Claudine and Peter

Claudine and Peter were married recently at the gorgeous Karioitahi venue, Castaways. Claudine – a stunning bride, in her gown from City Bridal and was both nervous and excited before the ceremony – and totally exhilarated afterwards.
Angela 1 , Angela 2 and Becs were a gorgeous trio in pink gowns – their hair and makeup – (great job as always) by B.O.D.
Bouquets in pink and white were divine – and from way on the other side of Auckland - Fronds in Kumeu.
Peter and the boys (not to miss you out) were all very smooth in their suits by Balmoral suit hire. Our appreciation goes to a fun bridal party who were “up” for anything, the helpers with the family photos, and also the wonderful professionals at Castaways who do a fantastic job.
The sunset was one of those special ones – and not too cold at 8.30 at night to be on the cliff edge. We also grabbed those never to be forgotten husband and wife “first dance” photos.
Claudine and Peter it was an awesome wedding - you were gorgeous, easy to photograph and made our job a pleasure. We will catch up with you both soon .

Angela and Andrew

It must have been the windiest wedding ever at Castaways! The day was very sunny but with a slight chill in the air. The surf was rolling in and very choppy and up on the clifftop overlooking the beach, the guests huddled behind the flax hoping to shelter from some of the blusterly gusts. Angela - "blew in " down to the ceremony - with her parents, as Andrew watched with a great smile and anticipation - and the wedding went ahead as planned overlooking the beach. Clare and Virgina wore lovely aqua gowns and there was an aqua theme throughout the wedding. Steve (he is the BEST) from Castaways was on hand to offer the flowers girls Jade and Sophie, some shelter from the gusts, with some large white tablecloths... Nothing quite like multi-tasking items - and they were perfect - thanks Steve!

The wind was so strong at times - even my tripod could not hold my camera steady - and that was a first... Mr Manfroto (a.k.a. the tripod) needed a bit of assistance from Mike (my husband and second shooter) to shelter the main blasts coming in from the west.

Marie Hawkins, the celebrant performed a great ceremony, not too long, not too short and it wasn't long before Angela and Andrew were husband and wife. The wedding party photo shoot was held down at Karioitahi beach and the new husband and wife were blissfully oblivious to the cold.

It was a great wedding reception also - with David Seel - DJ in charge and professional and awesome as always :) The beautiful flowers were by David's talented wife Susan.

Makeup was by Candice Turner, a very talented young lady :) - and the very cool aqua themed wedding cake by Chocolate Earth. Angela and Andrew - our congratulations and best wishes to a wonderful couple ! All the very best :)

Ryan and Logan - Action Incorporated

A different type of photo shoot for me - as I'm not too speedy with my current dodgy knee issue however ::: Had a lot of fun chasing Ryan and Logan round their front yard on their bikes.
A couple of very dynamic, gorgeous little boys - "action incorporated". Logan would have been ready for a good long sleep after I left I reckon.
I had a guided tour of the yard , and demonstrations of the swing and slide and cool little playhouse where Logan played "shops". Ryan was very speedy on his bike and I had my heart on my mouth as he zoomed off down the driveway!
It was great to meet the boys - who I had met as babies and are now the dynamic duo:)
See you again boys!

Cydel

Some images from Cydel's photo shoot a few weeks back. What a gorgeous wee dude!

Lyric

Just a few images from Lyric's photo session last week.

Gorgeous wee girl aged 4 months - full of smiles and will be a heart breaker with those stunning looks. With all the power cuts due to the horrific storm weather over the past few days - it's amazing they have made it to the blog !

Nisha and Dave

Nisha and Dave were married recently at Gracehill Vineyard in Kumeu. It was a lovely late autumn afternoon and the colours were glorious. Dave, his bestman and groomsmen arrived on Harley Davidson Motorbikes - which was very cool! We loved the "Bat out of Hell" music :) (it certainly brought back a few memories!) The weather was good - in spite of the weather reports threatening rain all week. Nisha and Dave exchanged moving vows in the gazebo by the lake in front of many family and friends. The beautiful cake was by Anita and was one of the loveliest we have photographed. The mens suits were by Frank Casey Suit hire.

Congratulations to such a great fun couple and enjoy your honeymoon :) we will catch up when you return.

