o. This is the first new wedding on the new blog. Yup, the FIRST wedding blog post since we launched this new online home :) The logical vein in my body is telling me I should blog in order and start at the first wedding we shot since we stopped putting up weddings on the old blog. BUT, the artist in me is feeling a little rebellious and I'm wanting to bless the new blog with a spoonful of freshness :)  
 
So... in celebration of all things sparkly and new, here is the first wedding we shot since the new season began this month :) And don't worry about all the weddings before it - I promise they will come up. There are just SO many, but I guess that will keep this blog warm and busy in times to come right? Let's hope so!! :D And that I can keep my blogging mojo up during this new peak season that has settled in at JSP.  
 
Anyhow, meet Astrid and Kelly :) I could start a verbal overload and lace this post with a large write up, but I wont. I'm a little tired, and the sun outside is beckoning a visit. So instead, I'll let the images do the talking on my behalf. And.... if you are reading and visiting, make my day brighter and leave some comment love to tell me know you are reading :) Love ya! 
 
xox 
 
 
 
The day began with a little touch of cultural blessing, with a simple tea ceremony between the families :)

And then it was off to get married! :D Astrid got ready in style in a beautiful Maggie Sotterro gown, and some killer sparkly Jimmy Choo heels! :D

Checking out their new bands :D

Oh, did I tell you weather was INSANE that day? it was cold, grey, and VERRYYYYYY windy. No kidding.

And then time for some quick portraits before the rain came!

The below, I promise was a completely unstaged shot. Astrid was just hanging around waiting for Kelly to come by and I saw this :) Yay for wind! :D

It started to rain and got too cold to shoot outside so we moved to an impromptu indoor location to finish off the shoot :)

I love the Eiffel Tower in the shop window! :D

The below was David's capture! :D

And then when we got to the reception venue, there was JUST enough light for 5 minutes of pictures. So we chased the light, and got the below :)

David's capture below :)

Crazy times :)

And a ring shot to end :)

wanted to post up this sneak peek from a recent shoot because it just sums up what I truly love about photographing people in love. 
 
JOY. 
 
I'll take an instance of pure fun and emotion, over a technically perfect shot any day.  
 
Thank you Michael and Carrie for such a wonderful morning. It didn't feel like work with you two. I can't WAIT til your big day.  
 
xox 

t's a sunday... you know, the lazy day of the week? Well, here in my world, the day is anything but... I'm churning out work at full steam ahead, before I have to catch 2 flights tonight, before I reach my destination. And when I do reach, I have a full week of quiet and solitude away from most of the world. To most, that sounds like an unpleasant state of being, but trust me, when you have been living out of a suitcase for almost a month, and have been on the go go go, with plans different every day, a little downtime and day to day routine on repetition is like a welcomed piece of solace.  
 
LIfe in the past week has been on the crazy side and has had all my plans change over and over, so as soon as I get there, I have promised to sleep. I have pledged to concentrate. And I have resolved to focus.... I want to pray. I want to run. I want to have my iTunes playlist on play all day and sing along. And I want to have time to focus on things that are good for the soul and for life. Because I NEED it. And hopefully when I resurface, things will be back to a semblance of normal, and familiar will welcome me with open arms :) 
 
Hope you have all had a glorious weekend of much rest, and beautiful time with family and loved ones :) Trust me, it matters.  
 
Oh, and enjoy this piece that I stumbled upon recently while I was watching the opening episode (which was AMAZING by the way) of my favourite TV show right now (The Vampire Diaries). It played during a scene that made me tear. It is a quiet pensive number with much depth and feeling. Thank you Andrew Belle for creating such a beautiful song for the world to enjoy :) 
 

t's late, and I'm blogging. Not because I have a lot of time. In fact, I have so little time at the moment, my watch is looking anorexic compared to a matchstick. No, I'm blogging because I need to. In times when life throws at me some curve balls, I like to cope by doing things that are personally therapeutic... like singing, or writing, or in this case blogging. It makes the crazy of life, and having to adjust to its sometimes rollercoaster rides just that more bearable :) 
 
