Canberra Children's Photographer » wedding photography

Published! :)

Christine Pobke — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:27:12 +0000

I’m so proud to share that some of my recent weddings have been published and featured! One of my goals last year was to get in these magazines and blogs, so it’s infinitely that much more special getting to cross them off my “Goals for 2011/2012″ list!

First up is Diana and Tim, featured in May’s issue of Cosmo Bride magazine:

And Kirsty and Matt, featured in one of my favourite wedding blogs, Green Wedding Shoes:

And finally, Siobhan and Pete grace the pages of the beautiful e-magazine, Mag Rouge:

I’m so honoured to be published amongst my friends and industry colleagues who I look up to very much. It’s such a beautiful way to end the 2011/2012 wedding season for me before I go on maternity leave! :) I’ll continue posting sessions and weddings and couples portraits on my blog here, as well as on my personal blog, Dear Pobke Baby, so no need to think I’m going away! :)

Have a beautiful weekend, and happy Friday!!

Glenn + Kate

Christine Pobke — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:36:00 +0000

I love romance, I really do. So when Glenn wrote me over a year ago explaining that he wanted to surprise his fiance Kate with getting me as their photographer, I immediately knew this would be one wedding I was going to adore.

The flew to Canberra from Melbourne to meet me one fine day, and we laughed and got along as if we’d known each other for years. They were kind. And so romantic with each other. And loved travel and seeing the world. Truth be told, they kinda reminded me of the relationship I share with He-Pobke. So began the countdown for their big day. :)

Melbourne is one of my favourite cities in the world. Coupled with the fact that I was there to photograph Glenn + Kate, AND the fact that I had one of my besties there helping me (thank you a trillion times, Kelly Tunney!), nothing could go wrong. Or so we thought. :) The day challenged us with a few hiccups (a missing rental car, a faulty GPS, a priest who told me to sit down during the ceremony and stop shooting) but Kate and Glenn, being the gloriously lovely couple that they are, didn’t let a single thing ruin their day. And you know, it’s as if I just absorbed their zen, because none of the challenges affected me in any way, shape or form either.

I suppose that’s just what happens when you’re around positive people who radiate peace, love, calmness. I strive to be that kind of person every day, and Glenn and Kate couldn’t have been better role models to me on a more special day. :) Thank you both for being so amazing. Hope your honeymoon was fabulous and full of R&R. So much love to you!! :) xoxo

Holly + Joe

Christine Pobke — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:01:23 +0000

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Holly for a few years now, as she’s my wonderfully talented, super awesome accountant. She’s been there with me since my business nearly first began; my transition to the dreaded (but now very much loved!) MYOB; my first GST and BAS experiences; and pretty much every up and down my business has gone through. Aside from the number crunching history, however, we’ve developed a friendship based on mutual respect and trust, leading to our “accounting” meetings to last more than hour each visit as we end up gabbing about anything and everything (as good friends often do).

Holly recently married the love her life, Joe, at a beautiful service here in Canberra. I couldn’t have been more honoured and proud to be the one hired to photograph their wonderfully intimate day. Family and friends gathered from near and far, and we all knew + felt Joe’s father’s spirit was in the church that day, watching over the two of them. People hugged and kissed as if it were their own wedding days, and it was so so so very beautiful to see.

Holly and Joe, I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and love. Thank you for trusting me to be there on your big day. It meant so much to me and I hope you guys have a wonderful time away on your honeymoon. :) So much love to you both! xoxo

Stafford and Sarah

Christine Pobke — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:51:39 +0000

As some of you may know, He-Pobke and I met in Japan in July 2003 as fresh faced, just-outta-uni, don’t-know-what-to-do-with-my-degree young 20-somethings. We lived in neighbouring villages and taught English to the local elementary and middle schools, under the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. It was in that year that we met, fell in love, and vowed to somehow stay together even though we knew our time in Japan was due to end in July 2004. He would, inevitably, go back to Australia, while I would fly back to my family and friends in Seattle. But nine years later, here we are. An international love story of sorts, across two continents, a massive ocean, and now a baby on the way.

