Katrina and Lucas timed their destination Mount Lofty House wedding incredibly well – considering the unfortunate events due to COVID that started to kick off only days after their big day, and the fact that the majority of their guests, and themselves had travelled from Victoria to make use of this amazing wedding venue.
Despite the weather not being perfect, and some guests not being able to make it, the day was certainly not short of fun filled love, family moments and beautiful people celebrating the coming together of this lovely couple!
Preparation
I arrived early in the morning to set up the photobooth so it was ready for their reception, and also to fly around the grounds a bit with the drone for some speccy footage for their highlight video from the air. As I arrived I met Lucas and his groomsmen enjoying their breakfast and they all seemd to be in very good spirits – despite having to make the call of holding the ceremony indoors rather than on the tiered lawns as originally planned.
Lucas and his entourage were prepared together in a room overlooking the pool, while Lucas was putting the finishing touches on his speech, which the boys were giving him greif about as it was supposed to have been done days, or weeks prior!
groomsman shoes
groomsman looking in mirror
Suit hanging on door frame
groom shoes with booze
Belt laying on shoes
Helping put on shirt
best man helping
Groom looking out window at Mount Lofty House
Groom helping with tie
Little dudes
Groom and entourage
Katrina and her bridal party were being prepared in the Pinot Cottage. One of the many small, cute cottage residences you can take advantage of when being prepared for a Mount Lofty House wedding.
It was super lucky to have had Katrina’s parents in attendance on the day due to the SA border being closed soon after they had corssed, so it was delightful to see them with Katrina as she was prepared!
The atmosphere was very laid back until the last 15 minues or so before we all had to leave for the cermeony – then it got a little chaotic!
bridal shoes on the ground
Engagement ring in white flowers
Wedding dress hanging through doorway
Bridal ear rings
bridal bouquets
Helping put on bridal gown
Bride having her gown put on
Flower girl looking on
Dad’s first look of dress
Close up of bride hands
Bride putting on ear rings
Smiling father
bridal party fussing over bride
Smiling bride as she prepares
pretty bride standing in windowed area
Mount Lofty House Wedding Ceremony
As mentioned before, Katrina and Lucas’ Mount Lofty House wedding ceremony took place using the back up indoor option, within what usually is used as the restaurant of the hotel, or the dancing area during wedding receptions. It’s a beautifully lit area, with wall to wall windows and a delightful live fireplace at it’s centre. The only issue with the space is that it makes it tricky to get shots of the groom looking at his bride during the ceremony.
The ceremony itself was a lovely, simple affair with readings from members of Katrina and Lucas’ family, and the odd interruption by the little ones getting comfortable at the front of the congregation. 🙂
Page boy and flowergirl
Flower girls
page boys
bride and father approaching the ceremony
Groom smiling at his bride at Mount Lofty House wedding
Indoor Mount Lofty House wedding ceremony
Mum watching
Bride looking at her groom
Celebrant talking during ceremony
Bride looking at her groom during the ceremony
Speech giver during ceremony
Exchanging wedding bands
Mount Lofty House wedding ceremony
Rings on hands
Bride and groom walks back down the aisle
Glamour Photos
The weather cleared long enough for us to take the group shots out on the lawns withe drone, then broke off for smaller group shots in the garden. The weather was quite chilly so most were very keen not to have to stay outside for longer than absolutely needed! This included the bridal party.
My plan was not to stay outside for too long, with Katrina keen to not make a mess of her bridal gown and to avoid any rain as much as possible. So directly after the group shots we made a quick lap around the gardens, making use of the grenery on site, before heading inside to make use of the grand architecture on display within the historic Mount Lofty House.
Bride and groom under the trees of Mount Lofty House
Bride and groom in the gardens of Mount Lofty House
Sharing a giggle
Flowing veil in the gardens
Bride with her veil
Bridal party with the bride and groom in the background
Smiling bride and groom next to wall
Embrace on the walkway through the gardens
Groom helping bride
Bridal party in front of Mount Lofty House
bride and groom on the steps of Mount Lofty House
On the steps of Mount Lofty House
Groom smiling at bride in Mount Lofty House
Wedding photo in the Mount Lofty House cellars
groom and groomsmen
Wedding party photo in the Mount Lofty House Library
Groom
Mount Lofty House Wedding Photo
Mount Lofty House Wedding Reception
Katrina and Lucas’ Mount Lofty House wedding reception was a fun affair, with my photobooth set up, and plenty of activities planned throughout the evening – from speeches to the shoe game, the fact that we could not use the dancefloor outside of the bridal party was barely missed!
Mount Lofty House Wedding Reception
Bridal party entrance
Wedding cake
Husband and wife cutting their wedding cake
Shoe game fun
Kids having their own little dance
First dance dip
First dance closeup
Thanks so much to Katrina and Lucas for having my wife and myself with you to celebrate and capture your big day!
As a wedding photographer , a trend I’ve noticed in weddings I’ve covered over the years is that brides often say that they have their wedding dresses inspired by Disney Princesses. Now when you hear that statement it sounds fairly childish, but when you sit back and have a think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Disney movies are what we in western society are brought up on.
