Presents for all!

Merry Christmas!

Okay, so it's not officially Christmas. But I won't be anywhere near a computer on Christmas day (I'll be hanging out under the Christmas tree ripping open presents, and then sitting at the Christmas table ripping into some food and beer). So I'm wishing you all a merry Christmas now.

And I'm giving you all some virtual Christmas presents.

These are all places on the net that I visit regularly. And they all give me an insane amount of joy. I'm sharing them with you so they can rock your world too.

Colour me Katie
Katie puts life and colour into her world, and the world of those around her. This girl is responsible for making me smile at my computer all the time.



Photo credit: Color Me Katie

TED: Ideas worth spreading
These are presentations from people all over the world. Some known, some unknown, but all remarkable. Topics a far reaching and intriguing. I've just watched one about an Amerasian girl that made me melt.



This American Life
This is a weekly radio program out of the States presented by the delectable Ira Glass. Each program has a theme, and each theme is left of field at the same time as being totally obvious. I listen to these podcasts religiously since my friend told me about them.

White Wine In The Sun by Tim Minchin
And what's Christmas without a carol? Of sorts.



Enjoy!

I'm off to drink white wine in the sun. Miles and Ryan are hyped up for the arrival of Santa. Miles has been wearing a very tacky Christmas t-shirt (complete with a surfing Santa on it) for days on end. His head is going to explode when Santa finally arrives, and I'm not going to miss a moment.

So I'm officially on holidays until Jan 11 2010 (and those of you who I've got a photo-related rendezvous with between then an now, don't fret. I'll be there complete with festive cheer). I'll be spending the time reading books in the afternoons, searching for crabs in the sand with Miles and Ryan, coming out from behind the computer to have a face to face conversation with Amba and generally swanning around immersing myself in life (hello new years resolution 2010).

To you all, much love. Merry Christmas!

* Meaghan

Wedding - Melissa and Justin

I walked into Mel's hotel room a few hours before her wedding with jelly legs. Mel's a good friend of mine and I was so nervous about shooting her wedding. Having spent an hour on the West Gate Bridge and subsequently being late didn't help the nerves. I was praying to the photography gods to be on my side, and not let my basic photography skills (such as being able to locate the on switch for my camera) fail me.





Mel's dress was incredible. And there was quite an art to getting her into it.





Mel and Justin's daughter Reagan checking out the birds outside with her grandmother.



The dress! Loved the dress.













And on to the ceremony. You couldn't have asked for a better location. Brighton Beach, overlooking the bay. The bay dialed it's sparkle factor up to 100, just for the wedding.



Justin's mum standing in front of the most gorgeous tree.







What do you do to get a toddler to look at your camera? You wave like a goose, that's what. Bridal party happily provided more sophisticated waves than what I was doing from behind the camera.



I was surrounded by people I knew at this wedding. Meet Bec. Her and I go WAY back. It was brilliant to see her again, smile at her, and get all giddy hearing how wonderfully well she is doing.





Being in Brighton, you can probably guess where we headed for some photos.



Us and three other weddings! It was a flurry of dresses and camera's and bouquets.







Two of my favourite moments in the world.











It really was a wonderful day. My photography skills stayed with me seeing as though I repeatedly remembered how to turn my camera on. The most wonderful part though was being there to witness Mel and Justin getting married amoungst family and friends. Just magical.



* Meaghan

I'm coming to Shepparton (and I'm bringing my camera!)

The title above says it all. I'll be in Shepparton from January 12th - 14th and I'll have my camera in tow. Meaning, I'd love to hang out and photograph all of you lovely Shepparton families.

I'm available for sessions on each of those days, and have so ideas of some great locations we can head to. Certainly helps that I know the area like the back of my hand.

Shoot me an email if you'd like to book in for a session meaghan@meaghancook.com. It's only a short visit (promise I'll come for longer next time) so there's only limited spots. First in will have the pick of the times.

And what's an entry without a photo? You haven't seen much of Ryan lately because my journal has been full of my work photographs. I snapped this the other day just after nap time. He'll be out of his cot soon, he's way to big for it now. So wanted to get some photos of him in it. I'll spare you the photos that make him look like he's in a prison for the under 3 set.




Looking forward to hearing from, hanging out with, and photographing Sheppatonian families!

* Meaghan

Wedding - Erin and Francis

This was a day that could have gone horribly wrong. Catastrophically wrong.

See those rain drops on the window? They were there all day. And they were big and fat and very heavy.



Rain was predicted, and rain it did. Erin and her family watched the satellite weather report all day, and it didn't look good. In fact, it looked bad, very bad. Especially considering Erin and Francis had planned an outdoor garden wedding.



When I stepped out of my car to photograph Erin's preparation the sky unleashed an almighty downpour. Erin's dad opened the door to one very wet photographer.



When I got there Erin and her family were in decision making mode. It was getting close to the ceremony start time, and if they were going to change their plans because of the rain they had to do it now. They ran through the possibilities, devoid of emotion. 'There's no use getting upset', Erin said wisely as she cancelled the string quartet and arranged to change the ceremony to the reception venue.





I really am immensely amazed and proud of Erin and Francis. If ever there was a time to panic, that was it. But they held onto their heads and soldiered on with a fierce determination not to let the weather spoil their wedding day.

And spoil it did not! Erin and Francis had already arranged to see each other before the wedding. They had planned to ride to the ceremony together (which I think is a great idea). So Francis and his family waited out the time before the ceremony with Erin and her family. The afternoon was joyous as they all got to know each other, shared champaign, and turned the weather into a laughing point.



The changes to the day meant that Erin got to pin on Francis' button hole flower. Not many bride's get to do that!



So because the ceremony had been pushed later in the day, we had some time to kill before hand. I waited for a break in the clouds and took Erin and Francis out for some photos.







They got wet. At times they got very wet. But they just laughed. And what else could they have done really? Cry in a puddle? That's no way to spend your wedding day.



I have to make special mention of Erin's sister Bernadette. Yes, she's carrying three umbrellas and a bouquet of flowers. She came along while I took photos of Erin and Francis to help us out. I have to apologise for making her try to follow me around with an umbrella while I shot so that my camera wouldn't get wet. She did a marvelous job, and her smile and laughter were much appreciated.









At least the rain makes for great photos!









Then it was on to the ceremony. Sure, the day was out of the order a wedding traditionally goes in. But it was still completely fun, and completely awesome.



Guests certainly didn't mind.









The sun set over a perfect day. Perfect because Erin and Francis still got married, and still got to share it with their family and friends. Everything else was inconsequential.



My best to you both. You should congratulate yourselves for not losing sight of the bigger picture on your wedding day. The fact that you worked so well and gracefully under pressure is an extremely strong foundation on which to base your lives together.



* Meaghan