So, we're taking a break from travel photos, and posting an engagement shoot! :D  
 
Meet Nadean and Ed! :) One gorgeous weekend amidst ALLL the pouring rain we had in Sydney, the sun came out in glorious fashion and sprinkled some golden love on these two. The shoot was styled with love by the talented Jess from Oscar and Ruby - thank you Jess for lacing our shoot with your pretty little pieces!! I always adore seeing a shoot styled, whether its done small and simple or big and grand - its just such a great way to express your personalities in the shoot and makes the photos so much more personal :)  
 
Anyhow, enough rambling! Hope you enjoy this love shoot :) And for those who may think this face is familiar, Nadean is also a photographer! :D 
 
I promise wedding photos will be splattered across this blog soon!! Its just manic behind the scenes at the moment... I may even make it the next post if you check back, or leave some comments to encourage that to happen! ;) 
 
xox 
 

t's a monday, and my body clock is in a sleepy state... I think it has been for the last few days. I was supposed to have this blog post up last week (thank you for voting on our facebook for another travel post!) but as it so happens when you travel, sleep tends to take priority so I do apologise for the belated blog! 
 
As I mentioned in my last blog post about rome, I really adore this city. The husband and I were talking, and we both felt it was a place we'd definitely return to again, if we were to explore Italy another time - it really just has so much history, culture, and things to see and do. Not to mention places to eat! We were hopping between recommendations from our hotelier and lonely planet and both paths led us to some amazing places :) One other thing, the coffee in Italy is FANTASTIC. I like my coffees strong so I usually order an espresso, or if the place does it - a ristretto or double shot macchiato :P I think I had about 1 or 2 shots every day - it was great in the sense it kept me nice and awake all day, but oh dear lord, it also meant I had to frequently look for toilets everywhere! Thankfully, Rome seems to have more WC's than France did! :) 
 
Anyhow, I hope these photos brighten up your monday :) And I hope you all had a gorgeous weekend! I should have our Tuscany photos up next :) 
 
 
 
ps: In case you haven't noticed, there is a little 'LIKE' button under every comment box of each post. If you are too shy to leave a comment, feel free to press that instead :) Although, if you knew me, I do adore your comments. So thank you to those who do leave their notes. It is YOU people who do, that give me that extra incentive to blog :)  
 
 
 
Scooters/Bikes are the preferred method of getting around by the Romans :)

The streets are often filled with entertainers :)

I had gelato every day while I was in Rome. Ju was not happy as it sometimes meant trekking a little distance to find the good ones :P Thankfully, just outside our pit stop to the Vatican, I found a tiny little shop with a long line and went to check it out. They were apparently well known for their fruit flavours so I picked two and was thoroughly happy! :D

Old Bridge Gelateria is the name of that place :)

Around the Vatican, nuns were almost as commonly spotted as people. In the span of about 5 minutes, I found the below :)

More pretty street buildings :)

The infamous Pantheon.

Apparently you aren't allowed to be taking photos in the Sistine Chapel - we saw people getting told off left, right, and center, but I wasn't sure why Ju and I weren't yelled at like others.

Rome is not Rome, without its endless art and statues :)

Oh, one thing I LOVE about Italy is their drinking fountains. They are pretty much everywhere and the water is so pure, fresh, and cold. Its perfect to stay hydrated during summer travels here, and free! :D It made me wonder where it comes from, where it goes, and how come they allow it to keep running all the time.

The city is full of gorgeous ruins.

We sometimes loved getting a little lost and detouring via the alley ways - it meant we kept cool in the shady laneways, AND stumbled across little pretties like this! :D

One great restaurant at a very affordable price (we had several courses and SO much to eat for 2, for only about 40 euro) is here at Raf.

38.

And on our last night in this city, we wandered the streets at night, which we did each night (I mentioned that Rome is JUST as gorgeous at night if not more so).

Ju told me not to take the below photo because the guy could run after us and beat us up, but I was saying, seriously - I don't think he is paying attention to anything but her :P So I snapped :P haha...