Glenelg Wedding – Joanne & Gregor

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  • JOANNE & GREGOR

    Glenelg Wedding

    Glenelg sunset

Having a Glenelg Wedding would have to be one of the things may South Australians would have in common with one another, however Joanne and Gregor travelled half way around the world to have theirs! The loving couple flew out from Scotland to celebrate their wedding on the famous beachfront with local family and friends. They were incredibly lucky with the weather as only the previous day Adelaide and it’s surrounds were thrashed with terrible weather causing erosion and a lot of damage. Joanne and Gregor’s wedding however was blessed with some stunning weather, complete with an amazing sunset which we took advantage of for some great shots.

Preparation

As Joanne and Gregor opted to have me as their flexible hourly rate, I was able to visit Joanne getting prepared in the Oaks Plaza hotel on the northern side of the Jetty. The whole styling was all wonderfully Scottish, complete with thistle in her bouquet and her mother wearing a beautiful tartan sash.

Engagement ring in flowers
Bridal preparation
Bridal preparation
Flower girl
Wedding dress
Bride looking pretty
Bride and Mum smiling
Flower girl

Glenelg Wedding Ceremony

As the weather was wonderfully suited for it, Joanne and Gregor held their Glenelg wedding on the beach, just in front of Joanne’s hotel room in the Oaks Plaza Hotel. One downside of having your wedding on such a famous beach is, even during times of inclement weather, you have to keep shooing tourists out of your carefully laid out altar! The men involved with the wedding were all clad in stunning kilts and Joanne as led out by a piper. It was all wonderfully Scottish 🙂

Exchanging wedding rings
Beach wedding
Signing registry
Glenelg wedding
Groom seeing bride for first time
First kiss
After wedding
Beach wedding

Glamour shots

It wouldn’t be a Glenelg wedding without taking some shots along the famed coastline using the Jetty, which was exactly what we did. We headed over first to the Jetty, then to the public square. We then walked along the beachfront back up to the Glenelg marina before enjoying the reception in the Oaks Plaza Hotel.

Scottish salute
Bride and Groom
Bride and Groom in Glenelg
Glenelg beach walk
Bouquet
Bride and Groom in marina
Bride and groom on Glenelgs Jetty

During the reception we popped out to take advantage of the stellar sunset, and I’m so glad we did!

Glenelg sunset
Glenelg sunset
Glenelg wedding sunset

I’d like to thank Joanne and Gregor for having me as their wedding photographer at their wedding in Glenelg and I hope they enjoy their photos as mucha s I enjoyed producing them!

Brooklyn Farm Wedding – Tea & Michael

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  • Tea & Michael

    Brooklyn Farm Wedding

    Bride and groom on porch

Tea and Michael’s intimate wedding took place in the beautiful setting of Brooklyn Farm in Myponga, south of the city. The setting was one such place that I had been to before – in this case for another wedding as their photo booth, and had always wished to come back as the short coverage options to have me cover their wedding for 3 hours. This allowed me to take a few shots of their preparation, their ceremony under the magnificent Brooklyn Farm tree, and finally some glamour shots on site. I also stayed for a few minutes of their reception, which took place in the old barn next to the farmhouse.

Preparation

Both Tea and Michael were prepared in the on-site bed and breakfast house which was built for the film The Boys are Back and was referred to in the film as Joe’s House. The property itself had been first settled in approximately 1870 for general farming and grazing, but when approached by Sarah Abbey from Locations SA to use the property for filming, they were quite pleased to have the vintage-style house built. tea and Michael seemed quite laid back and tried to keep the whole wedding a secret to their guests up until the last minute, although I’m pretty sure many of the guests guessed it to be a wedding beforehand 🙂

Groom affects
Love
Bride looking out window
Bride getting ready
Bride standing out front
Groom getting ready
Engagement ring
Makeup
Wedding dress at Brooklyn farm

Brooklyn Farm Ceremony

The setting is incredibly picturesque and private which allows for some typically Australian wedding scenes. The ceremony took place under a gigantic gum tree across a small creek that flows through the property. As their wedding took place in August, the weather had not been very good leading up to the ceremony, but that allowed for some refreshing greenery and colours to show through in the background.

