A love like both Ben & Rach is something we all aspire to have, it's that warm love early in the morning, and waking up with their two beautiful children, that shows just how love is supposed to operate.
Hi everyone, Rob here. Today’s blog is of great importance to me as its a wedding I hold very close to my heart. Not only was it a special day, but it was also one of the most important and significant days to one of my best mates Ben, I could not have thought of any better wedding gift then to be able to capture this moment of a life time and every moment in between for someone so near and dear to me.
Onto of this I also got to work alongside another one of my best mates & amazing photographer Tim Smallman, Tim is our resident Melbourne Photographer but for this wedding in particular it was evident to me that he needed to become apart of the experience as well. Prior to the big day I had meet with Ben & Rachel at their chosen wedding venue - St Bernards hotel located in Mt Tamborine. I love getting the opportunity to have a thorough view of my clients chosen venue to discuss the possible positioning of all the precious moments we will soon be capturing, taking into consideration all of the different backgrounds we can utilise as well as getting them comfortable within that environment.
Moving forward to the wedding day I meet with Ben, his best mate Luke, brother & soon to be brother in law Ryan. All the guys were getting themselves ready at Ben’s mum Anette’s house in Nerang. While the best man was doing some last minute ironing Timmy and I begun to take some images of the accessories as well as covering Ben putting his suit on whilst Luke was lending a hand. To Ben’s surprise, Rach had left him a small gift on the bed. As Ben opened the card he came to realise it was a signed wedding gift from all the Manly Sea Eagles football team (his favourite team), wishing him a happy wedding day you could see Ben’s hands start to tremble as his eyes filled with tears of love & joy. To see all of that beautiful emotion it was a reminder to us all of just how thoughtful Rach is, and as per usual this one this moment got me a little teary.
Moving on to the beautiful Bride to be Rachel was getting prepared for her big day at St Bernards, which has a absolutely breathtaking view of the entire Gold Coast surrounded by beautiful rambling gardens providing me with endless image opportunities. With their elegant Grande Marquee or better known as the stylish Rafters Room accomodating anywhere from 20 to 200 guests I was already excited for all of the amazing photos I was about to have the opportunity to capture. Also on this beautiful property there was an awe-inspiring cottage, with wide open windows and an amazing indoor setting this is where Rachel, Bec, Melissa & Natasha began the unforgettable voyage of getting the gorgeous bride ready, her hair & make up was looked flawless the girls from VIP Bridal Beauty (Tennille and Liv) did a great job. Her dress was equally beautiful supplied by Bohemian Brides Miami and flowers by Matamata Home Florist.
Again, emotions were running high with a few special moments taking place, for example the moment the girls & her father laid eyes Rachel in her stunning dress for the first time they were all lost for words. Then her two handsome little men Jimmy & Henry arrived, it took little Henry a while to work out that the beautiful princess before him was his mother, as its not every day the little man gets to see his gorgeous mother looking like Cinderella.
Racing up to set the tripod up in preparation for the ceremony which was styled by Beautiful Weddings Gold Coast Hinterland, a multiple award winning wedding styling company specialising in creating dream wedding ceremonies & receptions and they didn't disappoint as it was Beautiful. It was great to see a few familiar faces while I set up multiple camera angles covering each view of emotion as well as my professional audio straight from the celebrants PA it was time for action.
I believe it is of great importance to get quality audio especially in an outdoor wedding such as this, with the wind surrounding us you really need to ensure your getting the audio straight from the celebrants microphone.
The ceremony itself was extremely touching to all who attended, as well as those who have taken the time to view the wedding video itself. Firstly you will see the wedding celebrant announcing Ben’s two beautiful little men coming down the isle, turning to Ben you could see how high the emotions were running. Overwhelmed with the happiness & love of this very special day Ben for a slight moment turned away and by this point I already had tears in my eyes, then down came the gorgeous bride to be.
As I approached Rachel & her father I realised she was crying to the point where for a brief moment they had to stop for a second. Seeing, feeling & breathing in this pure emotion it was safe to say by this point I was sobbing myself.
I am so so grateful to be apart of these special moments, being able to capture the raw emotion bride, groom & everyone surrounding feels so deeply is something I take the time to appreciate significantly.
Once we were all settled the ceremony went well with a great mixture of emotion & laughter. The celebrant was Sarah May Alexander, Civil Marriage Celebrant, who as she always does did a amazing job, she really is dedicated and you can tell that she loves what she does.
Moving onto the photos section we had a lot of fun together creating images and capturing those moment they will never forget. The bridal crew were getting really involved and I love to see that, makes for a much better end result and an all over happier experience. Jimmy & Henry were also full in action with beaming smiles and an over flow of excitement ready to get in both the wedding photos & videos. We went through all the gardens at St Bernard's with the bridal party, finishing up with just our newly weds referring back to those locations we found in the initial meeting I had with the couple prior to the wedding.
Straight into the reception we started with the bridal parties entrances all being announced as each pair came through, followed by speeches and then of course the amazing food starting promptly after this. The speeches were very heartwarming for me, seeing my good mates Nick & Luke giving the speech of a lifetime as well as Ben’s mum Anette it was very touching for me as well as everyone else in the room.
Getting onto the first dance we got started, wasn’t long before the two little rock stars took over the dance floor putting on a show with some wild moves learnt from none other then father Ben. The DJ and photo booth where both a big hit as they where playing some of Ben's classic favorites like red hot chilli peppers aswell as Rach's popular stuff. The photo booth was always full and was a big hit, The great part about that is that it was actually the same company that supplied both All Star.
A massive thank you to Ben & Rach for allowing me the pleasure of being apart of their special day. Also a big thank you to Timmy for sharing his unique skills & passion for being an awesome photographer on this day. Ben & Rach have decided to get a wedding album which we worked very closely on to tell there story for the day that will be passed on for many generations to come. Please feel free to comment & share! Would love to hear your thoughts.
Celebrant - Sarah May Alexander, Civil Marriage Celebrant, Qld
Hair/makeup - VIP Bridal Beauty (Tennille and Liv)
Venue - St Bernards Hotel
Wedding coordinator - Sharon ( St Bernards)
DJ/photo booth - All Star
Cake - Cakey Creations Cakes
Styling (ceremony and reception) - Beautiful Weddings Gold Coast Hinterland
Dresses - Bohemian Brides Miami
Flowers - Matamata Home Florist
