Libby & Simon
Chateau Tanunda Wedding

Libby and Simon returned form their home in Texas, USA to celebrate their wedding day at the Chateau Tanunda with friends and family living in South Australia. Both their families were spread out around the globe, so it was wonderful to witness the coming together of these two lovely families 🙂 I was asked to be their wedding photographer for the majority of their day, seeing me at Libby’s place of preparation, through to the first dance at their reception.

Preparation

I was asked to start the day with Libby and her bridal party preparation at a nearby bed and breakfast in Tanunda. All morning there was the bustle of activity as each bridesmaid, flower girl and a few other family members all used the large, old cottage as a base of operations 🙂 The house featured a large, open lounge room, complete with a wonderful bay window, perfect for bridal preparation photos.

An interesting side not for the day was that I was contacted by Raw Cotton Collection, a clutch bag manufacturer based in Perth, through Instagram to give Libby and her flowergirls a free clutch and bags in exchange for some photos with the girls, was a fun little side note 🙂

Bride at front door

Flower Girl helping out

Flower Girl

Wedding Dress

Lacing up

Getting Ready

Bride and flower girl

Lacing up

Having fun in the veil

Flower Girl in Window

Engagement ring

Chateau Tanunda Wedding Ceremony

The Chateau Tanunda has been a feature of the Barossa Valley since the 1880s, being built near vineyards that were planted in 1840s, it’s a historic place that makes for a wonderful backdrop for a wedding! Libby and Simon’s wedding ceremony took place in a long, thin function hall/chapel on the far left of the Chateau which featured some wonderful wooden slat ceilings and large windows overlooking a grassy croquet field.

Wedding Ceremony

Holding hands together

Bride walking down aisle

Holding hands together

Bored flower girl

Chateau Tanunda Wedding

First Kiss

Chateau Tanunda

Groom’s First look

Holding hands together

At the altar

Hugs

Bride in Mirror

Flower girls

Glamour Photos

Directly after the ceremony, Libby, Simon and I escaped in their MG getaway car and used the surrounding beauty that is the Chateau Tanunda grounds. First making use of the picturesque driveway through the vineyards towards the Chateau, then behind the building in a small park situated beyond a disused train line. The sun was setting beautifully for some nice sun flare coming through the trees. We were also lucky enough to utilise the wine barrels in the large tasting room for the winery.

Happy groom

Driving toward Chateau Tanunda

Chateau Tanunda

Bride and Groom together in front of Chateau Tanunda

Ivy

Walking on the disused train line

Laughing couple

Getaway car

Together in the wine barrels

Flower girls running about

Walking through the trees

Doorway

Together in the trees

Kiss in the vines

Together in the sunset

Together in the wine barrels

Wedding rings on railway

Walking together

Running through the vines

Together in the trees

Chateau Tanunda Wedding Reception

The venue boasts a huge reception hall, big enough for Libby and Simon’s wedding reception guests twice over, which made the dance floor quite large! As it was a chilly night, being the beginning of May, their were plenty of gas-fired heaters throughout the room to keep guests warm.

Speech

First Dance

Mingling

Speech

Cutting the cake

First Dance

Chateau Tanunda Wedding Reception

Wedding Cake

Thank you so much Libby and Simon for having me be your wedding photographer, I hope you enjoy your photos! 😀

RUTH & JAMES
The Jade Wedding

Ruth and James held both their wedding ceremony and reception at The Jade pub in the city for a lovely night-time wedding in late April. I was recommended to them as their wedding photographer from one of the groomsmen at a wedding I covered in Darwin which is great as I know I’m doing something right! 🙂 So I was asked to capture their wedding photography for 3 hours, while Ruth and James also had my Photobooth set up for their reception.

Before the Wedding

Having arrived a little early to set up the photobooth, I was able to observe the setup of Ruth and James’ wedding. The whole area was set up with a lovely, simple vibe, complete with cheese platters and hanging fairy lights over the beer garden.

Smiling guests

Cheese

Smiling couple

The Jade’s stage

Bridal transport

Smiling guests

Wedding Cake

The Jade Wedding Ceremony

Ruth and James made use of the cozy live-music venue and beer garden just off to the side of the main bar at The Jade for their ceremony and party, and also held it fairly late, so the sun had well and truly gone by the time their ceremony took place. As a result, their entire wedding ceremony was artificially lit by stage lights. Made it a bit of a challenge to shoot and get natural skin tones – but I made it work! 😀 The virtual reality video I put together for them turned out great in this sort of setting!

Celebrant

Bridal entrance at The Jade

Vows

First kiss

Smiling groom

On the stage together

Holding hands

Celebrate

Together

Mobile phone

Glamour Photos

We had around 30-40 minutes to walk about for some glamour photos, as as it was well and truly night time, I made use of some of my portable lights, and any artificial lighting we could find – such as the lighting within the nearby carpark and the doorway of the church next door! 🙂 I was aiming for more of a different look at Ruth and Jame’s wedding to a more traditional setting, as the venue and backdrops I was working with certainly weren’t traditional! I particularly enjoyed shooting in the carpark, it made for some grungy, and very different wedding photos.

In the stairwell

Carpark

Arriving back

Kiss on the road

Church door

Carpark

Sign out the front

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Carpark

The Jade Wedding Reception

Ruth and James’ wedding reception was a laid back affair, with not too many speeches, more just mingling and enjoying the night, both in a leisurely fashion in the beer garden and on the dance floor. Food was served by chefs in a buffet style on a biug long table. There was more than enough food for everyone, and quite a mixture of cuisine too!