Elsie & James: Trash the Dress

Elsie and James were married in New York on February 1st, but decided they wanted some warm wedding photos so we met over the weekend for a trash the dress session. With this miserable winter I was worried, but we planned it perfectly. There were lunch time showers, but the afternoon was just beautiful; and with the wind blowing from the north,the south shore was pretty protected. We spent two hours shooting, so there are lots of images, but here are a few of my favourites. Thank you both for a wonderful afternoon - you are just adorable. I am sure you will have an amazing life together...

I suggested they bring along a few props to the shoot. Anything that is meaningful, to mix it up a bit and to add an element of humour to some of the photos. They came with quite the bag of goodies - the first character to appear was Buzz Lightyear - apparently there are those who think James bears a resemblance.

Both Elsie and James were born in the year of the Monkey, so they have this connection and a special place in their hearts for the adorable creature. This fluffy version just made me smile - and them too...

These are Chinese fortune knots. It is tradition to make them for special ocassions; these were made by their mothers as wedding gifts to grant them health and prosperity.

From the beach we headed to Southlands. The incredible jungle of banyon trees and palmetto plants is just beautiful. And the soft afternoon light gently filtered through casting a lovely warm glow over Elsie and James.

Baby Tilly

It was wonderful to meet Tilly last week. I first photographed her parents Nerissa and Blair at their wedding in December 2006. They were married at Blair's family property atop a hill overlooking the South Shore. It was a beautiful small wedding and the ruin there made for some stunning shots. A year later I photographed Nerissa with Leighton in her belly up on that same hill and then several months later, the family together at the Botanical Gardens. And now they are four - Tily is just lovely, with these mesmerising eyes and a high tolerance for her brother's kisses... Thank you all so much for the pleasure of shooting your adorable family...

Allison & Mike

I met Allison and Mike at Stonehole Bay a couple weeks ago, but we decided to postpone the shoot as the sky had turned black. So plan B - Grape Bay last Thursday. But as they were both at work, lunchtime was the only option. It was an absolutely glorious day with not a cloud in the sky. Which one would think ideal, but the beach in the middle of the day proved perfect for high drama, but brutal on the eyes, so sadly in many, they were pretty squinty. So I suggested Plan C. They came to my cottage and we shot a few more in my shady garden. And yeah! third time lucky. Thank you both for being such troopers... and I can't wait to meet the wee one...

And a few from the beach day...