Louisa Bailey

I loved photographing Tamsin and Nick’s wedding in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens recently. The happy couple were living interstate when they were planning their wedding so Tamsin had the good sense to enlist the help of The Style Co, who did a fantastic job transforming the Terrace restaurant. They filled the room with woodsy things that suited the location so well, like moss and flowers, but my favourite bit was the huge tree they made in the centre of the room. It had real bark and the girls even carved Tamsin and Nick’s initials into it. I have no idea how they did any of this! I just photograph it. And boy do I love photographing it. I have to give a shout out too to Hayley Mac who did a beautiful job with all the girls’ make up – she’s always great! I highly recommend her. Good work Style Co and congratulations Tamsin and Nick!

Danielle and Mark’s wedding was held at the beautiful Stones of the Yarra Valley, a venue I’m always excited to shoot because it’s like it’s just made for being photographed! Danielle braved the cold August weather in her amazing Pronovias gown, and Mark kept her warm with lots of newlywed cuddles. But back to the dress! It was so very cool to photograph! Like a couture piece out of a fashion mag. Beautiful blossoms filled the chapel and barn, and were the creation of the very talented Blooming Brides. Thanks for having me at your amazing wedding Danielle and Mark.

I won’t post too many pics because it’s coming a a bridal magazine near you very soon!

I’ve been shooting a lot of weddings this season, but not getting around to blogging them so I promise I’ll try to do at least one a week until Christmas! This one here was definitely a highlight of the season – Catherine and Julian are a gorgeous couple who are so in love (look at the looks they gave each other during their ceremony! So much love!) and their wedding was one to remember.

We started with some pre-ceremony portraits – something I’ve been doing a lot of lately. It’s especially common during winter months when it gets dark early. So it suits me, light-wise, and it also means I get to take photographs of the “reveal”, or “first look” as they call it in the biz. Being able to capture the look on Julian’s face when he first saw Catherine dolled up in her Johanna Johnson dress was so much fun. We were lucky to have the use of an art gallery to take these shots on the rainy August day.

Visually this was a stunning wedding, thanks to the awesome venue The Substation, and Cecilia Fox‘s amazing floral creations (I was stoked to meet Cecilia Fox aka Mel herself as she was a guest at the wedding!). It was also a very musical night. Julian’s Dad played the mandolin for Catherine’s ceremony entrance – it’s always beautiful when a loved one can play music at a wedding, and I get a bit extra excited when it’s an instrument I never get to hear live. Speaking of this, do the words SAX SOLO sound pretty awesome to you? Because that’s exactly what the guests were treated to when Jules jumped up on stage during their first dance to Icehouse’s Electric Blue. I had decided early in the night that Catherine and Jules were pretty special people, but this just sealed the deal.

I also have to give a special mention to the live band on the night – The Harpoons. My very talented sister made this music video for them so I was super excited to get to hear them live. They were fantastic! So yes, I am very much enjoying this job! Thanks for having me there Catherine and Jules!

Julia and Nathan’s special day took place in a very beautiful part of the Melbourne CBD – the National Gallery of Victoria. The spring weather was perfect (which is unusual for a Saturday!) and everything just fell into place. Julia looked stunning in her Anna Campbell dress, her gorgeous bridesmaid and MC both looked fab in their Sass and Bide party frocks, and Nathan and all his pals looked super sharp in their suits too (I forgot to ask about their suits…what is this, a fashion blog?). The always amazing Rebecca Brown did Julia’s flawless make up and the talented ladies at Flowerjar are responsible for those stunning flowers. Do I sound too much like Lillian Frank when I write? Anyway, I loved photographing the bridal portraits amongst the grey brick and curved exteriors of the Arts Centre, juxtaposed with the verdant greens of the Grollo Equiset Garden where the ceremony was held.

And I loved being part of Julia and Nathan’s amazing day! Enjoy the pics.

Ladies and gents, I present to you one gorgeous wedding today! Julia and James married right in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD in Autumn and I think you’ll agree they styled it to match the season perfectly. Cecilia Fox did an amazing job complementing Joost Baker’s very cool interior design at Hare and Grace, where the ceremony and reception were held. Crazy Melbourne weather meant the outdoor ceremony was moved indoors but it all worked out perfectly, and I loved making use of another nearby bar for some fun portraits. Julia’s beautiful dress was by Jenny Packham from Le Louvre and she wore Julia roses in her hair. Make up was by the legendary Blanka Dudas and James Furness did her beautiful hair.

I think you can tell just by looking at the photographs that they are a super cute, happy couple. I actually think Julia was the happiest bride I’ve ever seen. Her smile lit up the room! I had so much fun photographing their day so I hope you enjoy these shots.