Lionel Tan, Author at Lionel Tan Photography

Micah & Jason – Kumeu Valley Estate Wedding

Micah and Jason had their ‘first look’ at Devonport on a beautiful sunny day. Right after, we took a walk around the vicinity for some more photos before heading to a beautiful cottage for some food and drinks with the rest of the wedding party. We were then off to Muriwai Beach for a quick stop before going to the stunning Kumeu Valley Estate for the wedding ceremony.

The ceremony was an incredibly emotional one, especially as the couple shared their vows. A special video clip was put together by family and friends with lots of beautiful words for Micah and Jason, and we got to watch it during the reception.

It was a beautiful wedding, not only physically but emotionally as well! Here’s a little peek at how the day unfolded 🙂

Venue – Kumeu Valley Estate

If you’ve enjoyed the gallery, do leave a comment down below! Micah and Jason will be thrilled to hear from you 🙂

Charlotte & Brad – Cassels Wedding

One of the first things I did at the girls’ was to photograph the wedding dress, and my jaw dropped a little when I caught a glimpse of the dress. It was beyond GORGEOUS. My next thought was how perfect the elegant dress fits the theme of the wedding venue.

Charlotte and Brad got married at Cassels in West Auckland, and not only does it have a classic European charm to it, it’s also pretty close to the beach! After the ceremony we made our way to Bethells beach and the entire wedding party were total troopers – the boys lugged a huge case filled with food and drinks and the girls helped Charlotte with her beautiful dress, all the while walking on hot sand under the scorching Sun!

Towards the end of the night, the dance floor was never empty and the guests even got to have fun with some sparkler action. Thanks for having me at the wedding guys, here’s a little preview of how the special day unfolded!

If you’ve enjoyed the previews do leave a comment for Charlotte and Brad, I’m sure they would love to hear from you too!

Anna & Aaron – Castaways Wedding

One of the coolest things about photographing a wedding at Castaways is the myriad of stunning locations to choose from. The skies opened up even before I started driving towards the venue, and as I got closer I kept thinking if the rain was going to stop, or at least have the wind stop gusting every 2 seconds… well none of that happened. That just meant we were bound to end up with some pretty cool shots!

Anna and Aaron were not fazed by the weather and lucky us, the showers stopped in time for our wedding party photos. We even found shelter from the wind at a cool new spot – they were total troopers for being willing to scale a mini slope to get to it! Normally with weather like this it either means we get to do awesome rain photos or epic sunset photos, in this case we were treated to both!

Thanks for having me at your wedding guys, and for braving the elements!

Here’s a snippet of how the day unfolded.

Venue – Castaways Resort

If you’ve enjoyed the previews, do leave a comment down below! I’m sure Anna and Aaron would be thrilled to hear from you 🙂

Janet & KJ – Auckland Wedding

Janet and KJ were married on a beautiful day in Auckland. The ceremony was held at the Methodist Church, before we headed to the Manukau Event Centre for the wedding reception!

It was an emotional day with lots of tears and laughter throughout, and it was such a joy to photograph.

Thank you Janet and KJ for having us document your big day, here are some preview photos for now!

auckland wedding groom and the boys having fun

Reception venue – Manukau Event Centre

DJ – Auckland DJ Service

Carin & Liam – Northridge Country Lodge Wedding

It was such a joy to be at Carin and Liam’s wedding, and the non-stop drizzle and showers never once dampened their spirits! The wedding was held at the beautiful Northridge Country Lodge, just a thirty minutes drive from Auckland city. When I got there, I was told that the reception venue was to be kept a secret from the rest of the guests! This made me even more curious, and when I entered the room what I saw was a meticulously decorated space with a gorgeous South African touch – all done by the girls the night before!

There were lots of laughter throughout the celebrations and also some emotional moments. One of the highlights of the day had to be the action on the dance floor. Almost everyone put their dance moves on display and before long you could see guests taking their suits off or rolling up their sleeves, to get ready for even more partying!

