Both Brittany and Wayne are very much hands on in the planning of their wedding and it really showed on the day. From all the little details they created for the reception, to the amazingly beautiful self written vows and to the amazing gift that Brittany gave to Wayne at the reception. And what a gift it was! Brittany had told me all about what she had planned when we first spoke, she had to keep it a secret for almost almost a year and asked me what’s the best way to present it – I felt so privileged that she wanted my opinion and I must say it did look truly spectacular on the night! So, what is this special gift you ask? Well you’ll have to watch the highlight to see for yourself!

After spending so much time together with Brittany and Wayne, it is easy to see that they are not only best friends who are totally in love with each other, but they also make such a great team together as well. They truly are a match made in heaven!! And they need to be a good team, because I have an extra special video to share along with their highlight – Brittany and Wayne decided to apply as contestants in the Australian Amazing Race! As they figured they don’t know much about video so asked me to do it, I had a great time spending the day with them and in the process was able to learn a little bit more about their story. They tell me they haven’t got in I won’t really know for sure until the show airs as I am sure they can’t really say if they are in or not!! So watch this space

~ Peter

Amazing Race Entry

The Wedding Highlight

Wedding Video: Living Lens // Wedding Photography: Ricky England Photography //

Wedding Ceremony & Reception: Kershaw House

Mid last year we ventured up to Airle Beach to experience an amazing four days of shooting that included helicopters, seaplanes, secluded islands, tropical forests and last but not least, a great bunch of people we got to work with.

We were contacted by Norina Jane, who was in the process of rebranding her Whitsunday wedding photography business to Iconic Bride Photography, and asked us to create a film that captures the new brand visually through a promo film and also create a profile film which would allow potential clients to get to know the team better and their philosophy.

To do this, we needed an iconic bride and luckily we had the wonderful Rae Johnson to work with! You may have seen Rae hosting the new computer games show on ONE HD called Save Point. She was such a blessing to work with, so professional and made the shoot that much more fun. Of course we can’t leave out the “groom” John,  although not playing as pivotal role in the production (it is after all Iconic BRIDE Photography!), he made the shoot a lot of fun to work with.

Also along the way we had some help from Justin Heitman (Blue Turtle Video Design), who gave me lots of tips from his own extensive experience of shooting from the helicopter supplied by Heli Biz, but of course without the precise control of our pilot Des Davy I would have never got those great sweeping shots of the plane and the islands As you can probably tell, I loved shooting from the chopper!! Also can’t forget to mention the classic seaplanes you see in the films that were supplied by Air Whitsunday, not only did they give us a ride over the magnificent Whitsunday islands to our locations, featuring their plane in the promo really took the film to the next level of awesomeness!

We were so fortunate to be able to shoot at Whitehaven Beach and Langford Island, and of course Villa Botanica. We must say thanks to the staff at Villa Botanica who were so welcoming and accommodating – and any brides looking for an absolutely stunning venue to get married, you have to check out Villa Botanica, Airlie Beach! The venue itself is super stylish, but the surrounding gardens take this place to the next level – it is a truly magical place!

And of course, the team behind Iconic Bride Photography were such a pleasure to work with and had lots of laughs during the whole shoot. For Emily and I it has been one experienced we won’t forget, so thank you for Iconic Bride Photography for allowing us to share this journey with you. And if you are getting married in the Whitsundays, be sure to check them out!

PROFILE FILM

Photos courtesy of Iconic Bride Photography

Kate is a keen photographer, so she was taking snaps during the day and just having a great time. The big day didn’t seem to phase her one bit, she took the day on with full gusto and was up for anything. Jon was just as laid back and together they made they day lots of fun to be part of. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jon had written a lovely poem for Kate that he read for her during the speeches, so he certainly was not your stereotypical mechanic – although his Mazda RX3 was mentioned a few times throughout the day so the car enthusiast still was in him.

Jon and Kate I do wish you a good life together and may it continue to have for many years to come!

~ Peter

Wedding Video: Living Lens // Wedding Photography: Ben Clark Photography //

Wedding Ceremony: St John’s Cathedral // Wedding Reception: Moda Events at Portside

Right now those of you who have met me, or had me at your wedding are probably thinking – Whoa, WHAT NOW?!? It does come to a bit of a shock to people because I haven’t really made a big deal out of it. I have been lucky enough to have had fantastic medical care (Medicare you ROCK!), a wonderful support base and a lifestyle that has made the transitions in each stage of my disease easier to deal with. And to be honest, while having this disease is does suck, I happen to think I have a pretty freakin’ awesome life!!

So, on the most auspicious of days – February 29th 2012 – I got THE call. They had a kidney match and I was to fly to Brisbane that day and have the transplant asap – HOLY CRAPOLA! I was sooooo not prepared for this moment but ready not, I was on the plane and at 7am on March 1st they wheeled me into theatre and gave me a new kidney! The transplant so far has been very successful, although I have had some side complications as a result of the new immunosuppresent medications I am taking, but I am so excited about all the possibilities for the future!

