Gavin & Katie – Byron Bay

0 CommentsTuesday • February 14, 2012 • by Van Middleton

I love wedding photography, and there hasn’t been a single wedding I’ve shot that I haven’t enjoyed. But I have to confess there are some shoots that I love more than others. These contracts tend to involve trips south of the border, to the area I grew up in. They also tend to involve people of a like mind to me, who either view the world a little off-kilter, with an eccentric eye, or who have a very basic, simple idea of beauty which I find compelling.

Gavin and Katie were two such people, who happily found me and my sister, and engaged me with the very serious task of recording their wedding. As soon as I met them and they told me their plans I was sold.

The day started out in Ballina, where the Bride and Groom got ready, and soon afterwards moved to the wedding location, at the beautiful Lyndoch on the Lake – a rustic, charming French villa in the Byron Hinterland. I arrived at about the same time as the guests, who began to wander down to the lake shore, where the ceremony was to take place. I was told that the strand was favoured by a local platypus family, but they must have heard my zoom lens twitching in anticipation, because they never showed themselves.

Meanwhile Katie made her final preparations in the nearby villa, and Gavin hovered in a copse of trees, nervously making phone-calls. It turned out that a few guests were lost somewhere on Bangalow’s rambling byways, to general consternation.

But it wouldn’t be a wedding without some drama of one sort or another, and as with all weddings, these problems soon sorted themselves out. The lost guests found themselves, and Gavin finally made his way down to the lake-shore and the restless attendees, and there stood to await the arrival of his bride-to-be.

She appeared soon afterwards, on the arm of her father, looking like one of the French statues on the property come suddenly to life, all regal hauteur and stately beauty. Her white dress was gorgeous, and she was a picture of grace and elegance. She was also very nervous, but as she made the long walk down beneath the camphor trees to her soon-to-be husband, the weight of all the months of planning and the import of the day itself seemed to slowly unburden itself from her, so that when she finally met her friend she was smiling. The sun wasn’t particularly bright beneath the camphors, but her smile was radiant. If you don’t believe me, look at the photos.

Presently the nuptials took place, ceremony in every sense of the word, for the vows of people in love have already been spoken, often silently. At the end they released a pair of butterflies, which danced happily over the water. I won’t mention that when the couple turned back from them, they joined the platypuses in the lake.

When the ceremony was finished, Katie and Gavin made their spoken vows official by signing some paper, and afterwards mingled with the guests. It’s this part of the wedding, when the deed is done, and there is relief and joy and happiness, that I discover some of the most compelling images. It goes without saying that both families and friends were delighted.

Afterwards we went back to the lawn of the villa for family photos, and then wandered the property for some more shots of the newly-weds and the bridal party, all of whom made my job immeasurably easier by being happy, relaxed and handsome. By now the guests had retired to the reception tent, which had been lovingly decorated by Katie. I won’t go into detail about all the wonderful work she put into the decorations and accoutrements, except to say that I was in awe of it all. You can see pictures of some of the wonderfully furnishings below.

After the bridal party made their entrance, to much cheering and applause, people settled in to an evening of good food, great wine, dancing and chatter, punctuated every now and then by the formalities of the day, such as speeches and cake-cutting. When all was done the moon was up and the stars were out. Gavin and Katie would soon leave their guests – at the cusp of the first full day of their married lives.

Many thanks, guys. I hope you like the photos, and I wish you all the best for the future.