Craft, artisanship and attention to detail are close to our hearts, and we believe our lab team are true artisans in an industry where those qualities are fast disappearing. We wanted to express this on the new site, and finding an illustrator aligned with those values was very important.

Toril’s portfolio shows her high level of sophistication and experience. What we loved about her work was her ability to capture people, her expressive quality of line, and gorgeous use of subtle water colours.

Toril lives in Copenhagen, Denmark where she graduated from The Danish School of Art and Design in 1996. As part of her education, she spend six months at Warsaw Artakademi specializing in illustration and poster design. Toril has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for many years. However, since 2008 she has been a full-time illustrator.

Her work is mainly in advertising and editorial in which she has illustrated for many fashion magazines such as Elle DK, CLES Magazine (FR), and Eurowoman just to name a few.

To see more of Toril’s work, visit her website here

Melissa

Gavin said that at the time of the Royal Wedding he was “Chief Photographer at the Express & Star, the United Kingdom’s biggest selling regional newspaper and I knew a couple of months in advance that I’d be photographing the Royal wedding in London.”

Gavin was one of the few selected photographers to be standing outside Westminster Abbey, sending photos minutes after they were taken so the newspaper could publish and print them just 35 minutes after the ceremony!

The first view of Mr and Mrs Windsor was a pinnacle moment - “I look back on this moment and it was one of the most important single photographs that I have ever taken – It is a moment I will never forget!”

The images of William and Kate are stunning – as are the images from other weddings that are also included. His ability to capture such honest emotion is evident in every photograph.

Soon after his Royal Wedding encounter, Gavin decided to concentrate his talents on wedding photography, and Lyric Weddings was born.

Gavin made this little 8×8 Press Book as a quick introduction sample book of his work.

Many thanks to Gavin for sharing your images with us!

Melissa x

The wedding ceremony was held at Les Trois Glands in Luxembourg, which was a special moment Nadine describes very beautifully…

“Discovering Pascal at the Trois Glands was a very big moment.” Nadine says,
“I look at him already from far away… yes, this is the man of my life, looking absolutely stunning in his dark suit (I had hoped he would choose this outfit) and his accessories, holding a flower in his hand…”

The reception was held at Bourglinster Castle. Both Nadine and Pascal felt incredibly thankful to their guests – “…watching from the balcony to realise that everybody had come only for us, to share this moment of happiness with us.”

Romain Negre Photography has done a beautiful job designing this 18x10h Duo with a half photo front, contemporary leather cover.

Thank you Romain for sharing your beautiful images with us!

Melissa x

Enjoy!
Anna

What an amazing place to hold a wedding! Their photographer, Nick Tucker, said “the day was a beautiful affair from start to finish. Lavish without being extravagant and well heeled without being in any way ostentatious. Jamie looked sharp in his Paul Smith suit and Jess looked stunning in her Audrey Hepburn-style Ritva Westinus dress.”

And what better album for this remarkable wedding than a Queensberry Musée. The couple chose a 14x10H with black embossed leather cover.

Jess & Jamie had their own monogram designed for their wedding, and we used this on the inside cover of the album (left: embossing on leather, right: the embossing block)

The evening reception had the feel of old Hollywood glamour with cognacs, whiskys, cocktails, dancing and cigars. Jess wore a beautiful Suzanne Neville wedding dress and Jamie looked dapper in his black tie get-up.

I also happened to find Jess & Jamie’s wedding highlights film by Roland Mihalszky. It is absolutely stunning!!! The look on Jamie’s face just before Jess walks down the aisle is just gorgeous.

To see the full set of images from Jess & Jamie’s wedding (and I highly recommend it – they are beautiful!) visit Nick Tucker’s blog posts: Part 1 and Part 2

Enjoy!

Anna

There comes a time in our lives when someone we love passes away.

It can be such emotional turmoil, re-living sweet memories, experiencing such sorrow. Then comes the often stressful time when you plan for the funeral – and need to dig out hundreds of forgotten photographs, dusty and faded with age – each image telling the story from some part of their life.

My Grandma passed way on Christmas Eve – we believe it was so that she could have a joyful Christmas with my Grandpa who left us many years ago. Christmas day is all about family, reuniting, sharing around the love and laughter. Surprisingly, mine was too.

With a funeral to plan in a few days we needed images to scan for a slideshow. So there we sat, next to The Tree, surrounded by hundreds of photographs, some at least a century old.

When I was little, I was fascinated by photography and images. I’d sit on Grandma’s knee as she turned the pages of her albums. From when I was tiny I knew and appreciated the importance of these physical memories. I like to think that spending Christmas smiling and filtering through all of the cherished moments from Grandma’s and her family’s lives, was her gift to me.

