We are going down under and couldn’t be more excited. Having been a guest on the Sunrise show in Australia twice via satellite, we couldn’t let Sunrise host Samantha Armatage’s challenge to put our versatile wedding dress against the sands of Uluru. Our trip took an unbelievable amount of planning as we have our most aggressive schedule of shoots to date. They required a lot of help from locals and we’d like to both thank them in advance as well as give you a preview of what to expect.

Under Water in the Barrier Reef
After a difficult start trying to find a diving company to work with, it’s not like you can just show up with a wedding dress and expect understanding and cooperation with what we are trying to achieve, our inquiry was finally replied to when we reached out to Passions of Paradise. They totally got what we wanted to accomplish and agreed to help us above and more importantly below the water. Their marketing guy is going to dive with us and help us underwater.We are also going to attempt to shoot without Jennifer wearing a scuba tank. With Passions help and an amazing product called Spare Air we are going to try a combination of buddy diving and breathing from this life saving device. Spare Air will give us a few, depending on how deep we go, breaths without the need for a tank on Jennifer’s back. If all works as we plan, Jennifer will buddy dive down and when I am ready to shoot, we’ll use the spare air to keep Jennifer breathing in between shots!

We are also really psyched to be working with SeaLife Underwater cameras. After a lot of starts and stops investigating what we should use for underwater gear, I had all but given up until I stumbled upon Sealife. Amazingly, they are based 20 minutes from where we live and they are helping us ensure we get the shot perfect.

We want to thank our local dive shop that has been incredibly helpful with all aspects of our preparation. Arin couldn’t be kinder. If you are in the need to dive gear in South Jersey check out the Dive Shop!.

In a Wedding Chapel with a Koala, Cairns Tropical Zoo
No trip to Australia would be complete without a Koala Cuddle. Given the different state regulations, you can’t just do it anywhere, only in Queensland. We were fortunate enough to be in the right place with time to set up a shot. However, it’s not going to be just your stand there and pose ordeal. We scored hooking up with the Cairns Tropical Zoo. They have a wedding chapel where they are kind enough to let us pose with the soft, furry darling. Additionally, we are looking forward to highlighting the diversity of their zoo with shots of a wombat, cockatoos, and a komodo dragon.

Dining with the Sounds and Silence of Uluru
Who would have thought that taking a photo next to a rock, even one as grand as Uluru, would be so complicated. We are used to needing to get a permit for some photo shoots and assumed it would just be a simple form and payment. We were mistaken. I was actually warned not to contact the park service and just do whatever we wanted and ask for forgiveness later. That’s not our style and we reached out to the park service. While there are many restrictions due to respecting aboriginal culture and rights the park service put us in touch the PR person from the Voyages resorts and she worked out a great deal from us so that we can shoot from the Sounds and Silence dinner as well as shoot for Jennifer dancing with the Wakagetti Indigenous dance troupe and throwing a spear and boomerang.

Taking a Harley Ride Around Uluru
In addition to shooting from the resort, we were lucky to score shooting from a bunch of Harleys when we are given a ride from Uluru Motorcycle Tours. I am not quite sure how this one is going to go down, other than it’s going to be a lot of fun!

While we ultimately didn’t book with Uluru Travel, Pat couldn’t have been nicer to deal with and gave us some wonderful suggestions. If you plan a trip, definitely give Pat a shout out.

Walk on the Edge?
That’s exactly what we will do at the SkyWalk at the Sydney tower! It will be the first of a triple for the day as we try to get in as many Sydney shots before we appear on the Sunrise Show.

I’ve wanted to do a shoot at Madame Tussauds for a long time. The possibilities are simply endless. We’ve arranged for a visit and photo shoot with the many residents of  the museum.

Shark Tank has a different meaning than on ABC down under. Jennifer and the dress will be going underwater again in the Manly Sea Life Sanctuary’s Shark Tank. We are going to focus on the less fierce Sea Turtles for a great opportunity to get a photo of Jennifer, the dress, and wonderful Sea Turtles. Given their endangered status this is a wonderful way to get up close without distressing a wild animal.

After two visits via satellite, we are finally going to appear in studio!

Of course, we have more planned, but we’ll highlight those shots as we actually shoot them.