Sian and Daniel

There are few places that take my breath away like being on Sydney Harbour- no matter how many times I see that famous bridge or the magic curves of the Sydney Opera House. I’m always taken aback and always like a tourist taking many, many photos of the grand icons. So today’s photographs of Sian and Daniel by Florent Vidal Photojournalist are such a beautiful nod to Sydney- and Australia.

Florent explains the concept behind the photographs. “After weeks of postponing the engagement shoot because of torrential rain, Daniel and Sian decided to take the plunge and go for it come rain or hail! Imagine our surprise when we woke up at 5am and the day was full of promise of a perfect blue sky.

It goes without saying that we Sydneysiders love our Opera House. In fact, it is almost a given that a couple would choose a spot for their wedding or engagement shoot where the Opera House serves as a backdrop. Come here on a weekend and you will see brides and grooms competing for the best spot to have their photo taken along with the tourists. Waking up at 5am was therefore a little sacrifice for us to see it in its most peaceful state with no one but us around. It was exciting to create images of this much photographed architecture that are not cliched, and to discover different angles that we don’t usually see even after having gazed at it many times. For about an hour, the Opera House became our playground. Sian and Daniel admitted that they felt a little bit daunted in the prospect of ‘having someone continuously taking photo of us’ . However after having seen the pics and looking back to it, they felt much more at ease and actually started looking forward to the wedding photos. “Florent  was marvelous. His warm and friendly persona and passion to get an original and artistic shot meant that we could just act naturally and ignore that he was taking photos of us”. It seems that this couple have an affinity with world’s famous architectures, having been actually engaged in front of another famous one, The Eiffel Tower. It was indeed a proposal that has all the hallmarks of a romantic getaway in the City of Lights or City of Love, whatever you prefer! Sian recalls, “Daniel had arranged a surprise (private) tour around Paris with a convertible Citroen 2CV and a French driver. The cute red car picked us up at the front of our hotel and drove us around the streets and narrow alleys of Paris – passing all of the famous landmarks, stunning buildings and tiny streets with boutiques and stylish, quaint restaurants. After a 2 hour tour (and me mentioning a few too many times that I was getting a bit hungry) – we pulled up at the Eiffel Tower. Took a few pictures and then Daniel got down on one knee and proposed ! Our driver then took us to a lovely French restaurant where I tried to eat a small entrée – but somehow, I was no longer hungry … and too busy smiling with complete joy’.”