The morning we received this submission from stylist Olivia Sjahrir and photographer Jason Tey, we fell head over heels in love. As if the romantic blush pink Vera Wang wasn’t enough to sweep us off our feet, there was a carefully styled tea party and that smartly dressed bunny too! It all feels like a fairytale come to life!
Olivia: “Watching the couple sneak kisses when the camera wasn’t on them was heartwarming, and who could forget that gorgeous bunny?”
Jason: “I shoot many bridal portraits for couples, and when it came time for Rachel and Yau Shu to plan theirs, Rachel wanted to incorporate her pet rabbit Mochi and her Vera Wang dress. However, on the day of their shoot it was windy and pouring with rain, so instead of heading outside we ended up at a café and decided to reschedule. Rachel and Yau Shu really wanted something special for their bridal portraits but they didn’t have the time or resources to make it what they hoped it would be.
“I thought of Olivia from Olive Farm Designs, and asked the couple if they were interested in letting us style their shoot. With our network of vendors, I knew that if Rachel and Yau Shu entrusted this to Olivia and myself, we could bring this shoot to a whole new level. And they were amazed by the results!
“The dress was in a very soft blush colour with layers upon layers of silk organza. So Olivia decided to base the whole colour scheme and theme for the shoot on the dress, making it the centrepiece. We also included beautiful handcrafted floral arrangements by Anna from Botanica Naturalis, as well as a custom high tea with cupcakes and gold dusted pink macarons to match the blush tones on Rachel’s dress. Olivia even provided a personalised handmade hairpiece for Rachel, and for our venue we were able to use Laurelville Manor as the setting, an amazing homestead in York with over a hundred years of history, that had been transformed by the owner Sandra Paskett into luxury accommodation.
“Perth has some amazing natural landscapes and many of my clients, especially those from Asia, want to incorporate that because it’s quite different from what they see back home. We ventured out just before sunset to create some romantic images set against the beautiful Australian countryside. This shoot was a labour of love and the first of many custom-styled shoots in 2014.”
Tips from Olivia: “We like to use little details from couples’ pasts as the backbone of their shoots, so we always ask clients to talk to each other and find out what it is that makes them ‘them’ before coming in and sharing their story. It’s even better if they can write down their story for us to read because then we’re able to pick out special details that might not mean anything now, but did back when they first began dating. We also encourage couples to do a little research of their own into the kind of shoot they envision for themselves, something that’s made easy with Pinterest.”
RACHEL & YAU SHU {Australia}
Photography by Jason Tey Photography / Wedding Planning by Olivia Sjahrir of Olive Farm Designs / Bridal Gown by Vera Wang / Hair and Makeup by Le Faye from Sidlefaye / Groom’s Attire by Jack London / Flowers and Décor by Botanica Naturalis / Desserts by Fancy Gander Cakery / Location Laurelville Manor, York, Western Australia