Haven Still and Moving Images

Name: Haven Still and Moving Images
Address: Pyalong, VIC, AU
Telephone: +61401956056
Rating: 5

Home
Australia
Pyalong, VIC
Haven Still and Moving Images

Using photography and films to capture weddings full of feeling. Based in Melbourne, available Australia wide.
(26)

25/02/2024

This time a little over a week ago I was listening to the most heartfelt vows, among guests dabbing at their eyes with tissues surrounded by the beautiful grounds of Amarti and it really made me reflect on what an incredible honour it is to be invited into peoples most intimate days. To hear what two people mean to each other, what they‘ve been through together, and to hear all their hopes and dreams laid out for the future - what a privilege to have a front row seat to that outpouring of love.

Emma and Luke’s connection, their fun and playfulness with each other was reflected in their friends and family as everyone ate, drunk and danced the night away. As I packed my things up and set to leave at 10pm, I could still hear the laughter pouring out of the hall and a crowd singing along to a banger in the courtyard. What a day! What a night! Thank you so much for having Emma and Luke and a huge congratulations again!

The team:

Photo and video: (with thanks to Nic as my second ❤️)
Venue:
Celebrant: .eddycc
Makeup:
Hair:
DJ: .a.n.c.y.d.i.s.c.o
Dress:
Suits:
Rings:

01/01/2024

When Lauren came to me a few weeks before the wedding and told me she wanted to flip things around because, in her heart of hearts, this is what she had wanted from the beginning - I could honestly say in all my years of shooting weddings, I had never seen this done before - but I LOVED it!

Shaun and Lauren met up for a first look and their portraits before the ceremony (and got family photos out of the way at the same time - also a great idea for a relaxed day!). But then, as people started to slowly arrive, instead of hiding away and waiting for the big entrance and aisle walk, both Shaun and Lauren made their way to the bar, grabbed a cold drink and greeted their guests together. I loved seeing the surprise and utter delight as guests realised Lauren was there to meet them too!

It kicked off a wedding that was an absolute reflection of the two of them - relaxed, full of joy, and a day that was all about connection to each other and the people who mean the most to them. And it meant they didn’t have to miss a moment of it!

I’m so glad you guys did it your way Lauren and Shaun - you set the scene for such a fun, love filled day and the happiness emanated!

Congrats again on getting hitched and thanks for having me!

The dream team:

Photography:
Venue:
Celebrant: Peter Linton
Makeup:
Hair:
Dress:
Shoes:
Cake:
Florist:
Band:

13/11/2023

What a thrill being asked to shoot the wedding of someone you’ve known for more than 30 years..to reminisce over childhood antics with their family members and see old old mates for the first time in decades. But more than that - being able to witness the radiant glow of an old friend on her wedding day, next to the man who lights her up and to be part of this celebration was beyond special.

These two big-hearted people are such a match for other. I looked around during the speeches and saw people from all different parts of their lives being brought together - they are cherished by their loved ones and there’s good reason for that. These two make a phenomenal team, they’re generous, quick to break into laughter and would do anything for the special people in their lives. I feel so lucky to have been there to see these special moments and capture them. Congratulations again Dani and Ash!

And what a team it was that pulled this incredible day together! The dream team (when can we all do it together again?!?):

Photography/video: (and thanks to my second shooter Molly 😘)
Venue:
Stylist:
Florist:
Celebrant:
Content creator:
Catering:
Grazing platter:
Cake:
Music:
Hangings:
Lighting:
Cocktail van:
Makeup:
Hair:

06/11/2023

One of my favourite things on a wedding day is learning about the journey of a couple - hearing their stories shared throughout their ceremony and in their speeches.

I loved hearing how Julia and Jim had a locker next to each other at school, how they fell hard for each early and got to grow up together - and how they got married on the ten year anniversary of their first date!

