On Saturday we hosted our second ever #heidihortoncouples event which is a reunion we organise as a way of catching up with our past wedding couples and to say thank you for supporting us. The success of our business is hugely because of word-of-mouth, personal branding, referrals and trust. Because of this we decided that instead of spending money on traditional forms of advertising we would instead host annual events to give back to our past wedding couples - a way of honouring the awesome connections we get to make with the people we photograph.

Last year we hosted a movie night at the local theatre. This year we opted for an afternoon tea party in the gardens at a local wedding venue Hawthorn Den (which is actually where Matt and I got married in 2011!). The weather was absolutely perfect and we enjoyed some delicious catering done by Jude Taylor. I loved catching up with the couples who were able to make it and as a result I hardly took any photos!

The new reception barn at Hawthorn Den is looking AMAZING! Makes me want to renew our vows just so we can have a party in it! 

And we even got our own photo taken by our past bride & very good friend, Melissa! xxx

Thank you again to everyone who made it! We appreciate you all. 

​Bring on next year's event! x

We did it! My dream of creating community & bringing together something special for our past wedding couples came true this last Saturday night. 

​Over a year ago I gave up traditional forms of advertising & decided to try a different way of business. I wanted to add a heart to my business, I wanted clients who would be forever couples, people we would call friends. I dared to dream that community could be stronger than any form of marketing or advertising. And we made it happen! Our business has come alive because of word-of-mouth, personal branding, referrals and trust. 

On Saturday night we hosted a movie night for all our past couples, complete with bubbly and popcorn. We had couples from as far away as Christchurch come join us for a night out and a catch up! We laughed, we hugged, we celebrated. I got teary during the slideshow that I had put together of all our couple's wedding photos since our very first wedding in 2013. We drew the winner of our giveaway - a weekend away in Queenstown complete with an anniversary portrait session!

We even had our very own photographer who took these photos for us - an awesome keepsake. Plus it provided entertainment for our couples, who got a huge giggle out of watching me squirm each time the camera pointed in my direction!

I loved how much couples enjoyed meeting other couples at this event! Meeting faces they've seen on my blog & striking up conversations entirely un-wedding related.

The giveaway winners! Anna & Chris ​❤️

I'm getting emotional just looking at these photos. In years to come I know I will look back at these photos & remember this exciting time in our business where we made it something more. And already I can't wait to start planning our next #heidihortoncouples event!!!

A huge thank you to all my couples! Those who made it on the night; we loved catching up with you and we hope you had a fun night out. To those who couldn't be there; each and every one of you sent me a message & wished me luck for what you said would be an awesome event - we missed you on the night, but your messages alone filled my heart! And for all our future couples; we can't wait for you to be a part of this awesome community!!! 

Big love to Megan Graham Photography for all these photos! I am so glad I reached out to you about photographing this event for me. What we get to do as photographers is incredible. I will treasure these photos & the memories they encapsulate forever. 

Here's a few of the snaps I took on the Friday night.
I felt pretty privileged to be in the photographer's booth, getting to take these images! Special thanks to Chris for bringing me along for the evening & to the organisers for letting me bring my camera & get the experience.

On Friday night I had the privilege of going along with photographer, Chris Carson, to the Hokonui Fashion Awards in Gore. Chris has been covering these fashion awards for ten years & I was lucky enough to tag along with him and experience the glitz and glamour of the fashion runway from a photographer's perspective.
I absolutely loved the experience, it was something quite different, and the show was amazing!

If you haven't been to the Hokonui Fashion Awards before I highly recommend it. 
There is some awesome talent out there!