Hawaii is one of the world’s most iconic island chains that instantly brings thoughts of warm, white sandy beaches, hula skirts and shave ice.  It is the perfect location for a destination wedding or elopement, which is exactly why Stephen and Amelia decided to have their wedding celebration there. They brought with them those that mattered most and made it a truly special experience.

Shunning the tourist haven that is Waikiki, they chose the more secluded western coast of Oahu in the backyard of a beautiful home on the beach.  After their wedding ceremony, which had hints of Hawaiian symbolism, we headed off to Makua for portraits and captured an amazing sunset and views of the mountains.

“We were extremely happy with our decision to use Ben & Hope Wedding Photography. Ben came with us on our destination wedding in Hawaii and helped us with the whole process including spending the day before the wedding scoping out locations with us. The photos turned out amazing and we had a lot of fun doing the photo shoot. From our first meeting with him and from his portfolio and blogs on the website, we knew that he would deliver at a very high standard. He did! We would highly recommend him.” – Stephen and Amelia

If you are getting married in Hawaii, Contact Us for more information.

The post Hawaii Destination Elopement appeared first on Ben and Hope Wedding Photography.

Chloe + Michael chose to have their engagement session in one of our favourite spots on the Gold Coast. Pizzey Park nearly always comes to the party when we shoot there. We can’t get enough of the sunshine streaming through the trees. Gold Coast summer at it’s finest.

The post Pizzey Park Engagement Session – Chloe + Michael appeared first on Ben and Hope Wedding Photography.

From prep and pampering time in the private cottages to the ceremony on the shady lawn, portraits all over the fantastic country side including cattle and the reception in the gorgeous old barn you really can’t ask for more. Not only does having everything on one property cut down on transport cost, time, and traffic but the day just flows so easy and stress free. Plus your guests can let loose and have a great time knowing they only have to walk back to their cottage at the end of the night!

Michelle, her beautiful Bridesmaid Kate and her Mum stayed in a sunlit private cottage with views of the countryside while they had their hair and makeup done by Lyndell from MCM Hair Studio. Another bonus to having everyone at the one place was Ben could go off to shoot the boys getting ready while Hope stayed with girls so no one missed out on having their morning prep documented. It may not seem important but having all the nervous excitement of the morning activities documented along with all the details like the dress, shoes and ring all add to the story of your wedding day and shouldn’t be missed. Michelle chose the Amity Silk dress from the Anna Campbell ‘Forever Entwined’ collection. It has a beautiful jewel encrusted neckline and scoop back and the silk skirt was perfect for those soft wind blown photos.

The ceremony was held on the lawn under the big fig tree overlooking the views of the valley. We were blessed with a blue sunny sky and shade from the trees making it a pretty perfect spot to get hitched.

Looking for a young and fun celebrant? Check out Paul Voge! There are a lot of boring run of the mill celebrants out there (we know, we’ve seen them) and if you want someone to just read a standard vow and be done with it then you don’t have to look too hard. But if you want someone with personality, someone to add some fun and bring out your own personalities for your ceremony and make it unique then Paul should be at the top of your list. Just look at his website.. pretty cool yeah?

Andrew is another typical groom who doesn’t like getting his photo taken. We know these types too well and know how to make it easy and fun to get the best out of your portrait session! You can’t help but smile and relax when you’re having fun right? We utilized the farm at the back of spicers as it has big open fields and Andrew is a country boy so it suited them perfectly. We had a little stampede of cows come check us out which I’ll be honest scared Hope a little and she was ready to run at any moment! But being familiar with farm life Michelle + Andrew didn’t miss a beat. The cows actually added to their session and made it extra sweet!

We love a good barn reception, and Spicers Hidden Vale was the perfect size to host Andrew + Michelle’s gathering complete with a bar and pool table. Michelle’s decorations added to the rustic charm. Festoon lights hung from the outdoor courtyard which hosted all the dancing a laughing through the night. It really was such a great day with a gorgeous couple and fantastic vendors all coming together to create the perfect country wedding.

To hear what Michelle had to say about her day and vendor list check out the bottom!

From Michelle…

“Our wedding day was perfect. It was exactly how we wanted it and reflected Andrew and I perfectly (thanks to some very hard working vendors). From the getting ready to the tossing of the bouquet it truely was the most magical day!

We started with the venue, which Andrew actually chose. Driving down the beautiful driveway at Spicers Hidden Vale and then meeting the wonderful staff and spending an afternoon wondering around the retreat Andrew claimed that it was his favourite by far. Venue was locked in! My beautiful Anna Campbell gown and belt was the next thing I sorted, I found Anna Campbell online and very quickly made my way down to Melbourne to find my dress- it was love at first site!

We didn’t hire a stylist which meant that we hand picked everything!! For months I went to garage sale after garage sale, op shop after op shop collectingg crystal candle stick holders and spent hours scouting and cleaning old bottles from my parents property for the table decorations. Collecting lace table runners and candle sticks became a full time job. It was a massive effort but completely worth it in the end! Spicers were amazing with the menu, catering chef designed Australian BBQ menu followed by dessert and our wedding cake made by a wonderful lady from our home town, and also or MC’s mum! We also got our favours from a our favourite homemade jam shop near my parents property, we spent an afternoon taste testing all of the jams and chutneys, for research of course, until we found the right ones!

Our day wouldn’t have been the same without our AMAZING celebrant, Paul Voge!! He had everyone laughing from the get go and set up such a great vibe for the day! By the end of the night everyone was laughing, dancing and having a truely wonderful time, which is exactly what Andrew and I wanted!