I bring this up because (a) it’s Valentine’s Day (and who doesn’t like to relive their love stories?); and (b) I’m about to share with you Stafford and Sarah’s wedding. Stafford is one of Clinton’s oldest mates; a groomsman at our own wedding; and the first of He-Pobke’s friends that I had the pleasure of meeting in Japan all those years ago. Staff is a traveler. Well actually, he’s a primary school teacher (and an amazing one at that – those kids in Adelaide are lucky to have him). But I think in his heart of hearts, he’s a traveler who loves seeing the world and hearing its music and feeling its culture and rhythm. It is because of this affinity for the world that Stafford embarked on a several month, round-the-world tour in 2003/2004, which ended in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.

There he sat in Clinton’s lounge room, beer in one hand, laughing at some Japanese show on telly. I walked into the apartment, excited to meet someone from Clinton’s former life in Australia. It’s as if meeting this person would validate that Clinton was, indeed a real human being and that he was, as he said, an “Aussie.” :) From the minute we got to chatting, I realised what a kind and funny person Staff was. I heard story after story of a young Pobke in Adelaide, and seeing the two of them reminisce like old brothers was something I’ll never forget.

Stafford married his beautiful girlfriend of nearly ten years last month in the Barossa Valley. Sarah is equally kind and funny, and also a fabulously caring teacher. Together they make up a wonderful team… The ying to her yang. When they asked me to photograph their wedding day, I couldn’t really say no… It was such an honour to be asked, given our history and Stafford’s history with Clinton, and the fact that I’d get to hang out with family and friends and watch my husband be a groomsman was just icing on the cake. :)

So Stafford and Sarah: congratulations on your most beautiful day. I feel so lucky to have been asked to be there and document your love story. xoxoxo :)

Farah + Paul

Christine Pobke — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:24:31 +0000

Will it rain? Will it not rain? The threatening weather predictions made Farah + Paul all the more prepared for their beautiful wedding on Saturday… and no, it did not rain (thankfully). :) How could it? These two just radiate warmth and kindness, and I’m certain that their pure will for sunshine made it gloriously beautiful all day long. :)

Theirs was my last wedding for 2011 – and I am so supremely grateful to them and all of my gorgeous couples this year. Thank you for making 2011 such a joyous 12 months of growth, happiness, delight, success, and and and!!! :) I’m so excited that I get to end the year with Farah and Paul and their absolutely perfect day. A trillion billion thanks. :)

Pobke Photography is closed until the New Year… so happiest of holidays to you and yours, and enjoy the festive time off! xoxo

Deb + Danny

Christine Pobke — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 13:45:34 +0000

A sweet, kind couple with a shared beautiful love of good friends, good food, good travel, good family, good laughter. Deb and Danny’s celebration incorporated all of this and more… I loved being in and amongst all the cultural histories sitting in that room (Australian, Fijian, Tibetan, Indian, Chinese, American… the list goes on), and it pleases me to no end that I got to witness their union last weekend. :)

Deb’s attention to detail made for a most scrumptious treat for my camera (and the treats themselves were rather delicious, I must add), so enjoy all the ways in which she endeavored to make their wedding gorgeous! :)

Karina + William

Christine Pobke — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:47:59 +0000

Karina and William… Where do I start with these two? I fell in love with their story, their love for family, their love for each other. And when Karina wrote that there would be 17 adults and nine “amazing nieces and nephews” all there to celebrate their wedding that was really “them,” I just about melted. Of COURSE I would do it, I nodded to myself as I read along. My business brain, on the other hand, urged me to think twice as I’d promised myself to never shoot a “double header” — i.e. two weddings in one weekend. But something about Karina and her description of her day made me want to meet her and know her and be the one to photograph their very special intimate wedding. And when I rang her to chat a bit more, she shared with me her exciting news: she + William were expecting their first child. I knew then and there that I had made the right decision in ignoring my business brain: it was MORE than right. You see, He-Pobke and I had just learned that we too were expecting our first baby. And so, with that kindred connection, I eagerly anticipated Karina + William’s celebration.

