darren and ahlia 27th january 2008

love at first sight, whirlwind romance, intense, passionate...all terms describe the amazing relationship between incredibly good-looking darren and stunningly beautiful ahlia...their small intimate ceremony and celebration were held at castle rock and bush shack brewery, yallingup...two unique locations particulary suited to this unique young couple. we arrived at the luxurious yallingup lodge, incredible adult retreat with the most tranquil, exquisite day spa i have ever visited - owned by the ever friendly and helpful tim dixon, where darren and ahlia were preparing for their wedding day...


a few detail shots...



not only did ahlia make this amazing bouquet...

she also designed and made her breathtaking wedding gown...clever, clever girl

we stole the handsome groom for a few portraits...

but he was then required for "lacing-up" duty...

tah-dah...ahlia's hair stylist was the lovely naomi van haeften from margaret river (i am so glad you wrote this down for me naomi!) - send us an email if would like to contact her. ahlia sat quietly for 15 minutes on the deck and completed her make-up - perfect...

ahlia's dad was on hand for chauffeur duty, and also to look proudly upon his lovely daughter...

leaving yallingup lodge and heading to castle rock - how beautiful is this room - can you just imagine the open fire in winter, tim told us they have held small weddings in this room in winter - just gorgeous...

darren literally couldnt take his eyes of ahlia during most of the ceremony...

location bought to you by idealic castle rock beach, gentle breeze to blow veil bought to you by coincidence, sailing boat in background bought to you by sheer luck ...

ahlia had her heart set on the actual castle rock for their images, so the four of us and dad walked about 15 minutes up the gravel track to arrive at this stunning location. this image is by far my favourite of the day (taken by mike...hhhmmm) but then there are so many more to come...

just look at this - this girl really should be a model...

dont you think...

love love love this image

this effect is called cinnamon toast over old skool...

ahlia had also seen some images from on top of castle rock, so up they went and mike did his best to create this adventurous couple looking like they are on top of the world...and if you close your eyes and wish hard enough, a breeze will whip the veil up and away...

a quick image of ahlia's ever patient and accomodating dad, andrew...thanks andrew, you were so tolerating of all our strange requests...

then is was back own the track and off to bush shack brewery! andrew was well and truly ready for a cold drink!

hey darren - you rock dude - who said you couldn't strike a gq pose?

a few shots in the pine forest...

couldn't decide on which of the three following images to post, do i thought - dangit - i'll post all three!

bush shack brewery is just the coolest place on earth - it's rustic, charming, surrounded by tranquil pine trees, with an amazing casual atmosphere...

oops, wrong place for this one - oh well, it's only a shot of mike kicking my butt with a captivating image of ahlia at yallingup lodge...

now this very nice fellow (who also married his lovely wife at bush shack brewery) showed us some very handy tips on photography...

bush shack brewery (am i talking about this awesome place too much?) is staffed by superb, friendly people, has incredible food and is managed by the charasmatic-i'd-rather-be-brewing-beer-daniel - if you are down yallingup way, check it out - you won't be disappointed...

everyone laughed when mike lugged our antique tub chair out into the field at dusk - well i bet you're not laughing when you see what we captured...it is just the best feeling in the world when it all just comes together and we (well, mike - again!) capture these magical images for our clients...

a yummy cake shot...

yummy cup cake shot...

meet qynn, blues and roots soloist - who is beyond comparison to anyone we have ever witnessed - words can not describe how talented, captivating and just incredibly awesome this fellow is...catch him wherever you can...darren and ahlia were so lucky to be graced with his music...

and a pretty pink dancing image to close...

darren and ahlia - you two seriously rock - we loved every minute of your amazing day...thank you for treating us as invited guests and friends and for being so willing to try our many crazy ideas - we hope you love the final effect as much as what we do...

and with a very sad face, i admit defeat... mike was on fire and - as always - his images are exceptional and incomparable - don't you just love him??? xx