Jennifer Stocks Photography – The Blog

Weddings are beautiful. There is no doubt about that. Seriously. I love them. There is nothing sweeter than witnessing two people joining forces for good. It was especially so for this great couple.

I have known and loved Jo and Dan for over a decade, and I have to say…. watching them get married made me smile giant smiles. These guys rock. Seriously. Love them. Collectively (and individually even), they have pretty much every excellent quality known to the human race – they are fun, friendly, hilarious, smart, cool, classy, good looking and all the while they have the ability to bag the absolute crap out of themselves. Their bridal party share in these excellent qualities, and it was so fun to be around and photograph old friends for a day.

Their wedding was sublime. Every detail was perfect. As much as I rack my brain I can’t think of anything that did not run smoothly or look beautiful. Jo looked absolutely divine, her dress, her bouquets, her bridesmaids…. all totally stunning. Dan and his man-crew were spunky, cruisy and funny. The venue was awesome, the guests were having an absolute blast (and it was great to see more old friends amongst them).

The ceremony was held at the beautiful St Stanislaus College Chapel and Father James was his usual brilliant self. This was followed by after-ceremony shots at the beautiful village of Millthorpe (one of my favourite places in the world to shoot). I love this place for its character and charm – I could live there in an instant. The reception was held at the fabulous Tonic Restaurant (in the recently converted old movie theatre next door). This new function room has a great courtyard, and the room just lent itself to socialising. I swear, none of the guests were sitting down – everyone was up, about and chatting.

Dan and Jo, thanks for having me around on your wedding day. The love and respect you guys have for one another is unreal, and I am so glad you found each other all those years ago. Your wedding images are all finished now, and I will have them to you when you get back from your worldly honeymoon.

Although I rarely photograph weddings, I LOVE them. Hugh and Georgie’s wedding was no exception. Everywhere I looked, I saw beauty. Beautiful people, beautiful personalities, beautiful friendships, beautiful things.

The only thing that wasn’t beautiful was the weather. It really could have been a little kinder, especially since they had a beautiful garden/marquee wedding planned in the garden at Georgie’s family property.

When I first arrived to meet the boys, they were such gentlemen, so extraordinarily relaxed and full of laughter. They sure made my job easy. They were wearing the most awesome suits, and nothing could get the smile off the grooms face.

When you meet his bride, it’s obvious why he was smiling so much. Any man who was about to marry a woman like Georgie would be grinning from ear to ear too.

The atmosphere surrounding the girls was equally joyful and relaxed. The girls enjoyed a few champagnes and laughs and Georgie was so calm, composed and ready. Really ready. Georgie is the kind of girl who is a knock-out in trackie-dacks, but I have to say, the minute she slipped on her wedding gown (which was truly exquisite), she took everyone’s breath away. She was the epitome of a gorgeous, classy bride.

The ceremony was held at St Thomas’ Church, O’Connell, and the reception followed at her family property. I must also give kudos to her parents for tending such a magical garden and coming up with a stunning wedding setting. It was absolutely magnificent.

Hugh and Georgie were after a more photojournalistic / storytelling approach to their wedding photography, so we only allocated a short time for bridal party photos before they met their guests in the reception. (It was freezing cold in any case, so by the time we were finished everyone was already a lovely shade of purple.)

It was such an honour to photograph this gorgeous day, and such fantastic people. There is something really special about this newly married couple and the people that surround them. I hope I was able to capture the day in a way that shows this. A special thank you to the lovely Penny Smith for second shooting with me on the day.

Georgie and Hugh, I hope you enjoy your blog preview. All your images will be ready very soon. I

Photographing a couple’s wedding is such a priviledge….. but photographing a family members wedding is something in a completely different league. When my sister-in-law, Anne & her fiance, Rory asked me to document their wedding, I was beyond excited and couldn’t wait! I also managed to enlist the photographic abilities of Cassandra Anguita-Deep of caspix photography (seriously awesome Sydney photographer) to join me as second shooter for the day. To check out her blog preview from the day see her website.

After a relatively short engagement, the week of the wedding arrived. We packed up our kids, our clothes and my camera gear and set off to Sydney’s Northern Beaches for what was to be a brilliant weekend.

I fully expected Anne to look stunning as a bride, but when I saw her getting ready, then step out in her wedding dress I found it a little hard to focus through a few teary moments (which I did exceptionally well to cover up of course). The bride, the bridesmaids (also my sister-in-laws, plus another who may as well be) looked incredible. There was just so much happiness and love  floating around.

When we arrived at Long Reef Golf Course, Rory and his man-crew also looked incredibly dapper. I just loved watching Rory’s face as his bride walked down the aisle, and my father-in-laws face as he walked her down (seriously, two of the best moments to capture at a wedding.)

Everything went beautifully, and after the ceremony we headed to the top of Long Reef  to take some more photographs.  The funniest part was hooning up the top of the headland on Golf Carts. God, it makes me laugh so much just thinking about it. Me and Cas were seriously lagging behind the bridal party’s golf carts, so we were madly going pedal to the medal through ditches and hills, camera’s on laps, to get to the top. When we did, woah – what a sight! You can see just how beautiful the view was in the photos below…

The entire day was absolutely stunning, so many perfect little touches and beautiful words spoken. I love seeing the two of you together – so much love, mutual respect, conversation, and companionship. I am so pleased you found each other (although there wasn’t much chance of missing each other when you only lived a few doors apart!).

And now….. hopefully the photos will do the day justice! I hope you enjoy your preview and the remainder of your honeymoon. Oh, and welcome to the family Rory – we love having you in it! xoxo.