These two have such an ease around each other, you can tell how much they feel like home to one another. And it was so fitting to have the wedding at Julia’s family home, bringing everyone together to celebrate on the home turf (which was jaw-droppingly beautiful and would rival any wedding venue!).

Thank you so much Julia and Jim for having me - it was the most epic day and absolute perfection 👌a huge congratulations again to you both!

The dream team:

Photographer and video:
(with help on seconds from my pal Alana 😘)
Wedding Planner & Stylist
Floristry
Catering and beverage service
Marquee
Furniture .eventhire
Stationery .reflect
Music
Celebrant
Dress:
Shoes:
Makeup: .mua
Rings:
Cake:

08/10/2023

You know it’s a good night when you see the lead guitarist sliding through the crowd on his knees 🙌

13/09/2023

I actually was shooting the dress when I heard all the commotion in the kitchen.

The singing.
The giggles.
The belly laughs.

I move fast when I hear that.

Elle and her dearest friends, in matching robes, belting out their favourite 90’s hits, just like you know they’ve done before in pubs, at parties - at home in their pyjamas.

It wasn’t for the camera, it wasn’t a set up. It came from a place of pure celebration of the day, something I know she’d want to remember.

Did I get a shot of the dress?
I did, but only after I felt confident I’d got the main event - the people and faces that meant the most to her.

07/09/2023

Our wedding day can be the launchpad for our stories.

Whether you’ve got the kids gathered around and they’re begging again to hear the story of how Uncle C split his pants on the dance floor with his wild moves.

About the time you’d planned to go to the mountaintop in a helicopter, but had to cancel last minute because of the once in a hundred year rains.

But also about the deeper stories - the ones that are threaded into our being.

About the seat you saved your nan, knowing she would have loved more than anything to be there.

About how you are surrounded by a community that supports and values you.

About how the love of your life stood in front of everyone, even though they hate the spotlight, and public speaking at that, to declare what you mean to them.

You are seen.
You are known.
You are loved.

These are the stories you can tell yourself.

05/09/2023

When I set up my website years ago, I found it hard to choose just a handful of weddings to feature as galleries. I felt like there were whole emotional arcs that were present at every wedding, a smorgasbord of emotions if you will. So I curated each gallery around a set of feelings, rather than a certain couple or venue. Those wedding day feels. This one is for the moments that take your breathe away.

29/08/2023

I always ask couples ‘Are you planning any surprises?’ And when Maxine and Tyson told me about the surprise they had planned, I knew it would set the scene for the whole night - a room filled to the brim with pure joy and celebration.

One of my favourite things is being invited back into a family to shoot a wedding. To see familiar faces, to see the squishy new additions, to see Nonna still rocking it on the dance floor.

And to hear more of the stories that have led to this point. To hear how Max and Tyson met, how they fell in love and the kinds of adventures they’ve been on together.

And this is the start of the greatest one yet - congratulations again to you both! I feel very lucky to been part of this beautiful day, you two have been such a delight from the get-go!

Swipe to the end to see the surprise … and keep your eyes peeled for the video in the coming months, I can’t understate what an epic one it’s going to be!

The dream team:

Photographer and video:
(with help on seconds from my pal Alana 😘)
Venue:
Florist:
Stylist: the bride herself! 😍
Dress:
Shoes:
Hair:
Makeup:
Bridal party outfits:
Rings:
Cake:
Drumming ensemble:
Band:

24/08/2023

It might just be a line from a corny movie…but it hits hey? We all just want a witness to our lives.

22/08/2023

You know how sometimes you need a bit of distance to really admire something’s beauty, to step back and take it all in? I grew up in Gippsland and to say I took it for granted would be an understatement. It took me leaving, moving to the city, seeing far-flung wonders of the world to be able to see with fresh eyes what had been in front of me the whole time. The green rolling hills, the coastline, our very own little pocket of rainforest. I’m very happy to be based here now and be able to celebrate weddings on my home turf. I’m still taking bookings wherever you might be, but Gippsland weddings have a special place in my heart.

