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Hi, Welcome to my blog

I am going to be 100% honest here, I do not like blogging. I would much rather be meeting with you to discuss your wedding, photographing your wedding or editing your images!

However, I understand, you want to see more of my wedding photography, you want to see images from the beginning to the end of a wedding, you might want to see what your venue looks like in different seasons or decorated in different ways, from Perth weddings to Swan valley weddings, weddings down south and more, and you might want to see what great wedding suppliers my brides used, I hear you!

So, when I can bring myself to do it I promise I will blog! I don’t know how consistent I will be especially during the busy wedding season but please feel free to check back here every now and then to see the latest epic adventures and stunning Perth Weddings! I will also endeavour to link them to my Facebook page so if you are not already following me please do! And who knows, maybe one day I will get savvy/boring enough to do a mail list. Maybe. One day. Ha ha : )

If you ever have any questions about anything wedding related feel free to message or email me! I love weddings and I am always happy to help! Contact me here!

That is all for me for now, have a lovely day!

Ella

 

Mikayla & Nick

 

 

Venue: Millbrook Winery: 

The venue, along with Angela was beyond perfect. So easy to deal with and nothing was to much trouble. We truly cannot find one fault from Millbrook from our special day & the food is to die for.

Video: Moonlight films

Highly recommend, our wedding film is just perfect. We have lost count how many times we have watched it.

The Mighty Booth’s 

These guys were great, nothing was too much trouble.

Ella Otranto Photography

Ella, where do I start?

We can’t thank you enough for taking the most PERFECT photo’s of our beautiful day.

Absolutely nothing at all was too much trouble for you, and your pre wedding advice was second to none.

You really put 110% into your work and ensuring that we had the best day.

Thank you for everything.

We cannot recommend you enough to other brides and grooms.

Advice

It will be the quickest day ever!

So Breathe, take a moment with your now husband to take it all in, then go enjoy that champagne and dance!

 

 

Dress + Veil

Decor

Videography

Caterers

Zoo Bridal Exclusive Occasions Moonight Films Millbrook Winery

Makeup

Celebrant

 

DJ

Hair

MakeUp by Laura Cameron Eglington Darren Conroy Radiant Hair Designs

Flowers

Sweet Floral

Ella and Marty

 

 

My wedding blog

It was pretty easy for me to choose my suppliers as most of them I have been recommending to my couples for years! And then there were a few newbies like the fudge that I just stumbled across and decided I must have!

Invitations and signs:

Our super cute invitations and signs were made by the wonderful and talented Angela from Butterfly days

Hair pieces, Veil, Robes and Garter:

Loved by Ella, what can I say about one of the best businesses in Perth! My other business hee hee. But seriously, we have great stuff, check us out ; )

Dress:

As some of you know the dress was my most difficult thing, I ended up buying 3! The first one was just too tight around my tummy, and with so much good food I didn’t want to be sucking in all day haha. The second one was actually fine but my kids freaked out as it was low cut! The third one was juuuust riiiiiight : ) The places I would recommend here are LDN bridal and Dion for Brides

Make up:

I was so happy with my make up and it lasted all day and night! Creations by Kassy

Hair:

My hair was great to start with but I got rained on pretty much straight away so don’t judge my hair! These guys are amazing and my daughters hair was incredible. Bride and groomed

Suits:

I highly recommend these guys, they are so so so helpful and have a great range to buy or hire! Penguins formalwear

Florist:

Every bride I have had that has used this amazing florist has absolutely loved their flowers, and I was no different! I gave Nicky my colour scheme and budget and she went nuts, it was perfect. Sweet Floral

Celebrant:

Luke is legit the best celebrant, do yourself a favour and book him in asap! Luke FIrth

Photobooth and live ceremony music:

Envy event group are an amazing group of DJ’s and musicians definitely a must have!

