Red Dirt & The Real Thing
Bush weddings are fantastically authentic and always challenging and this celebration was all of that and more. It was a 7 hour drive for me to get to ‘Sunnyside’, near Stonehenge south of Longreach, the family property of Cam’s parents Jim & Leonie (when I mentioned the travel to one of my Victorian colleagues this week she was gob smacked that that is considered pretty standard for QLD gigs lol)
Until the very end of the day the outback sky gives off an unforgiving glare that is incredibly difficult to shoot in, excessive contrast, blown highlights, hard shadows, washed images and other generally unflattering features are part of the deal. And the closer you get to central Aus the more pronounced this becomes! It wasn’t only the heat that had me sweating during the ceremony as I quietly freaked out about at the quality of the images I would deliver. So that’s the challenging bit!
For Susan & Cam, the decision to marry at Sunnyside was inspired by “being able to get married at home, and no restrictions on numbers, noise or fun! Something different to “normal” weddings and something that belonged to us.’ And this is where the fantastic and authentic bits were laid on in spades. The generosity and genuineness of both families and people of the bush in general, the months of work that went into creating the magical wedding site, the over arching incredible vibe.…so very amazing and appreciated. The flies and red dirt pervading all things living, or not, only adding to the authentic nature of the day! You will notice the flies in a couple of the images and here with post wedding shoes and battery charger before and after cleaning giving an indication of the work conditions 😁
Bulls Yarns Pay Off
Susan and Cam first met at the Longreach Club in 2011 with conversation straight away being fun and easy. They initially messaged each other “bull yarns” on Facebook and many things had to fall into place for them to end up together. And of course love always finds a way seeing Susan leave her Vet career to join Cam on his fencing line out in the desert country of South Australia which is where he proposed brandishing a ring out of #8 fencing wire. For Susan it was very unexpected prompting her to ask if he was being serious! Serious he was and after her tears of delight, in true Susan & Cam fashion, they then went on fencing, keeping the news to themselves for a week which made it even more special.
The newly wed Mr & Mrs Nunn are the archetypical salt of the earth. Generous, hard working and thoroughly decent, they will forge a wonderful like together and make a difference to a lot of people along the way. Of that I am certain.
More From The Bride & Groom
What Does Marriage Mean To You?
Love and loyalty, hanging with your best friend.
What do you love most about each other?
S: What I love most about Cam is that he is thoughtful and caring to me as well as all his friends, he loves our animals as much as I do (the sheep more I think!), puts up with my mood swings, he puts his whole heart into every job and task that we come up against, and he has a ridiculous sense of humour that can always make me laugh. He also gives the BEST hugs.
C: What do I love about Susan? Well the list is pretty long but I think the main ones are that she finds the good in people , has similar interests to me, puts up with me when I get cranky and I throw something across the flat, always has my back and probably the biggest thing Is she is just a good kind hearted person.
I'd love to hear one special memory of your courtship...what moment/day/event stands out for you?
C: About two weeks after Susan and I became an official couple I thought I better go see her where she lived down near Gatton. I flew into Brisbane where Susan was waiting for me, when I got off the plane I was walking towards Susan and at that stage I didn’t really know how to greet her. Was it going to be with a kiss or a hug or just a good old fashioned handshake, anyway I decided to go with a hug. Looking back I laugh how nervous I was.
How would you describe your day? How did you feel?
S: A fun, relaxed, happy day spent with all the important people in our lives. I expected to be nervous but I only felt excited. There were patches of emotion here and there with special people but overall just incredibly happy.
What was your favourite part of the wedding day?
S: actually cruising around with the bridal party getting photos done. All our best mates and the banter from the peanut gallery was priceless.
C: watching Susan walk down the aisle, getting emotional – and then the Best Man noticing and leaning in with a joke to lighten the mood.
Were there any surprises or honourable mentions you’d like to talk about?
Cam’s brother Peter’s unexpected emotion during his speech. That was very special.
How does it feel to be Mr & Mrs?!
Just like before, but even happier.
