A Romantic Australian Beach Engagement

Hannah Grace + Matias

When one of your best friends tells you she's getting married and asks you to be her bridesmaid, you say yes. You fly across the world to do so. Even if it’s 10,144 miles away, 24+ hours of travel time and in a different time zone. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about the people you have in this lifetime.

For me, “my people” are the top priority, the ones I hold closest to my heart. So when Hannah announced she was going to get married in Australia to her fiancé, Matias, I immediately knew I wanted to be there to support them both. (Fun Fact: I knew them both separately before they started dating!! So seeing them together like this still feels so surreal.) This was even before I knew she planned to ask me to be apart of her big day. Let me tell you that I had a lot of happy tears when she did. It had been over a year since I'd last seen either of them, let alone together, and I couldn't wait to spend the next two weeks exploring and full soaking up our time together. Let’s just say my camera came everywhere with me —(check out my instagram to see my personal endeavors @kamrynm13).

Ticket booked. I planned to stay for about two and a half weeks. When the time came, the journey wasn't exactly seamless lol. I faced a flight delay, a full day stuck in LA, a 16 hr flight, a mishap with my rental on top of driving on the opposite side of the road in Australias biggest city, and little to no sleep while adjusting to a new time zone. But, it was OH SO WORTH IT!

Once leaving the city, the view takes your breath away. Driving the picturesque roads that looked like a scene straight out of jurassic park. The lush greenery, high hills and vast landscapes. It's a bucket list of views. I was so excited to have the opportunity to capture the beauty surrounding me.

But the thing that brought me the most joy in capturing, was Hannah + Matias.

—North Haven Beach in NSW.

My favorite beach in the world, no seriously. Given the choice to go to the beach or the mountains, I'll choose the mountains every time. But this beach? THIS BEACH. I'd choose it over and over again. (If you ever decide to visit, make sure to visit Beach Break Cafe and enjoy lunch + a latte while and watch the waves crash).

We showed up for couple hours on an over cast day— and it was PURE MAGIC. We took time to body surf the waves, lounge on the beach and catch up in what felt like forever. Then we got to work. They made it easy, with minimal prompting needed. They tuned everything else out and tuned into each other.

Their love is indescribable. Their love is authentic, stretching and bending with the ebbs and flows like the ocean itself. Falling in love right before the pandemic they, made a long distance relationship work--from Nova Scotia to Australia-- but allowed it to flourish. Like the current in those North Haven waves, their bond was strong and unbreakable. It’s evident in the glints of their smiles the twinkle in their eyes and the reliability of their actions. Their love is raw and intentional.

I hope I captured their love through the lens of my camera the way I’ve viewed it through the lens of my life.