Liz and Albert

Liz and Albert were married at St Anthony’s Church in Waiuku recently. Liz and Albert’s wedding was a lot of fun and it was great to be photographing again in our local town.

We "grabbed" Liz and Albert for a private photo shoot on their way to their wedding reception on a family farm on the Awhitu peninsula. After an awesome late afternoon photo session, high up on the hills at the very old Kohekohe Church overlooking farmland and the Tasman Sea - we headed up the peninsula to the reception.
The location photos with the bridal party were taken on the farm as the storm clouds rolled in – giving a dramatic backdrop over the stunning valley views. The girls, wearing gowns from Modes were as stunning, as the guys were cool and we have some great photos to show you :)
The marquee was huge, with a great dance floor and the catering was from the Spit Roast Catering company
Congratulations to Liz and Albert - a wonderful couple – All the best guys! We will catch up with you again soon.

Dan and Jo

Dan and Jo were recently married on a lifestyle farm in Bombay. The guests were treated to an "island" wedding - as the Jo and Dan exchanged vows, under the guidance of their celebrant Seonid Horne . The local farmlife, including Alpacas, Kune kune pigs and geese watched the ceremony from the pond edge, as well as the family and friends in the beautiful tranquil surroundings. The wedding party photos were taken on location in the gorgeous surroundings.

The wedding day was wonderfully organised by the family here in New Zealand all playing their special and important parts in Dan and Jo's day - it was very stress free and enjoyed by all.

Dan and Jo's reception was held in a marquee on the farm and the catering was provided by the Spit Roast Catering company, which I have found always gets great reviews. DJ, MC and music services were provided very professionally, as always, by Mike Steffens .

Dan and Jo have been honeymooning in Thailand and have now returned to their home in the UK. ~~ Congratulations ~~ :)

Katrina and George

Katrina and George were married recently married at St Andrew's in Auckland City – followed by their wedding reception at Pinot .

It was another glorious day in Auckland and very hot weather for autumn in the City of Sails. There were lots of people out and about and some surprised looks as our bride and groom queued for a "Mr Whippy" icecream after their ceremony, with some of the children who were guests at the wedding.

Katrina was a stunning bride in a beautiful gown, which had a full lace skirt with draped silk- from Brides by Paula Midgley from Kumeu.

Katrina and her bridesmaids, all in delicious pink silk, had their makeup and hair by Colleen Hayward and Lisa Brewer at About Style.

The cars were classic Alvis models - which I did not know much about - but were in beautiful condition and the passion of many I imagine !

Flowers were from Angie J Weddings -Amazingly lovely roses in wonderul pink tones .

George and the boys looked very handsome in their suits from Exclusive suit hire.

Wedding photos were taken overlooking the Waitemata at the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial on Takaparawha. The grounds were emaculate as always, and a credit to Parks maintenance staff . There were a number of wedding parties, and seemingly, hundreds of tourists and cameras in all shapes and sizes, also having photos taken - however - there was plenty of room for us all. We captured some great moments and especially the fun shots with George and "the dress". Sorry about that George - I must remember to clarify next time what "under" meant :) :) (I hope Katrina didn't mind... too much !)

Before long it was time to rush to Pinot and enjoy the speeches, dinner and dance. It was also great to catch up during the dinner break, with our favourite wedding videographer Robyn from Moving Memories Wedding Video.

Our heartfelt thanks again to Katrina and George - who are busy relocating to Sydney during their honeymoon - it was such a pleasure to be part of your awesome wedding day - we will catch up again soon.

Kelly and Scott

Kelly and Scott travelled from Australia to be married on the Sunset Coast, Karioitahi at Castaways in front of many family members and friends. It was another glorious day on the west coast with a brisk sea breeze – just enough to take the edge off the heat and lull you into thinking you might not need sunscreen…(as many people found out later in the afternoon)

Kelly was a stunning bride, wearing a beautiful wedding gown by Mariana Hardwick.
It has been a great year for bridesmaid’s gowns too! There have been so many great colours this season, such a variety of styles and fabrics. The days of the satin black bridesmaids dress has hardly featured, as it has done regularly in years gone by. Sara and Skye, Kelly’s sisters, wore knee length- beautiful swirly dresses in a dark emerald green – which we used to great effect during the wedding party photos on the beach later in the afternoon. Their makeup was by Roxanne from B.O.D, at Auckland City. Thanks ladies – were you were all gorgeous and such great fun! Scott and his brothers looked very handsome wearing nice formal suits from Frank Casey. Dante, Armani, Kees, Henry were the cute page boys and did a superb job walking through the rose petals to the ceremony on the cliff top. Constance Brown was the celebrant – and did a terrific job as always. The wedding party photos were taken on Karioitahi beach, where Kelly and Scott had both very romanitc and fun shots – including pushing a car which had become stuck in the sand!

