Jess and Mike get married!

Do you remember Jess and Mike? They were the deserving winners of my 'free wedding photography' competition. Their wedding rolled around so quickly after meeting them last year. 

I knew it was going to be a really special day when I showed up at Jess' house to photograph her getting ready and saw this note:

Jess got dressed and ready at her parents house in Tatura, with the help of her six bridesmaids. Plenty of spare hands around to zip up zippers, buckle shoes and fasten necklaces. 

Jess looked breathtaking in her gown. Credit to her too, because the dress was so heavy. 

Jess and Mike had a sweet little bird motif running through out their wedding. Did I mention that I'm a sucker for little sweet birds?

Mike was so relaxed before the service. 

This photo is one of the reasons I love photographing weddings. This is Jess taking a brief moment before she walked down the aisle. Calming her nerves. Gives me goosebumps. 

But once the service started there were no more nerves for Jess. 

I now pronounce you... 

Did I mention there were six bridesmaids, six groomsman and two flowergirls? Getting that many people to look at the camera at one time can be quite a challenge, but these guys were great. Even the flowergirls were down with the task of smiling on cue for the formal shots. 

This crazy purple rainbow kept popping up when I was trying to take their photos. I thought it was beautiful, and a good omen. 

This shot makes me go *awwww*. Well, actually, most of these ones make me gush a little. 

The first dance between the new husband and wife are fast becoming my favourite part of the wedding. The couple only ever has eyes for each other. They completely forget there's a room full of people there, and disappear into their love.

I will remember this wedding for one main reason though:

The laughter. It was truly a joyous day. No matter what anyone was feeling on the day (nerves, stress) it was dissolved by laughter. And Jess was central to the laughs. She kept bursting into laughs all through the day. I couldn't help but chuckle from behind my camera.

Jess and Mike it was a beautiful day that I was touched to be a part of. Good luck for the future Mr and Mrs Reid!