Let me just start by saying that the floral design from Pomp and Splendour in this feature is just out of this world gorgeous. As someone who swoons over all things flowers, I almost fell out of my chair when this beauty popped into my inbox. And the entire wedding captured by Narelle Joy? Equally beautifully. So do yourself a big, ol favor by getting cozy in all gorgeous right here in the full gallery of images.

 

From Pomp and Splendour…Elise and Alex had seen my work previously on SMP and called me up just a few months before their wedding day. I met with them both and it was immediately clear to me that the wedding flowers were going to be a very important part of their day. The bride is Australian and the groom is British so there was a strong emphasis on the combination of Australian and English cottage flowers. Both Alex and Elise had been living in the UK and were back in Australia to start a new life together.

The bride (Elise) had an extensive Silver tea service collection that she had acquired during her years of living in the UK and had asked me to include them in the floral styling. The collection was absolutely to die for and helped us to create the perfect colour palette of dusty blues, silver and grey, sage green and crisp white with a blush of dusty pink. I very much wanted to capture the rustic and the modern with a romantic feel, something that suited the surrounding environment of the wedding venue and represented the story of Elise and Alex.

The venue for both the ceremony and the reception is a beautiful old 15 acre garden on the outskirts of Melbourne. The property hosts a Modern Art Gallery and a restaurant called Cafe Vue. The restaurant is well known for utilising the culinary kitchen garden that is on the property. This inspired us to include herbs in the floral styling such as Rosemary, Sage, flowering Parsley, Lavender, scented leaf Geranium and Thyme. The flowers were a mixture of Australian native gums and gumnuts, flowering gum, Flannel Flower, Sea Holly, Freesia, Hydrangea, Bouvardia, Garden roses, Dahlia, succulents and berries.

The next morning when I went to collect my vases and decor, the brides parents were there collecting cuttings of all of the herbs and succulents that were used in order to plant up in the couples garden. The brides father thanked me for the beautiful flowers and for my botanical passion. He told me that his father had been a keen gardener and that it was something that was very important to the whole family. Elise has since told me that her strikings of Lemon Geranium, succulents, herbs and foliages are doing well in her garden! Such a dream couple to style wedding flowers for.

Photography: Narelle Joy + Laura Nerina Andrau, Regarde-moi Photography | Floral Design: Petra Cremming, Pomp and Splendour | Ceremony Venue: Heide Museum of Modern Art and Gardens | Catering: Cafe Vue | Wedding Dress: Lisa Ho | Bridesmaid Dress: J.Crew | Hair + Make-Up: Living Dolls | Suits: Maxi Dupla

From the moment I first laid eyes on these images from Tigs Macallan, I’ve been chomping at the bit to share them with all of you. They are the perfect combination of sweet and stylish and all around stunning, and keeping them from you any longer would be a crime. It’s a picture perfect Australia wedding from start to finish, and it’s all sitting pretty right here.

 

From the Bride + Groom…Adam grew up in the small Grampians town of Halls Gap. Even before he had proposed we always talked about how we would love to be able to get married in his home town. So when Adam did propose, a whirlwind 3 years after we had met at work, we began the task of planning a marquee wedding in Halls Gap. However, it didn’t take us long to realise that we didn’t have the additional time to spend on organising the event from scratch so we turned to the amazing Royal Mail Hotel 45 minutes away in Dunkeld. Known for its fine wine, delicious food and breathtaking setting, we just knew this was going to be the best place for us to celebrate the rest of our lives together. Twelve months out I began the overwhelming task of planning the day, I absolutely loved every minute I spent on organising the smallest of details to make sure not only Adam and myself but all of our guests had a brilliant day. At times the stress got the better of me and I knew Adam was just looking forward to flying out for our honeymoon on the Monday morning, but when he told me at the end of the night that he had had the best day of his life and he just wanted to re-live the whole experience all over again, I felt that our efforts had paid off!  The weather although windy was perfect and our photographer Tigs managed to capture the feeling we had hoped to set for the day; fun, relaxed and elegant. At the end of the night we were taken back to our cottage at the Mount Sturgeon Estate where we popped a bottle of Dom Perignon  and ate our wedding cake watching the stars in the clear sky. At the end of it all I have walked away an incredibly happy wife with a great husband and amazing memories.

Photography: Tigs Macallan | Ceremony Venue: Mount Sturgeon Homestead | Reception Venue: Royal Mail Hotel | Celebrant: Sharon Byrne | Band: The Baker Boys | Floral Design: The Regent Florist (regentflorist@interfloraflorist.com.au) | Hair + Makeup: Didjun Skin and Body | Wedding Dress: Maria Gonzales | Bridesmaids Dresses: Karen Millen | Flowergirl Dress: Tutu Du Monde

It’s a well-known fact that we go just a tad bit crazy for all things photography here at SMP.  And when a brand new (+ oh-so-talented) photog joins our advertising family, we throw a virtual dance party like you’ve never seen.  One that celebrates uber-amazing images and breathtaking artistry, like the beauty you’re about to lay your eyes upon from Liesl Cheney.  She’s what we like to call a “photog extraordinaire” and we’re beyond happy to have her as part of our team.  Ready to get to know her? Scroll down for some show-stopping works of art… and be sure to check out the amazing giveaway and discount she’s offering!

From Liesl Cheney Photography… Hi everyone, I’m Liesl and I live in sunny Perth, Western Australia with the ukulele-playing love of my life (a.k.a, my husband). Before moving to Perth, just over a year ago, I lived in England where I photographed weddings in the UK and Ireland.

My approach to photography is simple. It is about bringing together the emotion, ambience, love and creativity of your important day, captured in a frame for you to keep forever.

There is rarely a day where a person spends so long planning, thinking, building and crafting the perfect little details as on her wedding day and my sole objective is to capture the awesome emotion and personality of your wedding day in a relaxed style with a romantic flair, contemporary edge and an elegant finish.

To celebrate the re-launch and rebrand of my business, I am holding a fab giveaway. I have teamed up with Flights of Fancy by Kristy and together we will be giving one lucky couple the chance of winning a styled engagement shoot. For more details and to enter, simply head over to my blog. As an added bonus, I am offering 15% off engagement shoot bookings to everyone who enters the competition, as well as 15% off all wedding packages for all the readers out there. To qualify for the wedding discount, simply contact me before 30 August 2013 and mention you are an SMP reader.

Welcome to the family, Liesl Cheney Photography!  We are so happy to have you! xo