I’ve been sitting on this wedding for a little while now.

But I’m finally ready to unleash the amazingness that is Kim and Joe.

Kim and Joe couldn’t have picked a better day to get married. It was bright, beautiful, crisp and just gorgeous. The girls couldn’t have looked more beautiful, the guys couldn’t have been more handsome. Kimberley’s vision of a classic, vintage, darling wedding came alive before everyone’s eyes. And here are the memories.

Kimberly and Joe - Married!

I hung out with these girls last weekend.

They were kinda nervous about getting their photo taken but I think it turned out pretty good in the end.

What do you think?

Not me. And not you surely, dear reader?! I mean, freebies are what make this world a great place. (Well, that and, you know, medical breakthroughs, advancements in technology, humanitarian aid, successful peace partnerships, but really lets not get bogged down in specifics.)

I love shooting weddings and I want to offer you a freebie, dear reader. So here’s the deal – if you're getting married in the second half of this year and book a wedding photography album package with me before the end of June 2013, I will throw in 2 (2!) free mini parent albums for free.

Parent albums are awesome. They are essentially a smaller, simpler version of the wedding album that you receive from me. They fit fantastically in mum’s handbag and really help to facilitate those bragging rights of hers (and come on, she’s got a right to brag. You just got married and you looked awesome and everyone had an amazing time and she loves you).

Now, sit down before you hurt yourself. For more information just contact me and tell me that you love freebies.

 

Kimberley and Joe got married yesterday, at Coolibah Downs on the Gold Coast. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous (and didn’t the Goldie turn it on with the weather!)

Here are a couple of sneakies for you!

 

More to come very soon!

Woohoo! Make sure you take time out to sit in the sunshine and do something you love. :)

Words to describe last week – fun, exciting, happy, sad, productive.

This weekend I’ve got Kimberley and Joe’s wedding – so excited!!! Look out for previews over the weekend!

So I’m going to have a little on-going fun on my website and I’m inviting you all to join me.

Recently I was trying to come up with a little by-line for my business name, ‘Bruce Loves Susie’. I didn’t want to just have ‘photography’ written under there. Coz that’s boring, right?! It had to convey more than that! It had to be a statement! It had to sum up all my feelings about photography into a few measly words!

And then I got a little deflated about the whole thing when I couldn’t come up with something awesome.

So I turned to Jadey, my best friend and fellow idiot.

Jade and I many years ago (check out my dark hair!). We’re looking very shifty.

(I obviously mean that in the nicest possible way; I mean it in the ‘we think we are hilarious but nobody else seems to’ way.) Plus she’s SUPER smart (contradiction to ‘idiot’ I know), and has a really awesome way of viewing things. I thought, if anyone would be able to help me come up with a fantastic line, it would be her. So I got online and messaged her and said, “I’m trying to come up with a cool by-line for my photography – I’d love for it to reference something from our childhood pop culture. Any ideas?” and then, everything descended into madness.

I did forewarn you that we are idiots.

What next ensued was about an hour of us coming up with the stupidest, funniest by-lines that referenced anything from the 80s and 90s that we could remember – some of it incorporating photography, most of it just sounding ridiculous. And once we had well and truly ruined the exercise, Jadey said, ‘maybe you could have a revolving set of these in your header?’

And the world exploded.

So this is it – this is the game. Every couple of weeks my website header is going to change to feature a different by-line. And that by-line is going to reference some sort of pop culture from the 80s, 90s and maybe a little of the early 00s. It might just be a title of a song, or it might be a line from a movie, something like that. Some will be pretty damn easy, others might be quite hard! I’ll announce the change-over on facebook at which point the game is on for the first person to comment (on facebook) and say what the by-line is referencing.

The winner will get a prize. Or something. I haven’t quite figured that out but I will offer something! If many people comment with the right answer, I’ll put all of those people in a draw and pull out a name. It’s going to be so much FUN. (If the fun we had coming up with them was anything to go by, get ready to have your day made.)

There is one already up there – do you know what it is?

Visit www.brucelovessusie.com.au and let the games BEGIN!

We have a new foster cat staying with us. His name is Bandit. He’s a 1 year old black and white medium hair male who was brought in a stray to the RSPCA by a caring member of the public.

When Bandit was brought in he wasn’t moving, and the nurses thought he might have tick paralysis. But upon conducting an exam, they found that Bandit’s front left leg was broken (probably from a dog attack or something similar). So the way ahead was clear – Bandit needed surgery!

With his leg set with pins, Bandit was ready to go out on foster for weeks of rest and healing. And so he found his way to me. :)

I brought Bandit home and set him up in our main bathroom, then left him alone to have a rest. After a little while I checked in on him and gave him a little cuddle – I’ve never met a more affectionate cat! However, while he was smooching all over me, I looked down and realised – his leg wound had split open! Didn’t I get a shock! So Friday night turned into an emergency trip to the RSPCA vet hospital!

