Welcome to The Majestic Scarborough Estate

As Australians, We Are Incredibly Lucky And If You Have Ever Travelled Overseas, You Will Agree, We Really Do Live In The “Lucky Country”. If You Are Ever Fortunate Enough To Find Your Soul Mate And Marry In A Venue Similar To Scarborough Estate, With Helena Couture Designs And Her Dream Team Of Wedding Professionals, Then I Would Say Your Dreams Are Coming True.

Since COVID, the landscape of the wedding scene has changed dramatically but in doing so, many smaller, intimate venues offering a relaxed function, utilizing the surrounding natural environment Australia’s flora and fauna have to offer, have become more popular than ever before.

I myself now live and work in Maudsland and from the moment my eyes open to when my head hits the pillow at night, I am surrounded with Australia’s flora and fauna; from the early morning birds singing, as a new day breaks, to the frogs and crickets harmonizing at night. If we are lucky enough we might even see a koala up a tree, in a neighbour’s back yard; red tail black cockatoos making a ruckus as they fly over; wallabies hopping along to their own beat; or even a few baby green tree frogs, lying in wait for dinner at our front door, where small insects are drawn to the porch light; all while only being five minutes from the Gold Coast suburbia and city. Talk about incredibly fortunate, I am thankful everyday and do my best to pay it forward.

Venue

The boutique equine Scarborough Estate is in Maudsland, nestled at the base of Mount Tamborine, on the northern end of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Maudsland is known also for the magnificent equine acreage estates scattered throughout the area. If you are a lover of anything horses, then I am sure you know of Maudsland.

While shooting at Scarborough Estate I learnt a lot about horses and reaffirmed that not only working outdoors with nature but also animals is extremely rewarding. My whole team loved shooting there and found it hard to leave, due to the majestic peace and tranquility.

Leelah the pony was a rescue pony from Save A Horse Australia, a registered charity.

My team was so lucky it rained the day of the shoot, as we were suppose to be at the beach, but if the sun had shone, then we wouldn’t have capered the beauty of Scarborough Estate and all it has to offer.

Photography And Film

I met and worked with Danielle and Jazz from Danielle Knight & Co. Photography & Film for the first time this year and we all hit it off straight away. I feel I am an easy enough person to work with, but I know I can come across a little blunt at times, without meaning to, but Danielle and Jazz understood me and doing the shoot with them was such a breeze. If you happen to be a bride or groom that might stress under pressure, working with Danielle and Jazz will make your day stress free and memorable forever.

They did not let the weather bother them either. There was nothing we could do about the rain and couples do marry when it rains, so we took advantage of the rain and used it as a prop. Together we all came up with some great ideas and as you can see the images and video express more than what I could possibly say.

I have several favourite photographers/videographers and Danielle and Jazz are some of them. They are a great team, capturing everything, from that intimate moment, when you thought nobody was watching, to the candid and detailed shots.

Flowers

Natalie from Flowers by W Events is usually always on set, but the day of this shoot, they had a large function to style and were unavailable. Natalie and her team have loved collaborating in my shoots, just as much as I have loved having them and their beautiful pieces of flora art included in the shoots. As they wanted to still be a part of this shoot, they had several dried arrangements available for the day of the shoot but also the fresh floral’s from the shoot we did with them day before at Sol Gardens, the blog from last week. The fresh florals were still pretty enough to select the most appropriate flowers for this shoot and repurpose them.

Dress And Accessories

Angelique was created out of my passion for all things beautiful and a desire to push my limits and see where the journey of creating her would take me. I wanted to design and create a dress that was sophisticated and elegant, yet still soft, and romantic, while still showcasing the female figure. From this Angelique was born.

I guess I can understand, when I suggested the water scene to create that perfect whimsical image, some of the bystanders from the shoot might have been a little taken back. When the dress is made from drapey silk satin, floaty silk georgette and over five metres of heavily beaded Italian lace, taking my pin pricked fingers over thirty hours to just hand sew the lace, I guess the last place they thought the dress would end up, was submerged in water.

Hair And Makeup Artist

Sam from Blake Designs has worked with our model Georgia before, so she wanted to show a different look, showcasing how the same person can have a different style, that will also work with a different dress. The result was great and even when the models ended up a “little” wet at the end, Georgia’s makeup still looked untouched.

Sam is passionate about her work and when I watch her in her element, I am continuously surprised at how easy she makes it all look.

Suiting

I absolutely love the tux selection Ryan from Black Jacket Suiting chose for our model Jared. I love how the men are now stepping away from the conservative traditional tux and showing their individuality in suits with a little pizzazz. The groom should feel just as important on their wedding day as the bride and now, to have such a diverse selection of suits, is like a breath of fresh air. Thank you, Ryan for seeing what has been missing for men and filling the market with fantastic product and service.

Catering

Gareth from Gareth Keenan Catering really did excel with the food. All I asked from Gareth was for a “Master Chef” look to the food but he delivered way more. The models, who were only too happy to eat some of the food too, attested to the divine flavours which had their taste buds dancing with joy. I was only able to enjoy the aroma’s of the food on this shoot, as we had too many exciting scenes to shoot.

I have been lucky enough at other times to tantalise my tastebuds with Gareth’s food art and I will always be only too happy to be his taste tester, in the future, if he needs one.

Models

Georgia and Jared are so easy to work with. You may have notice they did a previous shoot together in one of my earlier blogs, not too long ago.

Original I told Georgia that she wouldn’t need to get wet, but it’s so hard for me to resist a water scene, when there is a beautiful sparkling pool and outdoor hot water shower just screaming to be included in the shoot. Winter or not I asked if they would both be up for it and being the professionals they were, they took the plunge, literally.

I find it surprising when new team members of a collaboration are shocked that I am not only happy for my couture bridal dress to be submerged, but excited. When I know the images are going to look this good, it was a no-brainer.

I must give one more shout out to Georgia. 2020 has been Georgia’s gap year and she has worked full time modelling in many different industries, with many different vendors, creating some awesome content and just one look at her Instagram page, will show her dedication. Well done Georgia, we wish you all the best and know you will succeed in whatever field you chose to go into.

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