Mr. & Mrs. Polglase

I first met Kirsten and Brad early on in 2017 at my old studio on Princes street, here in Dunedin. They had driven down from Christchurch to meet me and discuss wedding collection options. It was lovely to meet and connect with these two from the get go and from that point they had booked me in as their wedding photographer. As part of their wedding package, I also did their engagement photos, which were taken as we adventured about Lake Pukaki near Mt. Cook. It was such an amazing backdrop and these two had so much fun, I was really excited to work with them for their wedding. Come February 2018, my friend Sophie and I and my 2 scruff nuggets made the mission from Dunedin to Nelson for the big wedding day. The wedding venue was at The Playhouse in Nelson and our location photos were at a lovely apple orchard and cottage just 5 minutes from the venue. We had planned to do location photos on Rabbit Island, but nature had a different plan in mind as there was a pretty gnarly cyclone that hit the west coast a few days before and completely decimated the road access to the island along with a lot more destruction along the coast. Luckily the day of the wedding was an absolute stunner with glorious sunshine and almost melt worthy heat. The night before, we had camped along side the Moteuka river... it had rained most of the night but when we woke it was a beautiful day... Sophie and I had a wee swim at the river, basking in the sunshine and then we were on our way to the grooms family home, where the guys were all getting ready... In typical fashion, there was whiskey and video games, everyone seemed pretty relaxed and easy going... A little bit of nerves about as the hour drew near to speak in front of loved ones. After an hour or so with the guys, I made my way over to Kirsten and her bridesmaids getting ready at the Apple Orchard cottage... It was such a beautiful place with a load of character. The girls all looked stunning and were just figuring out how to get all the dresses tied, buttoned, and zipped properly. Smiles and laughter and big deep sighs of excitement and nerves were par for the course. I snapped a few photos here as the bride got dressed and everyone looked on, it was truly a beautiful scene to photograph and be a part of. From there, I made my way over to The Playhouse and prepared my angles and shots for the ceremony, taking photos of the guests as they arrived and waiting in anticipation for the bride. It was a hot day, so shade was prime real estate for this ceremony and water was essential. As the bridal party arrived in 2 fancy vintage cars, I moved into action and the day really began... It all goes by in such a whirl of moments, you don't realise how quick 8 to 10 hours can actually go by in an event like this... I remember shedding a few sneaky tears as I watched on as Brad did his speech and teared up himself, I'm a sucker for romance I tell ya! The love between these two is quite special and I was pretty lucky to be capturing these once in a lifetime moments for them. After the ceremony we made our way back to the Apple Orchard and got some fun shots of the bridesmaids, groomsmen and bride/groom. Lots of giggles and outrageous moments at this stage... The nerves had lifted and everyone was just having a blast in the sunshine drinking a big ol bottle of bubbles. :) The day continued on into the evening with touching speeches, funny jokes and roasting of the bride and groom, the cake cutting, and the much anticipated first dance. You could tell these two had practiced this dance and had it down to a T... reminded me a little bit of that scene from Dirty Dancing at one point. haha. As everyone joined in on the dance floor, I snapped a few final photos of the bride and her dad having a dance and laughing together, and smiled on as everyone got down to boogie. Another day of romance for the books, done and dusted. Enjoy the photos! :)