A buttonhole by the window
Our day started in a hotel room at The Langham in Southbank, heavy curtains pulled back and soft summer light pouring through the sheers. A loved one in a mustard dress stood toe to toe with Hector and pinned a blush flower buttonhole onto his navy lapel while he grinned down at her handiwork. We stood side-on to the window so the light wrapped around them both instead of flattening their faces. Then Hector took a seat by the glass with a drink in hand, open collar, no tie, the picture of a relaxed groom.
Lace, laughter and ribbons
Naomi’s laugh filled the room the moment the strapless lace gown was on. She threw her arms wide while the loved one in mustard and another in a floral dress cracked up beside her. A floral vine sat in her short hair, she fastened her earrings at the window, and the loved one in florals knelt to do up her shoes. Then came the bouquet: pink proteas, big white blooms and long burgundy ribbons. We kept Naomi against the bright window so the lace glowed at the edges, then grabbed easy frames of her arm in arm with each of the two women.
A gilded staircase
Before the ceremony we found a grand double staircase with gilded rails curling down both sides and a domed light glowing above. We put Naomi and Hector a few steps up, hand in hand and looking back at us, and let her train spill down the dark carpeted stairs towards the lens. Staircases are one of our favourite indoor spots: they lift a couple above the floor, frame them with the rails and show off a long skirt in a way a flat floor never can. Naomi couldn’t stop smiling over her shoulder.
Up the aisle at the Pullman
Then it was across town to Pullman Melbourne On the Park in East Melbourne, where the guests were seated on patterned red carpet in the foyer outside the ballroom. Naomi came up the aisle arm in arm with a young man in a black suit, beaming, her bouquet ribbons swinging. At the front, beside floor-to-ceiling windows full of green treetops, he stood face to face with Hector for a moment. We stayed tight on Hector as Naomi reached him, because a groom’s reaction lasts seconds, and his came as a wide, crinkle-eyed smile.
Vows by the glass
Those windows did half our work for us. With daylight pouring in and treetops behind, every face at the front was soft and bright. Hector read his vows from a card into a microphone, and partway through Naomi doubled over laughing and leant right into him. When it was done they wrapped each other in a long hug against the glass. We turned to the chairs, where guests of every age were clapping and grinning, little ones included. For a city ceremony, ask for the front of the room to sit beside the biggest windows: it changes everything.
Arms up for the group photo
The register was signed at a table by the windows, two loved ones standing behind Naomi and Hector as the certificate went up for the camera. Then we gathered every guest in front of the glass for one big group photo, the front row kneeling on the carpet and everyone else packed in behind. The first frame was neat. In the next, arms shot up, fists punched the air and the whole crowd cheered. Afterwards Naomi and Hector slipped into the wedding car, all cream leather and timber trim, and clinked glasses of bubbles, grinning at each other.
Family groups across the road
Fitzroy Gardens sits right across Wellington Parade from the Pullman. Naomi and Hector strolled hand in hand down a sunny footpath and onto the lawn under the big old trees, where family and friends joined them in turn: a big group with the little ones up front, a row of men in dark suits, a burst of bright summer dresses, a boy in a waistcoat and a girl in orange. On a bright day we always put groups in the open shade under the canopy, so nobody squints and the light stays even across every face.
Under the elm avenue
Then it was just the two of them, under a long avenue of elms with dappled light on the bark-chip path. Hector scooped Naomi up and she kissed him mid-lift, skirt flying. They danced a few steps, he twirled her under his arm, and they leant against a huge trunk, laughing. We used a longer lens down the avenue so the rows of trunks stacked up behind them and the leaves melted into soft green. Hector had a quiet moment on his own, and Naomi swished her skirt between the trees with that bouquet against the lace.
Skyline, then the reception
We finished out in the sun, where the gardens open up towards the city. Naomi and Hector walked across a bright lawn, stood forehead to forehead with the towers rising behind them, and shared a last kiss beside a lamppost with the skyline filling the frame. Summer afternoon light is strong, so we kept them side-on to the sun and let the buildings carry the shot. That is the joy of Pullman Melbourne On the Park wedding photos: a city skyline and a heritage garden a short walk apart. Then it was back to the Pullman, where the reception was waiting.
