Jacqui and Marc’s art deco-inspired wedding had us feeling like we’d been teleported back to the roaring ’20s. They filled their event with vintage details and bold surprises that kept everyone smiling throughout the day.

The wedding party primped at St. Kilda’s stylish Prince Hotel, where Jacqui was cinched into her stunning lace gown. The ceremony was in the Botanical Gardens, and bright red umbrellas stood at the ready in case of bad weather. Alas, skies were clear, but the umbrellas made for great photo props!

After the ceremony, we managed to steal the newlyweds away to wander around the historic streets of St. Kilda, the fitting backdrop for this timeless couple’s portraits. We snapped a few shots with their celebrant’s fire engine-red Vespa — a perfect match for Jacqui’s red lips and shoes — and then headed back to the Prince Hotel for a reception on the deck.

Guests sipped champagne out of vintage coupes, then moved inside for dinner, which was served at two long community tables. Jacqui and Marc are known for their dinner parties, and they wanted to capture the same intimate feel at their wedding. We’d say they definitely accomplished that goal as guests were laughing and chattering throughout the meal.

Jacqui had admitted that she was nervous about her first dance with her father, but they pulled it off seamlessly and went on to boogie on the dance floor and raise a toast to an old favorite. Cheers to Jacqui and Marc!

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We had a ton of fun at the shoot — Marc is quite the joker, and neither of them take themselves too seriously. Though they were nervous to see the results of the shoot, Jacqui said they were pleasantly surprised. Her reaction: “We don’t look half as bad as expected!” We’ll take that as a compliment!

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Jen and her now-husband Stu, who met working for the Melbourne Fire Brigade, dressed the part for the old-fashioned affair — Stu wore a tweed suit from England, and Jen wore a timeless lace-adorned dress and carried a parasol in the boat. Even the guests got in on the theme, with some wearing bow ties, tweed, and even short pants with high socks.

Stu and Jen styled the wedding themselves, showing off their love of nature by using native Australian plants, herbs and chili peppers to decorate the aisle. We also loved the colorful bentwood chairs and stools they chose for the ceremony.

Another detail we adored: Jen’s engagement ring, which Stu had specially made using glass they’d collected on a beach while heliskiing in Russia.

We loved spending time with this adventurous couple, and when it was all over, we felt as if we’d made two new friends. Luckily, it seems like they felt the same way. “Having Lizzy at our wedding felt like having an old friend doing the photos for us

with the added bonus of knowing we were going to have beautiful professional

photos to remember our special day by. Lizzy made us comfortable, she was

professional, and made it relaxed and fun,” Jen told us. “She was even willing and happy to take her camera in a row boat to capture the special moments of our rowing from the ceremony to the reception.” We’re always willing to get a little wet in the name of good wedding photos.

The details:

Wedding location: Studley Park Boathouse, Kew
Ceremony Official: Melissa Jacob, The Ceremony Store
Bridal gown: Claire Pettibone gown from Intique & Co
Groom’s attire: Bookster, England
Makeup: Jade Pearce Makeup Design
Hair: Tina from Muji Cutters
Flowers: Katrina Owers
Jewellery: Family heirlooms
Boat: Jen’s Father’s Antique Double Skull
Music – Ceremony in the park: Sergio Ercole
Music – Reception: Frank Lee Darling
Wedding Rings: Bill Mazis

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We recently spent a lovely, laugh-filled day at Royal Botanic Gardens for the couple’s engagement session. After the shoot, they went off to lunch at the Terrace Cafe in the gardens.

Later on, Jacqui sent us this sweet note: “It was actually quite fun, I don’t know why I was so nervous beforehand. And the weather was perfect for a stroll around the Botanic Gardens!”

We can’t wait for your wedding, guys!

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Corinna and Peter are getting married in Melbourne — Peter’s hometown — in December, so this was a perfect chance to get to know them before their big day. Though Peter’s family lives in Melbourne, Corinna is from Germany, and she can’t wait for her family to arrive for their wedding. They’ve rented a house on the coast to enjoy with their international guests.

We shared a laugh when Peter’s inner school teacher came out — he started the shoot posing as if for a yearbook photo. Corinna looked stunning in a bold print dress that she’d bought at the Exhibition Building’s Finders Keepers Market just the day before.

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This was just one of the fun, personal touches at this sweet couple’s wedding. Brooke and her bridesmaids got ready for the day with Brooke’s very excited family at the grand, historic Rendezvous Hotel on Flinders Street. The bridesmaids looked sleek in black lace dresses with tiered skirts that mirrored Brooke’s gown, while the groomsmen were dapper in timeless black suits and ties with whimsical elephant cufflinks.

With plenty of happy tears, the ceremony took place under the gazebo in the gardens of the Ascot House, followed by a reception in the garden room overlooking the courtyard.

After the wedding, Brooke sent us this sweet thank-you note: “From first meeting you, we were very happy with how relaxed you made us both feel. On the day we hardly noticed you were snapping away, which resulted in the natural style of wedding photography that we were after. You made our friends and family very comfortable and they are all as excited as us to see the final product. We are very happy that we found you and have already recommended your services to friends. Many thanks again, Lizzy and Clara. You made our day even more special by capturing it so beautifully.”

Thank you, Brooke and Jason, for letting us be a part of your day!

