PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG | Brisbane Wedding Portrait Photographer Marcus Bell Studio Impressions Photography

Yuana and Yanti from Jakarta decided to have two weddings to celebrate the beginning of their married life together. The first, a few weeks ago in Bali, in Indonesia, which is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world, and a place I love to visit.

The second wedding is in Jakarta next week, and as much as I would love to be there, I will be thinking of you as I’m photographing David and Alicia wedding here in Australia that booked well over a year ago, sorry Y&Y.

Yuana and Yanti, I know you will have an amazing time in Jakarta celebrating with all your family and friends. In the meantime here is a few photos from Ubud for you to share and I can’t wait to see pictures of the giant prints you will have hanging at your wedding in Jakarta.

This last weekend was a great weekend for Penny and I.  We headed to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast with the kids for some magnificent weather, and spent an absolutely glorious Sunday at The Plantation enjoying the company of some of the finest wedding professionals around.

If you haven’t been to this place, you HAVE to go.   It is instantly relaxing and quite simply, stunningly beautiful.   I think Penny wanted to get married again after spending the day in their grounds!    Just take a look at the images below to see how romantic it was.

The Little White Wedding Company and The Plantation joined forces for an open day for brides-and-grooms-to-be which really showcased not just the venue, but also the very special products and services of some of their favourite wedding specialists.

Tables were set and decorated with centrepieces by Mondo Floral Designs and Twig & Grace

Guests also got treated to a little goody bag and complimentary magazine from Discerning Bride (with a Studio Impressions bride on the cover)!

Invitations and stationery by Bespoke and Invitation Station who also had some wonderful bomboniere ideas.

Greg from Sweetums had some of his new cake designs on display (Pictures below), and Cake Designs cakes was also tempting guests with tastes of his delicious cakes.

Baby Gift Box’s showroom is opening this Saturday the 17th at their new location of Shop 5, 109 Riverside Place, Morningside.

We are really excited to see our friend Cathy from Baby Gift Boxes opening her first showroom this weekend! Cathy is a dynamic lady whose website we found when looking for something special to send my best friend to celebrate the birth of their newborn a few years ago. Since then, we have come to know Cathy well, and even got to celebrate the birth of her first child Alana.  We’ve posted some pics from the shoot below.

We have bought many Baby Gift Boxes over the years (I think it has something to do with this stage in our lives - everyone seems to be having kids!) and they are always a hit with our friends and family. Cathy’s boxes are different.  The contents are high quality, classical gifts, great value, and the whole package is extremely well put together. Each box comes with the baby’s name on the top so it can be used to keep precious things for the future (and goodness knows there are lots of things to keep). Our favourite is the gift box with the little football themed socks and toys for boys, it’s pretty cute. They also deliver all over.

If you know someone who is having a baby, you are having one yourself, or you just like to look at beautiful things, check out the Baby Gift Box showroom on Saturday for some fantastic specials - and enjoy a coffee or champers!

Wedding images more than reflect the day the couple had, they reflect a time in their life, and sometimes, their history too.

Katharine and Murray have just started a new chapter of their lives, together. Two individuals choosing to share the memories they have, then create new memories, together. I don’t think marriage is about two becoming one.  It is about each appreciating the other and supporting them as they grow and change through life.

Katherine and Murray’s wedding reminded me of this, so I decided to try and capture a little of their individual lives in their wedding images. The two of them, in the places that were important to them once as individuals.

Katherine studied medicine at the University of Queensland.  Her parents are also both doctors, so what better backdrop than the majestic building of the UQ Medical School at night time? I love the shot below. We also took some fantastic shots at the Northey Street Community Farm, where Murray spends a lot of time helping grow fantastic organic vegies.  (Check out the markets on a weekend - walking distance from our house & we LOVE it).

Their ceremony was at St Clement’s Church, Stafford and reception at Customs House.  How nice did the venue look again? It doesn’t matter how many weddings I photograph there, Customs always looks stunning and always different.

For the girls…..Katherine’s beautiful dress was designed specifically for her by MXM Couture, and the flowers that simply finished the perfect picture were by Flower Trap.

Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Katharine & Murray’s sneak peak slideshow.

Wedding guests are welcome to view all images on the online gallery.

(Slideshow and Gallery are password protected. Please contact Katharine & Murray for access.)

Noosa weddings are always stunning, but Susan and Matthew’s wedding was breathtaking. A glorious sunset amid dramatic scenery gave me the opportunity to try to capture the strength of this couple’s bond in images. I hope it comes through.

Susan and Matthew were married at St Andrews and had their reception at Sails, which is always spectacular. Mondo floral designs created the perfect bouquet to compliment Susan’s Marianna Hardwick dress.

Congratulations Susan and Matthew. We wish you a wonderful life together. Thank you for letting me share this special day with you.

Wedding guests are welcome to view a slideshow of images.