Wedding under tree
Wedding
Brooklyn Farm Tree
Wedding ring exchange
Wedding Speech
Groom
Signing documents
First Kiss
Mum hugging bride
Bride and groom

Glamour Shots

One thing that Brooklyn Farm is famous for as a wedding venue is what was their wonderful tree house that was built large and sturdy enough to hold a bridal party climbing up and down it. Unfortunately that bad weather I mentioned had destroyed it only weeks before Tea and Michael’s wedding. Regardless, the surrounding natural Australian landscape and the farmhouse provided ample locations for some stunning scenes.

Bride and groom through cherry blossoms
Leaning against a tree
Bride and groom smiling
Kissing under the Brooklyn Farm tree
Wedding rings
Bride and groom lightpainting
Bride and groom in Australian bush
Bride and groom walking through grass
Bride and groom smiling

I’d like to thank Tea and Michael for having me at their wonderfully intimate wedding at Brooklyn Farm, and I hope they like their photos as much as I liked taking them!

PeeWees at the Point Wedding – Darwin – Kathryn & Mark

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  • KATHRYN & MARK

    PeeWees at the Point Wedding – Darwin

    Darwin wedding trees

Kathryn and Mark’s Darwin PeeWees at the Point Wedding in Darwin was an absolute treat to cover. I was flown up to the Northern Territory and treated to an amazing 2 weeks of stunning weather perfectly suited to taking wedding sunset shots. Usually to get that sort of service from the sun you’d have to have to travel across the world, people spend tens of thousands to have a wedding in Hawaii for this one scene. I cannot stress how amazing the weather was on the day. Kathryn and Mark’s Darwin wedding was the first destination wedding I’ve and I very much hope there will be more! Apparently I was cheaper to fly me up and accommodate me, along with my usual wedding rates than hire a local wedding photographer in Darwin, which is great as I’d love to head back up there!

Preparation

Mark and his groomsmen were all prepared at a rental house in Coconut Grove, just north of the city. The atmosphere was laidback and fun to be a part of. All involved had known each other since high school. The camaraderie and mateship on display made this obvious.

Guitar man
Groomsmen shoes
Groom and groomsmen
Doing up tie
Groom’s affects
Groom in doorway
Groom

After an hour or so, I headed out to where Kathryn and her bridal party were getting prepared; an apartment in the Darwin CBD. Nerves were high as unfortunately a few small things were going wrong for them as they were getting prepared. From a local makeup shop being flooded to a rather unfortunate fire alarm going off and requiring us to evacuate the building while putting on makeup! It all made for an interesting time, but fortunately the girls were all keen to see it all through with a smile!

Dress reveal
Bridal party
Engagement ring in flowers
Bride on balcony
Bridal shoes
Bride getting ready
Bridal party selfie
Bridesmaids

PeeWees at the Point wedding ceremony

Kathryn and Mark’s Darwin wedding took place at the picturesque Pee Wee’s at the point function center. The location boasts a large grassy area overlooking the bay where their wedding ceremony took place, while it also played host to the reception later in the night. If a plan B is needed due to bad weather, Pee Wee’s also has a large dining area. The Location is surrounded by lush parklands and nature reserve, so the entire setting is wonderfully private and intimate.

Bridal party
Ball and chain
Darwin wedding at PeeWee’s
After the wedding ceremony
Bride arriving
Groom waiting for his bride
Bride reading
Bride and Father walking down ailse
Exchanging wedding rings
Groom seeing bride
Groom looking happy
Flowers decoration

Glamour photos

As I said earlier, the weather on Kathryn and Mark’s wedding day was phenomenal, and with the amazing Darwin sun beating down on us, it made for an amazing opportunity to make use of it’s wonderful golden glow. We first head down to an area sandwiched between the George Brown Darwin botanic park and the Garden’s Park golf links to use some wonderfully gnarly trees. Then headed back up to Fannie Bay to make sue of the sunsetting over the bay. If we were shooting a similar scene in a place like Hawaii you’d have to compete with dozens of other newlyweds and their photographer trying to get the same shot. In Darwin, the scene is next to deserted, was amazing.

