Taylah and Michael's Melbourne Wedding at The Trust Melbourne, photographed by Mel Panteli.
This wedding was one of the many stand-outs from the summer 2024 season. Taylah the bride was the sister of Lizzie, whose wedding I had also photographed, so I already had a connection to her and the family. It is always an extra privilege when I am referred by friends and family close to the couple getting married. I knew Taylah and Michael would be incredible to photograph. The weather for this day was forecast to be close to 40 degrees in Melbourne, which adds a little pressure into the shoot, as I want to be creative and capture gorgeous moments, whilst always trying to keep my couple and bridal party comfortable and enjoying themselves. This can prove tricky in heavy couture gowns, and the boys in three piece suits in such extreme heat, so I planned carefully.
I ventured into Melbourne City the week of the wedding with the forecast in mind, and made a plan of attack for our location shots. We were working with the super talented a film maker on the day too, so time would be of the essence in the heat to capture what we needed for both mediums.
Both groom's preparations and bridal preps were at Crown, so we had wonderful light with floor to ceiling windows to work with. A huge bridal party of 16, so it was great getting creative with this awesome tribe. We captured the getting ready moments, then headed over to The Immigration Museum in Melbourne for the ceremony. It was very hot, and immediately after the ceremony we took a quick group shot then escaped the heat with the couple and their family into the Long Room at the venue. It was such a privilege to photograph in that incredible space. I entered one of these images (above) into the Iris Awards and won a Silver with Distinction for the black and white image of Taylah in the Long Room. The enormous room and it's incredible architecture, with the perfect pocket of light to place my bride in made one of my favourite images from this season.
Following the 20 minutes or so we had in the Long Room, we ventured around Melbourne City and into the grounds around the Exhibition Buildings, it was extremely hot so our time here was limited but we created some beautiful imagery for this couple. To escape the heat, we went to Smith Street Bistro which is one of the couple's favouite places. I hadn't been there before, so it was a super quick bolt around the restaurant and the different rooms to scope our key spots for their photographs in between the bridal party enjoying some cocktails. If you are looking for a vibrant indoor space check out Smith Street Bistro - it really is sensational. We spent around 40 minutes here, before heading back across town to document their reception, at The Trust.
The Trust oozes class and elegance and was the perfect place to celebrate into the night celebrating Taylah and Michael. Taylah changed into another incredible dress for her first dance, and of course there was an epic champagne tower on their arrival into their reception. We were lucky at sunset the sun came flooding down the street out the front door of the trust, to finish off their shoot some epic light to play with.
Taylah + Michael thank you so much for having me. I will remember your wedding for a very long time, and your gallery and fine art album are amazing xxx
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