In months prior to the call, Peter and I had been dreaming up ways we can celebrate our upcoming TEN YEAR wedding anniversary on March 23rd. We had grand plans of holidaying on a luxury tropical island, getting frocked up for an expensive restaurant dinner or perhaps having the full day spa pampering experience as a way of celebrating our decade of marriage. Instead I was only a few days out of hospital and still in recovery mode, when my darling husband presented me with this wonderful surprise anniversary gift – beautiful memories of our wedding day and a wonderful reminder that we really have had an awesome life so far. Such a beautiful keepsake that he has worked so hard on (in secret!), it bought me to tears. THANK YOU my wonderful husband Peter, for all your love and support. You are truly my best friend, my partner in crime, my other half. Thank you for collecting our memories so we can look back at what an amazing first ten years we have had together, and my new kidney and I know the next ten, twenty, FIFTY will be EVEN BETTER!! LOVE XOXOXO!!

~ Emily

I really enjoy meeting up with my couples before their wedding, it helps me get to know them a bit better and they can see I am not some scary video guy with a comb over and a pot belly!! When I met up with Nicole and Enoch for lunch the week before their wedding, I could tell they were so excited about their upcoming wedding! They told me about all the things they had been doing, their plans for the big day, showed me photos of their reception venue, and we talked about their family and their future together. And once the day arrived, it was evident their excitement had increased ten fold and they were ready for a great day, despite the alternating weather of sun, rain, and wind

Nicole and Enoch, thank you for choosing me to tell your story.

~ Peter

You may remember just before Christmas we shared Jason and Huyen’s Love Story, so we thought what better way to kick of the year than with The Story of Jason & Huyen – Part 2!

It was Jason who contacted me early last year about being part of their wedding. Being a graphic designer by trade, we immediately hit it off and it was a great experience for me to be able to work so collaboratively with both him and Huyen in the lead up to their big day. Creativity is an important part of their lives and they wanted this to be represented in their wedding. From the big things like Jason designing their beautiful wedding invitations, to the little details like Huyen and her bridesmaide spending the morning of the wedding tying a ribbon onto each one of their guest gifts, Huyen and Jason took care to make this day beautiful and meaningful to both them and their guests. And they couldn’t have picked a better team of creatives to help make their vision come to life, so a special shout out must go to Nat from Nattnee Photography who came down from Sydney to do their photography and Joanie from One Wedding Wish who styling their wedding which included a beautiful garden themed drinks station (make sure you click on their links to see images from the day!)

And to Jason & Huyen, thank you for including me in this chapter of your story together.

~ Peter

Wedding Video: Living Lens // Wedding Photography: Nattnee Photography // Wedding Sylist: One Wedding Wish

Celebrant: Maree Livy // Wedding Ceremony: Como House // Wedding Reception: Bram Leigh

Today is about spending time with family and the wonderful thing with marriage is that every couple now is now part of a bigger family, so to all our newly wed couples, we hope you are enjoying your first christmas together as husband and wife! And take a moment step back and look around seeing all the relatives sharing this one day full of joy, its easy to see what family is all about.

Sarah and Jeremy, we hope you have a chance sit together and watch your wedding short film and it brings you even more joy on this special day.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

~ Peter & Emily

The pre-wedding film was a little unconventional in that we shot this after their wedding day. We had only allocated one day to shoot but typical Melbourne weather put a dent in those plans, so we had to just break it up across two days. Both of Jason and Huyen were such troopers considering they had just had their full on wedding day and then the long hours for our love story shoot, I am sure they must have been pretty exhausted by the time they started their honeymoon!

I have to give a huge shout out to my friend Fabian who co-owns The Little Veggie Patch Co in Prahran. Fabian and his business parnter Mat basically saved our butt when one of the locations was no go, so with a quick change to the script , we got to shoot in their amazing shop. If you are thinking of growing your own fruit and vegetables, check them out online where they offer all sorts of things to help you get going, or drop in their store to pick up a copy of their fabulous book! Thanks again Fab & Mat!

I won’t say too much more as we still have Jason and Huyen’s wedding film to share early in the next year, so hope you enjoy our little short film.

- Peter

PS. Make sure you select HD and watch full screen for the full cinematic experience!

The title of this post is in reference to a beautiful poem that Jennifer and Chi Lye included in their wedding vows. It speaks of the delicate nuances couples need to be able to read in the dance of marriage. Jennifer and Chi Lye, congratulations on your marriage and may you always dance together in the rhythm of love.

~ Peter

Wedding Video: Living Lens // Wedding Venue: Emu Bottom Homestead // Celebrant: Leigh Martin