Sweetheart session - Brigid and Carl

'Plan C' had been activated by the time my shutter closed over the first photo from my shoot with Brigid and Carl. Plan A (the WEstfield carpark roof top) was shut and plan b (Geelong botanical gardens) was shutting when we got there.

So by the time we actually got to the photo taking, it had turned into a bad comedy of errors. Lucky for me and my organisational skills, Carl and Brigid did not mind.

In fact, I think they found it all a little hilarious.



I got an email from Brigid a while back inquiring about photography for her wedding. We had a laugh about it, because she didn't realise it was the Meaghan Cook she knew. Last she heard I was still up in Shepparton, so she thought she was just contacting a random photographer. She said she was surprised when I wrote back all excited and asking how her mum was.





Tee hee.







Carl and Brigid talk, a lot. And I think that's what I like most about them. You can really see them sitting in their rocking chairs on the verandah when they're 80, still chatting.





Their wedding is only twenty something sleeps away. Perhaps even less than that! I can't wait because I'll be able to see more smiles like these.



* Meaghan

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 - Robyn and Grant (part one)

I watched the sky all morning. The clouds loomed heavy. They swirled and plumed and threatened to do their worst. As I drove to meet Grant on the beach at Queenscliff spots of rain appeared on my windscreen. I held my breathe waiting for the storm.



A lucky wind direction change spurred on by the prayers of all of us attending Robyn and Grant's wedding meant the rain held high in the sky. It cleared, and we all sighed with relief.



Robyn and Grant chose not to have an official wedding party. Instead they surrounded themselves with their best mates (complete with batman cufflinks) to help them prepare for their wedding.







Robyn got ready in the beautiful Lathamstowe in Queenscliff. The mansion high on the hill, complete with turrets, gorgeous gardens, and every spare space filled with something too quaint for words.





I love this sneaky shot of Robyn's shoes. The blue brooch belonged to Robyn's grandmother. It covered the something old, borrowed and blue perfectly.









Robyn's nervous sandaled feet.







"This feels real now," said Robyn as her mother laced her into her wedding dress.



Too beautiful for words.





Robyn walking on her way to the ceremony. There's so many great photos to come of this elegant, simple and stunning wedding to come.



* Meaghan

Sweetheart Session - Robyn and Grant

Robyn and Grant's session was a long time coming. They were the couple I had to cancel on when I had my mysterious freaky eye. (Which, by the way, turned out to be a glass fibre or something similar stuck in my eye. And when I say stuck, I mean stuck like a pin in a pin cushion stuck. No wonder it felt like I was blinking razor blades. I kinda was.)

We met on a Sunday afternoon in the Carlton gardens, which is the perfect time to visit the Carlton Gardens. Perhaps it's the time they were designed to be visited. There were raucous games of soccer going on, parents chasing toddlers around with that look of bemusement mixed with exhaustion on their faces, BMXers making videos of themselves as they scale the various bollards and seats around the place. Business as usual, pretty much.

Robyn and Grant are simply awesome.





Their wedding is next month, and I'm so excited for it. It's going to include the beach and an old steam train. What's there not to be excited about.



Yep, that's Robyn skipping. Who said skipping has to stay in the schoolyard?





Grant, you crack me up.



The Melbourne Museum is such a great building. No two sections are the same. It's all this way and that.





Robyn is a midwife, and she said it's busy at her work at the moment. Something to do with it being nine months after new years eve. Grant is currently working on his PHD. He has to hand it in the week before his wedding. All 80,00 thousand words of it. He said that it's good being so close to finishing it, but that he gave up sleep months ago.





My favourite shot. Oh yeah!



Mixing it with the locals.





And there's that perfectly placed fountain. I'm sure they put it there just for photographers like me. I'm sure of it.



Roby and Grant, I'll see you in a month!



* Meaghan

Sneak Peek - Robyn and Grant

Just another few frames from Robyn and Grant's sweetheart session.





10 points if you can tell me where this was taken...

*Meaghan

What I'm watching: The Wrestler
What I'm listening to: Go Forth Find Mammoth by Whitely (he's streaminghis new album on his myspace page before it's officially released.)

Sweetheart Session - Sarah and Cain

I almost didn't make it to my photo shoot with Sarah and Cain. I went to jump into my car and the engine made that awful awful noise: silence. Flat battery. I may or may not have left the ignition clicked on.



But I got there eventually, and Sarah and Cain were so patient. They didn't even laugh at me. I would have laughed at me.





Sarah and Cain have known each other for eons. Since primary school in fact. They were 'girlfriend and boyfriend'. Sarah remembers getting her best friend to dump Cain on lunch time for her. 'It was just the way it was done,' she explained. You don't have to explain to me. I've totally been there.







Sarah and Cain are fun. Just plain fun. They joke and giggle and tease and muck around. They're the reason our shoot was such a blast. They were themselves, from head to toe and inside out.





Then it was on to the beach!



There's just something about this photo. Just something about it, right?





It was fitting we went to the beach because Sarah and Cain are having a beach wedding. Complete with thongs on their feet. They want it to be relaxed and stress free. A celebration rather than a huge kafuffle. Makes perfect sense to me.







And i've saved my favourite two shots until last.



So.Much.Fun.




This really was a super fun shoot. Not a second did I feel like I was working. I was just hanging out with friends. No better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.


* Meaghan