Happy Monday Dotties! Did you have a lovely weekend? We are officially in winter so I am excited to expand my winter cooking repertoire!

I want to put the spotlight on the members of Ms Polka Dot’s Directory

Ms Polka Dot’s Directory is designed to be a one stop shop for your wedding vendors! Whether you need a cinematographer to capture your day in motion,  flowers to carry down the aisle,  entertainment to get your guests on the dance floor or a beautiful wedding cake to cut as your first sweet taste as newlyweds! We’re adding new and talented vendors every week and love sharing them with you!

I’m delighted to introduce Sydney photographers Inlighten Photography to you as this week’s vendor of the week! Inlighten Photography, founded by Dean and Rachael Bentick, has a classic, clean and elegant photographic style which makes each and every wedding a beautiful story to watch unfold. Their focus is on delivering simple yet stylish photographs with plenty of candid, beautiful moments.

We asked Rachael from Inlighten Photography five questions in five minutes –

What is your favourite after five drink?

Red wine, a relaxing reward at the end of a busy day.

Your favourite weekend getaway?

Beach haven bed and breakfast on Bundeena Beach. Hans and Maureen take such good care of you, and there’s a wonderfully relaxing Jacuzzi overlooking the beach to soak in with a glass of wine. Highly recommend!

Favourite restaurant?

Ooh, so many good ones, but two of my local favourites are La Grande Bouffe in Rozelle with to die for French cuisine. Or Blue Ginger in Balmain with it’s yummy Asian flavours. I highly recommend the Chilli Sambal prawns!

What can we find you eating for breakfast on a Sunday morning?

I love going to the park with the kids on a Sunday morning, we have a 2 year old and a 3 month old. So whatever is easiest to eat in your hands, like a bacon and egg roll – but most importantly COFFEE!

Your favourite wedding story? 

Am I allowed to say my own? My husband Dean and I own Inlighten Photography together, and he is the creative photographic genius, while I love to work with our clients to make their wedding photos and overall day perfect. And it seems to be a match made in heaven.  I’m originally from Bendigo in Victoria, and moved to Sydney to go to Uni.  This was 16 years ago when I was 18 and he was 20, and we actually met each other the very first day that I arrived in Sydney.  He was working behind a bar in Glebe, and I walked in with my boyfriend at the time who was heading back to Bendigo the next day.  We both got talking to Dean, who promised to get me a job there and jokingly told my boyfriend he’d take me care of me.  And well, he kept his promise. We got married in 2002 at a train station in Sydney called Mortuary Station, with the reception held on the platform of the station. As our guests walked onto the platform, an old 1930’s train pulled in, which had beautiful lounge cars that our guests could make themselves comfortable in and talk out the windows to their friends on the platform dance floor!  We had Drum Café bring 150 bongo drums for all of our guests to play together, to create the music for our bridal waltz.  And how did we pay for all this? Well, leading up to the wedding, I was lucky enough to go in the Tossers competition on the radio station Nova 96.9 where I had to risk my own car being crushed, or winning a new one, on the toss of a coin.  Luckily we won! And seeing as we didn’t need two cars, sold the new one to help pay for the wedding.  What a great day!

Visit Inlighten Photography’s page to find out more about our Vendor Of The Week. Inlighten Photography is a member of Ms Polka Dot’s Directory