Thank you guys for having me at your big day. Be sure to scroll through to the end if you’d like to see more dance floor action!

wedding guest talking to bride and groom

northridge country lodge wedding rain photo

northridge country lodge wedding night photo

Venue – Northridge Country Lodge

Do leave a comment down below if you enjoyed the photos, I’m sure Carin and Liam would love to hear from you too!

Christabel & Keith – Waipuna Hotel Wedding

Christabel and Keith were meticulous in planning their big day, making sure every little detail was looked after. I had the pleasure of being the photographer for their engagement/family session, pre-wedding celebrations and wedding day, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being introduced to their family and friends!

The ceremony was held at St. Annes in Manurewa, after which all the guests made their way to Waipuna Hotel for the rest of the wedding celebrations. The rest of us made a quick stop at the Botanic Gardens for some photos, before joining everyone else at the reception.

At the end of the night it seemed almost everyone have had a chance to step on the dance floor, which in itself was an awesome feat! Huge shout out to DJ Rob for keeping the party going.

Thank you again Christabel and Keith for letting me in on the crazy parties and intimate moments.

Venue – Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre

DJ – DJ4YOU

If you’ve enjoyed the preview photos do leave a comment down below, I’m sure Christabel and Keith would like to hear from you too!

Kate & Malcolm – Five Knots Wedding

One of my favourite spots to catch the city skyline has to be Bastion Point, so you can probably imagine how excited I was when Kate and Malcolm planned to have their creative photos there! Early on I headed over to Kate’s home just off Mission Bay and photographed her getting ready, then went over to Five Knots at the Tamaki Yacht Club where both the ceremony and reception were to take place.

We had so much fun shooting the creative photos, and for the second part of the shoot we paid a visit to a cool spot that I found a few days back! At the reception, we were treated to speeches with lots of humour and a big dance party to end the night. As always when I saw the sunset I couldn’t resist sneaking us out for some epic shots in the magical golden light.

Thank you for having me at your big day Kate and Malcolm!

I hope you enjoy the following sneak peek and as always do leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

The vendors that made this special day possible:

Venue – Five Knots

Dress – Katie Yeung

Flowers – Grace and Flora

DJ – Going Bananas

Feel free to leave a comment down below, I’m sure Kate and Malcolm would love to hear from you!

Alistair & Amanda – Allely Estate Wedding

Alistair and Amanda had their wedding ceremony at the stunning St. Michaels before heading over to Allely Estate in Kumeu for their reception. I believe that having an engagement session prior to the wedding is beneficial on so many fronts, and one of the main benefits is for the couple to get used to being photographed. This was definitely evident on the day, as due to unforeseen circumstances we only had maybe thirty or so minutes for bridal party and couple photos – but Amanda and Alistair were pros by the time we got the couple photos going, and we finished the session without a hitch!

Later in the evening we had some of the best (and funniest!) speeches I’ve heard and you’d be hard pressed to find someone in the room not laughing! It was then time for the first dance, and the party kicked off right after. The dance floor was filled with so much energy, everyone dancing really brought their ‘A’ game and even though I’ve been holding on to my camera for the entire day I just wanted to keep on shooting the action!

Thank you so much for letting me document such a special day for you guys, more photos to come!

St. Michaels Remuera Parish wedding ceremony

St. Michaels Remuera Parish bride and groom

Venue – Allely Estate

If you’ve enjoyed looking through Alistair and Amanda’s gallery, do leave a comment down below as I’m sure they’d love to hear from you! Head over HERE for highlights from their engagement session.

Sonya & Tony – Castaways Waiuku Wedding

A few minutes into my initial meeting with Sonya and Tony, it was quite apparent they’d be a dream to work with. The feeling just got stronger through out our phone conversations before the big day and on the day itself. They placed an incredible amount of value on having the story of their day captured the best way possible.

We had Sonya and Tony getting ready at different chalet units before their ceremony, with the company of loved ones and spectacular views over-looking the Tasman. Since we were at Castaways (home to some of the most epic sunsets ever), we planned a couple of spots to sneak the couple off to for a brief window during the reception, for some cool sunset photos! After which we headed back indoors for some more dessert and speeches, before partying the night away.

