Blue ties and a wall of glass
Our day began with Sam: three blue ties and a pair of cufflinks laid out on a pale timber table, and a grey jacket hanging against a wall of glass that looked straight out into the tea-tree. He fixed his cuffs by the window, then perched on a director’s chair to do up his shoes. Light rooms like this are a gift, so we kept the frames simple and let the windows do the work. Before the groomsmen lined up in matching grey, Sam sat beside an older loved one on a striped couch, and they both grinned like it was their day.
A hem dipped in ocean blue
At Simone’s house the dress was hanging by the window, its lace train spread across the floorboards and finished with a scalloped hem dipped in ocean blue. Lace sandals sat on a cloud of tulle beside a necklace box, a bangle and a bright bottle of perfume. Then it all moved quickly. A bridesmaid in teal straightened the lace bands on Simone’s arms, careful hands fastened the back, and her mum settled a crown of white flowers and greenery into her curls. We stood back against the bedroom wall, so nobody felt watched while Simone put in her earrings.
Breeze on the balcony
Dressed, Simone sat at the end of the bed by the balcony doors with her bouquet of orange roses, white blooms and purple, and took a breath. Out on the deck her mum and an older loved one came in close for a laugh, the bridesmaids lined up either side of her in blue, and two of the groomsmen in matching grey had her in fits against a backdrop of coastal scrub and a strip of ocean. On the glass balcony the breeze lifted her train, which told us exactly how the beach would go. We framed her from inside the doorway, treetops and sky behind.
Across the sand with her mum
Rye Ocean Beach was all big surf, rolling cloud and white chairs set out on the sand, with guests in sunglasses and jackets because the wind off Bass Strait was up. Sam waited down by the water with the bridesmaids in blue and the groomsmen in grey. Then Simone’s mum walked her across the sand, the lace train skating along behind them while guests held their phones up. When she reached Sam, Simone doubled over laughing. We stayed low and wide so the breaking waves filled the background, and kept one eye on the chairs, where a loved one in a pink jacket was beaming.
Rings and a run up the beach
The celebrant stood at a small lectern with the surf behind her, and the rings went on while Simone’s hair and flower crown blew sideways. Wind at a beach ceremony is a friend in photos: it moves hair, trains and dresses, and nobody has time to stand stiffly. Applause rolled through the chairs, a few guests pulling their jackets tighter as they clapped. Then Simone and Sam came back up the beach at a run, Sam carrying the bouquet and the blue hem flicking out over the sand, with the bridesmaids and groomsmen striding behind them arm in arm.
Under the painted world map
At the hall, guests stood under the timber rafters as Simone and Sam walked in together, hand in hand, between rows of white-covered chairs. At the front stood a timber arbour draped in white, with pampas and white roses, against a hand-painted world map in sea blues. Two loved ones read, Simone read her own words from a card, and the whole room smiled along. Sam signed the register and a bridesmaid signed as a witness. The white drapes on the walls bounced the window light around, so faces stayed soft and even and we could work from the side aisle without fuss.
Hugs and a departure board
Then came the hugs, dozens of them, while the room filled with congratulations. Beside a wall of photos stood a Departure Board: a world map dotted with little name tags, a fitting partner for the painted map. We kept the arbour and the painted map as the backdrop for the family groups, one family at a time, then Simone with each bridesmaid. Using one backdrop for every group keeps an album consistent and lets us move quickly while guests mingle, which matters when the afternoon light outside is waiting for the portraits.
Rock pools at St Andrews Beach
With the sun lower, we took the wedding party down onto St Andrews Beach. The bridesmaids’ blue dresses streamed sideways as everyone walked towards us arm in arm, and the groomsmen lifted Simone so her train hung down like a ribbon, long shadows stretching across the sand. Then it was just the two of them, out on the rock shelf among the pools, the blue hem trailing over the stone while the surf broke behind. Shooting towards the afternoon sun gave us glowing hair and bright edges, and the still pools threw the sky back at us.
Twirls, toasts and a sunset track
Inside, the tables were set with blue striped plates and silver branch centrepieces, chairs were marked Bride and Groom in white script, and a blue cake with seashells wore a little globe on top. Simone and Sam cut it together, then Sam twirled her through a first dance under the world map. Loved ones took the microphone, the dance floor filled, and Sam danced with an older guest. As the sun slipped behind the scrub, we stole them away to a gravel track for a last kiss in golden light, the final frames of our St Andrews Beach Recreation Hall wedding photos.
