Anna + Geoff … •☾• … Tarureka Estate Wedding, New Zealand
"After meeting Doruk and Tina we knew they were the people to capture our wedding - even though it was in New Zealand. They were the kindest and most helpful people, their work was creative, fun and natural and they took the time to understand what was important to us. They were organised, flexible and easy to work with, taking care of details from end to end. All our family and friends raved about how lovely and helpful they were - Doruk and Tina really made the day fun and added to the excitement. We would wholeheartedly recommend them to people looking for someone to capture their most treasured memories - we cannot say enough good things about them!" ~ Anna & Geoff
Hello Lovers,
Since moving out of our studio and house in Red Hill, Brisbane, at the end of January, things have been rather adventurous for our little family and I have some photos from the wide open road to prove it in another post, another time. We've travelled some 4,000km between then and now, all the while getting lots of edits and new shoots done. The tiny beach town of Agnes Water, our Aussie parents' home, seems to be a particularly productive place for us because here we are posting a wedding entry from the ocean yet again. We'll be back in Brisbane later in April when the weddings and engagements for the year start picking up speed for us again.
ANNA & GEOFF
The story of Anna & Geoff and us is one that we don't talk about much, because it's a treasured one, a silent one, that I feel like I don't want to rub all over the internet {not that we have THAT many readers, but still...}. It's full of magic to us and it's one of those reasons why we love doing what we do.
The short version is that in 2016, there was a fire in Anna & Geoff's house while they were overseas and everything was lost. Because we lived in the same suburb, we knew about the fire and heard about Anna & Geoff's situation via a crowd funding campaign that the couple's friends had set up to help them get back on their feet. The campaign also mentioned that they were planning their wedding. We donated some money, but also a Sapphire wedding package for full-day photography coverage. Red Hill/Paddington in Brisbane is a thriving, healthy and safe area of the city where people support each other immensely, so it felt like a helpful and simple thing to do.
When Anna & Geoff had returned from Europe and had settled back in a bit, we all caught up for coffees and met for the very first time and that was the beginning of many coffee and beer catchups, wedding planning sessions and also of a beautiful friendship between the four of us. When we travelled home to Berlin & Istanbul in July last year for two months, Anna & Geoff helped babysit Amber back in Brisbane because they had completely fallen for her furry charm {Australian immigration laws are brutal for dogs when you try to get them back into the country, so we can't take her with us during big trips overseas}. When we donated the Sapphire package, we thought it would be another Byron Bay, Brisbane or Sunshine Coast wedding for us, but Anna & Geoff wanted to celebrate in their home country of New Zealand.
I have a special place in my heart for New Zealand for its majestic nature and people and had always wanted to show it to Doruk and to shoot a wedding there, so I was close to tears when Anna & Geoff said that our gesture gave them back a lot of hope during a difficult time and that regardless of the distance, they couldn't imagine anyone but us shooting their wedding and would sort out our travels as long as we would be there with them.
They chose Tarureka Estate in Featherston as their venue - an old butter factory and the dreamiest of places. Anna's dress {The Windsor} was designed by one of our favourites, Anna Campbell. The Celebrant was an old friend of Anna's and their cake was lovingly made by friends, too. We had the most special time and can't wait to see these two again for catchups.
Congratulations, darlings.
ENJOY YOUR PHOTOS.
x Tina & Doruk
New Zealand Wedding Vendor Team:
Bridal Gown: Anna Campbell's Windsor Gown • Venue: Tarureka Estate • Hair & Makeup: Line & Laura from Penny Rose Wellington
I was pregnant with Maya and only 4 months away from becoming a mama when I photographed Cat & Austin’s wedding with my love and my husband of then 8 years, Doruk. The fact that Doruk and I get to create together, and that we get to roam around wineries with people who feel like family to us, will never get old for me. Here is our visual poem of Cat & Austin’s intimate winter wedding at Ocean View Estates Winery, only featuring their closest family members and the two of them.