This is another amazing wedding from late last year and one I will always remember with a huge smile on my face! Oh just wait until you see the wedding cars later in the post!
Abbey and Glenn were married in a tiny town called Prairie, about an hour north of Bendigo, at the historical property of Prairie Park. Their ceremony took place in the garden of the original old home, which is currently under extensive rennovation. The reception was held in a massive white marquee, set up on the property.
I’ll begin with some images of Abbey and her attendants getting ready in one of the beautifully rennovated bedrooms at Prairie Park.
Some final adjustments to Abbey’s dress. The girls electric blue satin dresses looked fabulous, especially with the window light skimming accross them.
Abbey with her beautiful bridesmaids.
Abbey’s darling little neices were just thrilled to be her flowergirls. Oh my, they are SO adorable.
I sensed such a special bond between Abbey and these two sweet little girls. This image just makes me gasp. I decided to give it a very aged, old world look with texture and frame overlays and a low contrast, faded black and white colour treatment. I think it really adds to the mood of the photograph.
Two little blue fairies, jumping for joy. I can’t think of a better reason to jump….
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Now some images of Glenn and his groomsmen, who also got ready inside the amazing old home at Prairie Park.
Oh man… these guys were funny. Who would have thought putting on ties could be such an event? As is often the way, the guys had Sue and I in stitches during their preparations.
All dressed, suberbly composed, and looking fantastic.
The handsome groom, very keen to see his bride and get married.
O.K. I lied about the wedding cars! But if I’d said wedding tractors, I would have revealed the surprise! Glen had told me during our interviews that they would be arriving on tractors, and I thought that sounded very cool. But nothing could have prepared me for the sight of these four monsters coming down the driveway! I wish I had a photo of the look on my face when I first saw them… ha ha ha. Absolutely fantastic.
A great shot of everybody…. a VERY happy group. Looking at this I can almost hear them cheering.
The newly married couple, travelling in absolute style. A bit slow, but not too slow for a running, 40 year old photographer.
Love is…. BIG green John Deer tractors. Yeeee haaaa.
We then moved on to the train line and wheat silos at the neighbouring town of Mitiamo. Once again I used a very vintage colour and texture treatment, adding to the character and mood of these two images. Of course this sort of processing is optional, and any image can be treated this way, or left in it’s original, bright colours. I guessed that Abbey and Glenn would love this look… and I was right.
It was just a bit windy standing by the silos! I feared the little ones would take off!
The entire wedding party, looking fabulous. I had told the little girls more than an hour earlier they could be excused if they wished, but they would have none of it. Very dedicated flowergirls.
Some lovely portraits of Abbey and Glenn around the old homestead.
I originally planned to take some shots of Abbey and Glenn looking out of this magnificent window. By the time I’d organised my camera settings, they’d climbed up and STOOD in the window… something I would never have dared to ask for. What a pair of legends!
Time for some beautiful shots back in the room that Abbey got dressed in, with my favourite lighting, the video light. So very elegant.
We had always intended on getting some images at dusk in the wheat fields, but because the wedding was in late November that meant the ideal time was about 8.30pm, when obviously the reception would be well underway. I suggested to Abby and Glenn that we sneak out for 10 minutes immediately after their main meal, which would work quite well because many of the guests would still be eating. They really wanted the shots, and readilly agreed to this plan. Oh wow, I think it was worth it. I have never even stood in a wheat field before, and was completely thrilled with this opportunity. I was initially dissappointed that the big fluffy clouds we’d had all day had blown away, but the intense pinks and aquas of the dusk sky more than made up for that, and there’s something so appealing about the wide open space of the crop and an uninterupted sky.
From my point of view this wedding was a thrilling experience. A beautiful couple, so in sync and committed to one another, the most down to earth, wild and fun loving group of friends and family that made up the wedding party and a location that was drenched in the character and history of rural Victoria. Everybody involved, including the owners of this amazing propery, treated Sue and I like we were just part of the gang, and made us so relaxed and welcome. Australian rural people are truly unique and amazing.
The other aspect of this wedding that struck me was just how lucky I am to enjoy such diversity in what I do. The wedding I photographed the week before was Melanie and Ben’s Melbourne wedding at Quat Quatta in Ripponlea, with location photography in St Kilda. As I stood in that Prairie wheat field I was thinking that the St Kilda Pier seemed to be a world away, but how equally thrilling and inspiring both locations were. Whether they travel in vintage Rolls Royces or John Deer tractors, I just love photographing people who love one another!
by Annie Warren
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