I had a wonderful time on Saturday afternoon with these two children.  They were a delight to photograph! 

I had the privilege of sharing last Saturday with Ian and Jenny.  It was a beautiful day - in so many ways! 

I photographed Lauren & Ryan’s beautiful wedding yesterday.  They were so sweet and you could see all day how in love they are with each other.  This is a sneak-peak.  There will be more to come in a little while.

What a beautiful bride!

The cinderella shoes - just gorgeous!

I love choices.  I’m not that great at decisions but I do love to be given options.  I love big specialised stores when they have more options than you can even look at.  That’s why I’ve just added a few new albums to my range. 

My new Tuscany albums have enabled me to offer Magazine style albums for a more affordable price.  However, for those who are looking for something a little more elegant or want more control over their covers then the Seldex Premier Range will offer you that.  The Art Album (which I am yet to recieve so do not have a photograph of) is another amazing option which allows you to combine magazine style layouts with matted pages.  And for those of you who just like the matted albums - I’ve got them as well.

Anyway, here’s a few pictures.  If you would like to see the albums in person then fill in the contacts form to make an appointment. 

The 8×8 Matted album is a good started Wedding album.  It also makes a awesome Signing book at a wedding.  The matted pages can be signed on by guests.  It’s a great way to include your engagement session photos in your wedding.

This is a 5×5 Tuscany Album.  I’ve got a bigger one on the way but I just love this hand-bag sized one.  They make great parent books or great as a duplicate album to put in your bag to show friends or take to work.  They come with a little cover as well.  In fact, I like them so much that anyone who books with a album package in July or August will get a bonus on of these thrown in (sorry, this excludes all previous bookings). 

The Sedex Premier Album comes with a huge variety of covers and in a variety of sizes. 

J-Lee Albums make good session albums - especially for portraits and engagements.  They are also good for parent albums. 

These are how your wedding DVDs are presented.  The black box is silk-lined.  A beautiful leather case with a photo insert contains a printed DVD.  These are such a nice way to preserve your wedding files and are so much nicer than they plastic cases we usually find DVDs in. 

And like every special occasion - the presentation of your album (or anything you purchase from me) is worthy of some nice gift wrap.  Here’s Broni & Anthony’s album ready for them to collect. 

I met Jeni & Lyonel at Roma Street Park Lands yesterday for their engagement session.  I’m looking forward to Jeni & Lyonel’s wedding which will be at the Indooropilly Gulf Club in October.  We had a good time exploring the gardens and I think we definitely got our exercise for the day walking through all the paths.  I haven’t finished editing the session yet but here are a few of my favourites so far. 

Jeni does acrobatic gymnasics so I thought I’d show off a bit of that flexibility.

And for something a bit different…

This was such a great session.  Here’s a few more and a link to their slideshow:

 http://www.firstglimpsephotography.com/blog/?fgp=show_daengagement

Alana & Daniel are getting married in September so we ventured into the city for their engagement session yesterday.  We started at the Botanical Gardens and then worked out way past the water and into the city.  It was bright with blue skys when we started but then got pretty dark.  About 5 mintutes after I got into my car at the end of the shoot it started BUCKETING down rain.  Talk about good timing. 

Anyway, enjoy your sneak peak guys.  I’m looking forward to your big day.

Eight months goes so quickly. Especially when you’ve got such an easy going baby like Tegan.  I swear if we could bottle her and sell her we’d make a fortune.  These were taken on the side of our house.  This really does go to show that often spots that you never would imagine can make for great photographs.  The side of the house provides a nice chanel of light.  I was a little upset six months ago when Mark decided to weed the side of the house - he just didn’t understand how much they added to my photographs.  However, thankfully weeds grow back!

I found this rediculous hat in a second had shop called Kids Kaboodles and the baby legs from the ABA shop in brisbane. I think they photograph well. 

This was Mark’s favourite. 

I’m not sure if I might prefer it in black and white?

I tried a subtle vintage feel for this one. 

And another go at the vintage. 

This is one Mark took of me and Tegan recently.  I really treasure any photos I can get of me with my kids.  These days will pass quickly and I want to be able to remember how great it is to bring a smile to my kids faces.

Continuing my 10 things posts I thought I’d do something a little less about me and something that could be helpful to the brides out there planning their wedidngs.  Here are my top 10  top wedding planning tips.  I hope they are of some help to you as you plan for your Wedding. 

#1.         Time your day carefully. 

This is one of the most important days of your life and you have invested a lot into it.  To make the most of it make sure you will have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the details.  Try to put your ceremony earlier in the afternoon or consider doing your photos before the ceremony so you don’t have to rush away too quickly after it.   

#2.         Minimise travel on the day. 

Excess travel on the wedding day eats away time that you could be enjoying yourselves.  Try to get prepared close to the wedding venue and plan to have your ceremony, reception and photos within a reasonably close distance. 

#3.  Get ready at a nice location. 

This location will be in quite a few of your photos earlier in the day.  If you don’t already have one consider borrowing a nice quilt and nice furniture for the bedroom that you will be getting prepared in as this can enhance your bridal portraits.  If you are hiring a hotel room make sure that you plan well for your departure as this can be very stressful just before the wedding.  If you can afford it book the room for 2 nights so you do not need to clear the room completely prior to your leaving.  If not, allocate a few people who are not in your bridal party to help move your luggage and belongings out of the room while your before photos are being taken. 

#4.  Choose your Bridal party carefully and voice your expectations before the day. 

I have seen many bridesmaids almost ruin people’s wedding day because they are too focused on themselves or their family to care for the bride.  Surround yourself with positive, fun and relaxed people on your wedding day.  Make sure if your bridal party have children that there are other people taking full responsibility for them on the day.  If they are trying to care for their children they will find it difficult to focus on their job for the day. 

#5.  Choose some unique accessories that fit with your day’s theme.

I willl try to record the little details such as your perfume bottle, jewellery, shoes and other accessories so take some time to make sure they all fit with the image you want of your day.  Surprisingly enough, people often ask to see you shoes on your wedding day so if you invest in really nice ones they will get noticed.  Chinese umbrellas and fans can make a great accessory for photos as do wraps for the girls in winter. 

#6. Get your make-up done professionally

This is definitely a worthwhile investment as quality make-up will make a big difference to your bridal portraits and will help to make you look that extra bit special on your big day.   

#7. Carefully consider your hair style

From a photographers point of view I highly recommend that your hair is worn up on your wedding day as down styles often do not hold very well in the wind during outdoor photos.  I’ve had many photos that would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the hair blowing across the brides eyes.  If you plan to have a down style maybe talk to the hair-dresser about ways you can pin it for the photos so that it is does not come across your face. 

#8.  Consider coloured flowers

Recently most of my brides have had predominantly white flowers in their bouquets.  These are beautiful but I generally find that coloured bouquets seem to photograph better. 

#9.  Try to resolve any conflicts before your big day

There are often points of contention with family and friends leading up to our wedding.  You don’t want to be feeling tension on your big day so if at all possible try to resolve any conflicts you have before the day.  An apology can go a long way even if they seem partly to blame.

#10  Have realistic expectations of your Wedding day.

Sometimes people build up such big expectations of their day that can never really be fulfilled.  Try to remind yourself that even if a few things go wrong, that it’s still going to be a wonderful day. If you have really specific expectations of people then make sure they are aware of them before the day so that they have a chance to meet them.