M+O | Swan valley Summer wedding

Michael and Olivia were married on a perfect sunny summer afternoon in the Perth Swan Valley, their wedding day was perfectly stress free and full of fun, after being apart of 100+ weddings, I feel like I have witnessed it all. Let me be honest in telling: my clients are amazing. They are the best of the best, I feel fortunate to know these people. In working with the best, I need to be the best. So how do you do that? Well, it’s all about guiding my couples through the complicated/stressful/crazy process of planning the biggest, most important day of your life. No biggie, right? Wrong.

So, let’s talk through four tips to help create a stress free wedding day?

1.) BE STRATEGIC WITH YOUR SCHEDULE:

Your ceremony time will direct how the day will lead. If it’s easy, great, you can do your photos in between that and cocktail hour, if you’re ceremony flows into your cocktails, well, you should probably consider a first look. Work with your photographer, find out how long they need for certain things, schedule in travel time, and add a little cushion!

2.) COMMUNICATE YOUR SCHEDULE CLEARLY:

Need your grandma to the church early? Want your wedding party to hang around after the ceremony? Need your college buddies ready for a shot during cocktail hour? Tell them! Make sure you communicate the schedule clearly and that everyone who needs it has it. Be an over-communicator, it will seriously pay off!

3.) MAKE SURE THERE’S TIME TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR RECEPTION DETAILS:

I urge my couples to do first looks for multiple reasons. First, it gives you the chance to soak it in, embrace, and experience the emotions without hundreds of pairs of eyes on you. It also gives me the chance to sneak into your reception during cocktail hour and photograph all of the hard work you’ve done!

4.) TAKE MOMENTS TO JUST BE PRESENT:

I know, everyone says it! The day flys by, so intentionally stop and, take a moment, hold each others hands and remember the moment. Wedding days are amazing and so much fun but they are here and gone in the blink of an eye.

It’s important to set yourself up for success and to ease any stress ahead of time!

Wedding Dress Legends Bridal

Make-up Artist Ella Cromey Makeup Artistry

Hair Stylist Angie Taylor

Florist Sweet Floral Perth

Venue: Mulberry Estate, Swan Valley Perth

Jeweler Vera Wang

Signage: Sadie from Ky and Co Creations 

Sophie and Wesley's Perth beach engagement

These guys could be more perfectly in love and having fun at one of my favourite Perth beaches. Sophie is the founder of Sceenry magazine, renown for its beautiful travel imagery so it makes a lot of sense that they met travelling abroad. These guys get hitched next month, what a day thats going to be!

B+O | Perth farm wedding

Olivia and Blakes summer wedding was held at Farm wedding’s in Bullsbrook, Perth under the stars. It was set to be a stinker of a day so they decided to set their time back by an hour making it a perfectly balmy afternoon and evening. I had so much fun capturing this wedding on film and digital photography and also video- scroll down to the bottom to see their wedding video highlight reel!

Blake and Olivia’s Highlight reel wedding video

Photography and Videography: Amelia Claire Photography

Venue: Farm weddings in Bullsbrook Perth, WA

Wedding dress: Tuscany Bridal

Makeup: Ella Cromey

Hair: Hair by Misty Rose

Bouquet and Arbour: Enchanting Petals

Reception Florals: Teina Lucy

Signage: Birds of a feather

S+S | Classic Fresh water bay yacht club wedding

Sandra and Stephen were childhood sweethearts. Their beautiful wedding day years later was held at one of my favourite Perth wedding venues in Peppermint grove right on the Perth river- Fresh water bay yacht club. State of art events made the day look even more beautiful with creamy blooms adding class to the whole day. Sandra looked incredible in her Luv bridal gown. This was the perfect wedding day filled with fun with this stunning, relaxed couple!

Great reliable vendors make wedding day’s so much easier!

These amazing perth vendors made Sandra and Stephen’s beautiful wedding day possible-

Photographer: Amelia Claire Photography

Venue: Fresh water bay yacht club wedding, Peppermint Grove, Perth

Celebrant: Shannon Flemming Perth Celebrant

Wedding gown: LUV Bridal

Makeup Artist: EM Artistry

Hair: Arzu Artistry

Florist- State of Art Events

Arbour and chairs- Beautiful by Design

Linen- The Tailored Table

Wedding Planning- 5 tips to a less stressful planning experience

Lets be honest! Planning a wedding can be one of the most stressful things you take on. As a wedding photographer and former bride I see it first hand. Really, planning your wedding is like jumping head first into the planning world and your supposed to know how to plan what should be the happiest day of your life. I know that before I got married id never chosen a menu or designed an invitation!

Getting married is one of the happiest day of your life, your finally married to the love of your life, your worlds are joined and all your favourite friends and family and there to celebrate so I want to give you a few tips on how to make this day a little less stressful!

1. Remember you are planning a marriage not a wedding. After the big day you actually become a wife, getting a fresh perspective is one of the fastest ways to check yourself before you wreck yourself. This is the best way to remember that although this will be the best day, there are also thousands of days after this one that you will spend together.

2. Prioritise your budget. Let me tell you a little secret, wedding’s are not cheap. Its important that you decide early- what vendors are the most important to you and prioritise investing into those early on. For us we knew photography was number one but wedding favours were not. We splurged on our photographer and made our favours ourselves.

3. Showcase YOU! Team up a couple and decide what you want your day to look like and then let your closest family and friends know how they can help you make this happen. This is your day, not your mums! Its so easy to get caught up people pleasing but if you do you will always lose. Of course we want our family and friends to have a wonderful day and also your first day as a married couple, your chance to showcase what you love, what makes you unique and to have one heck of a party!

4. Take time out for you! Self care is not overrated. Sometimes we need to switch off from the planning and just enjoy being engaged. Be present, go for a picnic, beach date or coffee with your betrothed and just enjoy your time together without thinking about the planning.

5. Choose vendors you trust! This is a big one- choose people you know and trust. Have your friends used these vendors and was their experience a positive one? On my wedding day I didnt want my friends to have to do too much, so I hired one of my Perth industry favourites The Cake & I, Jo set up my afternoon tea and cake for all my guests and I was fully confident she would make it look beautiful and I wouldn’t have too think about it!

Wedding planning can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be! Take time to enjoy this wonderful season of your life while you plan the start of your married life together. Make the planning process fun, keep it light hearted, remember things won’t always go to plan but it will still be wonderful. When it gets too stressful, take a step back. I sincerely hope you plan a marriage more beautiful than your wedding day. Happy planning

Download the free wedding checklist here