Wedding guests are welcome to view all images on the online gallery.

(The slideshow and gallery have two separate passwords. Please contact Susan & Matthew for access.)

The Sofitel has always been known for its elegance, which made it the perfect setting for Natalie and Todd’s very elegant wedding.

Some of the best wedding suppliers in Brisbane came together to help create a beautiful event.  Every element complimented the other perfectly - just like Natalie and Todd.

The ceremony was at St Stephen’s Cathedral.  Natalie’s dress was by DARB Bridal Couture.  Bouquets and table arrangements by Always Fabulous Flowers.     Greg from Sweetums created just the right cake to suit the event.  Styled Events did the theming and styling creating the air of elegance.

I loved the picture frames Natalie & Todd used to tie all the elements of the reception together.   In a nodd to their heritage, each table was named after an Italian city.  Table seating arrangements were framed and hung on the wall so each guest could find their seat.  Then little frames were used as placecards on the table.

I hope that Natalie and Todd find some images to fill those frames from the ones we took on the day!   Here is a sneak peek.

Wedding guests are welcome to view a slideshow of images. Please contact Natalie & Todd for access.

Powerkidz is back on at the Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Centre.

If you are still looking for something to do on the school holidays and you haven’t been to this event you are missing out!

The Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Centre runs the Powerkidz program every year during the June/July school holidays.   There are loads of workshops, theatrical performances, music, dancing, arts and sporting activities to enrol your kids in.  AND there are loads of free things to do.  

Penny takes my kids every year and raves about it.  They have done the painting wall, the dress ups, and this year saw a fantastic show about dinosaurs called ERTH’S DINOSAUR PETTING ZOO (a petting zoo, but not as you know it!).  

We have been very lucky to have had the opportunity to photograph the Powerkidz program for the last three years, as Sponsors of the Brisbane Powerhouse (more about that in another post).  This year we are very excited to say that we will also be participating!  On Thursday and Friday this week, we will be setting up an onsite ”Photo Shoot” for kids attending Powerkidz.  They can dress up and play at being a model while our photographers have just as much fun getting them to pose and “work the room”.    Hope you can drop by and join in the fun.  

It is such a special time when your kids are little.  Everyone always says it goes so fast and until you have kids you don’t really realise what they mean.  Some days (the hard days) seem to stretch on forever, but most days are filled with so much fun and laughter, joy and wonder, that those moments are gone in a second.   

Recently Nicola was asked by Tracy and Steve to capture some of these cherished moments before their beautiful girls got too big.   She had such a fun session with Maddie & Georgia at their home, capturing their big smiles and beaming personalities.   The girls were great at entertaining each other and keeping the whole family laughing and smiling.  

 

Tracy and Steve loved the session so much Nicola also got to photograph a very special event - the christening of baby Maddie.   Family were visiting from all over and Tracy & Steven knew that this was an occassion worth recording forever.   I’m sure these images will be as special to Maddie’s children one day.    

…And just how happy can one baby be?  Maddie doesn’t stop smiling.  She is gorgeous!

A love story unfolded before me at Sarah and Budhi’s Brisbane wedding.

If only I could have recorded all the sounds of the “oohs and aahs” during the ceremony, all the laughter during the reception and even the silence when the veil was being placed in position before walking down the aisle. This day had everything a true love story has to offer.

Love was abound on this amazing day.

All the little details

Getting ready: Emporium Hotel

Ceremony location: Maiwar Green - Goma

Reception Venue: GOMA _ The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art

Wedding planner: Danielle Manning of White + White weddings

Styling: Jodie W.Edding & Co

Flower designer: Habitat Flowers

Cake designer: Ideas in icing

Dress designer: Darb Bridal Couture

Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Sarah & Budhi’s sneak peek slideshow.

Wedding guests are invited to view all images on the online gallery.

(Slideshow and Gallery are password protected. Please contact Sarah & Budhi for access.)

My recent post gave you a sneak peak of the magic at Brieanna and Luke’s Maleny wedding.  You’ll see from the images here that rainbows and downpours were just part of the beauty of the day.

For Brieanna and Luke’s family and friends, there is a link to all the images taken at the end of the post.  Contact Brieanna and Luke for your access password.

For all you brides to be who love the details:

Brieanna’s gorgeous dress was courtesy of Elizabeth de Varga

Brieanna got ready at the House of Laurels where the reception was also held.   As always, they did a fantastic job.

Luke got ready at a private holiday house called The Knoll. What a fantastic place (and a great website too - check it out).  I am going to try to get back here.

The Ceremony was at the new Little White Wedding Church.

The amazing bouquets and floral arrangements were by Mondo Floral Designs.

Thanks again Brieanna and Luke for sharing a little of your magic with me.

Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Brieanna & Luke’s sneak peek slideshow.

Wedding guests are invited to view all images on the online gallery.

(Slideshow and Gallery are password protected. Please contact Brieanna and Luke for access.)