What made Fenella + Karl’s wedding day so great was that they surrounded themselves (and their gorgeous daughter) with their favourite people, chose wedding vendors they valued and did some key wedding decor themselves too. They really put their own individual stamp on things - from Karl’s purple suit jacket through to getting creative with their own florals and signage! If you’re a creative soul then adding your own touches is always a fab idea. If you have clever friends to help you even better! Lucky Fenella had the very talented Chantelle from ‘Blush Hair and Beauty’ as a bridesmaid… so guess who did our beautiful bride’s hair and makeup?! Bonus!

Fenella got ready at her Nana’s house in Christchurch. It was a fabulous place for her and the girls to chill ahead of the big day. Fenella’s dress was from ‘To Cherish Bridal’ and she told us she was really grateful for how helpful and accommodating they were! Karl got ready at the couple’s home and Fenella had kindly ensured that everything was perfectly set up for him and the boys. Their home was super spic and span and ready for ‘getting ready’ photos. Check out Karl’s cool jacket… We love a bit of colour for a groom! He looked so cute in purply pink he made the boys wink.

Fenella + Karl did a ‘First Look’ at Nana’s house in her stunning garden. Karl was suitably bowled over by his gorgeous wife to be. Photographing genuinely gob-smacked guys is always great! The more tears the better hehe. We absolutely loved how Karl twirled Fenella around to take it all in!

Before heading over to Lacebark we did a few wedding portraits at Nana’s house. Such an incredible property with a fabulous balcony!

With a vintage car borrowed from a bridesmaid’s dad (the same colour as the bridesmaid’s dresses!) Fenella and her girls rolled up to Lacebark Function Centre. We had time for a few pre-ceremony shots with the girls (photos not drinks!) before Fenella, her daughter and her mum walked down the aisle! This was such a sweet moment.

Lacebark have several wedding ceremony locations on site and lots of hidden gardens. We loved Fenella + Karl’s ceremony set up with the native toe toe arch they had created. As Covid wedding restrictions had eased we had a wee giggle about the mask use one wedding guest had found for his! It does make a brilliant emergency sun hat!! As documentary wedding photographers these are the little and legendary moments we love to capture!

After the ceremony it was fun to do this big group shot of everybody with the drone!

Fenella + Karl’s wedding reception was relaxed and fun with the fabulous ‘Bacon Bros’ doing the catering, plenty of emotional speeches and lots of laughter. Karl’s brother who was stuck in Canada due to NZ border closures was very much missed!

This gate photo was something that Karl has pre-visualised when they came to look at the venue. When he told us about this idea he had for a sunset photo at Lacebark we made sure we did it! We are big believers in the power of pre-visualisation and it’s an important part of being a pro photographer in general. It’s always really interesting when our clients share their own pre-visualisation with us, as it’s always a good idea or super inspiring! This might not have been a shot we would have done so Karl can take full credit for the art direction on this one… and we love it!

As the sun set on Lacebark we headed back to photograph the dance floor antics and a very special family dance routine! Apparently Karl’s fam bust out these choreographed moves at most family events. So bloody funny! These are our kind of people and so much fun to photograph! We absolutely loved capturing this gorgeous Christchurch wedding at Lacebark. Yeehaw!

Fenella + Karl: “Wow. Robin and Andie are fabulous! They are a great team. From the first interaction with the two it was effortless and easy. Our engagement shoot photos and our wedding photos are absolutely stunning. We didn't feel pressured or staged, they guided us through where would be the best photo spots and understood what we wanted to get out of the day. We couldn't have asked for a better team to capture our day for us.”

• Lacebark Wedding Photographers: Robin + Andie

• Venue: Lacebark. lacebark.net/

• Celebrant: John Harding. celebrants.dia.govt.nz

• Dress: To Cherish Bridal. tocherish.co.nz

• Hair + Make up: Chantelle – Blush Makeup and Beauty. blushmakeupandbeauty.com

• Shoes: Spendless. www.spendless.co.nz

• Rings: Michael Hill Jeweller. www.michaelhill.co.nz

• Suit: yd. Riccarton.www.yd.com.au

• Florals: Designed by bride.

• Caterer: Bacon Bros. baconbrothers.co.nz

• Cake design: Milzy Bakes @milzy_bakes

• Signage: Handmade by F+K.

• Car: Bridesmaid’s father.