James and Jo's great love began 14 years ago and it was amazing to see how the emotional energy created by a wedding day was able to take them both back there to the feelings we all remember from the start of a relationship.

It was a treat for us to take our creative show on the road to Oreti Village in the tiny lakeside settlement of Pukawa, on the western shores of Lake Taupo. A wilderness of native New Zealand bush and early Maori and Colonial history, the area promised us some exciting opportunities to play in a very different landscape from our normal haunts as Hawke's Bay wedding photographers.

Graeme and Lasi have a big love, and so it went without saying their wedding would reflect that, with 400 guests and 42 in the bridal party creating a unique and truly awesome challenge for us...

As a Hawke's Bay photographer who adores storytelling and emotional connections between people, it doesn't get much better than having one of my couples get in touch a few years after their wedding to ask me to spend some time with them documenting the next big milestone in their lives, the arrival of children.

Anyone planning a wedding knows they can be complicated. That's why we adore engagement sessions. They are, quite simply, about two people in love. There's no dress to fuss over, no bridal party looking on, no timelines to stick to beyond those set by Mother Nature and there aren't 100 people waiting for us to hurry up and be creative so the party can get started.

For Ashhurst dairy farmers Wendy & Richie, June 20th, 2015 was a day on the farm unlike any other. For a start, the milking shed was swapped for an in-home salon, where six already foxy besties rapidly turned into six smoking hot bridesmaids, and the girl everyone knows and loves in gumboots and jeans had her Cinderella moment and was transformed.

Little wee Charlotte is quite possibly the most kissed little newborn in Hawke's Bay. Aside from her Mum & Dad, she has her besotted big sister, Isla, showering her with love. And how she has earned it - a little fighter right from the start and finally safe and sound, at home in her parents' arms, my favourite place for magical newborn photography.

Donna and Nath are expecting their first baby in a few short weeks. Since having my own first a year ago, I've truly realised how significant this is for new parents, and also how special it is to be pregnant and celebrate the wonderful miracle of creating life in a beautiful and professional way.