Whether you’re a fellow photographer or a soon-to-be-wed couple, welcome! Here, I share the behind-the-scenes of weddings I’ve captured—the magical moments, the unexpected challenges, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. You might also find a few affiliate links sprinkled in, which means if you click on them, you might just be fueling my coffee addiction (and I deeply appreciate it!).

When it comes to your very first wedding clients… you couldn’t have got better luck than to have had Lisa + Tristan.

Wedding photography is a LOT as a new photographer…

You’ve got to be comfortable with portraits, and family shots, and candids, and product shots (for like the dress/rings/shoes etc) and documentary style photography… not to mention, as a new photographer - you do everything possible to avoid mid-day sun shoots!

But as a 2pm wedding ceremony at the beach - I had to put on my big girl pants and step WELL out of my comfort zone.

I adamantly resisted when my friend Jo mentioned that she had some friends getting married who were looking for a wedding photographer… but I eventually agreed - on the proviso that they knew I was fairly new and would do my best with no guarantees… (thanks Jo for the push!)

But after weeks of cramming courses on Skillshare and Creativelive (from Pye Jersa and Jasmine Star in case anyone’s interested)… I still felt pretty overwhelmed and nervous heading into the day.

I even dragged my own family up to Waiomu a few weeks before the big day, to do some test shots… which left me feeling less than confident in my abilities if I’m being honest…

Arriving for the Day

But then I got there. Lisa was chilling with their cute 1 year old running around, a couple of kittens, and waiting for her best friends to arrive for breakfast. And that super-chill vibe just carried on throughout the whole day.

Photos of preparing for a wedding in Thames , Coromandel, New Zealand

It can be awkward arriving at someone’s house that you don’t know well. You kind of need to find your bearings and figure out the vibe before just jumping into it all.

Following around Little Miss and the cats and kittens gave me a great place to start so I wasn’t just hovering around looking awkward. And although this doesn’t really have anything to do with the wedding elements of the day - the lesson I learned here was that wedding days can be more than just the wedding.

They can be a time capsule of that moment in time.

How they’d set up the table, little decorations, their pets at the time, the frontyard of the house they were living in. You could include details like a shot of the house from the curb, or the letterbox with the address on it. You have the ability to get some creative shots that are at your skill level - so that even if you’re not happy with ALL of the photos you take - you can feel confident about more of the gallery you’re delivering.

The Dress + The Details

Once I’d hung out with the cute little person and the kittens for a while - I thought I should get some shots of the dress. As an added bit of luck - they had this super cool… I don’t even know what to call it - wooden thingy - out the front yard, and it made for an excellent spot to take photos of the dress. (I was very mindful of it touching the ground - but we did ok.)

At this point, the girls were just chilling, having brunch and relaxing… so I thought I’d go hang out with the boys for a while…

Photographing the Boys

Not only were Lisa and her friends chilled - the boys were even more so!

Unfortunately, Tristans parents place didn’t have many spots for group photos… but there happened to be (again, by pure luck) a really nice driveway over the road where I could get some shots in the shade and some general shots of all the guys. So, being a bit cheeky - we popped over and used that space! (Thanks to whomever this driveway belongs to. lol)

Also, the groom had the rings… so I made the most of the same spot for that too!

I’d like to say I got more formal photos… but the guys were just so silly and fun - most of the shots reflected that. :) It was a joy to shoot them, and being that it was my first shoot like this - it made the whole process so much more relaxing for me too!!

So - lesson number 2: If you can’t find a good background - have a really good look around, and get a bit creative! Knock on the neighbours door if you think you could get a few cool shots in their front yard. lol

So… back to the Girls…

…By the time I got back up to the house, the girls were getting ready…

It was so beautiful to watch girls just being girls - hanging out, laughing, doing each others hair and nails, their kids all running around together, and more laughing. The vibe of the day to this point was like the best sleepover ever - and I say this because you hear of so many “bridezilla” stories - and this was the most warm, welcoming, beautiful fun time and it was a joy to be a part of.

So a few more getting ready shots, Nana visiting, and then into the dresses!

Note for any other photographers who might be looking for inspiration from someone else starting out… You may notice a theme of black and white through my images… some images I find so beautiful, but the colours are so distracting - there’s something so timeless about black and white photography and just lets you rest at the very point of the subject, rather than getting lost in other distracting elements.

I do aim to have a colour version too if I choose to put one in black and white, and I find that it’s a good way to break up the “monotony” if you want to give your clients 5 similar photos for example - if 1 or 2 of them are black and white.

For most of these shots I was using my “nifty fifty” - f1.8mm prime lens. As the room we were in was not ideally lit - the extra f-stops of light were a definite bonus in this situation!