Bride and Groom under trees
Album cover
Bride and Groom under trees
Bride and Groom under trees
Darwin wedding trees
Bridal party having fun
Groom fishing
Bride and groom on beach
Groomsmen playing marksup
Bride and groom
Bride and Groom under trees

PeeWees at the Point wedding reception

As darkness was approaching we head back up to Pee Wee’s for the reception. Despite it being in the middle of winter, the night was still and warm, perfect for a reception that took place on the open grass. The whole setting was beautiful.

Dancefloor
Dancefloor
First dance
Feeding each other cake
Bride and groom speech
Bridal entrance
Bouquet toss
Speech

The entire night was a joy to e a part of, and I’d very might like to thank Mark and Kathryn for having me shoot their Darwin wedding, despite being an wedding photographer. If there are any other Darwinites out there looking for a photographer up there though, I’d jump at the opportunity! 😉

Bride and groom in lightpainting

Why are wedding gowns white? A History

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Wedding dress hanging in green trees

Why are wedding gowns white?

It is perhaps the most iconic scene from any wedding day, the white wedding dress adorning the beaming bride. But why are wedding gowns white? And why do brides wear white? There is a huge number reasons, not in the least the fact that white is the brightest of colours, further enhancing the bride’s visibility on her big day, but it’s a tradition that has evolved over hundreds of years for a variety of reasons.

Alru Farm wedding bride

Why are wedding gowns white?

To be perfectly pedantic, the traditional colour of a modern white dress isn’t actually white, it’s more “Candlelight,” “Ivory,” “Ecru” or “Frost” when putting my graphic designer hat on.. But to the common layman, they all look like a white wedding dress, right? Anyway, the answer to the question of why are wedding dresses white all has to do with the popularity of some people who happened to wear white on their wedding day, and as a species who like to copy our idols, the fashion caught on and became tradition.

Victoria Albert Wedding

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria of England who reigned from 1837-1901 was the first to make white wedding dresses fashionable by wearing a pale gown trimmed in orange blossoms for her 1840 wedding to her first cousin, Prince Albert. Naturally, because she was the queen and the center of all things high society at the time, whatever she wore, everyone tried to copy.

Kind of like how it is now with everything Kate Middleton, or any red carpet celebrity wears being reported on. As a bit of a side note here, Anne of Brittany also made white wedding dresses popular all the way back in 1499, believing that white was a symbol of virginity – despite being married once before. Royal brides also chose white as it was the most difficult solour to achieve using the washing methods of the day.

Before modern wedding gowns were made to be white by Queen Victoria’s wedding, it was quite common for wedding gowns to be any colour. In biblical times, blue (not white) represented purity, and the bride and groom would wear a blue band around the bottom of their wedding attire, contributing to the poem of ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something BLUE’.

Blue wedding dress

The Traditional Colour used to be Blue!

Generally though, before Queen Victoria made it a tradition to wear a white wedding gown as a bride, the most common item of clothing a bride would wear was simply what her favourite, or best garment she had available to her and could be any color, even black. To convince her groom that she came from a wealthy family, brides would also pile on layers of fur, silk and velvet.

This was partly due to the fact that the more layers of clothing one wore meant the less body odor people were able to smell, being that bathing was not something people did often in those days.

In Modern times

Today though, the answer to the question of ‘why are wedding gowns white?’ seems to be primarily because in modern society the colour symbolises innocence, purity and certainly makes the bride stand out in a crowd, like the princess she’s made out to be on her wedding day. It may also be just ‘because’, as that’s what everyone else does right? It’s tradition! 🙂

Everything on a wedding day has some sort of roots in tradition, some going back thousands of years – others being quite a modern occurance. The fact is that the answer to the question ‘why are wedding gowns white?’ is simply because people today associate this with brides and this hasn’t changed since 1840. Perhaps in another 200 years, wedding dresses may be purple? Who knows?