Leoni Bolt Photography

Destination wedding in Stanthorpe.

I’m always up for a destination wedding, so when Dan got down on one knee and gave me a ring out of a candy machine, and asked me to be his wedding photographer I almost cried!!

Honestly it was the best way anyone has ever asked me to be their photographer, and I was also handed a lanyard with VIP written on it which was very thoughtful and totally hilarious! I knew this wedding would be good!

Ellen grew up in Stanthorpe, and so when they decided to get married they chose this beautiful picturesque location. Wine Country need I say more!!

As my family were all invited to the wedding I made them get up and leave at 4am the day before the wedding just so I could get some shots of the sun coming up through the countryside. Unfortunately it was really dark and foggy, but just as we started climbing the mountain range through the glasshouse mountains the fog began to lift and I risked my life running across the highway to get a few shots in.

Friends from far and wide came for the wedding, and being there a day early meant I was able to attend the rehearsal and mingle with the guests before the big day, as well as check out the unfamiliar territory for some good locations. Meeting some of the guests or the bridal party before the wedding always helps to break the ice when your brandishing a camera in peoples faces all day long!

The girls went and got their hair done at Masquerade before going back to their little cottage retreat to have their makeup done by Beauty on High. The brides dress was from Bella Donna Bridal (Wendy Makin) in Brisbane, and shoes were Betts for Her. Flowers were supplied by Flowers of Elegance

Destination wedding in Stanthorpe

The wedding was a traditional wedding at The Uniting Church, where a few of the locals had heard there was a wedding and decided to take a look. I love little country towns and their sticky beaking! Such a great community spirit!

Ellen’s brother played the bagpipes to honour their Scottish heritage.

Destination wedding in Stanthorpe

In my little escapades around Stanthorpe I discovered their local train station which handles one train a week. I figured it was pretty safe to get in there and get some photos in this cute little station. Im sure the bridal party thought I was a weirdo! In fact they already know I am! haha!

Destination wedding in Stanthorpe

They chose Varias Restaurant at the Queensland College of Wine and Tourism for their reception and the styling was handled by Stanthorpe Events and Hire. The cake was made by Ellen’s very talented girlfriend Amber. Dan and Ellen’s first dance was spectacularly choreographed after taking professional lessons (and having to miss the occasional game of football). Ellen and her aunt also treated the guests (or maybe just couldn’t help themselves) doing the highland fling and a fun night was had by all!

Destination wedding in Stanthorpe

Thank you Ellen & Dan for a wonderful weekend! xxx

By leoni|September 4th, 2015|weddings|

Nudgee Golf Course Wedding

It was a beautiful warm day back in November. Mel and Dan who had been together for 10 years, and have a beautiful little girl together were finally tying the knot.
Mel and Dan are a couple that enjoy the simple things in life, and their wedding really reflected this. From the very simple bouquets of baby’s breath and rosemary to the bombonieres of beautiful fresh locally sourced jars of honey, with the words ‘spread the love’.
The ceremony was a traditional catholic ceremony at Corpus Christie Catholic Church in Nundah, followed by the reception at Nudgee Golf Course. The bridal party were a barrel of fun, and we had an awesome day!
Thanks Dan & Mel for sharing your day with me! xx

By admin|April 10th, 2015|weddings|

Alternative Bridal Couture Fashion Shoot

I was extremely lucky to have been involved in a brilliant collaboration of local businesses recently in Brisbane. We did an Alternative Bridal shoot with some of Brisbane’s hottest models sporting plenty of ink and attitude!

I’d like to thank Cadillac Barbie – Brisbane’s only alternative salon for getting everyone together and co-ordinating it all, especially Jay for getting everyone involved, but also the rest of the crew that gave up their Sunday to put their creative skills to work on our stunning models.

Casey, Trey Amy and of course Jaz on make-up. You Guys Rock!!
If you want to go visit them and get an awesome style, colour, up-do – whatever, they are more that capable of anything you put to them and can be found through this website: http://www.cadillacbarbie.com/

Aaron from Aaron Singfield Image Solutions also put together some video, the first of which can be seen here:

Now let me introduce our models:

Katie Richardson

Kimberley Amos

Ali Darling

Carly-Jade Haora

Sara Fabel

Ben Trainor

The team at Cadillac Barbie put in a full day with some of them starting at 9am! When I arrived there were half done models everywhere. The team were teasing, curling and hair-spraying like crazy. The place was choccas, but as usual the tunes were pumping and everyone was gearing up for the coming shoot. I’m sure the people walking by were wondering what the hell was going on, with everyone walking in & out inked up and rockin out the massive up do’s! Gotta love massive hair! Especially when it stays there!!

As you can see – Ali’s big hair managed to stay like this all day. I didn’t envy her trying to brush it out when she got home though….
The beautiful old car turned up at 3pm thanks to Adrian from Princess Luxury Classics http://www.princessluxuryclassics.com.au/

We started outside, but of course not long after we got stuck into it and got our groove on, it started to rain. We did manage to get a few good ones in though, before we grabbed the gear and dashed for cover.

This little Pizza Face was a great little helper too – feeding everyone Jelly beans and pizza, and handing out props. I think she ate more pizza than she gave out though!

The Melbourne Hotel across the road was kind enough to let us use their venue to shoot in which was great since there was so many of us! The Melbourne Hotel in general has been done up so beautifully in recent years, with the latest addition – The Lotus Room, styled in Art Deco and the perfect location for our shoot as you can see.

We even had some luscious cakes and flowers dropped in thanks to Deliberately Delicious http://www.deliberatelydelicious.com.au

and Flowers De Lush
http://www.flowersdelush.com.au

I think everyone who contributed was impressed with the collaboration of like-minded individuals and it was such a fun day! Even if it ended with cake on our face!