DJ:

The man with the sparks, the dance floors, the clouds and the music, Jason offers a crazy cool DJ experience. Dream wedding entertainment

Luxury Loos:

Luxury Loos – the name says it all!

 

Stylist:

Wedding magic have everything you could possibly need to make your wedding super pretty! All styles and really affordable, I highly recommend them.

On the day coordinator:

want a stress free wedding? Do yourself a favour and hire Jorja from Scarlett Events to take care of everything so you don’t have to!

Magician:

So if you have been to a wedding recently you will know that as a guest there are random downtimes where it can get a little boring. Entertain your guests with the most amazing close up magic, so much fun! Paul James.

Artist:

 Seriously check this chick out Cassandra artist

Venue ceremony:

The amazing Caversham house

Venue reception:

The stunning Brookleigh estate

Food:

Fire and Flour – amazing pizza

RoyAls – no need for an introduction, THE BEST BURGERS IN PERTH

Satay Kings – Amazing satay boats and curry puffs

Dessert:

Jayleas Patisserie -This is my local bakery, the make the best pies ever, we decided not to have pies at the wedding but they also do the best desserts!

Spirals cinnamon – I must admit I got a little obsessed with these guys, not ideal when you are trying to lose a couple of kilos before the wedding but dammmmn they are good

Floss and popcorn supply company – seriously, you want this at your wedding, your guests will rave!

Jessikat Kakes – I am all about the taste but she also makes epic looking cakes too!

Fudge affairs – Freakin fudge! It was so popular!

Drinks:

Caravan and tonic and the Freo Doctor are the perfect combo for your drinks! Highly recommend them both, they did an amazing job, especially with how many guests we had!

Photographer:

Ella Otranto photography did an amazing job! Hee hee. My assistants shot my wedding, I tried not to be bossy but you guys know me, so a huge thank you to Liz, Caitlin and Dave, who did an amazing job! And to my editors who know me so well and what I want!

Videographer:

Moonlight films, again I have been recommending these guys for years, they are exceptional!

 

And lastly I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for coming and braving the rain to make a our special day perfect!

Tips for future brides

Plan your wedding to perfection, then about a week before the wedding let it all go. Does it matter if it rains? Not really. Does it matter if your wishing well doesn’t get put out and you end up with a table full of cards? Not really. Does it matter that you wore your black boots instead of your Jimmy Choos? Not really. What matters is it was the best day ever, because you married the love of your life. And even if 5 things go wrong, it means that the other 105 went right!

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

The Five Most Common Mistakes You Can Make When Timing Your Wedding Day

 

Timing your wedding day is crucial to keeping the day running smoothly and keeping your stress to a minimum. The more thoughtfully you plan the timing of key moments, the more secure you can feel that everything will run according to plan – and if it doesn’t you’ll have a buffer to deal with it!

You don’t want to have to sacrifice time taking beautiful photos during your photo shoot or end up having dinner twenty minutes late because of what could have been only a tiny hiccup! Plan the day carefully and enjoy it the way you deserve to. To help you plan the perfect schedule, here are the five most common mistakes you can make while scheduling the day and how to avoid them.

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

Not making time for congratulations after the ceremony

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

Your friends and family just watched you get married and they are dying to meet you as a married couple! Don’t underestimate the importance of reserving a bit of time for hugging and being told how amazing you both look. To avoid feeling rushed or falling behind schedule you should reserve about fifteen minutes between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of your photo shoot, plus a few extra minutes to relax with your bridal party. You can catch up with your guests and share the love, then start your photo shoot feeling totally chilled and loved up.

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

Hair and make up going overtime

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

It can be difficult to judge how much time you’ll need to look your best bridal self. And stressing about time is not a great way to start your big day! Ask your hairstylist and make up artist about timing, keeping in mind that your bridesmaids might also need their hair and make up done. Take note of timing during your hair and make up trials, but also add on a bit of a buffer to account for things running overtime. You’ll avoid unnecessary stress and ensure you feel totally relaxed while being pampered and prettied up. Not allowing time to get photos in your dress Picture this: your hair and make up are done and you’re ready to shed your glamorous bridal robe and step into an even more glamorous wedding dress.

