Botanic Park Wedding – Rose & Simon

November 26, 2019/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Rose & Simon
Botanic Park Wedding

Rose and Simon chose to hold their wedding in the wonderful surrounds of the Adelaide Botanic Park – right next to the gates of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The appeal of the Botanic park is that it’s wide and open, complete with magnificent Moreton Bay Fig trees that provide for marvellous backdrops to photos. It was a lovely sunny day, which unfortunately meant that plenty of other people had the same idea to head to the Botanic Park for picnics and family gatherings, but we worked around it as best we could 🙂

Preparation

Simon was being prepared in a room in the Holiday Inn Express Hotel, on Hindley street, which allowed us to go for a little walk once all the boys were dressed along Hindley and also the front of Parliament house for some photos. I think the walk was a little theraputic for Simon, to get over his nerves a little better, and loosen him up a bit for his big day 🙂

Wedding rings on shoes

Tieing tie

Tieing tie in front of window

Best man helping out

Putting on flowers

Groom and his groomsmen hanging out

Groom and groomsmen walking in Adelaide

Groom and groomsmen out the front of parliament house

Groom checking time in front of parliament house

Groom in front of Parliament house

Groom and groomsmen in doorway

Rose and her bridal party was being prepared at their house north of the city. When I arrived the first thing I saw was an enourmous cheese and finger food platter that I was amazed to hear that Rose had just ‘whipped up’ for the occasion. It was honestly very impressive! The atmosphere was fairly jovial, with not too many nerves showing, all the girls were in good spirits!

Engagement ring in bouquet

Wedding shoes

Wedding dress

Bride and bridesmaids in kimonos

Getting ready

bridesmaids

Bride getting ready

Bridesmaids helping out

Bridesmaids helping Bride out

Tieing up wedding dress

smiling bride

Bride almost ready

Bride looking pretty

Bride looking pretty walking out door

bride and bridesmaids together

Botanic Park Wedding Ceremony

Due to the fact that the Botanic Park had become a fairly popular spot on their day, unfortunately they had to make the snap decision to set up their ceremony in a different position so as to not get any picnicing families in the background of their photos. This also meant that the glaring sun was right in front of them for their whole ceremony, which wasnt ideal – but other than that their ceremony went off very well with Rose’s son walking her down the aisle and emotion showing on Simon’s face 🙂

Guests lining up for espresso martinis in Botanic Park

bridal motorcade

Bride arriving

Bridal approach

Groom looking on

Holding hands

Botanic Park wedding ceremony

Celebrant talking

Botanic Park wedding ceremony with trees in background

Botanic Park wedding

Vows

Listening to vows

Exchanging wedding rings

First kiss

Botanic Park Glamour Photos

Rose had unfortunately hurt her foot a few weeks prior to their wedding day so as it was encased in a moonboot under her dress, I was mindful of the fact that she wouldn’t want to walk too far for photos, so we made use of the Moreton Bay fig trees directly surrounding where they held their ceremony, and it also allowed Rose and Simon to maintain social contact with their guests while we were taking photos. The group family photos were also quite easy to organise because of this. We diddn’t spend too long walking about for photos – just enough time to grab a few nice shots before heading back to the expresso martini van they had set up for their guests! On the way back tot he Intercontinental Hotel for their wedding reception, we stopped off at the famed pillared walkway in the Adelaide University for a few photos there too.

bride and Groom in Botanic park

bouquet

Walking together near trees

Walking into the Botanic Park Trees

Adelaide Botanic Park tree

Surprise!

