Sahai Family

The Sahai family were looking for the ideal beach holiday this summer and had heard wonderful things about Bermuda. They ended up staying at The Reefs and were thrilled with their choice. They were wowed by the people of Bermuda (lovely to hear!) and said that the hospitality was second to none.



For Aliya, the best part of the trip was being able to all be together under one roof with her husband Rithvik, their adorable 11 month old daughter, Sophia, and her parents, Wahida and Asgar (known as Ammi and Papa to little Sophia). Although Asgar and Wahida live nearby at home, it was wonderful for the grandparents to see all of Sophia's moments - from happy to crazy! And lucky for Sophia, they loved all the mood variations. I have to say, I have never seen such devoted grandparents and was moved by how smitten they were, but looking at Sophia, how could they not be?





Aliya sent me a link to their online family album, which is peppered with photographs of a most gleeful Sophia, from birth to present. In every image, the baby is smiling so brightly that it looks like it hurts! As Aliya discovered, it was not a vacation, but relocation, and so Sophia was not totally her giggly self on our shoot. I think the change the comforts of home, the hot humid climate, and the wind was all a bit overwhelming. It must have been a big adjustment from her city life. But her daddy knew just what to do to return that bubbling over happiness they knew so well.







When we sat Sophia on the sand, clearly it was not a texture she knew or liked. I think her pointed toes and flared fingers are hilarious - such a little city girl.





The winds were rather wild on the day of our shoot, and the beach had a lot of seaweed washed up so not the usual picture perfect Bermuda, but it made for a dramatic backdrop and I was happy it wasn't raining.







Sophia definitely had a soft spot for her grandfather.









I guess Sophia does not spend much time digging around in flower beds at home either!

Baby Aneya

I photographed the Robinson's first daughter, Saria, when she was just two months old. Now she is almost three years old, and she and her parents have recently welcomed baby Aneya into the family. Cheryl and Ed felt it was very important to capture Aneya's early months as well - to have photos when each of the girls were at a similar age so I was lucky enough to capture some fun family time and see what a beautiful little girl Saria has grown into.





We had wanted to do a different beach than the one where we had photographed Saria as a baby, but as fate would have it, there was a wedding at the new location, so we ended up back at Warwick Long Bay. I wasn't sure if I should try to follow the same path as we had done a few years earlier so that they could have matching images to frame next to each other, or if we should try to make it as different as possible. We ended up doing a combination which was perfect as the girls have some similarities, but are also so different, and Aneya was already almost four months so that much older.

















Real tears - I don't remember seeing tears too often from either of my babies at that age, but Aneya cried large sweet wet tears when she grew hungry towards the end of the shoot.



Luckily her mama was on hand to quieten her down with a quick and healthy snack - LLL would be proud!

Ryall & Nilesh

Ryall and Nilesh are nothing short of fabulous. They are fabulous in style, personality, generosity, and most of all in their love for each other. Their wedding echoed their passion for life, and for each other, right down to the last detail - from their custom designed cocktails to the meaning behind the favours, from the music to the invitations. It overflowed with creativity, intimacy and pure fun fun fun!



The two worked with celebrity designer, Lisa Tse at Inkbox Design Boutique in California to create their destination wedding invitations and set the tone for their "Beacheside I Do's". They were so creative from the passport, to the map, to the boarding pass - too cute. Do click on the below image to see the invite details bigger - to die for.





Flowers and boutonnieres were created by Lisa Holroyd at Designer Flowers.



The pair chose to have a private first meeting before the ceremony. This was so amazingly special since Nilesh had actually picked out Ryall's divinely unique Vera Wang dress himself from her fall runway collection. This is typical of the couple - everything is done in partnership - even picking a wedding dress! Ryall adored the Nilesh's choice the moment she saw it and the look on her groom's face when he turned to see Ryall for the first time was priceless and just the reason why I love pre-ceremony meetings. It was pure happiness bubbling over and he let his bride know it.





Ryall was so moved by Nilesh's reaction, and the emotion of the day that she had to keep dabbing her tears before they smeared all her finely applied make up. Her hair was the work of Raz Down at Samadhi Spa.















I loved how Ryall and Nilesh nuzzled all the time. I usually need to remind couples to snuggle as they sometimes freeze up in front of the camera, but these two needed no prompting from me. They just did their thing and all I had to do was press the button - over and over again - I couldn't get enough!







The ceremony was at Stone Hole Bay, officiated by Rev Laurie Tingley, with Robert Symons playing the steel pan. Magical.













This wedding had one of those moments that will be the highlight of storytelling for years to come. The tide had been coming up and so the space of flat beach to set up all the chairs was shrinking all the time but seemed perfect by the time the bride walked down the aisle. I imagine Donna Lindo of Class Act Designs was hugely stressed but, when the time the guests arrived, the site was beautifully laid out and safely set up on the last bit of beach that remained which was luckily higher ground. The ceremony went off without a hitch. After the couple had said their vows, exchanged rings and signed the documents, they were officially introduced as Mr and Mrs and were about to walk up the aisle when they suddenly realised that they had not heard the reading, nor kissed for the first time as husband and wife. So their friend did her reading, and just as she finished speaking, the mother of all waves crashed up onto the beach, flooding the entire ceremony seating area, including Ryall and Nilesh who were closest to the water's edge. Sadly, I didn't capture it as it all happened while I was walking to the back of the seating area to capture their kiss at a better angle. When I was soaked myself, I spun around just in time to catch the water receding and the delayed reactions of the couple. I snapped away madly, as quickly as I could, despite my camera being on the wrong settings! Luckily, the camera was rolling at the top of the aisle with videographer Jonathan Rogers of Summit Video so he captured the entire thing. There was so much water and Ryall's dress was utterly soaked, but the pair were utterly gleeful. They just threw their arms around each other - without the word from the minister - and had the most lovable happy kiss, while everyone else was still recovering from the shock of the massive wave.









Ryall's dress weighed a ton after all the water and sand, but this didn't stop her wanting to jump for joy on her big day and jump she did - look at that air she is getting under her. You may remember Ryall's bodybuilding photos, and despite much of her muscle bulk slimming down after the show, she obviously still has a lot of strength hidden on her slight frame.







I fell rather in love with these parasols as you can see.





















The cocktail and dinner receptions were held poolside at Beau Rivage at Newstead Belmont Hills.



Ryall and Nilesh's first dance was one of the most romantic dances I have witnessed. The music was so tender and unusual and of course they nuzzled the entire time which made my job so easy. It was a Swahili song called Malaika, meaning "My Angel", which Nilesh listened to while growing up in Mombasa, Kenya. The song is very special to Nilesh as it was one of his father's favourites.









Ryall and Nilesh chose the seahorse as one of their design elements because seahorses are monogamous, picking one mate for life. They love that seahorses have daily greeting rituals that include dancing, changing colour, twirling around with linked tails, and then separating for the rest of the day. Ryall said she thought it was cheesy but to me this was absolutely beautiful.



The wedding cake was created by the couple's favourite pastry chef, Bobby from Port O'Call Restaurant. Ryall and Nilesh assure me it is the best cheesecake that has ever existed. And their cake topper definitely takes the cake as the wackiest one ever - the perfect combination of glam and risque - a gift from Ryall's parents no less from Table Jewels.







For more images from this wonderful wedding, click here for a slideshow. Special thanks to Heather Nova for permission to use her magnificent music.