17/08/2023

A thought experiment if you’ll indulge me.

It’s your wedding day and you’ve never felt love and happiness like you have on this day.

You haven’t been able to wipe the smile off your face and as the last songs are being played, you wish you could just stay in this moment.

To stop time.
To bottle up these feelings.
To remember this high.

Flash forward. Years have passed since your wedding day, it’s been a shocker of a day at work.

You’re exhausted, the kids are running amok and the cat’s just thrown up on the carpet.

Your partner brings the ipad over to you - you’re not in the mood for trivial things, but then you hear the familiar start to a song you know well.

Your wedding film.

And for five minutes, you’re transported. Right back to those feelings. The love you felt (and still feel, even if it’s hidden sometimes behind the daily grind), the happiness you experienced being able to celebrate your love with all your friends and family.

You hear the vows you made to each other, see the way you both looked at each other when making those promises. The fun you two have together and you hear all the stories that made up your life up until that point.

You feel your body relax, you laugh, you cry. You look around to see your kids all cuddled in together, watching the story of mum and dad.

And you smile. You’ve been taken back. And you’ve brought all those beautiful feelings back with you.

15/08/2023

I wrote myself a job description, to remind myself why the important part of what I do is not necessarily taking the photos or making the film. This is part one.

12/08/2023

If you send me a handwritten note, you’ve gotta know I’ll be keeping it! So grateful for the people I work with, the kindest, most generous, fun couples! 🙏

04/08/2023

Can I share something with you that I came across years ago? It’s saved to my phone because I believe it to be one of the truest things, and something I always want to remind myself of. And the best weddings I’ve ever been to, have been a true celebration of this.

Our whole lives are relationships. Love accordingly - by Danielle Laporte

“Our whole lives are relationships. Belly laughs—the ones you remember years afterwards when you’re driving down a quiet road by yourself or comparing your dim day to the shine of your past—those belly laughs only happen with friends. No one laughs that deep, long, and hard by themselves. That riot of joy takes relating.

The surest soothing of your despair… relationships. How your friend reframed your neuroses to show you that you’re not crazy, you’ve got survival instincts. How they pretend not to notice your inner ugliness—and heal you in the pretending. How they stay so steady with their gaze that the illusions you’ve been nursing dry up and float away.

Our whole lives are relationships. Emergency texting. Solutions that were designed just for you in the bowl of someone else’s heart. The 200 bucks before rent day that saved it all. Persistent love over years that one day melts you into your true self. Relationships.

Helping you pack up your life. On speed dial. Bottomless encouragement. There when you expected them to give up. Taller than your doubts. Seeing what you can’t. Protecting your tenderness. Big enough to fill your abyss. Rescued. Again.

Shouting, holding, dancing it out, smoking it up, pitching tents, constructing ideals, directing determination. That voicemail you save. Presence. The things they hand down to you.

I got your favourite. I transferred the money. F**k that. You got this. You’re more than you think you are—believe me if you can’t believe yourself.
(CONT. IN COMMENTS)

02/08/2023

I’ve got my happy-tears radar finely tuned - if I can sense they’re coming…you can bet I’ll be (silently) snapping away in your direction.

02/08/2023

There are two parts to this in my mind.

You are two beautiful, fully formed, free thinking people who are choosing to get married. You don’t have to fit some kind of ‘perfect’ bride or groom mould on your wedding day.

I want you to recognise yourselves in your images and films - whatever that may look like. And personality doesn’t have to mean being big and bold - maybe it’s quiet and thoughtful, maybe it’s laid back and easy going. Whatever it looks like, it’s you and that’s what I want to highlight.

The second part of this speaks to my recovering perfectionist ways! In the early days I would beat myself up over an image not being tack sharp, or if there was any element of blur, or if the composition didn’t follow ‘the rules’ properly.

