally seen by the public?  If so, please please drop me a note, I'd love to hear about it! 

Kate and John, you guys are super.  I can't wait to spend more time with you!  See you soon!