When Bec got in touch with us to see if we would be working in Melbourne this May, I never would have imagined it would have been because she wanted us to photograph her wedding! I squealed with excitement to John as I explained that Bec and Alex were having a surprise wedding.
Bec isn't just ANY client.
Six years ago, I walked into a salon to book a hairdresser for my own wedding after having been told about this hairdresser in a local salon who was so good at her job!
Over the coming months, I got to know Bec and hear the hilarious stories of a, then, one-year-old Sienna, as Bec worked on gradually lightening my hair for the big day.
Bec would continue doing our hair, and our children, for the next five years - she gave our kids their very first haircuts!
Bec and Alex had decided to share their plans with only their close family and Bec's best friend, and maid of honour, Shannon.
We arrived at The Sebel where both Bec and Alex were getting ready with their families, just before the rain clouds started rolling in. John and I grabbed our key-cards and dashed around the hotel to pick a 'Plan B' for family formals, as we'd originally planned to use the hotel's beautiful rooftop garden for portraits.
When we walked into the apartment where Bec and the girls were getting ready, we felt like family! It was a feeling that would continue all the way through the entire day; the Musolinos and Barskis have nothing but love for the people around them!
As kids of all ages ran from one room to the next, mums and aunties began rounding them up and ensuring they were dressed and everyone knew EXACTLY where their shoes were!
As we arranged Bec's details in one room, we listened to them laugh together as they had their hair and makeup done in the other room; there's nothing like being surrounded by that much happiness and contentment.
Alex and the boys had a different vibe going in their apartment.
The girls were fast paced and busy.
The guys? Well, they were a little less so. "Bec just gave me a list of where I need to be and at what time I need to be there", Alex said as he and the boys went about their afternoon as casually as any other Sunday afternoon.. which always seems to be the case.. at ANY wedding.
After taking photos of Alex's details, we went back to Bec's apartment to photograph the girls in their dresses.. but not before popping a bottle of Veuve and taking in some really special moments with Bec and all her favourite girls.
With the rain coming down, we had to use our 'Plan B' for family portraits.
Plan B was the hotel lobby, strategically posed in front of the glass water-wall that separated us from the hotel swimming pool and it's huge yellow 'Slippery When Wet' sign.
The girls bouquets were stunning pops of plum and fuschia, created by the ever talented Rebecca of Floral Emporium, with Bec's own bouquet adorned with the locket-sized portraits of hers and Alex's grandparents.
As the ceremony approached, John and the boys headed over to the venue while the girls and I caught a boat.. A BOAT!
Melbourne Boat Hire is an absolute must if you're getting married near the water! Such a beautiful experience!
..and it wasn't just Bec's mum and dad waiting for us when we arrived!
When we approached the venue, Fiona of 'All Smiles' greeted us with a round of refreshments for the bridal party as I flew upstairs to touch base with the celebrant, signalling to John that we were ready to go.
As I descended back down the stairs, everything became very real and the next few moments were about to become memories that Bec and Alex, and everyone closest to them, would come to cherish.
"You look beautiful", Bec's dad, Tony, whispered to her as I took their photo. Bec did her best to wipe the tears away but my eyes were exceptionally glassy. There is nothing like being witness to an entire day FULL of these precious moments.
As the timeless classic, 'Fools Rush In' played over the speaker, Bec, along with her parents, bridesmaids and daughters, began there walk down the aisle.
Watching on as both her mum and dad walked her down the aisle, it was such a special moment.
The ceremony fell perfectly into place with the careful curation by Bec and Alex, together with their award winning celebrant, Bianca Paliaga, who so perfectly described Bec and Alex's relationship and their love for each other, along with the love they have for their beautiful girls who were presented with a Pandora bracelet each to symbolise Bec and Alex's promise to love and support them through their lives.
It was so beautiful to watch on as guests wrapped their heads around watching these two get MARRIED instead of just celebrating their engagement!
Immediately after the ceremony, we took the bridal party outside for literally ten minutes to shoot the bridal party portraits, racing from one combination to the next so we could get out of the light drizzle, which was soon to become an absolute downpour.
