Stephen and his best man Robin met when they were 6 years old. As neighbours in Athelstone their friendship was based on riding bikes around the streets and the vacant block of land that is now a petrol station. 27 years later, at 7 in the morning, we returned to the streets of Athelstone to turn back the clock, only this time round the BMXs were replaced with mountain bikes, and the short shorts and ripped t-shirts of childhood were replaced with the stylish black suits of adulthood.
Today was the day Stephen was marrying Hong Yip. It was about remembering the past, and looking forward to the future.
In stark contrast to a couple of guys riding bikes round the suburbs, Hong Yip’s pre-wedding routine was somewhat more hectic. In the week leading up to the wedding she had 8 girls from Malaysia descend on her house, and when I arrived to shoot some photos the place was bubbling over with nervous giggles and general chaotic excitement. Some amateur baristas were preparing coffee in the kitchen while the royal wedding lead up was flickering in the corner providing a soundtrack to the morning; but with an 11am ceremony there wasn’t any time to waste.
It was decided by the British Royal Family that 11am on Friday the 29th of April 2011 was the best time possible to get married. Hong Yip and Stephen reached the same conclusion so an hour before midday she walked down the pathway to the rotunda in the Botanic Gardens to begin her wedding. The stunning Autumn weather provided the perfect backdrop to a beautiful, simple ceremony, and with the afternoon to ourselves the photos were about as stress free as it gets. An intimate reception at the Art Gallery followed where a traditional tea serving ceremony was observed, some touching speeches were delivered and an impressive first dance rounded out a beautiful day.
Hong Yip and Stephen, thanks for being so much fun photograph, for rolling around in the leaves for the sake of a photo, for walking all over the Botanic Gardens and for indulging me in my more experimental photo ideas! I hope you love these photos as much as I do.
I’ll be posting some more images to my facebook business page so make sure you head over and “like” me if you want to be the first to see these extra photos!
