It had been a while since I covered a wedding at the picturesque SC Pannell winery, so when Anna and Josh asked me to be their wedding photographer, I was quite excited! The day turned out to be a wonderful day, complete with a stunning sun set showering golden light right across the SC Pannell vineyards to top off such a wonderful day.
Preparation
The day started with Josh and his boys. Both myself and my wife as my second photographer attended the boy’s place of preparation and were quite surprised at the boy’s eagerness to get into their suits! Everyone except Josh had already been dressed in their finery before sitting down for their lunch! Such was the excitement in the house, there was a real buzz of joy in the place.
After greeting the boys, I left them for the girls who were being prepared around the corner from SC Pannell, in a bed and breakfast in Port Willunga. Unlike the boys, the girls weren’t as fussed with getting dressed too quickly, and the atmosphere was much more laid back, enjoying a few sips of wine and playing with the flower girl who was running about the place enjoying the attention. I had a bit more time with the girls, so after having some photos taken inside, having makeup put on and putting on dresses, we went for a little walk down the road to use the wonderful natural light gleaming in over the sea.
SC Pannell Winery Wedding Ceremony
The SC Pannell Winery is located just out of Mclaren Vale in a prime position to benefit from rolling hills covered in vineyards in all directions and is a wonderful spot to make use of a sunset. The winery itself I heard were actually not taking any more wedding booking after Anna and Josh’s, due to undergoing renovations on their function room. So I’d love to hear any news about this if anyone out there knows?
SC Pannell Winery was established as a wedding venue in 2014 when their new base of operations were relocated to Olivers road in Mclaren Vale. The winery boasts a large grassy area to hold a wedding ceremony with vineyards at it’s back, and a large function room that can be opened to the elements if the weather permits for receptions.
Glamour Photos
The weather became a little windy as Anna and Josh’s ceremony began which forced me to ground my drone for the group photos after, but the wind whipped up some stunning clouds that made the sunlight bounce around beautifully. It was a lot of fun to shoot! We walked up and down the entrance driveway to the cellar door, and had a waltz around the back vineyard to make use of the magnificent rolling hills on display.
SC Pannell Wedding Reception
The reception hall at SC Pannell is a big open area that has the option of closing off it’s open walls with large weather-proof canvass. In Anna and Josh’s case, the weather was starting to get rather chilly at night, so they were closed and the heaters turned on. The atmosphere was comfortable and fun, with everyone itching to get onto the dancefloor all night, even to the point that the DJ had to force everyone off for the first dance! The single ladies got right into the bouquet toss, and the men really had a go with the garter too, the entire night was an absolute blast to be a part of!
A great big thank you for Anna and Josh for having me as their wedding photographer and I very much hope they enjoy their photos! 😀
The Wedding Shoe Game!
One of the most prevalent and interactive games that’s bound to put a smile on your wedding guest’s faces at your wedding reception is the Wedding Shoe Game. As a wedding photographer, I’ve come across quite a few different little fun games the bride and groom can play with their guests, or for their guest’s amusement, and the Wedding Shoe Game is one of my favourites!
How to play the Wedding Shoe Game
Basically, the idea of this fun game is to make your guests laugh at your antics as you answer wedding shoe game questions about your relationship together, and to see if you both have the same answer to questions that you ‘should’ have the same answers to 🙂 For example, a common wedding shoe game question might be “Who of you said ‘I love you’ first?”. Now if both the bride and the groom were paying attention to their relationship, one would assume both would answer the same – but this is where the fun comes in as sometimes answers differ.
The reason why it’s called the ‘Wedding Shoe Game’ is because in order to play, both the bride and groom sit on two chairs back to back from each other – usually in the middle of the dance floor – and take off their shoes. They then trade one of their shoes for their partner’s shoes so that each has one of the groom’s shoes and each has one of the bride’s.
The MC, or whomever, then reads out a list of questions about the couple’s relationship. In order to answer, the bride and groom holds up one of the shoes – if the answer in their mind is the groom, then they hold up the groom’s shoe, if the answer is the bride, then the bride’s shoe. Hilarity ensues when they both hold up different shoes as neither of them know what the other’s answer is.
Sample Wedding Shoe Game Questions
The great thing about the Wedding Shoe Game is that you are able to customise the questions that are asked based on the bride and groom’s personality and interests. There are the usual overarching questions such as the ones below, but say for example the bride and groom used to play against each other in Table Tennis; perhaps one of the questions might be ‘who is better at table tennis?’
The idea is to keep the questions not too serious, but light and fun, also it might be an idea to narrow the list down to around 20 questions, just so the game doesn’t take all night.Whose idea was it to play this game?
- Who said “I love you” first?
- Who is more romantic?
- Who is a better dancer?
- Who is the most organized?
- Who has the most clothes?
- Who has the most shoes?
- Who spends more time on Facebook?
- Who spends more time on Instagram?
- Who eats the most junk food?
- Who will fall asleep first tonight?
- Who is the better driver?
