melanie & daniel. this is how to diy a wedding!

Melanie and Daniel got married on Saturday. Melanie is… well, it is fair to say that she put a little more time and effort into preparing her wedding than the average bride. Mel made EVERYTHING! And she did it with care, flair, an eye for detail and style that basically blew my mind! For instance – no confetti allowed? No problem – make ribbon wands. Outdoor wedding – what happens if it rains. Provide a basket of umbrellas. She made the cake, the decorations, the lot. Oh – and I believe she handed in her thesis two days early!

What can I say – she is a remarkable girl!

I have a sneaking suspicion that she made these dresses – but I don’t know. They are cool though. A different frock for each bridesmaid, and an apres party number for Mel. And each dress looked just so.

Do you need me to tell you who arranged the flowers?Talking about an eye for detail, I thought her shoes were just a bit stunning. My wife, the lovely Sophia, thought they were absolutely amazing. And wants to get married again in red shoes.Those are details. I also love moments. And I love this one…And this one…I also loved how she seemed to capture the light wherever she was… Maybe that was pre-organised!Hey – Flowers! Dresses! Sunlight!And…. here’s Daniel. I gave him a hard time on the day, but I was only joshing. Look – here it is. Dan – you have a killer smile, and really nice eyes. You don’t look too shabby in pinstripes, either.Alright, I know. I was supposed to be shooting the boys. But when extraordinary cuteness is happening within camera range, it must be snapped!There is a wee story behind this picture. On the surface, it is pretty obvious. Flowergirl, bridesmaid in the background. Bridal car. HOWEVER, this gorgeous little angel WOULD NOT COME OUT FROM BEHIND HER BEDROOM DOOR! Which was funny and frustrating in kinda equal measure. I have had practice with thoese emotions, of course – I have daughters!

Anyway, she was a new girl when she got out of the car. Charmaine – I don’t know what you said to her, but you rock!I just really love this image… Kids will be kids, even in the moments before two people get married.If this looks a little like the celebrant is giving his daughter a good talking to – well, he is. Her dad that is. Just fantastic – it made for an especially heartfelt ceremony, which kinda compensated for the really fickle Melbourne light!Nice glance, Mel – you have pretty amazing eyes too!I don’t like elaborate set-up images. Particularly on someone’s wedding day. Let the day just happen, and shoot things as they go, but always with a thought towards moments, details, story. This image is a nice example. I also really love it.

Almost but not quite as much as I love this one! This was one of those moments when I am actually muttering under my breath like a madman – “Come on, come on, take one more step. Just one more little step. Just into that patch of stunning backlighting. Yes! Now raise the wand. YES!” Click. Love it.Portrait. With chip.Portrait without chip. But with much love and happiness…Mel had spoken to me earlier about “the kangaroo”. Can you spot it?This was one of those times when the shot could have been very, very VERY cheesy. Park bench under a weeping willow, anyone? There is a slight chance I am not the first wedding photographer to shoot something along those lines! Oh – I love it though. 

The cake. Everything you see here was crafted by Melanie. I have no idea how she persuaded the birds to roost there all night, mind you.Details…And dancing!Yep. It’s love, alright.Capturing speeches with still photography relies on capturing reactions. There was some pretty good speech making. I personally think that wedding speeches are unfairly maligned  – I have heard a LOT, and the vast majority are funny, or heartfelt, or beautiful, or all of the above! This was definitely all of the above…Mel. Dan. Congratulations! I had a brilliant day. Melbourne turned on some amazing weather. You all looked great. And a good time was had by all.

If you want to find more details about the enormous amount of preparation that Melanie did, check out her blog – The Crafty DiY Bride. It’s fantastic!