Wedding Date August 2nd 2014

The Happy Couple
Grooms Preperations: Jupiters Hotel and Casino
Bridal Preperations: Jupiters
Ceremony: Queens Gardens, Rain Tree Lawn
Photo Locations: Queens Gardens, Old Townsville GNR Railway Station
Reception: Jupiters Ballroom
Another gorgeous day in Townsville for a wedding, which this time started off for us photographing the groom and groomsmen getting ready at the Jupiters complex. Nathans mum was very proud to be “Mother of the Groom” as you can see from the gown she was wearing.

Thank goodness for Mothers
As always there is some confusion about how to tie the tie, and fit the cufflinks and flowers. Nathan had organised personalised cufflinks for the boys, each with a C and an N to celebrate this special union.

Chilled
Nathan, seemed pretty relaxed and taking it all in his stride. The boys left the hotel early in order to meet the guests at the ceremony, and as to not run into the girls. Nathan and Cass had not seen each other for over 24 hours.
So if I thought Nathan was relaxed, Cass was totally organised and very calm, maybe it was all those preganancy hormones. The preganancy had not been a part of the initial wedding plan when they booked a year in advance.

Cass, the bride
I loved the soft pink colours incorporated into the day with the bridesmaids dresses and flowers, and also on the groomsmens ties.

Soft Pink
I decided to take advantage of Cass’s pregnant belly and take a silhouette in the window.

At the window
The Suite at Jupiters is ideal for bridal photography, the rooms are large, with a generous living area able to accomodate several people as they come and go delivering things and well wishes.

At the make up mirror
Cass was ready with time to spare, which is uncommon on a wedding shoot, we usually find ourselves running out of time, with so much to cover in a short time frame.

With baby number one
Good realistic organisation and planning are the key to a smooth running wedding day. I usually like to allow an hour for the photography of the bridal preperations. I always ask my brides to make sure they are not the last one to have makeup and hair done, so that if they are running late on the day, they are usually finished in time for my arrival and for the photography to start.

A quiet moment before leaving the room for the wedding
Afterall, they are the star of the show, and do want enough time to create beautiful portraits of themselves on the wedding day.

The arrival of the bride

The wedding Vows under the huge Raintree
Cass and Nathans wedding vows were very touching and heartfelt, and celebrant Jenny Stevens had also added some lighthearted humour to the ceremony, touching on how they met overseas.

Queens Gardens
The weather in Townsville was reliably good, again, for an outdoor wedding.

The Bridal Party
After the ceremony we captured a large group portrait along with family portraits, and then ventured deeper into the tropical gardens for some portraits with the bridal party and bride and groom.

Lush tropical gardens
It was a later ceremony, starting at 4pm so it was around 5pm by the time we had finished the family portraits, only 1 hour of daylight left!

The Great Northern Railway Building
A lot can be achieved in 1 hour, and we had deliberately planned the photography to minimise travel time to other locations in order to take advantage of the light while we still had it.
The reception was already in full swing by the time we arrived just after 6pm. The bridal party had gone up to their room to refresh for a few minutes before arriving to a room of standing, cheering family and friends.

The Wedding Cake