The Days When I Only Had One Memory Card…

In between everyone getting ready and the ceremony, I shot home to download the photos so I had a clean card. This wedding was shot on my Canon 80D and I had one card slot only, and only one 32GB card I think at memory. So I raced home, downloaded the photos to my laptop, threw some food in my mouth, and carried on back up the coast…

Even that added to my stress - what if the card corrupts and I lose the photos??? I’d had cards corrupt on me in the past, so this was a real fear.

Just in case anyone’s in the same boat: I heard once that if you format the card inside the camera every time after use - not just delete the photos off the card on the computer - you won’t get corrupted cards. So far, it’s been at least a couple of years since I learned this, and I haven’t had one corrupted card since doing this method. Not that I’m guaranteeing it - simply that so far, this has worked for me.

In saying that - I upgraded to the Canon 5D a while after this wedding, with one of the reasons being that it has 2 card slots so I could relax more and not worry so much about losing images. 2 cards certainly helps with that!

Anyway - back to the wedding…

The Ceremony at Waiomu, up the Thames Coast

With a fresh card, I arrived in plenty of time. I took the boys aside and got a few more shots of them while we waited.

Since it was a small wedding and everyone stood for the ceremony, I tucked myself down with a good angle primarily on the bride, and decided that I would stay there for the ceremony so I wasn’t a distraction to either the wedding party or the scattered guests.

From a photography perspective, the shots under the tree where it was shaded were pretty decent… but there was still a LOT of light bouncing off the sea in the background which affected the group images. I made sure to go between my lenses (I had the 50mm prime, the stock 18-55 and the stock 70-200) to make sure that I got some closer shots with the zoom lens of just the two of them, so at least their couple shots were less “blown out” by the light coming off the sea, even if their full-bridal-party shots weren’t as well exposed.

By the time the ceremony was complete, we did a few quick informal group shots and a few couple shots - but the wind wasn’t playing ball, so hair wasn’t either… lol

They were keen to get back home and were happy to get any group shots back at the house.

As an aside, Little Miss fell asleep on the drive out, and slept through the ceremony - so Mum and Dad had their moment, just the two of them. So that’s why there’s no photos of her at the beach. :)

The Reception

After I left the ceremony, I made another quick detour home to download the ceremony photos too - that was the LAST thing I wanted to lose!

Back up to the house, I stayed just long enough to get a few more shots of the table layouts, some group shots (again, relaxed and informal like the couple), and, of course, a few food shots too.

Then I said goodnight and left them to enjoy the rest of their day with friends and family.

The Wrap Up + Key Takeaways

Breadcrumbs for other Photographers

It’s 2025 as I write this, almost 4 years after the wedding. I often bump into Lisa and Tristan down the road, and it’s always so great to see both of them.

My fears of things being awkward, wondering how many photos I’d even manage to give them (it was 432 in the end), and if I’d even be able to get ANY decent shots - were good to keep me on my toes - but looking back now, 4 years after the fact - I’m proud of the shots I got considering how far through I was in my photography journey, but also extremely grateful to have - genuinely - the cruisiest, nicest couple to work with for my first wedding.

The day was long - I was up super early checking everything off my list, at their place about 9, and I think I got home after 5. Which might not sound like a long day, but it was HUGE. I really loved having the whole day to spend with them, as it allowed me to relax into it and not feel like I had to force photos because I was on a short time frame. It’s a hard day for your first time, but I’d definitely recommend it to other photographers. It takes the pressure off a bit, and allows you to remember shots you should get!

But also, pack snacks. I forgot snacks, and ended up buying myself a giant Cookie Time about 4pm before I was racing back to their place for the reception photos. Even at lunchtime, I think I grabbed one of the kids museli bars!

Also, just as a side note - while I did get some photos I was super proud of (many in this post I’ve shared), there were many that I wasn’t super proud of from a photography perspective. But I believe in sharing the “bad-from-a-photography-perspective” photos too, as it’s not about me - it’s about the couple and THEIR day. Not every photo is going to be amazing. Not every photo is going to be super clear with a great background and look magazine worthy. But THEIR day, is not about MY ego.

One of the most amazing, unexpected, parts I’ve found about being a photographer is how incredibly grateful I feel to be a part of someone else’s journey on one of the most important days or moments of their lives. While I enjoy doing studio work or capturing the local steampunk parade or when the vintage cars come through for the annual Beach Hop - they lack the connection that you get from intimate days like this.

So, thank you Lisa and Tristan - I’m truly honoured to have been a small part of your day, and grateful that you took a chance on me.