Thanks for having us at your wedding! Have a look at some of the awesome moments from the day!

castaways waiuku wedding bride getting ready

castaways waiuku wedding brother of the bride

castaways waiuku wedding children having fun

castaways waiuku wedding chinese paper cutting

castaways waiuku wedding father of the groom

castaways waiuku wedding groom getting ready

castaways waiuku wedding father putting on jacket for groom

castaways waiuku wedding father of the groom looking

castaways waiuku wedding mother of the groom

castaways waiuku wedding groom and his father

castaways waiuku wedding traditional red packets

castaways waiuku wedding bride and maid of honour

castaways waiuku wedding mother helping with bride dress

castaways waiuku wedding bride solo portrait

castaways waiuku wedding family looking at the bride

castaways waiuku wedding bride gold bangles

castaways waiuku wedding mother of the bride

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom first look

castaways waiuku wedding couple first look

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom portrait

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom embrace

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom walking

castaways waiuku wedding guests having fun

castaways waiuku wedding groom waiting for bride

castaways waiuku wedding bride and father walking down the aisle

castaways waiuku wedding groom looking at bride

castaways waiuku wedding guests laughing

castaways waiuku wedding groom smiling at the bride

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom kissing in front of guests

castaways waiuku wedding guests congratulations

castaways waiuku wedding relative hugging bride

castaways waiuku wedding celebrant and groom

castaways waiuku wedding friend hugging bride

castaways waiuku wedding bouquet and ring

castaways waiuku wedding groom and bride walking on the beach

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom on the grass

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom having fun

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom photo

castaways waiuku wedding groom kissing bride

castaways waiuku wedding bride looking at the groom

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom walking back to reception

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom kissing in the car

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom arrive at reception

castaways waiuku wedding guests clapping hands

castaways waiuku wedding guests giving a toast

castaways waiuku wedding guests having a good time

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom having a good time

castaways waiuku wedding couple sunset photo

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom sunset

castaways waiuku wedding bride and groom sunset photo

castaways waiuku wedding epic sunset photo

castaways waiuku wedding guests chatting

castaways waiuku wedding father of the bride listening

castaways waiuku wedding bride laughing at speech

castaways waiuku wedding bride listening to speech

castaways waiuku wedding couple first dance

Do leave a comment below for Sonya and Tony if you’ve enjoyed the photos!

Venue – Castaways Resort

Celebrant – Aurora Ward

Make up and Hair – Rebekah Banks

Videography – Paul Read Wedding Films

Bayley & Connor – Markovina Vineyard Estate Wedding

Bayley and Connor picked the perfect day to get married at Markovina Vineyard Estate. Besides being a bit of a scorcher, we were blessed with beautiful weather throughout the day and even got to get some star photos done towards the end of the reception!

After the ceremony, we headed off for bridal party photos and it was filled with laughter just like how it was at the engagement session. At one point I even got to see a grape up close through the lens of my camera, coming at me full speed, as the boys decided to have some fun!

Some clouds started rolling in as the reception got on the way, and thankfully by the time it got dark most of the clouds had passed us. We made our way to the huge field at the back of the estate and got some cool photos with the awesome night sky. It was then that I thought to myself, how can I make the night even more awesome for the couple? Teaming up with Rob (who did an incredible job as the Emcee too!) we got the final night shot before calling it a day.

Thank you Bayley and Connor for having me document your big day and being such a dream to photograph. Hope you enjoy the sneak peek and I can’t wait to share the rest of the photos with you!

Markovina wedding photo - stars wedding photo

Markovina Vineyard wedding photo - starry night wedding photo

Venue – Markovina Vineyard Estate

Make-up & Hair – Michaela Kaye

If you’ve enjoyed looking through the photos from Bayley & Connor’s wedding, do leave a comment down below! Also, head over HERE to see some highlights from their engagement session.

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