Cufflinks on blue china
Jonathan’s morning began at a family home with a little still life: silver cufflinks laid out on a blue and white china plate, which we shot close with the window light skimming the metal. One of the boys fastened his collar and bow tie, while the rest gathered on the timber deck out the back in white shirts and patterned ties, green beer bottles in hand. Jonathan leant on the deck railing under the trees, then got a laugh and a squeeze from an older loved one inside. Those easy minutes before the jackets go on make the best groom frames.
A gown at the window
At Edwina’s, the gown hung in the bedroom window between dark curtains, and the little flower girl stood beneath it looking up as if it might move. We framed that with the light coming straight through the lace. The ring sat tucked among pink roses and white blooms, the flower girl twirled in her navy dress, and a loved one in a bright floral dress laced Edwina into the bodice. We caught Edwina’s reflection through a doorway, then a long hug with a bridesmaid over her bouquet of white flowers and eucalyptus leaves.
Navy on a rooftop aisle
A long black car collected Edwina and her four bridesmaids, and the flower girl took the front spot in the group photo on the footpath. Up on the clubhouse roof, guests found their seats among white bentwood chairs with palms and blue sky above, and a guitarist played under a black umbrella at the side. Jonathan, in blue, waited at the front with his groomsmen in grey, the beach and the city skyline behind them. The bridesmaids came down the white runner one by one in navy, each with a loose bouquet, which gave us a lovely repeating frame.
Edwina’s dad
Edwina came down the aisle on her dad’s arm, smiling all the way, past an older guest in a wheelchair at the end of a row. At the front he kissed her cheek and handed her over to Jonathan. The sky had clouded over by then, and that was a gift: soft, even light across the rooftop, no squinting and no hard shadows under anyone’s eyes. Edwina and Jonathan read their vows from little cards, facing each other at the railing with the bay behind them, while a front row of loved ones beamed and the flower girl settled on the turf.
Hugs along the railing
They signed at a small white table with the bridal party crowded round, and then the hugs began. Jonathan bent down to an older guest in a wheelchair for a long embrace, Edwina was wrapped up by a loved one, and family queued along the railing for their turn. We set the family groups along the bay-side rail so the water filled the background, and we like to work from the biggest group down to the smallest so nobody waits around. By the end the flower girl had had enough of standing and lay on the turf, chin in her hands, beside Jonathan and a guest in red.
A walk down the pier
Then we walked out of the club and straight onto St Kilda Pier. The bridal party lined up along the rail in navy and grey, the bridesmaids laughing at something just out of frame, and Edwina and Jonathan walked hand in hand past the lamp posts. Out on the pier we turned them around, because the best view is back towards the white clubhouse and the boats. The wind kept lifting Edwina’s hair and Jonathan’s jacket, and we leant into it. Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron wedding photos rarely need a car, and this walk proves it.
Into the Harbour Room
Before dinner we finished with a simple portrait against the clubhouse’s white wall and clipped hedge, then headed upstairs. In the Harbour Room a gold and marble cake with white sugar flowers stood on the timber floor, guests were already seated at long tables by the windows, and a live band was set up in the corner. The bridal party lined up at the door, then came in pair by pair, arm in arm and grinning, past the room’s name on the door. We shoot entrances from low and slightly ahead, so both the faces and the room read.
Speeches at the lectern
The speeches came from a clear lectern by the windows. Two older loved ones shared one, reading in turns, and the room was laughing within a minute. We kept a second angle on Edwina and Jonathan at their table, and that is where the best frames were: Jonathan with his head thrown back, Edwina hiding her face in her hand. Jonathan spoke as the windows turned dark blue behind the guests, and then Edwina stepped up to the microphone herself, which we always love to see. A table near the back was in fits.
Heart glasses after dark
Their first dance began with a twirl across the timber floor, Edwina’s gown swinging out, and by the end the guests had closed in around them. The dance floor did the rest. An older guest pulled on a pair of light-up purple heart glasses and danced with his hands in the air, the flower girl ended up on the floor in a fit of giggles with another little one, and Edwina danced with a guest in a patterned shirt who had the best moves in the room. We light dance floors with a touch of flash and a slow shutter, so the warm room glow stays in.
