Perth wedding photography. King Park in July.
Short notice wedding.
Normally Kelly (7 to 1 Photography) and I really limit the number of weddings we photograph. I’m a strong believer that weddings are really special and I don’t ever want to get to a point where I see a wedding as just another shoot. With that in mind we wouldn’t shoot two weddings in a weekend however when we were contacted by celebrant, Halimah, and she let us know that Jo and Lee’s photographer had let them down and they were going to be without a photographer to capture their day the day before we had an epic wedding shoot we couldn’t say no! So with next to no notice and no time for in person meetings or any of the normal prep we would do we jumped in to give them wedding photographs to commemorate such an important day.
Getting ready.
Jo and Lee are two of the most chilled out brides I’ve met! I arrived at Crown Towers at Burswood where they were getting ready with close friends. The whole atmosphere was relaxed and filled with excitement and happiness (and maybe a little bit of nervousness and some giddiness, but it wouldn’t be a wedding without those!)
Photographing wedding details
I always try to arrive at the bride getting ready a little early so I can capture the detail before the getting ready really starts. Capturing the details is about taking a couple if minutes to photograph things like shoes, rings, jewellery, lingerie (if the bride thinks it’s appropriate) etc. I’m not really sure whether to say that this wedding was no different or this wedding was oh so different. It was no different in that I took a couple of minutes to capture the details but it was somewhat different in the brides’ choice of details. There were no dainty heels to be seen, instead there were steampunk inspired boots, which, I have to add, weigh an absolute tonne! People often say ‘I don’t know how women walk in those heels! I honestly don’t know how Jo and Lee managed to pick up their feet! Never skip leg day again with those babies that’s for sure. They would be a work out and a half! Along with not delicate shoes, there were no delicate, no lacy undies being photographed but Jo did want me to add their Bonds undies to the photo.
Of course the rings had to be included (although these aren’t their forever rings, but they are the rings used for the ceremony so I think they are still very special) and Halimah had peppered the room with heart sequins and rainbow flags so a flag had to be added and the scarf would be worn by Lee until the hand binding as part of their ceremony had to be included as well.
Getting ready
After the details it was time for Jo and Lee to get ready. Really not the point of this post but the rooms at Crown Towers are AMAZING! Oh my goodness the bathroom! So beautiful! And soooo much room! At one point we had four women in there and to be honest we could have got another four in there and still had room to have a party! Normally if I’m shooting in a bathroom as make up and hair is being done I have my widest lens on and I’m still doing a bend back over the toilet trying to get everyone in. No such problem here!
Once Jo and Lee were ready we were able to get a few photos. They wanted a photo of them together with the view from the window in the background and they wanted a photo with their closest friends. This day was about celebrating their love with those closest to them.
Getting to the ceremony
It was time to move to the ceremony. As the ladies were finishing up their chat and gathering their belongings I made the mad dash through Crown car park to race them to the ceremony. I have to say that the AFL Derby did not make that easy! All of Perth had parked at Burswood to walk over to Optus stadium and I had parked about as far away as possible without hitting the next suburb. Also trying to ‘dash’ anywhere with a soft box that is nearly as tall as me and twice as wide is not easy. Burswood has some very narrow escalators. I ended up looking like a lollipop with my arm through the soft box and holding it above my head. I very nearly took my head off with it as I went down an escalator at one point, if it hadn’t been for a random stranger yelling ‘DUCK!’ The soft box would have hit the overhang and I’d have decapitated myself. Who knew photography was an extreme sport?
While I was taking my 5 mile hike to get back to the car the ladies were waiting for their wedding car. As with everything else for their wedding they were chilled. They ordered an Uber! There was a slight delay in the bridal party arriving as there was a missing cord that needed to be found. I was very grateful for the delay as it meant I had time to beat them there and get rigged up and ready to shoot.
This is one of the reasons that I love working with Kelly and we always have two shooters, if I am stuck in traffic getting from bridal prep to the ceremony I know Kelly will be there to capture the arrival (I generally do bridal prep and Kelly gets to the venue early to capture the details and the guests arriving). While the dress is being fluffed and the last minute preparations are being made I have time to park and run to the ceremony but there is never a fear that anything is being missed because Kelly is right there capturing it! I take my hat off to solo shooters for weddings, Kelly and I really rely on us both being there to make sure we get it all and all bases are covered. I don’t know how single shooters manage it all.
Saying that, while we were both grateful that I had time to get there, Kelly and I, together with the guests, were nervously watching the black clouds roll in! It had bucketed down with rain in the morning and we had everything crossed the rain would hold off for their ceremony! As we waited the sky put on a magnificent show and we were gifted some amazing rainbows!
The ceremony
The brides arrived and after many hugs it was time to get these ladies married! The ceremony was held at the rifle range at Kings Park (I’ll admit, I have lived in WA for 31 years, I never knew it was a raffle range!) and there were no chairs, no rows, no aisle and no sides. Instead the couple were surrounded by a circle of their closest friends and loved ones and Halimah delivered a beautiful personalised ceremony that captured Jo and Lee’s story and personalities. Encircled with love and support. Just beautiful.
While Lee and Jo wanted a simple, relaxed ceremony there were a few added extras. There was the hand binding ceremony and once their hands were bound they led the group on a ‘short’ walk to the War Memorial *its a heck of a lot longer than we realised and it started to spot with rain. Guess how much shelter there is between the riffle range and war memorial? None! I had a mental picture of Jo and Lee still bound together and the rest of us in a mad dash run. Luckily that didn’t happen and instead their dream of the group walking up to the look out, arm in arm, laughing, smiling and sharing their joy was fulfilled!
When I speak with a couple about their wedding photography before a wedding I always ask if they can imagine a wedding photo on your wall what would it look like? What are you doing? Where are you? Is it close up or epic? This gives Kelly and I an idea about the kinds of photos and the feel of the photos that the couple will enjoy. Lee told me that they love black and white photos and they would like a close up photo of them kissing with the city in the background.
These are the photos we came up with.
The wedding photos – Kings Park Perth
Also, just because I thought it was a fun shot that suited our brides, while we did the customary hand on hand ring shot I thought we could try something a bit different.