Together in a Botanic Park tree

Heads together

Bridal party in Botanic Park

Bride and bridesmaids in botanic Park tree

Groom and groomsmen in Botanic Park tree

Bridal party infront of motorcade

bride and groom at Adelaide University

bride and groom in Adelaide University

Holding one another

Intercontinental Hotel Wedding Reception

The main ballroom within the Adelaide Intercontinental Hotel was the setting for Rose and Simon’s opulent wedding reception, with an incredible vista set up for their huge wedding cake! Their head table was backdropped with a lovely white sheet sparkling with led lights, while their table settings were complete with a little bottle of port for each guest. With a live band playing, and a laid back atmosphere, the night was fun to be a part of and the jovial guests made my job easy 🙂

Intercontinental Hotel wedding table

Individual setup

Bride and groom standing in the Intercontinental Hotel

Bride and groom Intercontinental Hotel

Mr and Mrs

Wedding cake

Bride and groom entrance

Cutting the cake

Head table at the Intercontinental Hotel

Groom speech

First dance

Dancing guests

Dancing about

Guests

Dessert

Thanks go out to Rose and Simon for having me on their special day and I hope they enjoy their photos! Was a great day to be a part of 😀

Marriages Registration Office Wedding – Maryanne & Chris

November 12, 2019/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Maryanne & Chris
Marriages Registration Office Wedding

Maryanne and Chris were wed on a magnificently sunny day in mid October, making use of the Adelaide Marriages Registration Office as the backdrop for their ceremony. After which they had their photos along North Terrace before hosting their friends and family at an intimate backyard reception. I was asked to be their wedding photographer for the entire day while also putting together a short highlight video for them!

Preparation

I began the day at the couple’s house in Paralowie to grab some shots of the bridal affects before they were put on. I also followed Maryanne and her bridesmaids to a nearby salon where they had their hair and makeup done. Their backyard had been set up in preparation for the night’s shenanegans, decorated with West Ham United paraphenalia in homage to Chris’ affinity for the club, and of course other wedding decorations.

Bridal kimono

Bride standing in the light

little girl

Engagement ring

wedding shoes

Bride at the salon

bouquet

Bride looking pretty

Happy bride

Helping little girl

smirking bride

laughing bride

Inbetween the photos of Maryanne at the salon, and having her put on her wedding dress, I head across the highway to the Highway 1 Tourist Park for some shots of Chris and his groomsmen getting ready in a cabin there. Was a bit of fun where we made use of Chris’ affinity for Dragon Ball Z, and photoshopping some silly explosions behind the boys walking 🙂

Getting ready

Groom looking pensive

Groomsmen walking away from explosion

mens wedding shoes

tieing the tie

laughing groom

Groom getting ready

Groomsmen

ring on shoe

Marriages Registration Office Wedding Ceremony

The Adelaide Marriages Registration Office is located within a building on Grote street, just across from the end of the Adelaide Arcade. The ‘cahpel’ space where ceremonies are held is a dark little room off the the side of the building that serves as a simple, but functional space for small to medium weddings.

Maryanne and Chris’ ceremony was a short and simple affair, punctuated by a tearjerking moment where Maryanne’s wheelchair-bound gandfather walked her down the aisle.

Bride sneaking up on groom

bridal entrance

Bride helping pops up

Holding hands

Exchanging wedding rings

Marriages registration office wedding ceremony

Getting rings from best man

Marriages registration office

first kiss

Holding certificate in the Marriages registration office

Glamour Photos

The original plan after completing the Marriages Registration Office ceremony was to head down to the banks fo the Torrens to make use of the famed Eldar Park Rotunda for family photos, however as it was a Thursday wedding, traffic within the city was less than pleasant and many of the family had already head out for the Paralowie reception. As a result we changed plans on the fly and head to Bonython Hall and the other pretty buildings along North Terrace for photos. We also made use of a small park nearby Maryanne and Chris’ house.

Out the front of Bonython Hall

wedding couple out the front of Bonython Hall

Laying down together

Under trees

Out the front of Adelaide university

Bride and groom on north terrace

North terrace wedding shoot

Holding hands

Kisses

under the trees kissing

Bridal portrait

Backyard wedding reception

Maryanne and Chris held their wedding reception in the backyard, and had a caterer come in to provide a buffet style dinner and a photobooth in the corner to entertain their guests. The night was a quiet, intimate affair, complete with friendly banter and people having fun 🙂

guys enjoying themselves

shots

Drinking

grooms speech

listening bride

speech

groomsman speech

cake

close dancing

backyard first dance

West Ham wedding shirts

wedding cake

Thanks go out to Maryanne and Chris for having me as your wedding photographer!

