The night before, during my drive there, my uppermost thoughts – worries, really – were all to do with the weather.

Sure, I have shot rainy weddings before, but this was no ordinary rain. This was Melbourne getting lashed by the tail of cyclone Yasi. This was flash flooding, road closures, lakes appearing over night.

And then I review the images. And just about the last thing that comes through, from hundreds of photos, is the weather.

First and foremost – always – it’s about the people.

Which is not to say that things ran smoothly. About an hour after I got to Mandy’s house, she got a call. It was the winery where her wedding ceremony was going to take place. Except it couldn’t. It was flooded out, and unsafe. But that was going to be alright, ‘cos people got mobilised, and alternative arrangements were made, and the entire thing was shifted – seamlessly – up the hill.

It was amazing.

And Mandy? Well, she was amazing too. So was Ed. The manner in which this upheaval was handled was just extraordinary. By the time the ceremony got underway, it felt as if it had always been planned that way.

Mandy & Ed – you were brilliant. Your wedding was thrilling. Thank you.

Darin Collison is a wedding photographer in Melbourne. He specializes in beautiful, fine art documentary wedding coverage. You can read the original blog post here mandy & ed.�

My street is flooded. Nothing to compare to the chaos that has been visited on Queensland this month, but still…

It’s a LOT of weather.

I’m shooting tomorrow, and Sunday – in fact, my next free weekend is the end of May. Part of me is a little trepidatious, because it’s raining just so hard.

But, you know what?

Come what may, rain, hail or shine, two people get married tomorrow. And it will be beautiful. And I will capture whatever happens.

Right now, it’s Friday night. And Friday night is dress-up night.

Darin Collison is a wedding photographer in Melbourne. He specializes in beautiful, fine art documentary wedding coverage. You can read the original blog post here friday night….â��

Were Siany and Yoanes worried that the weather forecast for their big day basically said there would be a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours?

Well. yes. They were, a bit. But did that stop them having a truly fantastic wedding day? Not even a little.

It was a long day for them – I started shooting at 10am, and the girl’s makeup was already well advanced. Mind you, the boys were arriving at 11 for the tea ceremony.

Fortunately, Siany had family and friends on hand, to watch the preparations and offer helpful, calm and practical advice, as in this image…

Her dress was upstairs. Quite beautiful, elegant, nice little details – I knew it was going to completely suit her. I didn’t know – until she told me – that her aunt made it for her! Nice work.Because they were having a tea ceremony, there was none of the normal “bride doesn’t see the groom until the church” business going on. Yoanes just rocked up like any other day of the week. Except slightly better dressed.

And even happier than normal…Which left Siany to be the nervous one…Actually, I think that Yoanes may have been a little more worried than he was letting on…But, before you knew it, it was time to glove up and get the tea ceremony underway!The tea ceremony was as much fun as I have seen. It was just close family, and everyone was totally relaxed and in fine humour. They all had a ball!Up until now, the rain had actually been threatening, but it had just about held off. Luckily – and unusually for a wedding day, we were running ahead of time.

So, we piled into the cars, and headed into the city to take some formal snaps – aka the cheesy stuff.

Of course, by the time we got there, the rain had arrived – a front that was roughly the size of Victoria. Fortunately, there are some great places in Melbourne where you can shoot while staying completely under cover, so we used those. In any case, as I explained on the day, the cheesy stuff is great to have, and of course everyone wants some beautiful, relaxed portraits on their wedding day, but capturing the actual day, the real story, is far more important.

Nonetheless, Siany and Yoanes were just brilliant to shoot – fun, relaxed, still a bit nervous; but that was proabably ‘cos the actual ceremony hadn’t taken place yet! These images are a little more traditional than I normally go for, but it just seemed right – it suited the couple, and the surroundings, and the weather.

Speaking of formal, I have to say that I am a big fan of OLD cars. Sure, modern limos have all the mod cons, and are often a lot more practical, but if you want something that just looks fantastic – particularly in the rain – get an old Roller.

Now that has presence!
There was, of course, a wedding ceremony to get to. And it was a beautiful, involving and heartfelt ceremony. Here are some moments that show you what I mean…Actually, this image reminds me – ALL brides should make sure they have easy access to a white hanky on the day.So, married at last! And out of the church and off to the reception. So, had the rain, rain, gone away?

Nope. No way. No, indeed – in fact, it had gotten heavier. Fortunately, Dave of Always Classic Cars – that’s him  - always comes prepared.The reception was at the Melbourne Aquarium . Yep, I thought that was delightfully ironic too, given the rain! What a fantastic venue for a wedding reception – even the fish were excited. They are maintaining a poker face, obviously, but you can see from the way they were swimming that they were really thrilled…Umm – this is a pretty spectacularly cheesy shot. I love it!But not as much as I love the total, wide-eyed wonder in Siany’s eyes as she watches the giant ray swim right over her on her wedding day.Like I said, cool venue. Although when I saw that the entree was rather delicious looking salmon, I felt a wee bit guilty.

Siany and Yoanes – congratulations! And very well done for having such an enjoyable day, for being so happy and good humoured even during what felt like a monsoon!

Darin Collison is a wedding photographer in Melbourne. He specializes in beautiful, fine art documentary wedding coverage. You can read the original blog post here let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!.