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

(The robes above can be purchased on Loved By Ella)

Your photographer has captured the getting ready process and is excited to take some gorgeous shots of you looking all ready to go. We promise that you won’t regret saving some time before you leave to get some cute photos of your bridesmaids helping with the finishing touches, or maybe a first look with your parents. And you’ll always treasure those first few photos of you looking freshly ready to walk down the aisle and into wedded bliss. If you’re not sure how long you might need to fit a few photos in, have a chat with your photographer and they’ll be able to help you out!

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

Not doing a first look

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

Not all weddings need a first look, however if your ceremony is quite late in the day and there isn’t enough time for your photoshoot afterwards, they can be the perfect way to capture all the stunning images you could want of your wedding. For a first look, you and your soon-to-be hubby meet up before the ceremony to get a sneak peek! Your photographers will organise you so that you can’t see each other initially, then one, two, three, you turn around and boom – you see each other. Photos of this moment are always so gorgeous and special, plus you can have a lovely little photoshoot straight after.

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

After the first look you go to your ceremony as usual and afterwards you don’t have to worry about making time to fit in a full-length photo shoot. You can chill out with your bridal party for a while or head straight to the reception to get the party started!

 

Not accounting for long speeches

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

You’ve probably been to one of those wedding receptions where someone giving a speech has a LOT to say. Most speeches don’t run for more than five minutes but sometimes dad insists on sharing a funny but long-winded story about you when you were growing up, or the best man gets a little emotional and ends up pouring his heart out for ten minutes. While these speeches can end up being really special, they can also really throw off the schedule. Before the big day, check in with everyone who is giving a speech and remind them of time limits – especially if they are planning on winging it on the day! Allow a few extra minutes in each chunk of speeches just in case. Better to be safe than end up having everything run super late!

 

Having your first dance too late

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

Your first dance as a married couple is a truly special moment. In each other’s arms, surrounded by everyone you love but feeling like you’re the only two people in the room. But don’t leave it til too late in the evening. The later your dance is, the more likely you are to have had one champers too many, or be tired and feeling a little less coordinated. You might be feeling nervous about the dance too, and the sooner you start it, the quicker you’ll realise there’s nothing to worry about! Some couples choose to do their first dance as soon as they are announced in to the reception. This is great as you can relax for the rest of the evening!

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

If you’ve read this list and started panicking about creating the perfect schedule: don’t worry. Weddings that run late are still great weddings! There are plenty of people you can ask for help for timing your schedule. And your photographer might actually be one of the most helpful people to chat to about it. They’re likely to be spending the most time with you guys on the actual day, and a good photographer will have plenty of understanding of how weddings run and what else you might need to consider when planning the day. When in doubt, check in with them! Pretty soon you’ll have a perfectly structured day and you can relax and focus on feeling excited!

the five most common mistakes you can make when timing your wedding day by ella otranto

Samantha & Ethan

 

Tips for Future Brides

Take in every single moment! 

From the start of the day to the last minute. It’s the most incredible day of your life.

Don’t sweat the small stuff on the big day! 

It’s generally too late for you to make any changes, the guests won’t know any different and will not even notice.

Be organized early!

My favourite part of the morning was being able to enjoy a glass of champagne with my best girls before walking down the aisle instead of running around like a headless chook.

Spend alone time with your husband after the ceremony!

You and your husband will have all your favourite people in one place which means being super busy socializing. Nothing was better than leaving the bridal party behind heading to the beach and spending half an hour with my new husband before heading back for the reception. Take some time out together to take in the day!

