love deserves more than ordinary
What a wonderful thing to have found your person
And what a reason to set a beautiful table.
August & Vine is how I see a wedding: as a story worth telling beautifully. I photograph weddings and create all-inclusive elopements for couples who want their day to feel like a true occasion.
It might be grand and timeless, or something entirely your own in a place that means everything to you. The shape is yours. What I love is when every part of it means something, and the marriage sits at the heart of it all.
Choose your experience
all-inclusive elopements
wedding photography
"The best decision we made"
"She went above and beyond. Choosing her was the best decision we made apart from getting married!"
TAMMY & PAUL
Wairarapa weddings and New Zealand elopements
I'm based in Wairarapa, among vineyards and old homesteads, rivers, valleys, a wild southern coast and summer light that lingers into the evening.
I photograph weddings across Wellington and beyond, and create elopements wherever the right place happens to be.
I've never been particularly good at having just one interest. Or, as it turned out, just one career. Film, theatre, food, fashion, high-end events and photography have each had my full attention, and the common thread running through them all is a fascination with people, creativity and the art of celebrating.
Perhaps that's why I love weddings. They bring so many of those worlds together. I see a wedding as a whole: the place, the sense of occasion, the light, the people and how it all feels to be there.
I don't photograph weddings. I photograph the human experience unfolding inside them.
Care is the luxury
The weddings I remember most are the ones people poured themselves into. Flowers grown for the occasion. A family heirloom brought out for the day. A table setting that tells you exactly whose celebration it is.
A wedding is measured by the care that went into it, and by how much of you is in it. I bring that same care to every celebration, and it's what I love to find in the couples that I work with.
"We both felt so special."
“Sam took the time to get to know us and really listened. You can tell she really cares about what she does and we both felt so special in our interactions with her. I am in love with the photos.”
TASH & TARI
Tell me your story
Whether you’re planning a full wedding day or an elopement that starts with a blank page, I’d love to hear about it. Tell me a little about the two of you, the things you enjoy and how you’d like the day to feel.
LOVE IS LOVE
August & Vine will always support marriage equality and be an inclusive space for all couples.