Arkapena Station Wedding – Wilpenda Pound

November 6, 2019/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Arkapena Station Wedding
Wilpena Pound

Ok, this year has been absolutely crazy for some of the locations I’ve visted when covering weddings. So far this year I’ve covered a wedding in Greece, several in Darwin, and then of course some spectacular spots around Adelaide! But I’m going to have to say that Arkapena Station, right next to Wilpena Pound would have to be the most ‘remote’ and specatularly beautiful in a way that only outback Australia can be! I was super excited to head out this way as visiting Wilpena Pound had always been on my bucketlist as a keen landscape photographer, but never really had the chance or the reason to venture out there until now.

All that being said though, I’m sure you’re keen to see some amazing photos from this spectaular corner of South Australia, but the bride and groom has requested that no images that can identify them be placed online – which means that some of their amazing wedding photographs are not here. Oonly shots from behind their heads, or simply landscape shots of Arkapena Stations and the nearby Rawnsley Park Station, where they held their reception. Occasionally some couples I shoot have requests like this and I’m more than happy to oblige – it just means that many of their amazing photos I can’t show you guys! 🙁

Arkapena Station

The bride and groom generously put me up in accomodation along side many of their guests in the nearby Rawnsley Park Station, where they were also to hold their reception later that night. I began the day quite early as I was keen to get shots of the famous Cazneaux Tree at sunrise before heading to the Woolshed restaurant on site and had the most amazing ‘big breakfast’ and coffee for a very reasonable price. Sorry I dont usually write about what breakfast i had on the day of a wedding – but it was just too good not to mention! 🙂

The bride was being prepared across the road in the house on Arkapena Station, a short walk away from the ceremony location. The whole scene was backdropped by an amazing vista of the side of Wilpena Pound. Was an amazingly Australian setup, complete with dust, flies and jaw-dropping beauty. I ate at least 2 flies.

Wedding signs

Wedding shoes on tree

Bride getting ready

Wedding dress hanging in Arkapena Station

Bride getting ready in Arkapena station

Wedding Dress hanging infront of Wilpena Pound

Engagement ring

In order to cut down on nerves and make things a little more intimate, the bride and groom opted to have a bit of a family gathering out the back of the Arkapena Station homestead and have the first look surrounded by close family members. Another reason why they did this was that they were both going to arrive together via helicopter to the ceremony proper later on.

Before heading away on their helicopter flight though, we used the Arkapena Station scenery for a bit of a photoshoot.

Helicopter and homemade pinata

Helicopter taking off

Bride and groom walking along creek on Arkapena Station

Wilpena Pound from Arkapena Station

Bride and groom walking towards Wilpena Pound

Arkapena Station Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony location as I mentioned before was backdropped by the most gorgeous vista of Wilpena Pound, framed by giant gum trees that really made me think of Hans Heyson’s paintings – it was beautifully scenic and a joy to be a part of – the only draw back were the persistant flies… You wouldnt believe how many I had to photoshop out of their photos!

Wedding set up at Arkapena Station

After the ceremony, the entire congregation retired to the homestead for a short little ‘warm up’ reception complete with icecream van and plenty of refreshments to combat the heat. The bride had constructed a wonderful loveheart pinata for the kids, and the rest enjoyed their icecream and drinks surrounded by the wonderful views.

Arkapena Station from the sky

Arkapena Station Homestead

Rawnsley Park Station at Wilpena Pound

Inbetween heading from the Arkapena Station homestead, and the reception location at Rawnsley Park Station, we made the use of the setting sun a bit with more of the amazing scenery for some more landscapey photos.