Dress + Veil

Arbour

Kombi Van

Caterers

Tuscany Bridal Blush Styling & Events Kape Kombi’s Supper Rd

Videography

Celebrant

Caravan Bar

Hair

Launch Film Jemilah Wright Caravan Bar Co. Lauren Cotter Hairstylist

Bridesmaid Dresses

XY Cars

LOVE Sign

Rings

Made by Nonna Tina Bride and Groom Dads Larger than Lights Solid Gold & Infini Jewelry

Flowers

Light up LOVE Letters

Singer

DJ

(bouquets/bridal table/arbour)
Mable + Grace Vintage Letters & Co Danny Bau Bridal Beats

Flowers

Photo Booth

Makeup

Cake

(ceremony/reception)
Emma Lapere (friend of the bride) King Image Photo Booth Britanie Dyer from Beauty Bar by Britanie Kasey Wood & Mother of the Bride

Dan & Steve

 

Tips for Other Couples

There are 2 pieces of advice we feel like we can give couples. Firstly, as crazy as the lead up to your big day is, try as much as possible to make sure you are not running around like crazy on your actual day. We had a wedding that started at 4pm. We woke up, had some breakfast with our I DO CREW, casually started hair and make-up, finalised our speeches and had some time for some beautiful moments with our mums and besties before the pace of the day took over. You will get to a point when you physically don’t think you can add anything else onto your plate – it’s full – but push through that, do what needs to be done and then sit back and enjoy the moments. Obviously a kick-ass I DO CREW, a killer EVENT PLAN and a massive TO-DO LIST will help with getting things done! Secondly, thank the people who helped make the day possible. REALLY thank them! As much as the day is about you – without their kindness, love and support, your day wouldn’t happen!”

Hair & Makeup

Cake & Cupcakes

DJ

KASH Beauty – Katrina & Natasha

Whisked Patisserie – Georgina Harvey

Vibe DJ – Jason

                                     

Flowers 

 

Photobooth

 

Celebrant

Marielle Studios – Mary Lannigan

Avalon DJ’s Perth – David

Love Your Way – Belinda Clinton

 

Videographer

 

Fireworks

 

Venue

Moonlight Films – Jason Sharp Dream Wedding – Jason Taylor

Caversham House

Lorena & Julian

 

Tips for Future Brides

“My advice for any bride is most importantly, to be organized. Keep everything in a file and make sure you print all of your receipts to keep track of everything. It’s also super important to look around, don’t just go with the first person you get a quote from. Weddings are expensive so shop around and get lots of quotes before making a final decision. When it comes to music it’s super important to spend a lot of time on this. Music can either make or break a wedding. Take the time to do a list for the night. Break it down into two sections, an “eating dinner” list and a “party” list. This will ensure that all genres of music is covered for the night so everyone will be up on the dance floor partying the night away. Lastly, just relax and enjoy your day and night. Everything will fall into place exactly how it’s meant to.”

-Lorena

 

Dress

Church

Tiffany Chairs

Bombonieres

Tuscany Bridal St. Michael the Archangel Choice Weddings & Events Home Grown & Handmade (online Etsy)

Wedding Dress Alterations

Limo

Centrepieces

Bride & Bridesmaid Jewelry

Adore Bridal Lavish Limousines Exclusive Occasions Homemade by Ronza George (Sydney)

Bridesmaid Dresses

XY Cars

LOVE Sign

Rings

Made by Nonna Tina Bride and Groom Dads Larger than Lights Solid Gold & Infini Jewelry

Suits

Venue

Flower Wall

Hair & Makeup

Australian Formal Wear Joondalup Resort Decore Hire Sandy Tau

DJ


Bridal Table (including King & Queen chairs)

Invitations, Seating Chart, Menus and Table Numbers

Flowers

Tony at Choice Entertainment Event Style Butterfly Days Helen

Pre-Dinner Entertainment

Videographer
Little Miss Squeezebox Launch Film Productions

Tracy & Brenton

Suppliers

Groomsmen

Hairdresser

Decorations

Cake

MJ Bale Pants, Shirts from The Iconic Kayla Marshall Wedding Hair Turtle & The Pelican HelloSukar