Another wonderful wedding reception at Castaways, great food and ambience, where everyone is looked after so well, while overlooking the magnificent west coast .
Sunset that night was swift – however, we popped back to Castaways and grabbed a few great shots on the clifftop – which is a great bonus for Karamika Photography clients who have their weddings at our local venue.
Thanks so much - Kelly and Scott – a great fun couple, very much in love – all the very best to you - we will catch up after your honeymoon.

Helen and Michael

Helen and Michael were married at the Auckland Botanic Gardens in Manurewa recently. The wedding party photos were taken prior to the event - which is what I try to recommend to all couples, it's not for everyone, however it works really well. The guests are not left waiting while the wedding party are away having the photo session.

The weather was a little damp for a while - and black clouds threatened overhead while we sheltered under umbrellas and in a very well placed "shed" in the gardens:) Billy the outrageous Irishman and best man was full of jokes and fun. He was also great fun and help during the "flick" of the veil shots...(Yes Billy I have turned you into a conifer) Michael appeared rather nervous initially, but Helen (if she was nervous) certainly did not show any signs of it as we made your way around the gardens. Helen's and Lynda's lovely cream and blue bouquets were by the very talented ladies at Bizziblooms in Orakei.

The ceremony was held amongest family and friends in the well manicured Perennials garden. Many, many thanks to my wonderful "helper" in organising the groups for the family photos - it was much appreciated. I didn't need to use my "soccer mum" voice at all. I am sure we will catch up at a football match one day too.

Helen and Michael's lovely wedding cake was made by Helen's mum and was a gorgeous fruit cake with the little hippos :).

Many thanks to a lovely couple - Helen and Michael - We wish you lots of happiness always - and have fun during your honeymoon in Adelaide - we will see you when you get back to NZ!

Pieta and Andy

Another coast to coast adventure and wedding on Waiheke for us . The ferry trip was much more pleasant this time and even managed to take some tourist" photos on the Waitemata harbour.

Andy and Pieta were blessed with a beautiful day for their beachfront wedding at the Dunes on Waiheke Island. It was great to finally meet you both – and your families, after our “long distance” relationship.
Pieta’s stunning wedding gown was a Spanish Pronovia design brought back from the UK. The wedding was very “international” with the wedding party flying in from all parts of the globe. The couple made their own unique gold wedding rings in the UK - Pieta sharing her gold with Andy:) The gorgeous flowers and bouquets were by Lotta at the Waiheke Florist Company and their wedding cake was from the Rocket Kitchen.

The ceremony was held on the beach at Onetangi, much to the delight of the local beach goers! The beach was very hot, with not a lot of shade to be found. Chantelle and Katie, looking gorgeous in their sky blue gowns - were grateful for the parasols - as were we all . The wedding Party were a lot of fun and it's not often you meet a bride willing to play football on the beach and chase seagulls -(Great stuff Pieta!) - and also not forgetting to mention the boys and the "brollies" hmmmm:) We managed a great reflection shot with Andy, Ant and Sam using one of the hip flask gifts from Andy to his best man. Pieta and Andy have returned to the UK and we send our very best wishes and congratulations to a wonderful couple:)

Keri and Mike

If anyone remembers February 23rd, 2008 - It will be for the bad stormy weather - after weeks of hot summer and perfect blue skies. We started out early from home, for Keri and Mike's wedding on Waiheke and travelled a long journey from our West Coast home, crossing the Waitemata harbour on the Sealink car ferry. The rolling choppy seas did nothing for my general health - and I concentrated as best I could on catching up with the latest gossip in a woman's magazine. We arrived at Kennedy Point in plenty of time, cruised over Waiheke, with me playing travel guide to my husband, who had only been once before when the children were very small. The wind was very fierce and the huge rolling surf coming in from east side of the Island around Oneroa and Onetangi was spectacular sight.

