Shooting in the lap of luxury

Category: Blog

by Johanna Osborne

Oh what a glorious day. We all knew it was going to be amazing the minute we heard where we were going to be shooting. The famous Wharekauhau Lodge was to be our location on Tuesday the 24th of July, and as time went on our 5 star crew just sort of magnetically fell together. It was meant to be!

After weeks of anticipation and excitement slowly but surely building, it was finally D-day. Time to drive over the hill! With several cars jam packed with gorgeous gowns, stunning suits and trays and trays of delicious catering by the unsurpassable Simply Food, we were probably quite a sight whizzing along Western Hutt Road towards our destination. The top of the Rimutakas appeared threatening with heavy grey cloud and rain, and we were all a tad concerned that this would mar our perfect day… yet descending on the other side it was a different story. A calm stillness engulfed our crew as we made our way along the stunning, and somewhat bumpy track that is Western Lake Road.

Paula is no stranger to this corner of the world, as she has planned and run many events at Wharekauhau. I too had been here before as my close friend fortuitously decided on it as her wedding venue a few years ago, and I was a very happy bridesmaid who got to enjoy a most magical day. So I knew what amazingness to expect, however I couldn’t help but be blown away and totally tickled pink when we turned the corner and saw Wharekauhau in all her regal splendour like a grand queen greeting us after our long journey. You simply can’t wait to get inside and explore all the amazing rooms, nooks and crannies this divine place has to offer. It’s truly knock-your-socks off material! What’s more, we had the entire estate to ourselves – with only 2 helpful, yet almost invisible, assistants present the entire day. How did we get so lucky?

Our good fortune extended further, with Kate MacPherson agreeing to shoot this much anticipated fashion spread for our September issue of Mr & Mrs magazine. With Kate on board, we knew we were in great hands! As huge fans of her work, we were all very excited to work with her. And let it be said, a nicer or more talented woman you could not hope to meet.

The rest of our crew included our bride and groom of the day, the gorgeous Leonie and the handsome Lane, two incredibly fun and obliging models to have on location with us. Nothing was too much trouble and both were incredibly easy going, polite and sweet. And most importantly they had a very visible connection, which really made us keep our fingers and toes crossed they’d exchange phone numbers at the end of the day!

Also on board were our amazing graphic designer Craig and his photographer partner Jess. This talented, yet totally humble twosome, have done incredible work for the Wellington Wedding Show, our website, Mr & Mrs magazine and the list goes on. Carl and Joni from Salute were our dream beauty team and once again pulled the most amazing hair and make-up out of the hat in record time. A charismatic force to be reckoned with and the wickedest sense of humour to boot – we were very glad to have them present as they were responsible not only for exceptional primping and preening, but also for much of the good cheer on the day. Helen Forster, well known and ueber-talented Fashion Designer, and her Creative Assistant Brooke also joined us for part of the day, and they were beyond helpful and truly great to work with.

The stunning flowers in the photos are all courtesy of Katie Bevege who is one of the most tasteful and skilled florists we have ever come across.

Paula, our Editor, Director of the Wellington Wedding Show and Event Planner Extraordinaire once again surrounded herself with a truly talented team and we all felt lucky and proud to be part of something so fantastic. It was a fun-filled, exciting whirlwind of an occasion, and when we sat down to enjoy some famous Simply Food Rosebuds at the end of our day we couldn’t quite understand where the time had gone?! We sat and we talked about what had made our day so successful and apart from our amazing team, there were several other suppliers who we are immensely grateful to… We were blessed to have such an impressive array of gorgeous gowns and suits to work with. Sophie Voon, Alison Blain, Helen Forster, Astra Bridal and Ziggurat, as well as Harfords Menswear and Frank Casey really came up trumps with their gorgeous wares. We had a blast styling Leonie and Lane, and they rocked each look to perfection. We can’t wait for you to see the results! And you don’t have to wait long, as the next edition of Mr & Mrs magazine will be available at the Wellington Wedding Show in the Wellington Town Hall on September 16th – and thereafter. In addition to our gorgeous photo shoot, there will be amazing recent real life wedding stories and plenty of style and inspiration for your big day. Be sure to get a copy – you never know who you might know in our magazine!

As always, a picture speaks a thousand words, so that’s it from me. I shall leave the rest to some of our snapshots taken on the day (note, these photos are taken by my somewhat shaky unskilled hand, and do not even feature in the same galaxy as the amazing photographs that Kate MacPherson shot on the day… but for those gems you will just have to wait a little longer..) Until next time!