Adelaide Botanic Garden Wedding – Sophie & Robert

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Preparation

When I arrived at Robert’s place of preparation, south of the city I was greeted by all the boys admiring Robert’s Mini, which was unfortunately so I gathered, sitting idle in the garage for quite some time – apparently it was one of those hobbies that Robert has , but not really done much with 🙂

The morning went smoothly with his groomsmen making sure no nerves were showing on Robert’s face and playful banter echoing throughout the house.

Sophie and her bridesmaids were being prepared quite a bit closer to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, in a room of the Mayfair hotel in the city. While the room was fairly cramped for around 10 people getting dressed and prepared for the wedding, we managed to all get ready in high spirits. Sophie, by her own admission later in the night was really feeling nervous throughout the morning so her bridal party did a great job in getting her looking fantastic for her big day!

I always love capturing the response of the parents, in this case Sophie’s father, in seeing the bride in her dress for the first time, so when Mum and Dad came into the room it was lovely to see the beaming smile light up Dad’s face as he saw her ready. The flower girls were flitting about being helpful in their own way but were not super keen on having photos done, except when asked and I think they turned out great 🙂

Adelaide Botanic Garden Wedding Ceremony

Sophie and Robert’s wedding ceremony in the Adelaide Botanic Garden took place in the spot known as ‘Araucaria Avenue‘, a delightful spot, lined by pine trees and on top of a hill which creates a sense of intimacy amongst the congregation. Later in the day, as Sophie and Robert’s ceremony was, the sun creates a delightful backdrop of light that filters directly through the trees behind where the arbour is usually setup. The trees surrounding the area also provides ample shade for the entire congregation on a sunny day, but the sun can cause annoyance for the bride trying to catch a glimpse of her groom as she walks on her approach to the altar 🙂

Sophie and Robert’s ceremony itself was sweet and to the point, punctuated by heartfelt and humorous vows to one another which made the otherwise formal occasion that much lighter, causing ripples of laughter from both the bride and groom, and their family and friends.

Glamour Photos

As the day was fairly warm – as you can expect from Summer weddings in Adelaide, I attempted to keep to shaded photo spots around the Adelaide Botanic Garden as possible, so once the ceremony and family photos were done, we set off south, directly towards North Terrace before working our way North through the gardens, taking our time, and enjoying the warm up sounds made by a nearby Adelaide Fringe concert that was also taking place within the gardens that night.

Just on a side note, I cannot write an overview of Sophie and Robert’s day without mentioning that I was super impressed by their organisational skills when it came to family photos! What they did was organise their friends and family into dozens of groups which were then given a number within their wedding program. When it was time to take the family photos, all I had to do was shout out the next number and that group came to the fore! Now of course those of you familiar with family photos at a wedding know that it never goes that smoothly, with family members wandering off, but I admired the effort!

Adelaide Botanic Garden Restaurant Wedding Reception

While I’m at the Adelaide Botanic Garden quite often for weddings, its always delightful to know that the reception is right in the center of it all, at the Botanic Garden Restaurant. Not in the least because they serve great food, but because of it’s exclusive location within the gardens, which are usually closed off to the public during the later hours of the night. which allows for some nice night photography. That said however, there was  Fringe concert also occurring at the same time as Sophie and Robert’s reception, so that exclusivity was non existent for their night.

The iconic restaurant boasts a delightfully vintage, round sitting area suitable for small to medium sized reception parties, while in Sophie and Robert’s case their dance floor was outside on the brick pavement.

I’d like to thank Sophie and Robert for having me cover their wedding photography and I hope they enjoy their photos! 🙂