When Dan & Nazira first came over to chat about their wedding day, I knew straight away this wasn’t going to be a typical wedding! Dan is British and Naz is from Tajikistan and were both self confessed in their quirky ways! Dan even proposed to Naz in Hawaii on an active volcano with lava flowing around them! Their love for adventure didn’t stop there, as they planned an adventurous wedding day for around 50 of their nearest friends and family, many of which were international guests. I almost felt out of place having an Australian accent! The theme for their wedding was “you are my home” meaning that it didn’t matter where they were in the world, as long as they had each other, they were home. It was pretty special!

The day kicked off at 10:30am, where the guests had arrived for a country wedding ceremony at the beautiful Waldara Farm. But, Dan and Naz love an element of surprise, so they decided to ‘kidnap’ their guests and whisk them away to a secret location for the ceremony! Not even their parents knew what was happening! The screams of delight from the guests said it all as they were loaded into private coaches as they headed to Jenolan Caves.

Adventuring into the caves, up 252 stairs and through narrow passage ways, we get to the Cathedral Cave which is where the ceremony takes place in front of their closest friends and family. I can’t recall ever capturing a more emotional ceremony. It was very clear that Dan and Naz had been though some pretty tough times to get to this point and that this was the beginning of an amazing future together. Their happiness to be finally husband and wife was incredible to be in the presence of and a pleasure to capture throughout the day.

After the ceremony, we headed back to Waldara Farm for a traditional English “wedding breakfast” which was the formal meal of the day. After spending time on the grounds to capture beautiful moments in what was a cracking sunset, there was a short break and for Naz that meant a makeup transformation ( by my amazing makeup artist wife Michelle!) for their evening celebrations, being a masquerade ball!

This wedding had so many incredible elements and was so perfectly executed by Dan and Naz. They really treated their guests to an all day extravaganza and their thought and attention to detail was astounding. I must draw your attention the incredible silk flowers that feature as not only Naz’s bouquet, but adored the ceremony floor, the barn’s walls, floor and ceiling! These were all hand made by the incredibly talented maid of honour and made such an interesting feature for the event! Coming from different parts of the world, they paid tribute to their own heritage, Dan wearing traditional kilt and Naz stying the venue using traditional patterned cushions, and adorned the cake table with traditional fabric. Everything, form their rings to the velociraptors on the cake, were chosen for their sentimental value adding a whole new meaning to every aspect of the day.

Thanks so much Dan & Naz for choosing me to capture what was a magical day and I hope the wonderful memories of the day stay with you forever as you travel the world and enjoy many more adventures together in the future.

Cheers, Gav.