The wedding of the NATION!
You know in life when you meet some people that are just naturally super organised? Clearly when we entered this gorgeous little air bnb in Norwood, we knew it was going to be a great day. This blog is all about the wedding of Anita and Corey Nation.
The house was all tidy and the boys were all ready and waiting for us. The boys jackets were all perfectly positioned along an A frame and all their accessories were all laid out ready to b captured.
As we normally do, we took a quick walk through the house and knew there were two spots that we wanted to shoot in to capitalise on the nice simple but modern backdrops that the house had to offer.
We started by taking both Corey and his best man Richard into the main bedroom for some getting ready photos. In the mean time the groomsmen and Corey’s parents were all casually playing with a deck of cards in the dining room – no rushing off to have a quick shower, or ironing their clothes which is the typical scene we walk into. As I think back to the moment, I still have the vision of Richard attentively reading the instructions on how to perfectly fold a pocket square into a jacket.
We then joined the boys in the living room for some more photos. Wanting to take advantage of the gorgeous mural next to the window, we did a bit of furniture re-arranging and wanted to add to the relaxed atmosphere with some alcohol. Whilst one of the boys went to get everyone’s drinks ready, I couldn’t help but notice how ridiculously big the ice cubes were – so big in fact that you couldn’t actually fit them in the glass without slightly melting them haha!
Before too long, it was time to head over to the bride’s house. Again, the girls were all calm with hair and make up all done and as we walked in, were all chilling on the lounge in their robes, ready for us. Perfect. The first thing Ky wanted to do after scanning the house was to hang Anita’s wedding dress up somewhere for that perfect shot. He spotted a gorgeous long window above the u-turn in the staircase and began taking his shoes off and climbing up on the balustrade. I looked at him with fear and immediately knocked a bit of sense into him and told him to get off. A disaster waiting to happen really as the window wasn’t even in his reach even if he had got on top of the balustrade and leant over. But no – this is Ky – and feats like that never phase him. Except I needed to ensure that he was around to capture the rest of the wedding! Visualise this – even with a ladder firmly on the landing, we wouldn’t have been able to get to the right position to hang this dress where he wanted! It doesn’t happen often, but he let me win this battle and we then settled on the other side of the wall.
During the time we asked the girls to get into their dresses, Ky had a bit of fun with the kids. These kids apparently smile to the words ‘banana peel’?!?
Following some photos with the girls, we headed off to the ceremony venue – St George Greek Orthodox Church in Mile End. Besides the gorgeous couple getting married, I’m never going to forget one of the little page boys break dancing mid ceremony. Too cute!
At the end of the ceremony, the couple requested only immediate family come up to congratulate them. As wedding photographers – we love this as it means we get a bit more time for our location photos. Something for all couples to seriously consider with their families especially for the larger ethnic weddings where you could be caught up for ages with each guest wanting to come up and congratulate you.
Now there was only one request from Anita when it came to location photos and that was she wanted some sort of photo that incorporated KFC. You see, when she was younger, her mother used KFC as a bit of a treat/reward for good behaviour and from there, her desire for KFC grew. It became her weekly obsession and a staple in her diet. But there comes a time in every girl’s life when they aim to look their best on their wedding day. For Anita, sadly, she knew this meant giving up KFC for the best part of a year, so post ceremony one of the first things she wanted to do was dig into some KFC and have Ky be a part of capturing that moment.
So whilst the rest of us drove off to our first destination, the Benjamin on Franklin, we sent one of the bridal cars off to pick up some KFC with strict instructions to make sure they get a few empty KFC buckets as well. Ahhh… these mysterious buckets that they never seem to give you even when you order enough chicken to fit in a bucket. I know as you’re reading this, you’re totes agreeing. You know that disappointment when you’re totally expecting a bucket with the amount of chicken you order, but out comes two boxes of chicken instead? Sigh….we’ve all been there… We all had our fingers crossed for buckets today!
Benjamin on Franklin was our first stop. The perfect venue for the bridal party to have a drink, get a quick bite to eat, but also get some gorgeous shots in their various function rooms throughout. But first….KFC. The girls rocked up with a box of chicken and a stack of buckets. Bingo! They got the buckets…and lots of them….except they were all in army green. What the heck KFC? Like why do you have to do this ‘don your bucket’ cricket challenge thingymajig now?!? What a huge let down.
Ky looked around and noticed the perfectly set Christmas table that was set up for a function later that evening. It was the perfect setting for Anita’s KFC reunion. And so Anita’s love affair with KFC continued where it left off…… and the best bit about it was she let us feast on the leftovers! Woohoo!
We then headed off to the parklands for a change of scenery. It was a decent walk for the bridal party but there were no complaints from anyone even though the girls all returned to the cars with dirty feet. Anita used the opportunity to hitch a ride from Corey back to the car. Now we see this happen quite often, but I’ve never seen a groom be able to do it for the same distance and stamina as Corey did! Feeling a little guilty about how dirty Anita’s feet were, I grabbed some baby wipes from the boot and freshened her up. All part of the service right? Hahaha!
To maximise our shooting time to the very last minute, we had the bridal car finish up from where we were and Anita and Corey hopped into ours whilst the rest of the bridal party made their way to the reception first. We stopped by the courts for a few quick snaps before heading to the reception.
As we walked into the reception at the Festival Function Centre, we were greeted with class and elegance. Some memorable moments of the night were when Anita’s sister sang both Hero for the father daughter dance, and Halo when the rest of the bridal party and guests joined them on the dance floor. And then there was the plate smashing. OMG – we’ve seen plate smashing before, but these guys got some good smashes and bounces in!
And then one of the cutest finds of the night was finding these two little cherubs fast asleep in one of the corners of the reception room blissfully unaware of the party that was being had around them.
Guys – thanks for having B Captured share in your beautiful day. Enjoy every little morsel of the Fat Duck in London – sooo super jealous! We look forward to sharing your beautiful collection with you in the near future.
HERE ARE THE LIST OF AWESOME SUPPLIERS FOR THIS WEDDING:
Photographer - B Captured (Ky Luu)
Church - St George Greek Orthodox Church
Reception – Festival Function Centre (Ballroom)
Videographer – I Do Cinema
Flowers – Adelaide Flower House
MC/DJ – DJ Valandi - Bounce Entertainment
Wedding Bands/Engagement Ring – Hope Diamonds
Dress – Martina Liana (from Jenny and Gerry’s)
Makeup – Caitlan Hosking
Hair – Sam Frost Hairstylist
Cake – How Sweet it Is
Cars – Classic Jags
Stefana (crowns) – Story of Stefania