It was held at Hunter Valley Gardens, and for all intents and purposes, was a little bit motley in theme. First there was Guitar Hero, a tribute to Movember, a giant deck of cards, and a mad hatter’s tea party. And that’s just for starters.

It was a classic case of opposites attract. She is steadfast and resolute, while he is more relaxed and laid back. His role in their relationship, he says in his speech that night, is to ‘calm her down when she feels stressed.’ Twenty minutes on and still poached behind the lectern with a firm grasp of the mike, Iris (who had only allotted five minutes to his speech), has no choice but to look on and absorb the endless words of love he had to share! 

The day was held at Cockle Bay House, a little luxury retreat on the Central Coast. A country manor with all the adornments of an exclusive hideaway - the perfect backdrop for a warm and intimate wedding.

We started the day at their home to capture their preparation and were greeted by such glorious afternoon light that any other photographer would have been seriously envious. Cause for even greater envy is the good lookin’ bride and groom (you reading this Jansen!?) – lovely in their own right, and striking when together. See for yourself below.

A wonderfully sun-drenched ceremony at Rocky Point Island, followed immediately by lots of love and laughs over a cocktail reception at Bathers’ Pavilion.

We thought it would make for interesting discussion to create a list of photographers that our own group of Saxon Colers derive creativity from. What we found perhaps the most intriguing was that this list comprised predominantly of photographers who are not within the wedding industry at all.

In hindsight, I guess this makes sense from the point of view that the best inspiration comes from those who compel us to look at things in a different way, in someone else’s shoes, outside the proverbial square. It’s the innovation in the work of these photographers, the power in their imagery, and their left-field thinking that we look upon to spark an idea and nab that unique image.

Edward Weston - an old school pioneer in exploring the female form, body and curves.

Mark Zibert - a UK based concept photographer that has got to be one of the most creative guys we've seen in a long time.

Kelley Ryden - she does some fantastic baby photos, based in the U.S.A. Kelley has become extremely popular with her unique fresh style with newborn portraits.

Urs Bulhman - AIPP Australian photographer of the year 2008. Best known for his amazing car images that he shoots for advertising. We've had the good fortune of speaking with Urs on a number of occassions and he's got to be one of the most passionate photographers we've ever met.

Mario Testino - famous peruvian fashion/celebrity photographer, has shot the likes of Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts. You may not know the name but if you see some of his images you may recognise them.

Eolo Perfido - One of our favourites. An up and coming Italian photographer known for having commissioned some huge fashion jobs with a little studio the size of half a garage.

and finally, Markus Klinko & Indrani - A strong duo who also shoot fashion with an edge and have a talent for the bizarre and unexpected.

Welcome back from Japan guys! Now that you should be rested and recovered, there’s a stack of images headed your way to relive the day again from start to finish! Our hats off to a wonderfully planned day. Thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

We had a good feeling about Lauren and Ken from the moment we met with them over a year ago now. She had a strong conception of how she wanted her day portrayed and never wavered from this vision. Lovely bride and groom have recently come back from honeymoon in Thailand and will be seeing their complete set of images this week!

A father's serenade to his little girl...

Comfort from the man who's promised to take care of her from here on..

Good luck with the upcoming wedding in China guys! Make sure to touch base and show us what the wedding day looked like!

Always one to give us just a little bit of grief, it was a sad day last year when Jaypee broke the news to us that he was taking Victoria (makeshift Saxon Cole model) and Rylan (two year old photographer prodigy) up to Cairns to buy a place of their own. And even more grief was that the wedding was to be held in Cairns, and scheduled during the absolute busiest week of the Sydney-spread Saxon Cole wedding calendar!

All jokes aside, it was an honour to hear that they wanted their alma mater Saxon Cole to capture their day. We are immensely proud of Jaypee and Victoria, and all they have accomplished with setting up their own photography studio in Cairns and raising their cheeky-monkey gorgeous son, Rylan.

See below for the ceremony held at Angsana Palm Cove in a quaint little chapel, followed by a reception at the urbanely alfresco Far Horizons restaurant.

Vic, you look positively radiant, and we can only hope to have done this justice in your images. Rylan, we miss you tonnes little man. Jaypee, just come back already.

Team Saxon Cole

Below is a short video shot using our 5D mark II’s. Jaypee and his groomsmen thought we were setting up for a shot when they realised that we were filming them instead.

You see so much of Jaypee’s character in this reel as the boys break into dance, get into a huddle, and start giggling like girls. It was funny enough to us just watching them carry on, but only afterwards did we learn that the in-joke was that at Jaypee’s bucks night a couple of days before, they were so drunk that they were doing this exact same dance but completely naked ..

Jaypees pre game warm up from Saxon Cole on Vimeo.