The beautiful pops of fuschia and plum in the girls bouquets were just stunning against those navy blue dresses and so perfectly matched the tones in the lighting of the Bolte Bridge.
I need to mention how incredibly on point these guys were for EVERY SINGLE SHOT!
Our aim was to do a single shot for each combination so we could get out of the rain and they absolutely nailed it! I was so proud of them!!
Chas of ChasD Entertainment was Bec and Alex's DJ/MC/'all the things' entertainer, along with his lovely [and very talented] sons.
No wedding can run smoothly without an MC who has been around the block a few times and Chas was on top of it all!
As he introduced the bridal party, we moved so effortlessly into cutting the cake - a cake, might I add, that was as delicious as it was stunning!
Denise of 'So Who Wants Cake' did an incredible job of creating a gorgeous cake that tasted so good, I could have easily polished of an entire tier of their two-tiered cake!
It was all of my cake dreams and definitely in my Top 3!
As seamlessly as we moved into cutting the cake, Chas opened the floor for speeches.
I am seriously considering introducing an annual competition for 'Most Entertaining Speech'! If I did, Bec's maid of hour, Shannon, and Alex's best man [and Bec's brother], Mark, would be neck and neck for the title!
As much as I laughed, the speeches brought a lot of tears, too.
Bec's dad, Tony, spoke of his love for his daughter and how it felt to hold her in his arms that very first day.
He talked about how happy he was to officially welcome Alex into the Musolino family and how that would always mean that Alex's family were his family.
He shared his appreciation for Bec's mum, Trish, in all that she has done through Bec's life and poured out his heart to his wife, Megan, for coming into their family and loving them all so much.
As he ended his speech, he told Bec and Alex how proud their grandparents would be if they were still with us - you'd be hard pressed to find a dry eye in the room!
Bec was next to take the mic, hilariously explaining, "It's no surprise that I'm the one doing the speech. I'm the talker and, as us wogs like to say, Alex is the 'talk-the-shitter'. As she talked about her love for Alex and their life together, along with their appreciation for their bridal party, she began to thank the venue co-ordinator and vendors. As she said our names, I threw her and Alex a smile, as if to say 'no thanks needed!' before I felt a lump in my throat and tears falling down my cheeks faster than I could wipe them away.
Bec spoke about how we'd met all those years ago and how we'd had a rough year with Carter when we decided to take a step back from work.
She explained how she'd seen that we were coming back to photography in 2018 and that she just had to have us photograph their wedding.
As I began to catch my breath behind my camera, Bec talked about how much she and Alex appreciated that, despite our current struggles [re: brain tumour], we would still drive our little family from Dubbo to Melbourne, just to photograph their special day.
In that moment, my heart was so full of love for the moments that I get to fill my life with.. in that moment, our silver lining grew into so much more!
Finally, Alex closed the speeches by telling everybody, so very eloquently, to enjoy their evening.
As guests were asked to take a couple of steps back, excitement filled the air as the pyrotechnics crew setup the fog machine.
Alex pulled his beautiful bride into a sea of low-lying, thick fog as Ed Sheeran's 'Perfect', featuring Beyonce, played over the speakers, captivating every single person in that room.
Before the night got away from us, we took Bec and Alex outside for their Signature Shot.
The Signature Shot is a captured moment of just the two of them, which showcases the place where they chose to begin the rest of forever.
Overtime, this shot has become less of a 'photo op' and more of a breather for couples to look forward to - a moment for them to take it all in, together, without the chatter and music.
We placed Bec and Alex at the end of the dock, right in front of the beautiful Bolte Bridge, before walking across the other side and giving them a moment to just talk and be together.. and watch the black swan that was eyeing up our camera gear!
We had a little bit of drizzle but it was such a perfect close to our evening before we came home [via Krispy Kreme] to our three sleeping beauties and their amazing grandparents who handled a fussy baby like a couple of bosses!
Bec & Alex,
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for trusting us with your day! You will both forever have a place in our hearts, along with your gorgeous girls.
We hope you have loved these few favourites of ours as much as we do - we can't wait to deliver your full gallery!
Call us when you finally come to Dubbo! All our love, Erin & John .x
With thanks and appreciation;
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