Groom

Make Up

Catering

Music

MJ Bale Suit, Ted Baker Shoes Holly Garvey Beaumonde Catering DJ Tommi: Dial Da DJ – Chris Gee: Acoustic

Bridesmaids

Photographer

Floral

Furniture

Shona Joy Dress, Samantha Wills Jewelry Ella Otranto Bloomtribe Bride & Groomstore

Bride

Videographer

Icy Pole Treats

Wine Barrels

Coutoure Dress by Donna Tobin, Jimmy Choo Shoes, Tiffany & Co Jewelry Little Friends Film Delish Ice OutKast Hire

Wedding Bands

 Celebrant

Lighting

Photo Booth

Bride: Tiffany & Co. Groom: Alister Yiap Luke Firth Micktric Events All About Image Photography

Dance Lessons

Chace Dance Studios

Why Choose Ella?

Hello!

I was inspired to write this blog after receiving a message from a gorgeous bride……. who did not choose me to photograph their wedding!

In fairness, she had not heard of Ella Otranto Photography or even seen our wedding photography before her wedding, which is my fault for not marketing better ha ha.

Sadly, the bride was really unhappy with her images and just checked in to compliment me on mine. This made me sad. Flattered of course, but I just know I could have given her everything she dreamed of. And the worst part, this isn’t the first time a bride has found me after their wedding.

Why do these brides believe they should have chosen Ella Otranto Photography? What do we offer as well as our stunning wedding photos?

I am a woman. My team are women. We know what women worry about. We know that we can take the most epic picture, but if you think your arm looks fat, you are not going to like it!

We listen. Even within our style there are lots of mini styles, maybe you like more black and white images, maybe you looove images with the veil flying, maybe you want most of your images to be a bit serious but you want a few silly ones in there as well. We get to know what you want and we deliver.

We go above and beyond. Now I am not about to pull out the kayak for every wedding ha ha ha, but you need something? Chances are we have it. Getting married at Caversham House? I have my “Caversham House boots” to get the shot, and flowers to put around the swing. Getting married at Millbrook Winery? I know the easy path so you don’t ruin your shoes. Love those veil shots? My assistants are on it. We know what time the sun is setting on your day. We know where we need to be to get the shots you want.

Our testimonials say it all. It is more than just producing beautiful photos for you, we are helpful, we are fun, we make the slightly awkward photography part of your wedding not awkward at all*, and we help make your wedding run more smoothly.

*except for family pictures, that part might be awkward but it’s much less to do with us ha ha ha.

From the get go you know what package you have and what it includes. Guests ask us all the time, will we ever see that photo? How can I get that photo? How much will it be? And I love answering them. Photographers have a bit of a bad name, a few ruined it for us all inciting this fear of not getting images. I love that I can respond with, “the bride and groom get a USB with every single image we have taken in high resolution, in about a month they will have this image and would be so excited to share it with you.”

OK OK I feel like I have been going on about how great Ella Otranto Photography is. I am not big headed, I do not think I am great at everything. I have plenty of flaws. Business wise I am useless at blogging. Anything I don’t find fun I find really really hard to do. I am so so so bad at newborn photography. You know those “nailed it” fail memes? That is me photographing newborns. I have terrible spatial awareness. I am so lucky it doesn’t affect my photography. Finding the right size container to put left over food in though? No chance.

Annnnyway. The point is, I don’t want to see any more messages like this! Unhappy brides that wish they booked with us instead of another Perth wedding photographer is a thing of the past. Ella Otranto Photography might not be the right photographer for your wedding, if you have a different style that you like better then by all means find someone you love! But, if you like what you see and what you read then book a meeting and lets have a chat about what we can do for your special day.

Have a lovely day!

Ella