But I don’t subscribe to that anymore, especially not in this work. Because what I found was - out of a series of photos, the one that may have been ‘technically’ perfect might have come a beat or two after the ‘spark’ of a real moment. And the ‘spark’ is what it’s all about.

It’s the micro expression flashed between two people for just an instance. It’s the wild dance move that’s busted out without warning. It’s the belly laugh from across the room that’ll have finished if you take your sweet time to get to it.

And so the way I shoot, means if something real is happening, something that is worth remembering, I want to get it, before it’s gone.

So I’ll always choose personality over perfection any day of the week.

31/07/2023

I have a theory that we actually have no idea what we look like to other people.

When we look in the mirror, when we take a selfie, when we catch sight of ourselves in the background of an ill-timed photo, that’s not how our loved ones see us.

We never get to witness what they do - the way our faces light up when we see them, the hundreds of micro expressions that express our love and joy in their presence.

And that’s what I’m looking for - I want your photos to be a true reflection of you, even if it’s a side of yourself you haven’t seen before, but it’s one that your loved ones know well.

Address

Pyalong, VIC

Telephone

+61401956056

Website

http://www.havenimages.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Haven Still and Moving Images posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Haven Still and Moving Images:

Videos

When you flip through your wedding album or watch your film, I want you to feel truly seen. I craft wedding films and photographs - but more than that, I bear witness to you, your story, your history - your love. Reflecting back what you've known all along. #realmoments #love #bride#weddingphotographer #gippslandweddings #gippslandweddingfilms #yarravalleyweddingphtographer #melbourneweddingphotography #realweddingsmelbourne #weddingphotographymelbourne #gippslandweddings #gippslandweddingvideo #alittleloveinspo#gippslandwedding #melbourneweddingphotographer #weddingfilmsmelbourne #weddingphotographygippsland

Damn I love a surprise. I especially love being in on them on a wedding day! Video wasn’t initially on the cards for Jess and Rithy - but Jess knew how much Rithy and her would love watching the day back, so she surprised him by having me come along on the day! AND then they surprised their guests with this incredible dance on the night - talk about bringing the house down! Sooo much more from this day that I can’t wait to share - this is just the teeny tiny sneakpeek! A huge congrats again Jess and Rithy - what a joy it was hanging with the two of you! Photographer: @elsacampbellphotography Video: @haven_still_and_moving_images Flowers: @flowerjar Stylist: @_bowcreative Bride’s outfit: @kyhastudios and @ame___officiel , @jimmychoo Groom’s outfit: @oscarhunttailors @aquila_est1958 Venue: @glasshausdesign @ngvmelbourne Cake: @torte_by_mirjana Celebrant: Jennifer Burnett Hair: @teagancousins.hair Makeup: @laurendellmakeup and @meggiemmakeup Bridal party outfits: @shonajoy @oscarhunttailors @aquila_est1958 Rings: @hollowaydiamonds Music: @melbentco Signage: @stateofelliott #weddingvideomelbourne #victorianweddingvideographer #gippslandweddingvideographer

What I’ve always wanted my photos to do is to bring you back to a feeling. To have them serve as a reminder of what it felt like in that moment - to remind you of the fun, the joy, the love you felt in that second. And for the mere sight of the image to bring it up in you again. It’s so easy to let our photos collect virtual dust on hard drives, stuffed in a drawer somewhere. To let those little reminders of love go unopened for years. The remedy? Put them where you can see them. Walk past them everyday. Print them. Put them on the walls. Keep them in an album. Go back to them, again and again and let them wield the incredible power they have - to make you smile, and remind you of what’s important in life. I’m currently having a print sale at the moment before I go on maternity leave. If you haven’t already received an email from me - get in touch and let’s get some of those memories off the hard drive and onto the wall. #printyourphotos #paperoverpixels #holdyourmemories #melbourneweddingphotographer #wallart #fineartprints #framedprints