It was everything I expected and more (well, the heat was “more” for one thing). :) The love in that Sydney home was probably felt in neighbouring cities hundreds of kilometres away. There was dancing and cha-cha’s; children singing; rings being passed around for blessings; poems cited; stories told; and food. There was amazing food. (I ate and ate and ate some more.) :)

Thank you, Karina and William and your beautiful lovely families. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this amazingly intimate, preciously gorgeous ceremony. It was both an honour and privilege to be there, and I can’t wait to meet your darling new raspberry, who is bound to be so very loved by everyone in your family. Congratulations x infinity. :) xoxo

Carrie + Dan

Christine Pobke — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:08:05 +0000

Carrie is the kind of bride that, in spite of it being a day about HER, asks you how YOU’RE doing every ten minutes. She’s a carer. One of those super thoughtful, considerate people that are born with a certain special genuinely caring gene. And so when you spend time with her, you can’t help but love her. :)

And Dan? Well geez. Dan is a blokey version of Carrie. Equally caring and thoughtful and genetically armed with that considerate gene… So when the two of them come together, it’s totally clear why. Thoughtful meets thoughtful. Kind meets kind. :)

Carrie and Dan: thank you a billion times over for making my day so much fun. And for allowing me to be a part of such a beautiful celebration… I’m so excited for both of you and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you guys. So much love to you both! :)

[Special thanks to my gorgeous pal and mentor, Kelly Tunney, for being a fantastic 2nd shooter on the day... You make me happy, friend!!!]

The Gentle Art of Catching the Bouquet

Christine Pobke — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:19:00 +0000

Jenny and Anthony

Christine Pobke — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:59:37 +0000

I absolutely love traveling for weddings… Even if this travel is only interstate, it allows me to really take in a beautiful new scene, and challenge myself to photograph things a bit differently. Jenny and Anthony’s 11.11.11 Hunter Valley wedding was a beautiful excuse to get away from lovely Canberra and photograph in one of the most gorgeous wine regions in this country.

I think I’m incredibly lucky to have a profession where I get to do what I love. But at the end of the day, I know that it’s my clients, my brides, my families, that really make me feel incredibly lucky. Sure, taking photos is fun – but having people appreciate YOU is something I don’t take for granted and something I am so very grateful for. Jenny is one such bride. She didn’t let the fact that visa issues made it a bit more difficult for some family members to fly in from the Philippines bother her (her bridesmaid sister flew in hours before the wedding!). When asked if she was worried or if she had a backup plan, Jenny replied, “I’m positive. I knew they’d make it.” Nor did she let the grey clouds dampen her spirits: “I think it’ll clear!” And halfway through her beautiful day, she turned to me and said, “Thank you so much for being here. We’re so excited to have you… Please let me know if I can get you anything or if you need anything at all!” On her wedding day, she made sure that everyone was well fed and happy.

This is the type of person Jenny is, so it’s no surprise she found herself a man who complimented her in every way. A supportive, loving, endearing Anthony, who was clearly besotted with Jenny all day long. Before every click of the shutter, I had to make sure I had a few with Anthony looking at me – he was so mesmerised by his bride… it was really a beautiful thing to witness.

Jenny and Anthony (and your beautiful daughter Charlee): thank YOU for being such thoughtful, caring clients. It was such a pleasure to be there with you and celebrate you three on the most special day of your lives. I loved being a part of your families for a day and hearing everyone’s loving words about you both. I hope these photos help you relive the happy, beautiful, wonderful day! :) xoxo