Pearl and Allen arrived for their Carlton Gardens engagement photos in matching white suits, and we knew straight away this one was going to be fun. Head-to-toe white takes nerve in a public park, but it is a gift for a photographer: it bounces light back up onto faces and makes skin glow, and against green lawns and the cream facade of the Royal Exhibition Building it reads clean, modern and a little bit fashion. Pearl wore crystal-trimmed heels. Allen wore crisp white sneakers. That one detail told us everything we needed to know about these two.
We started by the flower beds and walked them hand in hand with the Royal Exhibition Building behind them. Our trick with walking shots is simple: give a couple somewhere to go and something to talk about, then get out of the way. Halfway down a tree-lined avenue Pearl stole a kiss on Allen’s cheek, and his grin barely left his face after that.
The old timber park benches are one of our favourite props in Carlton Gardens. Sit two people side by side and they forget about the camera and start chatting, so the laughs are real. We got a cheeky kiss, a quiet moment with Pearl tucked into Allen’s shoulder and her engagement ring catching the light, and then we dropped down low for a shoes-only frame: heels and sneakers crossed side by side. It might be the most Pearl and Allen photo of the whole set.
Under the big canopy the light is soft and patchy, so we look for the open shade at the edge of the trees, where faces stay even and the background melts into bright green. A low leafy branch made a natural frame for a kiss, and Pearl owned the lawn on her own for a few portraits. Then came the outfit change: a fitted nude gown for Pearl, a dark suit for Allen, and one last frame at the grand arched entrance of the Royal Exhibition Building, with agaves and orange cannas in full bloom. That is the photo at the top of this page.
Then came the Dowry Day. Across West Africa, the traditional engagement is the day the groom’s family formally comes to ask for the bride’s hand and brings gifts for her family, and in many families it is every bit as big as the white wedding. Pearl and Allen held theirs at Pearl’s family home in Melbourne’s west, a week before their wedding, and it was a riot of colour from the moment we walked in.
Allen wore gold with a beaded necklace and carried a round painted fan. Pearl wore a fitted purple and gold print, cowrie shells woven through her hair and a feathered fan in her hand. We took them out to the open grassland near the house, where the red dirt track and the tall golden grass sat beautifully with the gold and purple. A soft, cloudy sky is a dream for traditional dress: no harsh shadows, and every pattern in the fabric holds its colour.
Then the maidens arrived. Six of them in matching blue woven cloth, white markings painted across their faces and shoulders, came down the track carrying baskets and calabash bowls of fresh produce on their heads, smiling the whole way. Allen and his groomsmen, in matching blue prints and caps, took a flying leap off a row of boulders together. We fired a fast burst to catch all of them in the air at once, which with six grown men is harder than it sounds.
Back at the house, Pearl and Allen took their seats on two rattan peacock chairs in the marquee, in front of a wall of greenery, woven baskets and pampas grass. Styling like that makes our job easy. When the music started the whole marquee came alive. Allen went down on one knee, Pearl crouched low in front of him, and family and friends danced in a ring around them, fans waving and phones in the air. Moments like that move fast, so we stay wide, get low and keep shooting until the dancing stops.
We finished back out in the long grass with a kiss behind their fans and a forehead-to-forehead moment as the wind moved through the field. Two very different sessions, and a couple who were completely themselves in both.
These Carlton Gardens engagement photos and Dowry Day frames are why we love photographing Melbourne couples who bring their culture with them. Planning your own Melbourne engagement photos? See more of our cultural wedding photography, our Melbourne CBD wedding photography, our garden wedding photos or our heritage wedding photography.