Their morals and stories are ingrained in our childhood minds and stay with us right through to adulthood. The Disney variants of the classic fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White have even replaced their original storylines in common knowledge. For example, did you know the original story of Notre Dame? written in 1831 would not suit a typical Disney movie… Far more death and adult scenes involved there..
Wedding dress
ANYWAY, modern brides are more often turning to dresses they have grown up and idolised in Disney movies. The most popular Disney princess wedding dresses by far from my experience as a wedding photographer has been Belle’s Ballroom dress she wears when first dancing with Adam aka the Beast.
I’m a huge Disney nerd, and in particular love the princess movies, so having a closer look into Disney Princess Wedding Dresses is an interesting topic to me! Obviously some of these Disney Princess Wedding Dresses arent actually their wedding dresses, but are just iconic dresses they happen to wear in their movies – but they are still interesting to look at.
Belle
Belle
I haven’t had the privilege yet of photographing a banana-yellow dress design 100% copying the style of the dress seen in the movie, but I have had more than one bride telling me they modelled their design on this disney princess dress. Little wonder why really; Belle featured in Beauty And the Beast, a film released in 1991, when then-7 year old girls would now be turning 30-35, or prime-average age to be married these days.
Otherwise Belle also follows a fairly relatable life for girls in modern society (as far as I can make of it anyway); always being called pretty and beautiful while also feeling slightly different on the inside due to her ‘nerdy’ habits of never having her nose in a book. She is romantically pursued by a handsome but arrogant hunter, in whom she shows no interest because of his conceitedness. Luckily she finds her perfect match in the Beast while trying to live for her family (saving her father) and avoiding the clutches of her sexist suitor.
Sounds pretty much like a typical parallel to a modern life of a growing woman. At least from what I’ve heard, I mean I haven’t lived the life of a growing woman… as I’m male; but it seems to me the attractive and intelligent girls out there like the Disney princess Belle out there live a similar life.
ie revelling in the popularity their beauty brings, but also feeling like an outcast due to their good grades, always the subject of an annoying or boorish guy’s affection and finally finding their ‘Beast’ of a groom to whom they will be married and live happily ever after.
I think? I don’t know, I’m just trying to dissect why Belle is such a popular choice in having wedding dresses inspired by Disney Princesses.
Cinderella
Cinderella
Cinderella of course is the archetype design of Disney princess wedding dresses, however quite different in personality to Belle’s. For example she is made a servant in her own home and is constantly tormented by her evil stepmother and two stepsisters. Quite different to the free range of lifestyle Belle enjoyed, while Cinderella is also shy and romantic, Belle on the other hand is quite extroverted.
One can see a parallel to modern life here, where by a bride could feel like they are made to be a servant at their work, or even family with little time to look for their ‘prince charming’. Suddenly through chance, or their ‘fairy god mother’ are granted a chance to meet someone and live happily ever after, despite making social faux-pas such as leaving their shoes all over the place…
Cinderella is not as popular a Disney princess in choosing her dress to mimic as a bride’s wedding dress. Possibly due to the age of the Disney film; it was released in 1950. I wonder if wedding photographers were having brides tell them about wedding dresses inspired by Disney princesses back in the 1970s? Quite likely I would assume.
Rapunzel & Elsa
elsa
It hasn’t been too common to have brides state they’ve drawn inspiration from more modern Disney Princesses like Elsa, Rapunzel or Anna, I mean the films were only released in 2010 and 2013. But I’m pretty sure that it’d be highly likely I’ll be hearing stories from future brides, perhaps in the next 10-15 years about how they’ve always wanted to have a dress like their favourite Disney Princess.
Particularly with the success Frozen and Tangled have enjoyed as the first two 3D Disney princess movies. Tangled was the highest grossing DVD of the year, and Frozen was the highest grossing animated film of all time, which is impressive considering the number of 3D animated films being produced these days. So look out for this type of dress in the near future!
The others
Wedding dress hanging At Alru Farm wedding
While there are some traditionally conservative designs still in the line up of Disney princess wedding dresses, one would be hard pressed to envision a dress inspired by Pocahontas, Jasmin, Esmerelda, Fa Mulan or Kida except on the most adventurous of brides. That isn’t to say that any bride who grew up idolising these Disney princesses wouldn’t look fantastic in their designs, it’s just that they aren’t traditionally wedding-type dresses.
Others though like Ariel’s from The Little Mermaid could possibly be overlooked as she isn’t often pictured in her wedding dress other than right at the end of the film, promptly followed by giant calamari-making by her prince..
Tiana from ‘The Princess and the Frog‘ might be a popular choice in the United States as its one of the few Disney princess movies even mentioning America. Besides her dress has a bit of an eccentric design, it’s nice, but a bit strange when compared to the more traditional shape.
Aurora (or Sleeping Beauty) is possibly not overly appealing as a dress design as she is pictured more often than not asleep. Pretty boring eh? Besides, who among you knew that her name was Aurora? I had to google it :/.
Finally, Snow White is probably too old fashioned, and Megara isn’t really a princess until she marries Hercules so she doesn’t really fit in this list anyway… Actually, neither is Fa Mulan.. huh. OR BELLE! oh dear there goes this whole article!
