Ivy & Bleu and Lee Calleja Thomas Photography

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A COLLABORATION OF CREATIVE MINDS, ALL FOR SHOWCASING LOVE.

Magic happens when a pair of creatives merge to produce the dream day for a happy couple.

Ivy & Bleu and Lee Calleja Thomas Photography fell in love with their creative practices early on and have both become experts in their field, now joining forces to create a powerhouse of professional wedding services.

Ivy & Bleu: Ivy & Bleu is an all-rounder event and wedding planning business that began in 2011, but for its founder, Amanda Turner (Mandi) it seems to be a job she was destined for. “From a young age, I had always shown a talent and interest (aka a little bit of an obsession) in the planning and organisation of any event that crossed my path.”

Since then, Ivy & Bleu has grown to be a company that believes in “creating trends rather than following them” and loves to push the boundaries in the services they offer: styling, planning, hire and floristry. This means that Ivy & Bleu can be involved in your whole wedding process, right from choosing a venue through to ensuring picture-perfect details on the day. These services are available individually, but Mandi says, “We find having the ability to offer all these things under the one umbrella saves both time and money for our clientele and also ensures the overall aesthetic and streamlined running of the day is consistent and stress free.” Looking forward, Mandi says, “I would love to see Ivy & Bleu continue to build its reputation in the industry for beautiful, organic styling and florals.” Their aim is to keep on offering high quality services for all aspects of the wedding, and love to provide couples with “exactly what they had envisioned.”

Lee Calleja Thomas Photography: Lee fell in love with photography at a young age, when she first started playing with her dad’s Pentax K1000, taking photos of him working around the house. She says, “Even then I think I understood I was capturing a moment in time.” The first shoot Lee ever did was at aged 12. It involved taking pictures of her best friend, with big 80s hair and a DIY lighting studio complete with candles, lamps and foil reflectors. The darkroom was, of course, her laundry.

It was only through TAFE and assistant work in Melbourne that Lee was able to really develop her skills as a professional photographer. “When I realised that I could combine my love for photojournalism and interest in people, and capture real life and raw emotion on couples’ wedding days (Is it wrong to say I love to see a guy tear up?), that’s when I knew wedding photography was my calling.” Her signature style of photography is self-described as, “Natural and candid with a fashion edge wherever possible,” and she has a couple of loving words of advice for those preparing for their special day— “To all the brides out there … let yourself enjoy all the moments leading up to your wedding day; enjoy the planning, make it a special journey of shared time with your loved ones (like trying on the dress) and don’t let anything stress you out on the day … it will work out. It’s really about the two of you at the end of the day, and of course make sure you plan your day so that your photographer gets the best available light to capture those precious photos of you and your new hubby. For us, it’s all about the light.”

Carly Tia

Credits

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