We journeyed up to Kereru Lodge in Cable Bay, where the wedding was to be held - hoping to find everything still in tack - and it was. The girls were busy - and not too stressed - if they were worried about the weather it didn't show. The benefits of having a wedding at Kereru Lodge - is that you have room to move and there is no panic about where to take the wedding photos in bad weather. The marquee had taken an entire day to erect and was not blowing away anywhere in a hurry!.

We then ventured down to Kiwi House - where the boys were getting ready in their very nice suits from Munns- grabbed a few shots and then we were back to catch the girls, dressing and putting on the finishing touches. Loved the cufflinks - silver rugby balls ! Keri's wedding gown by Louise Anderson - was stunning and had beautiful fine detail in rouching and beading. The gorgeous red rose bouquets by Grandiflora in Remuera

Keri's friend Karen - did an awesome job with wedding arrangements - being a professional wedding co-ordinator - it was wonderful! Red, black and white was simple yet elegant. :)

Keri and Mike's ceremony was perfect - and we were soon onto the wedding party photo session - which we held in the lodge - after a quick dash up the windy wet steps.

CROUCH -TOUCH -PAUSE- ENGAGE, a new theme in wedding photos - thanks guys (a.k.a. the boys) "awesome-yet cheeky"... and ladies, you were a lovely group...easy to photograph and very friendly - thanks it was a pleasure .

Congratulations to a great couple Keri and Mike!! After another scary, hairy, ride across the harbour ((gulp)) and we were home by 9.30pm.

Private Gallery now on line. Link and password info is via Keri and Mike.

Donna and Chris

Another lovely wedding held at Castaways Karioitahi recently. Donna and Chris were a great couple and lots of fun. Donna's gorgeous black dress was sourced north of Auckland at Orewa from - Chocolates for Breakfast (just the name encourages me to visit!) A surprise for Chris, (although he had suspected the dress would be different:) ) when they met prior to their wedding for a fun photo session at the beach. Donna loves animal prints and the setting at the wedding reception at Castaways was gold, black with a splash of animal print - including the cake - from Celebration Cakes in Manukau City. Donna's flowers were another totally original design from Scent "World famous in South Auckland" for the stunningly different floral designs they produce.

It was a very breezy day on the sunset coast- and I was quite relieved that Greer Dyson - (Donna and Chris's celebrant) had not worn one of her famous hats... I think it would have ended up way down the cliff in the surf and eventually made its way to the Australian Gold Coast ! Also - it was not a great day for "short" flowy dresses.... if you had a handbag in one hand and a glass in the other :)

A ring "warming" was carried out while Chris and Donna said their vows and the ladies present at the wedding were all given a beautiful red rose..

It was good to catch up with Donna and Chris the following day, with their beautiful daughters and take some family photos with Dick at Papakura.

This is a preview of a few images - A private viewing gallery has been uploaded and access is via a password from Donna and Chris.

Old photos and slideshows

Over the past week I have been working on processing weddings and designing albums and squeezing in, amongest other things, producing a slideshow for my Dad's birthday.

I have discovered quite a few things... So many photos that have been taken of my Dad over the years are in really bad condition. I am sure this happens everywhere. There are the really old photos that are in albums... right through to the recent photos taken in the 90's.. Tears and spots, discolouration where fingers prints have been on glossy photos, dust - you name it - I have found it. Getting the scanner out of the cupboard has also been interesting "re-learning curve"... It's something you think is never needed again. I am very grateful for the digital age, the photos I have been taking over the past few years of my family - still are great quality and no scanning is required !

It's actually very strange doing "photoshop" on your relatives (besides getting very upclose and personal) and you come across all kinds of similarities, as happened in my case, between my father and my son... which you actually hadn't noticed before... Not until - that is - you are working removing dust and spots on a photo of your Dad, taken at the same age of your son ! Very scarey... The same tilt of the head, the smile - a shy, yet cheeky grin :)

My honest opinion and advice - if you have old photos - get them scanned now! If you don't want to, or can't do it - there are places/people who do that kind of service, a small price to pay for something very important. Put them onto disks and external hard drives - and then keep them somewhere safe. So many people wait until someone has passed away before getting things organised. In this busy life and times - it is understandable .