- Who calls their parents the most?
- Who will pay the bills?
- Who will wake up first?
- Who works out more?
- Whose friends will be over more?
- Who buys the best gifts?
- Who is more likely to be running late?
- Who is in better shape?
- Who is a better dresser?
- Who has more shoes?
- Who spends more money?
- Who will be doing the grocery shopping?
- Who has the best taste in (anything)?
- Who is more likely to get a traffic ticket?
- Who will be doing the laundry?
- Who has the crazier family?
- Who is the biggest baby?
- Who is the loudest?
- Who has the smelliest feet?
- Who did more of the wedding planning?
- Who planned the honeymoon?
- Who is the better shower singer?
- Who has the better shower singing voice?
- Who has a better fashion sense?
- Who eats healthier?
- Who has a better taste in music?
- Who wears the pants in the relationship?
- Who is the better kisser?
- Who is the bigger party animal?
- Who will be making dinner every night?
- Who always replaces the toilet paper roll?
- Who chooses where you eat for dinner?
- Who is the better cook?
- Who got better grades in school?
- Who has a bigger butt?
- Who usually falls asleep first?
- Who plans the best date nights?
- Who tells the best jokes?
- Who has the better hair?
- Who made the first move?
- Who is better at keeping secrets?
- Who is the messiest?
- Who would drive on a road trip?
- Who remembers family and friends’ birthdays?
- Who will squeeze the toothpaste from the middle of the tube?
- Who will make the bed?
- Who loses things the most?
- Who will make the coffee in the morning?
- Who has had more car accidents?
- Who is better at sports?
- Who is more creative?
- Who watches the most tv?
- Who is more likely to kill a spider?
- Who mows the lawn?
- Who wants a baby first?
- Who will pick your next vacation spot?
- Who will clean the house?
- Who will use up all the hot water?
- Who always knows what time it is?
- Who will determine the next car you buy?
- Who has the craziest family?
And of course the last wedding shoe game question that should be asked is
- Who loves the other more?
Alsways gets a bit of an ‘awwww’ from the guests!
It’s a great game to play to break up the evening, and there are tonnes more silly little games that people have thought up over the years, but if you’re looking for a sure winner that will make people laugh, try the Wedding Shoe Game!
Sinclairs Gully Wedding – Jessica & Adam
Sinclairs Gully winery is the type of venue you just have to jump at the opportunity to shoot a wedding at, which is exactly what happened when Jessica and Adam asked me to be their Adelaide Hills wedding photographer. In order to cater to their short wedding plans, they asked to use my engagement shoot rate to cover their wedding for only 90 minutes which was enough time to photograph their ceremony and a few glamour shots after.
They held their wedding a little later in the day so by the time their ceremony was scheduled, the sun was already fading, and the overcast skies weren’t helping either. However this kind of light is pretty much perfect for photography so I was having a blast 🙂
Before the wedding
As usual I was on site at Sinclairs Gully early, in fact only Adam and his groomsmen were there putting the finishing touches on the venue. So I wandered about taking photos of all their personal touches and the boys helping calm the nerves of Adam. Once the girls arrived I was able to take a few shots of them together with their adorable VW van.
Sinclairs Gully wedding ceremony
Sinclairs Gully is a winery hidden away in Norton Summit, and when you’re there it feels as though you’d only even know about the place if you already knew it was there. The incredible privacy the venue provides due to the lush Australian bushland is perfect for an intimate wedding ceremony such as Jessica and Adam’s. The bushland provides for beautiful bokeh when used as a backdrop to wedding photos and it really is just beautiful. There’s even a Australian animal reserve on site too!
Jessica and Adam’s wedding ceremony took place in a small clearing situated at the foot of the Sinclairs Gully winery carpark, so the setting was completely surrounded by gum trees and scrubland. During their ceremony they held a time capsule ceremony where they placed a bottle of Sinclairs Gully wine into a home-made timecapsule, along with love letters to one another only to be opened on their 10th anniversary. It’s a lovely gesture and a fun thing to put on display in their home.
Sinclairs Gully Wedding Glamour Photos
After the ceremony and family photos, we had around 30 minutes for some glamour photos around the winery grounds. It was quite an easy task to create something epic and eye catching as the surrounds just simply lends itself well to the task. I was really looking forward to getting around to editing this wedding as I knew some of the shots I took were absolutely stunning!
I had an amazing time capturing Jessica and Adam’s Sinclairs Gully wedding, despite the short coverage. The wedding was filled with love, happiness, and unforgettable moments that I was honored to witness and photograph. It was a pleasure to be a part of their special day and to create images that will serve as treasured memories for years to come.
I hope that when Jessica and Adam look back at the photos, they will be transported back to the joyous atmosphere of their wedding day and relive the love and happiness they shared. It was a privilege to document their love story and to provide them with visual keepsakes that will last a lifetime.
Once again, thank you to Jessica and Adam for choosing me to capture their special day. I am grateful for the opportunity and wish them a lifetime of love and happiness together.