Scottish born Ashleigh travelled to Australia whilst on her around the world trip.  Plans changed when this scottish lass met an Aussie bloke while working at Hillstone St Lucia.   The couple quickly fell madly in love and Ashleigh soon cancelled her ticket home and has been with Nick ever since!  St Lucia Hillstone was the obvious choice for thier ceremony and reception as it held so much significance for them.  The day was lovely and relaxed, and their ceremony had a certain intimacy which was held in the Rosewood Room due to inclement weather.  It’s always nice to have such a lovely back up plan such as this when the weather isn’t co-operating.  I remember driving to the ceremony and seeing thunderbolts of lightening in the sky.  After the ceremony, we stayed at Hillstone to do photos.  Luckily, the sun came out, which resulted in a stunning sunset while guests enjoyed canapes and drinks in the Hundred Acre Bar where the ceremony took place.   Ash & Nick’s story is far from complete and that old saying “Rain on your wedding day brings good luck” seems to be ringing true for them and are expecting their first baby later this year.  Congratulations Ash & Nick and I look forward to photographing you both again with your lovely new addition.

Photographer: Rebecca Williams

Gown: Karen Willis Holmes

Flowers: Always Fabulous Flowers

Cake: Hillstone St Lucia

Cake Topper: Always Fabulous Flowers

Hair: Bach Hair Chelmer

Rings: Engagement and grooms custom made, bride wedding band Tiffanys

Makeup: Anita at Bach Hair Chelmer

Bridesmaids Dresses: High Street department store John Lewis, UK

Groom & Groomsmen: Hugo Boss

Ceremony Venue: Rosewood Room, Hillstone St Lucia

Reception Venue: Hundred Acre Bar, Hillstone St Lucia

Celebrant: Eileen Reilly

Bonbonniere: Ash & Nick made their own pots of jams/chutneys and marmalades

The sky was a beautiful blue and the sun shone brightly on the morning of Deb & Christin’s wedding, despite the forecast of rain.  I was told that it had not rained at Albert River Wines in over 50 days so it was more than welcome, just not on this day.  The rain did come though, but not before giving us a spectacular stormy sky and some beautiful light.  To say I was a tad excited would be an understatement!

Deb & Christin had a lovely intimate wedding inside the Albert River Wines Chapel and were surrounded by their closest friends and family.  The entire day had a lovely relaxed feeling and I had a great day surrounded by wonderful people.  Deb & Christin have a wicked sense of humour and were so much fun to be around.  I really do love my job!!  You can read about Deb & Christin’s love story here.

Deb’s Dress was by Luv Bridal

Christin & Groomsmen’s suits were by Strictly Formal Suits, Milton

Bridesmaid’s Dresses were by U Love Bridal

Celebrant was Kelly Angove

Flowers by Brisbane Market Flowers

Ceremony & Reception Venue was Albert River Wines

Hair by Di’s Hair Design

Make-up by Bayly Allure

I really enjoyed shooting Michael & Kelsie’s pre-wedding portrait shoot.  I am a dog lover,  so when I found out they are the proud owners of  a Border Collie called Max, I suggested they bring him along too.  If you are familiar with Border Collies, you will know that sitting still is not one of their strengths, especially when they are as young as Max.  He behaved superbly though, and we were all amazed he didn’t even try to run off when he was let off his leash (must have been my dog-whispering skills).  Michael & Kelsie are such a fun easy-going couple that are so obviously in love.  Stay tuned for a post featuring their wedding photos…

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to Blog more often.  I have decided to go back in time and try to catch up.  Here is the gorgeous Cartwright family to kick start 2013.  This was a pre-wedding portrait shoot but we used the opportunity to document the whole family, and not only the stunning Bride and Groom-to-be, but their gorgeous wee daughter as well.    I hope you enjoy – there will be plenty more coming!

in 2013 make sure you

Dance like nobody’s watching

Love as though you have never been hurt

Sing like no one is listening

Live as though Heaven is on Earth

(we can learn a lot from a 2 year old!)

Dancing to John Butler Trio at Woodford Folk Festival!

It’s the time of year most of us reflect on the year that has been, and I can say I am absolutely truly thankful for all the wonderful people in my life and all I have experienced.

I’d like to thank all my lovely customers for allowing me to capture, experience, and be part of your lives in  2012.  May you all have a most special Christmas, many of you experiencing your first Christmas as Husband & Wife.

I hope 2013 brings you all much joy, happiness, fun, friendship, love and laughter.

xx Beck

It was Ashleigh & Nick’s idea to do their pre-wedding portrait shoot at Mt Cootha, as this is where Nick proposed.  We hunted out some neat little spots and we may have even got a little lost.   This was  a  bit of an adventure as I then got the chance to stumble across something new and  unknown during the shoot - I love it when that happens!  Featured here is just a small selection from their shoot.   Ashleigh & Nick will be getting married next week at Hillstone St Lucia, a wonderful venue which has great significance to them, as this is where they met while they were both staff members there.

Last week we went and stayed at a farm with our family and some good friends.  The setting was Tranquil.  Rolling hills, fresh crisp winter air and the nearby sound of a flowing river.  At night, we sat around a campfire and enjoyed toasting marshmallows and sipping wine .  Our days consisted of walks around the farm and through the olive grove, and hiking down to the river which was set beside an open field with a rustic stone hut, surrounded by pine trees.  Our children spent hours taking turns on a simple wooden swing tied to an enormous fig tree.  It was heaven!  I did not have a break from taking photos though, and our children were the main subjects and when they were not close by even my dog became the model.  It was great to have some family time and get away from the everyday rush of life and take things at a slower pace.  I would recommend it to anyone!

This past weekend has been an exciting time for many professional photographers around Australia.  The AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) hosted it’s annual Australian Professional Photography Awards in Melbourne.  Over the course of 3 days,  over 3200 images were judged and scrutinised before panels of judges.  I entered the Wedding Photojournalism category and was awarded a silver and silver distinction.  Many thanks to my good friends at Kwintowski Photography for assisting me with the printing using their fabulous new machine :)  The following images are my award winning prints.

Silver Distinction

Silver

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.  This was certainly the case when Deb & Christin met during the Brisbane Floods of January 2011.  Having come down from Isisford to Brisbane, Christin’s visit was unexpectedly extended due to being stuck in Brisbane because of the floods.  As fate would have it,  it was during this time he met Deb.  They pretty much hit it off straight away and found out quickly they have a lot in common, including sharing the same profession as Police Officers!  With Christin being a country boy, and with Deb being a Kiwi (well, you can’t really drive more than 15 minutes from any city in New Zealand and you feel like you’re in the country!) I thought it would be appropriate to the do their pre-wedding portrait somewhere with a rural and peaceful feel.  I think it worked out perfectly!  Deb and Christin will be getting married in September at Albert River Wines.  I can’t wait!