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.
Bride and groom standing in front of their hotel door
Thorngrove Manor engagement shoot
On the balcony
Smiles
Hugs on the balcony
Looking at each other
Holding hands
Castle awning
Playing the harp
Engaged couple at the door of Thorngrove Manor
At the gate of Thorngrove Manor
Kisses
Engagement ring
Smiling bride
Playing the harp
Thorngrove Manor
Couple next to the fire
Wedding dress
Bride framed in the castle fixtures
Couple next to the fire
Castle awning
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 at Mt Lofty Botanic Park
Bride and Groom on bench
Bride and Groom on bridge
Autumn colours at the Mt Lofty Botanic Park
Bride and Groom walking
Autumn colours
Bride and Groom in autumn
Bride and Groom walking
Bride and Groom holding one another
Autumn colours at the Mt Lofty Botanic Park
It was a lot of fun shooting at the Thorngrove Manor and I hope Rya and Evan enjoy their photos! 🙂
Sinclairs Gully winery is the type of venue you just have to jump at the opportunity to shoot a wedding at, which is exactly what happened when Jessica and Adam asked me to be their Adelaide Hills wedding photographer. In order to cater to their short wedding plans, they asked to use my engagement shoot rate to cover their wedding for only 90 minutes which was enough time to photograph their ceremony and a few glamour shots after.
They held their wedding a little later in the day so by the time their ceremony was scheduled, the sun was already fading, and the overcast skies weren’t helping either. However this kind of light is pretty much perfect for photography so I was having a blast 🙂
Before the wedding
As usual I was on site at Sinclairs Gully early, in fact only Adam and his groomsmen were there putting the finishing touches on the venue. So I wandered about taking photos of all their personal touches and the boys helping calm the nerves of Adam. Once the girls arrived I was able to take a few shots of them together with their adorable VW van.
Groom walking about
Groom looking nervous
Girls looking pretty
Wedding sign
Blushing bride
Groom’s flower
Line of groomsmen
Girls arriving
Sinclairs Gully wedding ceremony
Sinclairs Gully is a winery hidden away in Norton Summit, and when you’re there it feels as though you’d only even know about the place if you already knew it was there. The incredible privacy the venue provides due to the lush Australian bushland is perfect for an intimate wedding ceremony such as Jessica and Adam’s. The bushland provides for beautiful bokeh when used as a backdrop to wedding photos and it really is just beautiful. There’s even a Australian animal reserve on site too!
Jessica and Adam’s wedding ceremony took place in a small clearing situated at the foot of the Sinclairs Gully winery carpark, so the setting was completely surrounded by gum trees and scrubland. During their ceremony they held a time capsule ceremony where they placed a bottle of Sinclairs Gully wine into a home-made timecapsule, along with love letters to one another only to be opened on their 10th anniversary. It’s a lovely gesture and a fun thing to put on display in their home.
Grooms first look
Bride and Father
Married!
First kiss
Smiling groom
Time capsule
Saying their vows
Smiling bride
Wedding Ceremony
Sinclairs Gully wedding ceremony
Wedding ceremony
Sinclairs Gully Wedding Glamour Photos
After the ceremony and family photos, we had around 30 minutes for some glamour photos around the winery grounds. It was quite an easy task to create something epic and eye catching as the surrounds just simply lends itself well to the task. I was really looking forward to getting around to editing this wedding as I knew some of the shots I took were absolutely stunning!
Walking along the driveway
Embracing within the trees
Tree hugs
Sinclairs Gully winery wedding
Hugs
Looking through foliage
Bride and groom in front of the combi van
Private kiss in undergrowth
I had an amazing time capturing Jessica and Adam’s Sinclairs Gully wedding, despite the short coverage. The wedding was filled with love, happiness, and unforgettable moments that I was honored to witness and photograph. It was a pleasure to be a part of their special day and to create images that will serve as treasured memories for years to come.
