We're back from our ill-fated 'beach holiday'... can you believe we picked possibly the worst weekend this year so far to head down to my family's beach house at Bluey's Beach?

It rained. Well, not so much rained as in poured, howled, and churned up the seas just in time for our visit. And then, just to really tick us off, the sun decided to appear just as we were packing up the car to leave. After being stuck indoors for the last 3 days we had to at least head down to touch the sand and take a few snapshots. (courtesy of our good friend Noah - thanks Noah!!! x)

So this is hubs, myself and 12 week old Mila (minus Rilka who was off playing with grandma & grandpa) we so rarely have a shot with me included because I'm always behind the lens so these are pretty special.

Ok so back to business, while I was gone I was so lucky to shoot the wedding of Emma & Nick (more on this later I promise), I also had a session in Sydney with a cute little girl named Allegra, and another shoot with sweet 6 month old Bailey. Expect me to be a blogging machine this week as I catch up on all the processing - stay tuned!

I was so privileged to photograph one of my dearest girlfriend's wedding last weekend. I've been capturing Emma on film since we were in school together so it was only fitting I be there to document one of the most beautiful days of her life thus far - her marriage to Nick.

This is the first of hopefully many weddings I'll be shooting, yep, the Lana Bell Weddings website will go live in a week and I'm so excited about this new facet of the business. I'll be taking a limited number of weddings each year and am open for bookings as of now so if you know of a fabulous bride-to-be looking for a photographer, drop me a line!

But for now, I'll share just a few of the images from Nick & Emma's day - I know she's absolutely dying to see these - so without further adieu, I give you the wedding of Mr & Mrs Hagen...

The lady of the moment - applying her makeup (and having a giggle, she had no idea I was snapping away behind the wall)

The Dress by Lisa Gowing

One of my favourite images of the day, a quiet moment amongst the excitement and preparation.

Did I mention the setting?? Gorgeous isn't it? Despite a drive down kilometers of dirt road and no mobile reception, it was totally worth it once you turned the corner and were presented with this beautiful setting. That's Nick on the right looking mildly nervous ;)

The gorgeous bride arriving...

Yep, so worth the drive for this shot!

The reception hall was so cute, Emma & her Mum scoured second hand stores for months to find the little teacups that hold the bouquets of daisies.

My favourite, casual but glam all at the same time

Ah sweetness! Allegra was a doll to photograph - it was a pleasure to finally meet this little munchkin and her family. Kate emailed me that night to let me know that Allegra had developed a 39 degree temperature that afternoon and took at trip to the doctors - I tell you, if she's this smiley when she's sick, I can only image what she's like when she's feeling 100%

Holy cuteness Batman! Is this not the cheekiest grin you ever did see? Bailey pretty much had her photoshoot in the bag within 5 minutes, and she kept up with the cutie-pie expressions throughout. Love her!

Really, it's criminal that I should get to spend my days with babes like Isla and call it 'work'.

2 week old Isla was such a star today - this first image is my new all-time favourite ;) Isn't she just divine!

2 week old Madeline came in today for her newborn photos, she was a tough cookie to crack, kudos has to go to mum, dad and big brother for their patience while she finally drifted off to sleep, but once we got there, her shoot was done and dusted pretty quickly!

Her mum specifically requested the same shot I took of my little Mila, I'm so glad I was able to re-create it for her!...

And one with big bro Mitchell...

Pop! I'm sure every mumma-to-be can relate to this first image! In fact, I remember trying to hold my jeans button together with a rubber band at one point!

Louise it was so lovely to chat today and capture some beautiful images for you. Here's for a relaxing last two weeks ;)

I've been asked many a time if I do weddings and now I can officially say 'yes!'

www.lanabellweddings.com.au has just launched and I'll be taking on a limited number of weddings each year while my babies are little. I'm a total sucker for a good wedding, I love the preparation, the fussing over cardstock for invitations, fabric swatches for dresses and pouring over Martha Stewart Weddings for crafty ideas. I'll be creating divine romantic images for my Brides & Grooms, along with to-die-for albums that I am yet to see anyone else using in Brisbane.

So head on over and check it out! Leave me a message on the blog, and tell all your friends!

Meet Jack, he's not even due until tomorrow but made a surprise entrance 6 weeks ago. He's such a healthy and gorgeous little man now and was an absolute star for me today.

Ok I know Matthew's mum is probably hanging by the computer right now awaiting this post, so I'll make the chitter-chatter quick!

It's not often I do afternoon sessions outside but I think I'm a fan after today's shoot. I love, love, love these shots of Matthew and his Mum & Dad, especially the last image - I think that one is going to have to go big on the wall Anna!

I had to include a couple of Matthew's serious face, it shows how handsome he's going to be when he grows up - check out those lips ;)

Ah the life of a 4 month old! Zavier's time in the studio today consisted of...

Doing his best 'blue steel' for the camera (I couldn't resist this one Kristen!):

Tickly kisses from Mum:

And promptly falling asleep on the lounge:

I was lucky enough to see Allegra today again! I last saw her on my Sydney trip and her Mum was in Brisbane for business so scooted around to the studio for another quick session.

Here's an itty bitty sneak peek...

Meet Miss Jasmine, 2.5 weeks now but still a teeny tiny little thing. She wasn't interested in sleeping today - too much to see! So she worked the awake shots for us...

I had such a lovely time with Katherine this morning, discussing all things birth and babies as she waits for her little one to arrive. We did lots of beautiful nudes so I have just one for the sneak peek, I adore this shot...

People are always commenting 'you must have so many great shots of your own kids!' well, I must admit, I am a little slack when it comes to making sure my own little ones get some time in front of the camera. Sure we have heaps of snapshots, but I should make better use of that studio than I do.

Which is why I had to steal some time with Mila this morning after I had a client re-schedule due to sick kiddies. Can you believe she started rolling at 15 weeks? She's a seasoned pro now at 16 weeks ;) must be dying to catch up to big sis.

Kobi came to see me today, just 5 days new which is the perfect age for a newborn session. It was also his Daddy's birthday today so I hope these sneak peeks make his day!