Ben and Hope captured every single moment of our day for us so we can forever go back and look upon what an amazing day it was, you guys a absolute stars and we are so great full that we found you and that you were apart of our day!!”

Venue: Spicers Retreats, Spicers Hidden Vale

Dress: Anna Campbell

Hair & Makeup: MCM Hair Studio

Shoes: Nude

Flowers: Laidley Florist

Jewellery + Cufflinks: Underwood’s Fine Jewellers

Party Favors: Jamworks of Glen Aplin

Celebrant: Paul Voge

Photography: Ben + Hope Photography

The post Spicers Hidden Vale Wedding Photographer – Michelle + Andrew appeared first on Ben and Hope Wedding Photography.

We are continuing our month long look at our recent trip to France and the amazing experiences that we had while we were there. This week we are featuring our shoot in the south of France on the Ile du Frioul (near Chateau D’If for all of you Count of Monte Cristo fans)

Amanadine was such a great model and looked amazing in her Anna Campbell Coco dress with the Organza skirt.  She also wore a floral crown by Mint and Melon.  The bouquet was provided by Flore et Sens in Marseille.  

The Ile du Frioul is such a beautiful location and would be the perfect location for a destination wedding with its stunning Calanques and crystal clear waters.  It is isolated enough to be like your own private island but only a short ferry ride to the old historical port of Marseille.

As if this shoot couldn’t have gone any better, we were lucky enough to have the Super Moon appear above the historic district of Marseille.

We can’t wait to get back to the south of France.

The post South of France Destination Wedding Photographers appeared first on Ben and Hope Wedding Photography.

Ben says that from the moment he met them he felt like they had been friends for years. They just clicked. Misa is sweet yet fiesty and Alex and a loveable larakin. Over the past year we have kept in contact through all the wedding planning and day to day life. As the months rolled over we were growing more excited to get over there and see these two get hitched.

The night before the wedding Alex + Misa hosted a BBQ dinner with all their family and friends from the Island and the many who had travelled from across the states and world to attend the wedding. We were lucky to be staying with them for the night so enjoyed a traditional American BBQ as well as getting to know their families. By the end of our 2 days with them all we really felt apart of the family.

The morning of the wedding came and it was a gloomy forecast for the day. Huge grey clouds covered the skies as it rained on and off all morning. Misa was worried as she had planned a gorgeous outdoor ceremony and really didn’t want to move everyone inside the gallery. The executive decision was made, we would risk the weather and go ahead as planned.

Adiel + Nikki from Salon 253 arrived and got to work on Hair and makeup while the sky slowly but surely got a little bluer and brighter as the time past.

The ceremony was officiated by their close friend Dave Balding on the grounds of the Hui No’eaa visual arts centre. Alex + Misa wrote their own vows, and Alex even memorised his. Towards the end of the ceremony it started to lightly rain but it didn’t matter.

After the ceremony we took some time to take portraits of the bridal party. The venue has a great little roofless stone room hidden away that we took full advantage of. Photographing these two was easy! Alex is so smitten with Misa, you can see it the way he looks at her and holds her close.

The reception was held in a marquee on the property and was beautifully set up by Melissa from Opihi Love. We especially loved the paper flower centerpieces and Disney themed guest canvas which was perfect as Alex + Misa were jetting off to Disneyland for their honeymoon.

This family, with it’s mix of Hawaiian, Southern and Spanish roots was so much fun! We’ve never seen such non-stop dancing all night long before. Even the Daddy/Daughter dance was a fun dance off to Bruno Mars Uptown Funk. Their DJ was on point with the perfect mix of songs.

We had such an awesome time not only shooting Alex + Misa’s wedding but spending time with them and their family, thanks to everyone who made us feel at home!

To see what Misa wrote about her day and a link to all the vendors who made this day come together, check out the bottom of the page…

From Misa…

“I woke up on my wedding day to gloomy skies and forecasted rain. But while it did rain all day, it cleared to a light drizzle in time for our ceremony. And if we could do the rain for our engagement photos, then we could do a drizzle on our wedding day! The ceremony was conducted by our dear friend, Dave Balding. It felt so personal to us to have someone we cared for be in charge of making us husband and wife. I had super stellar vendors, so by the time we were done with photos, everyone was having a great time. But what I loved most about our wedding was how the decor was made by me, my mom, and my friends. After putting all the time into personalizing it to what I wanted, it was amazing and special to see all the work we had done come together thanks to the skilled hands of my day of coordinator, Melissa.”

Ceremony and Reception venue – Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center

Wedding dress – Lugo Novias

Hair + Makeup – Salon 253

Cake – Cake Fanatics

Stationery – Minted

Event planner + styling – Melissa Padilla from Opihi Love

Photography – Ben + Hope

The post Maui Wedding Photographer – Alex + Misa appeared first on Ben and Hope Wedding Photography.

First up from our Hawaii sessions is Aubry and Kapono. They decided that they wanted to shoot their engagement session on the legendary North Shore at one of my old surf spots V-LANDS. Aubry and Kapono both surf there regularly and felt that there would be no better place to showcase who they are than to have their engagement portraits shot there.

If you are looking for Hawaii photographers to capture your engagement and wedding, we would love to hear from you.  If you could please send us a quick message, we will get back to you within 24 hours.  Mahalo.  Ben and Hope

The post Hawaii Engagement Photography – Aubry and Pono appeared first on Ben and Hope Wedding Photography.