The Manor Basket Range Wedding – Kate & John
It was such a joy to head back out for a big wedding after having South Australian COVID restrictions ease for weddings! I saw myself at The Manor Basket Range, a majestic wedding venue for Kate and Josh’s wedding on a stunningly sunny day; despite it still being winter!
it was a super fun day to be a part of, and I even met some long lost relatives as it turned out I was actually related to half of the guests somehow! Adelaide is such a small city, and it’s so much fun to meet people and head to weddings because of it!
Preparation
The day turned out to be a fairly long one for me, with Kate and her girls requesting I first meet them in Hahndorf while they were having their hair and makeup done early in the morning! Which was fine, it just emant I had to get up ealier 😛
I then head on over tot he bed and breakfast that John and his groomsmen were getting ready. I Unfortuately put my foot in it in the mornign and called John ‘Josh’ so much in the mornign that the boys just ran with it for the rest of the day as they found it pretty funny 😛 Sorry John!
The boys were all pretty laid back, having had a bit of a board game night the night before, and leasurely got ready – until it was time to put on their ties that is. Only one of them knew how to properly tie a tie so that took up most of the time I was there 🙂
The bed and breakfast boardered a farm with some llamas and featured a cubby house which we very much took advantage of.
Once the girls had had their hair and makeup done in Hahndorf, they made their way to the Manor to put on their dresses and take a few shots helping Kate get into her wedding dress.
I made sure to make use of the amazing huge chandelier in the entrance lobby to the Manor to really put a bit of medieval flair to their preparation photos, as after all they were getting ready in a castle! Fun tidbit, the last time I was at a The Manor Basket range wedding was back when it was called Camelot castle.
The girsl got ready without much fuss, and made a point of having Kate’s Dad come in for a bit of a father daughter ‘first look’ as he had not seen his daugher in her wedding dress prior to the day. It’s always a lovely moment to share!
The Manor Basket Range Wedding Ceremony
As a mentioned earlier, The Manor was once called ‘Camelot Castle’ due to the fact that it’s built in the image of a medieval castle, complete with a small stone chaple, snuggled amongst a garden and tall battlements along the top of the manor. In front of the chapel is usually where wedding ceremonies are held, and Kate and John’s was no exception.
One exceptional thing about Kate and John’s The Manor Basket Range wedding ceremony though was Kate’s surprise entrance flanked by 5 medieval knights in full battle armour! Apparently there were supposed to be 6, but one could not make it. They took up position behind the bridal party during the ceremony and formed a guard of hnour as it ended.
Another highlight of Kate and John’s ceremony was their hand fasting, which culminated quite cleverly in a ceremonial ‘tying of the knot‘ to mark their union.
Medieval Tournament
Directly after the ceremony, the knights that formed an honour guard around Kate and John headed towards the grassy area in front of the Manor Basket range’s accomodation area to conduct a short tournament.
Kate was asked to select her ‘champion’ knight and attach her colours in the form of a handkerchief around the arm of her selected knight as what would have happened back in medieval times had a noble woman been watching. In this case it was the bride – the most important lady on the day!
It was a really neat spectical to witness, with the knights from Ironclad Academy really going at it and hitting each other wish some force! They were also really neat sporta about having photos with the bridal party and guests, and I even managed to get in for a shot!
As Kate and John had a bit of a Harry Potter theme going on in their reception, I also phtooshopped a bit of a cheesy Harry Potter photo where they were fending off the knights with magic. Bit silly 😛
Glamour Photos
We then had some time to meander around the grounds and used the grounds to take some wonderful glamour phtoos of Kate, John and their bridal party.
The best time to take The Manor Bastket range wedding photos I found was certainly towards the end of the day, particularly as it was such a sunny day! The sun hides behind the nearby hills nicely to create quite a magical aura around the grounds to make some beautiful photos!
I also coerced Kate and John outside during their reception to make use fo the unique architecture the Manor offers!
The Manor Basket Range Wedding Reception
As the the COVID restirctions had eased before Kate and John’s wedding in South Australia, there were still plenty of rules to follow so that we minimised the risk of potentially spreading an infection. This included the banning of dancing on the dance floor, and drinking while standing throughout the night.
That being said though, I felt as though all of the guests respected these restrictions and really had a blast of a time anyway! The night really was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed my first large wedding back immensely!
Thanks so much to Kate and John for having me photograph your The Manor Basket Range wedding! Hope you enjoy your photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!
