On June 21st 2008 my sister, Rachael, married her husband, Darren — and I was given the great honour of photographing their wedding. Today, following months of getting to grips with Apple’s Aperture 2 and Adobe’s Photoshop CS3, I am delighted to present a selection of my favourite photographs from that day.

All photos were taken with my Nikon D80 DSLR camera. The lenses used were the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D and the Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 AF-S DX. I also used the Nikon Speedlight SB-600 flash unit both on-camera and as a remote slave. I shot exclusively in RAW and post-processed all photos with Aperture on my Apple Power Mac G5. A handful of photos were further processed in Photoshop for various effects. Click any photograph to view an enlargement.

We begin with the obligatory portrait of Rachael taken once the hairdresser had finished doing her thing. Doesn’t she look gorgeous?

I absolutely love this shot. A candid portrait of Rachael taken during an unguarded moment. I think she looks stunning here but, of course, I’m biased — she’s my baby sister after all!

Darren and Rachael hired an enormous stretched Hummer limousine for the event. Rachael hit the champagne once we got under way (and I could tell that she really enjoyed it too).

Another portrait of the beautiful bride, an entirely unposed one too.

Rachael walks down the aisle on the arm of her stepfather, Terry. He looked so proud that day!

Darren and Rachael make their vows. The wedding was a civil service but nonetheless this was a special moment and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Rachael signs the register with Darren by her side. Along with converting this shot to black & white, I also added the vignetting and grain with the Totally Rad! Action Mix in Photoshop.

Another portrait of Rachael and the wedding register. Again I’ve applied some effects with the Totally Rad! Action Mix.

Darren and Rachael are finally man and wife. Here they are walking down the aisle as they make their way to the wedding reception. I converted this shot to black & white and bumped up the contrast for added impact.

The bride and groom look lovingly into each other’s eyes. You only have to spend a short time in Darren and Rachael’s company to see the depth of love they share. For my part, I’m delighted to see my sister so happily married and I will never forget the priviledge of sharing that special day with her and her husband.

I wish you both the very best for your future life together and I look forward to celebrating many happy anniversaries with the two of you.