Wedding location: Ascot House

Ceremony Official: Robyn Rodda

Bridal gown: Essence, Fairytale Bridal, Moonee Ponds

Groom’s attire: The Suit Warehouse

Groomsmen: The Suit Warehouse

Bridesmaids: Review

Shoes: Mallouk Custom Bridal Shoes

Makeup/hair: Chelleon for Hair, Woodend

Flowers: Gisborne Cottage Flowers

Cars: Triple R Cars

Cake: Pastry Art Design, Collingwood

Music: DJYak – Peter Yacono

Bonboniere: Pink Frosting

Invitations: Bride and Groom

Wedding Rings: G&N Jewelers

Bridal accessories: Linda Gorringe Couture

First night: Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne

Honeymoon: Queenstown, New Zealand (They decided on a “mini-moon” prior to traveling to USA later in the year)

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Bernd told us that his clients are really drawn to his passion for his work. “If I talk about my domain, I’m often so excited that you’d find my eyes glowing,” he said. “This is often infectious, so my customers get excited, too, and we have a very energetic relationship with good outcomes.”

My photo shoot with Bernd was straightforward and relaxed, and we had a lot of fun chatting about his work. Bernd, had a clear understanding of how important it was to have good quality photos of himself to represent himself professionally. I loved that he’d decided to take the photos first and then design the website style around them! It gave me a very open brief!

He had these nice words to say about us afterwards: “I am usually very nervous and uncomfortable in front of a camera, but with all the chatting, the photo shooting was over in no time and I wasn’t stressed at all. When I saw the results I was very happy, since they were much better than I expected. I got a lot of compliments from friends, business colleagues, and customers, which made me even more happy with the results.”

You can find out more about Bernd at berndschiffer.com and agiletrail.com.

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Louise Reynolds’ first email to Lizzy C immediately piqued our interest. She’s a romance writer recently contracted to Penguin’s Destiny Romance imprint, and she was in need of an author photo. We’d never really thought about the authors behind romance novels, and we loved that she wanted to break the mold — “No pink feather boas!” she said.

Louise actually didn’t start writing seriously until 2007. She played around with a few sub-genres within romance before settling on the kind of story she likes to write. “Of course everyone knows there will be a ‘happy ever after’ in a romance novel, so it’s the journey you take the reader on throughout the book that’s most rewarding,” she said. “Dreaming these stories into being and making readers laugh and cry is a fantastic feeling.”

Louise is admittedly camera-shy, but once she relaxed, she seemed very comfortable in her own skin and exuded personality and warmth. “I haven’t enjoyed having my photo taken since I tripped the 40 wire, so I approached the session with some trepidation,” she said. “The idea of smiling on command and posing was uncomfortable, but I enjoyed the laid-back aspect of the shoot. Lizzy put me totally at ease, chatting and laughing throughout the process. I was able to choose a good number of shots that I was happy with and they were beautifully finished. I also love that she captured a number of different sides of me so I have photos suitable for a variety of needs.”

On a side note, we discovered by chance that we’d actually photographed one of her colleagues and dear friends previously — such a small world!

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It’s not every day we get to shoot a wedding where the groomsmen rock bright blue suits and the bride willingly sports a set of Groucho glasses. But that’s exactly what happened at Julia and Ged’s adorable wedding at the Emu Bottom Homestead in Sunbury. The vintage-inspired affair was relaxed and rustic — not to mention pure fun.

Julia was nervous when she arrived at Emu Bottom, but as soon as she saw her sister and four bridesmaids — all decked out in fashionable pink frocks — the fear seemed to melt away. Ged’s aunty Mary Anne Egan officiated, and the ceremony was full of sweet stories about how the couple met.

Julia scoured wedding blogs like Polka Dot Bride and Style Me Pretty for wedding-planning inspiration, and there were DIY touches and a subtle book theme throughout (Julia’s a bit of a bookworm). “I worked really hard and stressed a lot coming up to the wedding but it all came together in the most amazing way,” she told us after the big day. “We had some really great family and friends helping us and everyone seemed to have had a great time. Ged and I have talked about nothing else since! I think everything we feel for each other came out in the wedding, making it just a huge celebration with a great feeling.” We couldn’t agree more.

We had a blast working with Julia and Ged, and we’re so happy they felt the same way. Julia had this to say: “They made everything so easy for everyone. They were super-organised (especially with the family photos — this helped immensely!) and just genuinely excited and enthused about the day. I never felt like any of the shots were staged and from the little I have already seen, they’ve captured exactly what I wanted: relaxed, candid, and beautiful photos. I would be so thrilled to recommend Lizzy to everyone I know because I know that they would always be in great hands!”

Wedding location: Emu Bottom Homestead
Ceremony Official: Civil Marriage Celebrant: Mary Anne Egan
Bridal gown: Mariana Hardwick
Grooms attire: Jack London
Groomsmen: Jack London
Bridesmaids: Alice & Olivia, Zimmerman, Topshop, Life With Bird.
Shoes: Tony Bianco
Makeup/hair: Elite Hair & Make Up
Flowers: Muesli & Yoghurt
Jewellery: Tiffany & Co.
Cars: borrowed from a friend.
Cake: made by Ged’s Aunty
Music: Baker Boys Band
Invitations: made by Ged’s cousin
Honeymoon: New York

A little New York inspiration for you Julia and Ged http://www.lizzyc.com.au/2011/06/new-york-new-york/

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