I hope that when Jessica and Adam look back at the photos, they will be transported back to the joyous atmosphere of their wedding day and relive the love and happiness they shared. It was a privilege to document their love story and to provide them with visual keepsakes that will last a lifetime.
Once again, thank you to Jessica and Adam for choosing me to capture their special day. I am grateful for the opportunity and wish them a lifetime of love and happiness together.
It’s a rare occurrence when I’m asked to cover a wedding on a Thursday, but Faith and Ryan’s Registry Office wedding was one such occasion. Faith and Ryan were keen on getting the hassle of the actual wedding part over and done with in order to get to the party afterwards which is why they opted to take advantage of ‘engagement photography shoot’ package for their wedding. This occasion brought me to the Grenfell St Registry Office in the heart of Adelaide CBD, where I photographed their wedding. Following the ceremony, we spent around 50 minutes exploring the CBD, capturing memorable moments that highlighted their love and the charm of Adelaide. As their dedicated Adelaide wedding photographer, I ensured every moment was preserved with care and creativity.
As the usual registry office chapel was still under renovations, even since last time I covered a registry wedding, Faith and Ryan’s wedding took place in the smaller backup chapel that overlooks the CBD skyline. Their party was a small intimate one consisting of around 20-30 people. Everyone was happy and cheerful and happy to be there which is always fun to be a part of 🙂
Registry office wedding
Putting on the wedding ring
Bridal bouquet
Bride smiling
Registry wedding
First kiss
Registry wedding
Wedding rings
Glamour photoshoot
After the wedding ceremony Faith, Ryan and I took a walk around some of the more choice locations around the Adelaide CBD for wedding photos. First, we head off across the road to the Adelaide Arcade which provides for some lovely old-style architecture in an epic scene looking down the entire arcade. Then we head over to North terrace where we took advantage of the historic old buildings of Adelaide University. It was so refreshing not having to compete with other weddings for these choice locations as I would normally have to do at a Saturday wedding. Finally, we head over the Torrens for a few shots along the river. Throughout the day, as a professional photographer in Adelaide, I ensured every frame captured the essence of Faith and Ryan’s special day, creating memories to be cherished for a lifetime.
Adelaide University wedding
Adelaide University Cathedral
Adelaide Arcade wedding
Adelaide University Cathedral
Kiss on the Torrens footbridge
Adelaide University wedding
Wedding rings
Wedding couple under flowers
Adelaide Museum wedding
Wedding rings
Adelaide University Cathedral
Couple on Torrens footbridge
Adelaide Arcade
Grenfell street wedding
All in all this short little wedding around the Adelaide CBD was a lot of fun and produced some lovely shots! I hope Faith and Ryan enjoy their wedding photos as much as I enjoyed taking them! 🙂
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.
The amazing autumn colours of the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens were the backdrop of Maryam & Scott’s engagement shoot, and I must say it was a fantastic choice. We walked around the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens for around an hour, dodging the hundreds of tourists that also had the same idea and took advantage of the wonderful yellows and oranges that mother nature had provided. Once the gardens closed at 5pm, we headed to Veale gardens on south terrace for a couple more shots and a bit of a dance! Maryam & Scott had some friends with them, along with family members so we had a bit of fun with the situation 🙂
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
The Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens are a marvellous site in the Adelaide Hills, opened to the public in 1959 after having been in development since 1911, the gardens sprawl an incredible 97 hectares with a huge diversity of native and imported plants and trees, it’s a beautiful place to visit and take it all in.
Walking by the gazebo
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
Amongst the green
Autumn colours
Engagement ring in flowers
Kissing under a tree
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Proposal
Group shot
Lovey dovey shot
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
After, Maryam & Scott asked be for suggestions for a second location to take photos in between Mt Lofty and their house in Mawson Lakes, so I suggested the Veale Gardens. I knew from multiple previous weddings I’ve covered as a wedding photographer here always turn out great, so we headed down there 🙂 While there, we got out a small handheld stereo and had a bit of a dance! Was a lot of fun 🙂