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Thorngrove Manor engagement shoot – Rya & Evan

It was quite an exciting time when Rya contacted me from Indonesia asking me to shoot her engagement shoot as she was coming out to Adelaide specifically to use the Autumn colours around the Thorngrove Manor for her engagement shoot. I had never shot there before, but I had seen it’s beauty in the past through other wedding photographer colleagues in the AIPP. Rya was quite keen on having a castle-style photo shoot and chose the Thorngrove Manor as her ideal location. She also originally planned to go on a whirlwind tour of Adelaide, shooting at the Manor, Mt Lofty Botanic Park, then head up to Cleland nature preserve to hug a kangaroo, and also head into the city to use Veal Gardens and North Terrace, all within 3 hours. We ended up only going to two of these locations, but I think they turned out great!

Thorngrove Manor Shoot

The Thorngrove Manor is a small luxury hotel located amongst the side streets of Crafers. Despite it’s medieval looks, the hotel was actually built relatively recently, only around 32 years ago. The hotel is billed as one of the most romantic and intimate places to hold a wedding, or photoshoot as the surrounds are something out of a fairytale. It really is quite an incredible place to shoot at.

Wedding dress
Smiling bride
Holding hands
Thorngrove Manor engagement shoot
Bride framed in the castle fixtures
Couple next to the fire
At the gate of Thorngrove Manor
Bride and groom standing in front of their hotel door
Playing the harp
Kisses
Smiles
Playing the harp
Thorngrove Manor
Engaged couple at the door of Thorngrove Manor
Castle awning
Looking at each other
Castle awning
On the balcony
Couple next to the fire
Engagement ring
Hugs on the balcony

Mt Lofty Botanic Park Shoot

After the shoot around the Thorngrove Manor, we head down the road to the Mt Lofty Botanic Park to make use of the waning autumnal colours still present around the gardens. With the sun popping over the hills, the colours came to life quite quickly however and created some lovely bright  scenes – much to the delight of Rya. 🙂

Bride and Groom holding one another
Bride and Groom walking
Bride and Groom walking
Autumn colours
Autumn colours at the Mt Lofty Botanic Park
Bride and Groom at Mt Lofty Botanic Park
Bride and Groom on bench
Bride and Groom in autumn
Autumn colours at the Mt Lofty Botanic Park
Bride and Groom on bridge

It was a lot of fun shooting at the Thorngrove Manor and I hope Rya and Evan enjoy their photos! 🙂

Kuitpo Forest Couple Shoot – Bethan & Alex

Couple walking through forest

Bethan and Alex were waiting with baited breath whether or not that recent bout of bad weather in Adelaide was to pass before their scheduled Kuitpo Forest couple shoot. Thankfully, despite the cold temperature, the weather cleared just in time to make use of the spectacular Kuitpo forest for their couple shoot. Bethan and Alex made use of my offer of a discount couple shoot made to all those who voted on my yearly wedding photo of the year contest, and I’m so glad they did.

The atmosphere given to the forest after such bad weather made for some fantastic scenes, and it was all done within an hour! My job was made easy of course by the fun loving attitude of Bethan and Alex who were keen to playfully run about in front of the camera to create some ‘loveydovey’ photos. Which was fantastic as I love doing things like this!

Kuitpo forest was the first of many forest plantations in the Mount Lofty Ranges, established in 1898 to ensure a sustainable timber supply for South Australia. Today it serves as both a stunning place to go for a walk, in in this case, a Kuitpo Forest couple shoot and a commercial logging area. The area also plays host to one of the most popular hiking trails throughout SA, being the Heysen Trail.

Kuitpo Forest Couple Shoot

Ring a ring a rosey
Kuitpo forest couple shoot
Burbrook Forest couples shoot
Lifting her up
Couple walking through forest
Love in a forest
Kuitpo forest
Couples shoot in forest
Love heart
Hugging in a forest
Kiss
Couple in forest
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Adelaide City Engagement – Kristy & Toby

Adelaide City engagement photos

Kristy and Toby chose me as their wedding photographer at their wedding down at the Beach Huts at Middleton later in the year and they opted to take advantage of my engagement shoot add on. For their engagement shoot, Kristy and Toby wanted to visit the beach huts but were told they weren’t able to due to prior bookings, as a result we headed to the center of Adelaide to take advantage of a more urban scene.

Adelaide City Engagement Photos

We started out behind the Adelaide University, used the footbridge over the Torrens and the super popular pillared walkway as part of the University. I say popular as while I was waiting for Kristy and Toby to arrive, I saw no less than 5 weddings arrive to use the pillars in their own wedding photos. The Adelaide University has been a feature of the Adelaide landscape since 1874 and as such offer some lovely rustic architecture, alongside some more modern scenes.

Adelaide University engagement
Next to the torrens bridge
Engagement ring
Adelaide University engagement
Adelaide University engagement

We then headed over to the old Adelaide Police barracks, located behind and is now part of the Adelaide Museum. The site is such a lovely place, used often for weddings. Toby made a comment about wandering about the city and finding such hidden gems of places, and he couldnt be more truthful in the fact that Adelaide city has so many wonderful hidden places freely open to the public that not many people know about.

Adelaide Museum engagement
Adelaide Museum engagement
Adelaide Museum engagement
Adelaide Museum engagement
Adelaide Museum engagement

The light was fading fast as this time of day, and as such rushed to our next destination which was supposed to be Adelaide Arcade but unfortunately the upper level was locked off, so we instead made use of the darkness with a bit of light painting in the middle of Grenfell st and the intersection of Rundle and Pulteney streets, and of course the symbol of Adelaide, the Mall’s Balls

Lit background kiss
Adelaide City engagement photos
Adelaide City engagement photos
Malls Balls engagement
Malls Balls engagement

Finally on the way back we made use of the beautiful night and electric lights along the side of the Torrens river.

engagement photos
engagement photos

I’d like to thank Kristy and Toby for choosing me as their wedding photographer for their Beach Huts wedding in December, and I hope they enjoy their engagement photos while they wait 🙂