We carefully opened the creaky dust covered albums of various family member’s weddings, some photos slipping out of their holdings. I’d turn them over to see Grandma’s scrawl of a name and date. Then I discovered their own wedding album – matted and bound into a beautiful leather album from England, many moons ago. The black and white photographs within were preserved perfectly and their smiles radiated out at us.

It was at that moment, as I thumbed the worn edges I felt complete realisation – this is why we do what we do. To capture, produce and preserve memories for not only this life, but for the generations to come. When the day comes that they are no longer around, their loved ones can smile as they re-live memories through those enclosed in the treasured albums.

All too often we hear from people only wanting digital files – and we can understand that some wish to share them with their friends and family on Facebook, or be able to go and print them at their local lab. Some can only afford the wedding and photography, and can’t actually invest in an album at that time. Some do not wish to invest in professional photography at all – but they can shell out for the expensive dress, cake, venue, flowers and any other item that is only beautiful for that day alone. But after the day, what happens to them – really? Photography allows those memories live on.

When we capture someone’s wedding, it is more than just a job for us. We spend weeks getting excited and envisioning the big day. We take in all the details with our lens and feel like part of their lives, being invited to capture their most sacred and intimate days. To watch their eyes light up when our photography is finally revealed to them – it’s the most precious thing.

So I am going to say this – it breaks our hearts when we talk with people who do not believe in the importance of a hand crafted album. Let alone, never intend to do anything with their photos other than put them online. The same goes for portrait shoots. Files by themselves are for this era. This snap-them-upload-them-share-them-forget-them era. I would love to hear one person say that an image on a screen can trigger the same emotions as holding a printed photograph of a loved one that has been cherished for so many years.

We got married last year and I regret to say we had a pathetic budget for our wedding day – it really was tiny. But we were totally prepared to pay for amazing photography, even if it meant there was no cake, no feast, no elaborate details. It could have just been us, family and our photographers for all we cared. Our photographers were the talented Lauren and Delwyn Project, they helped create memories that will be shared with our children, and our childrens’ children.

Of course, we had to create an album, and what better than a Queensberry, handcrafted here in NZ. We’re so proud to offer these to our own clients. This album sits on our coffee table, we’ve had it less than a year, and I have looked at it hundreds of times, I’m probably running out of people to show it to… But I look at it, and it still brings a tear to my eye, something that need not be stored away and forgotten.

Forgive me if I have offended, it was not my intention at all. If you feel I am getting too caught up in what I believe in, too bad. That is what drives us. This post is merely an example of the essence behind our photography, our morals and reason for doing what we do. The reason why our art means so much to us.

Much love ~ Katrina

“They picked a glorious venue, the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, London, and in Katie’s words, it was “‘all about flowers”! The couple looked stunning, with Katie in a gorgeous lace dress and vintage flower headpiece. Guests were an eclectic bunch which included family from Georgia and the north of England, European Royalty, music producers, motorbike racers, musicians and a prima ballerina!”

“Despite Katie and James being well known and highly successful in their own rights, they’re the most unstarry couple you could hope to meet. Completely down to earth, and both with a wicked sense of humour, it was a pleasure to spend the day with them.”

Their album is a 14x10H Flushmount album printed on Tintoretto art paper. Katie chose Powder Blue micro leather for the cover of her album, to complement the pale blues and pinks of the wedding flowers. The final page of the album includes the title lyrics of a song she wrote about finding the love of her life – ‘Call off the Search’.

Photography by Jo de Banzie & James Yeats-Brown

Visit Jo de Banzie’s blog to see more images of James and Katie’s wedding

Enjoy!

Anna

It’s nice to see portrait images in our albums. We’re so used to seeing weddings!

Serena says, “My client landed on my website late one night by mistake! The mum had been doing some research into interior designers and I had just done a shoot with designer, Samantha Todhunter.

“Samantha’s website lead to a discovery of my website! She wasn’t really looking for a photographer but was captivated by my family portraits. She had always really wanted some great photos but thought it was a bit self indulgent – however my website persuaded her that it was a brilliant idea!

“This family are very close with their grandparents so it was important that they were involved in the shoot too. We had a happy and fabulous day all together and they were all a joy to work with.

“My goal on a family shoot is to take beautiful portraits in a spontaneous and natural way, and to capture the unique essence and relationship of the family. Then they can display their images as a collage installation on their walls, and/or create collections in albums, ultimately to become family heirlooms for generations to come.

“I offer my clients Queensberry Albums as I believe them to be the best high end product on the market. For a family shoot I steer them towards a flushmount or overlay matted album, which I think work beautifully to tell their story and help cherish their memories for ever.”

Thanks for letting us share your beautiful album, Serena! You can view more of Serena’s photography here.