The nurses took one look at Bandit’s leg and there was no doubt – it needed to be cleaned and stapled up! So with Bandit purring the whole time (the craziest cat I’ve met – who is that calm when visiting the vet?!) I held Bandit and stroked his fur while the nurses patched his leg up.

Phew! What a start to our relationship! I’ve spent the last 48 hours monitoring Bandit to make sure he’s okay. He’s doing really well – he’s a bit shaky on his leg but he’s resting a lot, which is exactly what we want. He’ll stay with us for around 6 weeks to make sure his leg heals properly – hopefully he’ll be able to move around a bit better as the weeks go on!

The nurses told me that on Bandit’s file the RSPCA had written in the notes section that his nickname is ‘Sir Purrs-alot!’ I can definitely see why! He’s such a beautiful cat with the most darling nature. :) I’ll keep you updated on Bandit’s process and, of course, if you or someone you know is thinking about adopting a little love into your life, you absolutely cannot go past Bandit! I’m already falling in love with him. :)

 

It was a pretty bizarre feeling, finally having to plan my own wedding. I had been photographing weddings for so long, and seen so many different kinds of weddings, and to be honest, I hadn’t really ever thought about my own! I know some girls dream about their wedding day for years, know exactly what they want, and can’t wait for the 1 day in their life when they can feel like a beautiful princess – but that was not me.

Serious.

I never pictured myself in a white dress (I’m practically as white as you can possibly get already, have you SEEN ME? Scottish/Welsh ancestry pretty much took care of that. So really, putting me in white dress would basically mean I would DISAPPEAR). I don’t like a lot of attention (despite this fact) and Luke and I are both pretty laid back, non-fancy people. So yeah. Planning a huge event was something that I (like a lot of you future and former brides out there!) didn’t really have any experience in.

In the end, we had a fantastic day! Luke and I kept all the decisions as simple and uncomplicated as possible (which had my mother FREAKING OUT) and the day was total smooth sailing. But what, if anything, I did I learn from my OWN wedding?

I guess this qualifies to go in my ‘advice from former brides’ category that I do on here, but this time I’M the former bride!

SO.

Have the wedding YOU both want.

Your wedding doesn’t have to be a huge, lavish, expensive affair (unless, of course, that’s what you WANT!) Let your wedding reflect who you ARE as a couple. Are you a bit goofy? Do you guys love 90s dance music? Are you into making references to your favourite TV shows that others probably won’t get at all^*? Then let your wedding show all of that! You and your guests will enjoy a day full of your combined personality. That’s why they love you, right? There are a lot of old traditions that still buzz around ‘the wedding’, but you don’t have to have any of them if you don’t want. I didn’t wear a veil because I thought it was terribly old-fashioned (plus, I didn’t like it’s traditional connotations). Both of my parents walked me down the aisle because they both raised me equally (if anyone is ‘giving me away’ [insert roll eyes here] then it can be both of them!!). I didn’t wear a garter or toss a bouquet, and Luke and I didn’t have a traditional ‘waltz’ (we danced to Huey Lewis and The News instead. :D). We just wanted to have a really fun party with all our friends and family and that’s exactly what we had!


*I may or may not be describing myself and Luke here.
 

Do your best to take time out for yourself before the wedding.

You’re going to have A LOT of people around you in the days leading up to, and on the day of, your wedding. Which could result in an almighty headache! (I woke up with one on my wedding day!) I recommend some quiet time, if you can get it. Go for a walk or have a bath. Chill out. It’s not supposed to be stressful, it’s supposed to be fun and joyous. And if you’re not sure that you can be responsible for yourself chilling out, have a family member or a girlfriend be your guardian! “She can’t see you right now, she’s taking a nap!”
 

Chat with your photographer about the little things.

Of course – there has to be a photography tip in here! This is something that, as a photographer, I really try to concentrate on anyway at every wedding I photograph, but it hit home just that much more when I became a bride! Did you do heaps of DIY for your wedding? What did you do/make? Is that ribbon around your bouquet that colour for a reason? Do you have people playing a part in your wedding who are really special to you? Are there elements of the day that are particularly important to you? Maybe you won’t think of it 'photography-wise' at the time, but if you chat with your photographer about details before the wedding, he or she might be able to take a photograph of something seemingly insignificant to everyone else but really important to you!
 

Wedding videography is underrated.

DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I FREAKING LOVE OUR WEDDING VIDEO? Ahem. Look into it, because it’s super fun and you’re only doing this once right? RIGHT?

The biggest thing I can say to you is – be yourself. I know it’s a little cheesy, but it’s the heart of the truth. And enjoy the whole process!!

Having now been a bride myself I feel like I’ve got something more to take in to each wedding that I photograph. I’m now seeing weddings through two sets of eyes – bride and photographer! Double the vision! Woah! Or four eyes? Mmm.