Raindrops, sparklers and a giant chess board

2013 for us went out with an absolute bang at Brittany and Sheldon's wedding! Their big day was held at the ever stunning Terrara House Estate in Nowra. And this venue had everything! Seriously! It even had a jar of lollies in the bathroom and hairspray to fix yourself up... How cool is that!!

Merindah and I started our morning in Nowra with a nice brekky and a bit of sight seeing. Once we had seen all we could, we figured we would go for a quick drive over to the estate and pay Brittany and Sheldon a morning visit, see how the nerves were going and suss out our plan of attack for the portrait session. It was an overcast morning, and all eyes were watching the clouds to see if the decision to move the ceremony inside was needed. When we arrived back to shoot later in the afternoon, the decision had been made. it had started to rain, so the choice was to move the ceremony onto the beautiful staircase on the verandah of the house. The girls were getting ready in the most beautiful room with the most perfect light to work with. The walls were a diffused glass, so the room acted like one giant soft box! It was fabulous to shoot in!

The ceremony took place on the beautiful staircase, surrounded by flowers and with a huge crystal chandelier hanging above them. It was just magic! After the ceremony, we made our way around the property to do some portraits. First stop was a swing made famous by a Nicole Kidman ad for Swisse, the driveway with its purple and white flowers and towering trees was the next backdrop. I could've kept shooting around the estate forever!

The reception was held in a huge white marquee dotted with flowers and uplighting. Just stunning! After all the formalities had finished, the rain kept beating down, but we decided that it would be perfect for some night time portraits around the property. There was a giant chess board with lanterns above it, and the light reflecting on its shiny surface was just too good an opportunity to pass up! Brittany and Sheldon was such troopers posing in the rain. Brittany's train needed a good wring out by the end of it though! Once all the cards had been filled, we had a dance and a little daiquiri with the bridal party on the dance floor and enjoyed our last moments of the final wedding of the year, before packing up our gear and making our way back to the hotel.

A huge thank you to Brittany and Sheldon for not only being huge troopers posing in the rain, but for allowing us to come all the way down to Nowra to share your day with you! It was a blast! And the daquiris were delicious ;-) You were a fantastic couple to work with and made our last wedding of the year end with a bang!