It's also really helpful to put the dates in soft pencil on the back of the photo - so many times you guess, and it is wrong. It is probably a good idea to get the photos in some sort of chronological order for the slideshow.

The slideshow was a great hit at the celebration. It ended up a VERY long slideshow - by the time I added bits and pieces of the past that I remembered about my Dad as I was growing up, the comedy, the music, the fun, and just some of the stuff we used to do - memories I shared with my Dad - part of what/who made me who I am today:). The show is on DVD so it can be enjoyed on the TV and computer. I have also uploaded it to the web - so that it can be viewed by family and friends all over the world who have discovered the joys of broadband.

The music for the slideshow - I had been given by Dad (many CD's and changing into MP3 files later , thanks to my daughter Ashley, I didn't quite have the patience! ) -Those songs - really made the slideshow very personal and also brought back lots of memories of my childhood.. Surpisingly, - no I am not embarrassed, I remembered the words to many of them. Trolling through many family and personal photo albums has been a track back down the good times of memory lane - something we should all do from time to time... Holidays, parties, fun times, births, weddings, school days, past work mates and jobs - brings you back to reality . I was so pleased Dad has this slideshow now and that it wasn't something put together in a rush at a very sad time. Something to think about....

Zenobie and Jonas ~ Raglan

Zenobie returned to Raglan from Switzerland with her husband Jonas - to celebrate with family and friends and have their wedding nuptials.
We had a great photo shoot at Raglan :)- Gorgeous girls and fun guys! and here are a few images.
It was our very first visit to Raglan (a two hour drive from home) and we loved it - living on the same coast - and with Mount Karioi nearby (Karioi is unique in being the only snow free mountain on the New Zealand west coast with native bush in three distinct phases from sea level to mountain top) - it kind of reminded us of home -and our local beach Karioitahi. Gallery link to more images here :

Kate and Jason - Castaways

Kate and Jason were married at Castaways on New Years Eve. Family and friends witnessed the event, in the very,very hot sunshine - on the clifftop overlooking Karioitahi Beach. Thank goodness for the sun umbrellas... A fun time was had on the beach for the photo shoot after we all piled into a four wheel drive and headed south -about 1 kilometre along the black iron sand. Amazingly we fitted everything in - with not quite the kitchen sink - but almost:) Gavin (such an awesome help rounding up the family for the photos - thank you so much :) and Becs you were fun! Kate and Jason it was so nice at your lovely wedding - you- were gorgeous, easy to photograph and made our job a pleasure. The beautiful flowers, totally different from anything I had seen before, were from Scent in Pukekohe. The tiny red and blue striped live fish, swimming amongest the flowers on the tables at the reception were great - not sure of what the live head count was the next day though ! Gallery link to more images here:)

The sunset was stunning that evening and we managed a number of great shots including some from their first dance as husband and wife. Loved the song you chose for your first dance ~ ! :) Congratulations!!

Josie and Al's wedding 30/12/2007

A quick preview of a few images from Josie and Alistair's wedding held on the cliff top at Castaways, Karioitahi Beach - on Sunday 30th December 2007. More images will be online soon and a password will be available from Josie and Al when they return from their tropical honeymoon.

It was a beautiful day on the west coast, at the base of the Awhitu Peninsula - with a strong breeze which kept the temperatures down slightly - just enough to forget the sunburning issues. High tide was around 3.30pm and there were plenty of beachgoers and paragliders galore enjoying the warm summer weather west of Waiuku.

Josie looked elegantly stunning in her gown :) The flowers were gorgeous - by Designer Flowers in Pukekohe and the girls makeup was by B.O.D., the cake- a stunning masterpiece was from Michels Patisserie in Pukekohe and Nick Logan the DJ was in perfect form - as always!
The ceremony was lovely, under the guidance of Billie - a family friend - who performed the perfect ceremony. Over 80 family and friends gathered and witnessed the event overlooking the spectacular west coast.

A great time was had by all - and we had a fabulous photo session down on the beach later in the afternoon. Thanks so much Josie and Al - and also to your fun wedding party, Lara , Emily , Sam and Steve - you were great and it was a pleasure meeting you all . Josie - your lists were invaluable ! - thanks so much:)
Castaways were, as always, the most wonderful hosts for the ceremony and reception and everyone enjoyed the atmosphere and food immensely.