• Tell us about how it all began – where did you and Sharde meet, and how did you make her fall for you?
Like any good modern day romance, it was in the workplace that love first blossomed… But not the office type setting of your average rom-com. Sharde was working as an Export Gold promo babe and I was hosting a singles party in Hamilton. We only talked that fateful evening, but later, while singing the praises of a dark and mysterious angel I had briefly conversed with, I found out we had mutual friends. On the 16th of September 2004 I sent my first text to her, which consisted only of the romantically charged lyrics to R.Kelly’s 2003 smash hit, Ignition, the Remix. The lyrics read “Can I get a toot toot? Can I get a beep beep?” and she texted back “Who is this? Did I just drive past you?” and the ball was rolling.

From there it was just like The Notebook, apart from the fact that I didn’t build her a house, write her that many letters or have issues with her mother. We clicked on a weird level, where she laughed at my weird jokes, I laughed at hers and she didn’t mind the fact that looks-wise she was a solid 10/10 and I was scraping by at a scruffy 6/10.

• How did you propose?
5 years after we started going out, we went on an overnight cruise in the Bay of Islands. I popped the question on the sandy shores of Urupukapuka Island, originally a kumara growing island to the local Maori. Is there anymore romantic vegetable than the humble Kumara?

But the proposal has a bit of a back story! Before I met Sharde I never thought I’d be the type to want to get married, and would always tease her about never getting married. So I presented a series of ridiculous challenges she could complete to actually get me to propose. My favourite idea was putting an engagement ring on the antlers of a Giant Stag and setting it free. She would have to hunt the beast to get the engagement ring and win my hand in marriage, like the Bachelor NZ style.

So I designed an engagement ring based on the rings that Sharde had said “Oooooh I want that one!” about, in Culet Jewellery window displays, and the plan was in motion. Before the trip I got a toy gun, wrapped it up and got some antler-esque branches off a tree. When we got to the beach I made Sharde turn away from me, and unwrapped the toy gun and put the ring on the end of the antler-esque branches. So I was the Stag she had to bring down to get her engagement ring! I made her chase me down the beach before putting the ring on her finger. It was a less than traditional proposal, but it gives us a memorable story.

• Tell us about your wedding day! Where was it, who photographed you and any special details.
It’s true what they say about the wedding day flying by. I woke up at 8.30am and went to bed at 1.30am the next day and it felt like it was on fast forward all day. The venue was Mudbrick Vineyard on Waiheke Island. It was the second venue Sharde went to on her venue reconnaissance mission on Waiheke, and she fell in love with it, and what my Sharde wants, she gets (to be read: there’s no point arguing with a Bride who has her mind set on something). Talia Stephens took our wedding photos and made the whole thing so easy to deal with.

Sharde was in charge of everything wedding related, I just had to get suits and have a shave and turn up. I got suits and kind of had a shave. She did an amazing job making the day memorable, some of her little treats included a photo booth, gingerbread men/women place settings & wedding favours, custom made wedding toppers (mine was holding an Xbox 360 Controller). Oh and I made a sign that said “The Smiths” to go on the Bridal Party Table. So I guess I had a hand in the arts and crafts segment of the wedding day. It still sits on our kitchen window sill with the little cake toppers in the middle.

• What’s the best thing about married life so far?
Well, it’s just been a series of treats so far. Overall amazing highlight would be the addition of our daughter Indianna, she’s amazing and Sharde is about the best mum ever. Otherwise living the dream in our wee West Auckland house with a dog and a cat is all good times. Sharde knows that I love my lawn and gardens and listens as I babble incessantly about my compost and how well the lawn is growing with the rain and warmth.

Basically the best part of married life is that regardless of what kind of day you’ve had, what kind of mood you’re in, how much money is left before payday or if you’re eating left over meatloaf for the third night in the row, you’re still hanging with your best pal. Ooooh and you get a certificate that says “Well done, you got married.” I never really got many certificates so that’s an upside.

• Why did you want a Queensberry album?
We got our wedding photos back and spent two weeks solid looking at them and being so amazed at how they came out. We always said  that one day we would get a really nice album for our favourites to go into. Queensberry was always on the list as we’d seen a few around the place, and it’s a New Zealand company which we like. I’d recommend holding a Queensberry, and seeing the different types too, as seeing them online is one thing, but actually seeing how beautifully handcrafted they are is next level amazing!

*14x10H Duo Album with a black classic leather cover.

We were delighted when Donal Doherty recently shared these beautiful pictures on his blog. (Full post here)

Donal designed this 14×10 classic matted album for his clients Karen and Gary. They chose an embossed onyx micro leather cover with a page mount style inside, designed with black borders under a hand cut ivory mat.

Karen and Gary also ordered two parent albums as well, which are smaller, digital copies of the main album.

We love the results! Thanks for sharing your beautiful work with us Donal