Helen – Page 91 – helenthura.com

February 25, 2007

All in the details

Do we want another wedding post? It was quite a nice w/e and I haven’t done that many exciting things since then or not that I have photos of and really it is all about the photos isn’t it?

How about details. There was so many pretty things at the reception that just made it that little bit more special.

Michelle’s Bouquet. Can you see the Paua (Abalone) shells? NZ is famous for Paua shells and they really are quite pretty shells, sort of like opals of the sea. Can you see the spiral shell? It actually has a finger sized hole at the bottom and that is what Shawn proposed with 🙂

Aunty Susan and Lisa went out to the reception site on the morning of the wedding and they created a masterpiece. The tables were decorated with “white” and black sand, tumble weed, Paua shell, seaweed, shells and candles. They truly outdid themselves, the tables were gorgeous.

Hiding beneath those layers of icing were a white chocolate and a chocolate mud cake from The Cheesecake Shop. Mmm Mmm.

This was a photo I grabbed as I walked past the wedding car. I only had my 50mm lens on and I couldn’t walk back any further or I would have crashed through the wall of the marquee.

We are about to go pick up Erica, another cousin who is up in Brisbane for a couple of days for job training. It will be nice to see her as we haven’t seen her since we were in Tasmania last year.

February 22, 2007

The Man

It is pretty well known in these parts that my grandfather (herein after referred to as Grandad) is the coolest man around. He walks the walk, speaks the speak and has the ladies to the left and right sighing as he walks past and he is also a bit of a comedian as well.

Now imagine Grandad looking oh so suave in a cream shirt and trousers with his signature blue hat on a beach surrounded by a group of adoring fans.

This is the man of the ~~hour~~century, throwing back a glass of bubbly at the beach at Raglan. See that man to the right, looking down at the sand? That is the undercover NZ police officer who was in charge of Grandad’s security detail. You can’t take him out anywhere in public these days without a security detail.

When he is spotted by various grandchildren/children with bubbly in hand after a certain grandchild who very much adores her grandfather squeals something along the lines of “look, Grandad has a glass of bubbly”, the paparazzi set their focus on him and the adoring fans look on in admiration.

I had ladies coming up to me left, right and centre at the reception asking me “Is that your grandfather? I was chatting to him before, he is pretty cool. I wish my grandfather was like him”. Ok so I might have made that last little bit up but I am sure people think that after meeting Grandad. He is Grandad after all. In the end, the girls and guys just couldn’t give him a little space and he had to leave the reception with his entourage shortly after the gifts were opened.

This is a photo of one lady who had a chat to Grandad at the reception. The lady is Michelle, of course (you know, the bride) checking in with her new grandfather in law, making sure that he wasn’t been crowded by all the fans wanting autographs and that security was looking after his wants and needs. The pressures of having such a high profile celebrity at the reception. You’ld almost think Shane Warne was at the reception or something…

February 21, 2007

On the beach.

“How many photos did you take Helen?” asks any number of assorted relatives.
“Aw you know, just a few” I reply.

Out of that just a few photos I took during the wedding itself, this photo is without a doubt my favourite, both emotionally and technically. I just feel quite strong about it. The beach, the people, the composition, the feeling. This is the wedding. This is Shawn and Michelle on their day that they shared with 60 odd people who traveled from not only within Kiwi Land but England and Australia to be at Raglan for the wedding on the beach.

February 20, 2007February 20, 2007

Landed.

Well I got back from Kiwi Land this morning, I have caught up on some of my emails, had a shower, unpacked a bit and had a quiet look at my photos. I am about to have a nap since I have to go to work tonight and since I woke up this morning at 1:30am Brissie time I would be buggered at work without a nap.

Here is one photo from the weekend which shows the groom’s side of the family. Looking at my photos I don’t think there was one taken of both the families together. The Stephenson’s are on the left, the Howie’s are on the right with Shawn and Michelle in the middle.

It really was a gorgeous wedding. Low key, laid back and a lot of fun. It was a wedding that was very much an illustration of who Shawn and Michelle are. Anyway of course there are more photos to come 🙂

February 15, 2007

All my bags are packed

I’m ready to go
…cause I’m leaving on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again.
John Denver.

I am heading to New Zealand for a long weekend as one of cousins is getting married. I arrive in Hamilton at midnight tonight and arrive back in Brisbane about 7am on Tuesday morning.

Mum, Pabbi, Grandad, Aunty Margaret and Uncle Max leave in the morning and fly back on Sunday arvo as they all that thing called work. I don’t have that thing yet. I am also flying on a different airline, which means I am about to go pack some snacks as I am not going to pay the prices for snacks on the plane.

Not only will this be my first adult wedding, it will also be the first time that I have been to NZ since I went with my grandparents in 1994 (over half a life ago). I will also not only get to meet my cousin’s bride to be but also his brother’s wife as I was in Germany when they got married in 2003.

I have also made my aunt two little m’henchas, one the traditional almond and orange blossom water and the other pistachio and rose water. They look so cute. I was pretty close to breaking off a bit for arvo tea yesterday as they just smelled so gorgeous.

Well my time is up and now I must head off to the airport.

February 13, 2007

In my garden

One day I’m going to make me a big big star. Well I already am but only a few people realise that at the moment.

A large handful of years ago (2001) I used to have a little veggie patch. It wasn’t a big producer but I still enjoyed my little patch of soil except the snails and other bugs probably liked it more than I did. They saw it as very much their own little salad bar. At around this time I was listening to The Lion Sleeps Tonight a lot. For some reason or the other I decided to change the lyrics round a bit to suit the snails who saw my garden as a salad bar.

A-wimoweh etc

In my garden
My growing garden
The snails eat my peas
In my garden
The quiet garden
The snails eat my peas

A-wimoweh etc

Near the peas
The dying peas
The snails make their way
Near the peas
The dying peas
The snails eat their feast

A-wimoweh etc

Hush my garden
Don’t fear my garden
The snails will sleep tonight
Hush my garden
Don’t die my darlings
The snails will be gone

A-wimoweh etc

I remember rushing out to Mum as I decided on better words to suit rhythmic patterns and singing to her the most recent version of “In my garden”. I was changing a few things round on my desk the other day and found the piece of paper that it was printed on and thought why not post it 🙂 Though it also means that I think that a large number of my recent posts have been musically based.

Today is Pancake Tuesday(Shrove Tuesday). Matthew and I had pancakes for lunch. mmm yummy. Sunday night I roasted a duck for tea, though this duck must’ve been a duck on a severe diet as it was pretty meatless. Luckily I made heaps of roast veggies to go with it, which were perfectly roasted in duck fat and tasted like heaven. For dessert we had a Blueberry Sourcream cake that I made from a recipe which was in a BBC Good Food magazine a couple of years ago. The cake didn’t just taste like heaven, it was heaven. I should take a photo of a slice before it is all eaten (there is only two slices left).

I am going to get my hair cut this arvo before work 🙂