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7 Activities for the Night before Your Wedding

  • Nightime wedding photo

 

The Night before Your Wedding

The night before your wedding is one of the most nerve-wracking times on a wedding timeline – particularly for the bride. To make sure you are well-rested and glowing on your wedding photos, try to relax and ease your mind the night before. If you feel clueless about how to achieve this recommended ‘state of calm’ and need help finding things to do other than dream up all the horrible things that can possibly go wrong on your big day, here are our recommendations of seven things to do on the night before your wedding:

7 Activities for the Night before Your Wedding

  1. Remain hydrated

If you’re thinking of drinking your favourite glass of wine before your wedding, you might want to think again. Maybe drinking wine will help you feel sleepy and less nervous, but remember the consequences that might come from it. You’ll wake up feeling bloated, get anxiety attacks, look puffy, and might not feel the best. Try to drink a glass of water instead, and drink loads of it – maybe even throw in some vitamin drinks also. Your skin will thank you in the morning, and you’ll feel more refreshed than how you’d feel from alcoholic drinks.

Whiskey
  1. Eat something healthy

This is the night you might want to stop yourself from eating that greasy pizza or your favourite bag of chips. You wouldn’t want to wake up feeling bloated, so do your best to avoid it. Your body needs proper nutrition to stay healthy and to function well, so eat your fresh fruits and whole grains instead. Just be mindful of any past instances where you haven’t felt the best the night after a certain meal and simply stay away from it.

Wedding pizza
  1. Put extra love on your skin

You might have a glam team to make you feel and look beautiful for your wedding, but makeup on good skin will look so much more appealing. it may not be bthe most appropriate saying when talking about faces – but ‘you can’t polish a turd’ :). Make sure to free your face from any makeup and apply your skincare products the night before. Don’t even consider trying new skin products. You wouldn’t want to have breakouts or skin rashes, right? This goes for fake tans also! Often if you’re not the type of person to get a fake tan, it just looks horrible and sometimes stains your dress.

Makeup
  1. Destress

During the past months or years, you’ve been stressing out about your wedding, maybe take the night before your wedding and realise it’s all done and what happens will happen. Consider having a digital detox to help you relax. Staying away from gadgets can help you sleep earlier and better, and it will prevent you from suddenly sending out a last-minute direction-change to your suppliers. Instead of watching online videos or your favourite series, try a more relaxing activity, such as reading a book or a magazine because it can help stop you from overthinking.

Ring Books
  1. Write a love note

As a wedding photographer and vidographer, I love this one! Capturing the emotions of your loved one reading your note makes for a lovely scene. Instead of spending the night worrying or imagining the worst things that can happen, why not take the moment to relive how you and your future partner met? Remind yourself of how much you two have grown, and then, create a short and sweet message to make your partner smile the next morning. This will get your mind off of things that aren’t important, and it will let you focus on what truly matters – your other half.

Reading letter
  1. Pamper yourself

Another thing you can do is to treat yourself. What activities do you like doing? If you like meditating, listening to music, or having a relaxing bath, give yourself some time to do it. You can also invite your bridesmaids and have a relaxed gathering together. Just make sure to not overdo it so that you won’t tire yourselves.

Bridal party on bed
  1. Get a good sleep

Do everything you can to get a good night’s sleep – it’s going to be hard, not many people sleep well before their wedding day, but do your best. Set your alarm, drink a calming tea, make your bed, and put a book by your bedside table. To make you feel even more relaxed, set an appointment and get a body massage. Remember that you need enough rest so that you can fully enjoy the long day ahead.

romantic bed

The night before your wedding is traditionally the last night you have for yourself, so try to make the most of your time. On the following days, you’ll have a life partner to join you in enjoying every moment!

If you are looking for a professional wedding photographer in Adelaide to capture your wedding, get in touch with us today to see how we can help!

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3 Logistical Reasons Why Smaller Weddings Are Better

  • Out on pride rock

Why Smaller Weddings Are Better

Most people are enamoured by the idea that weddings need to be grand and expensive events, seeing that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. EasyWeddings research has pout the average cost of an Australian wedding at $32,940!

This notion, however, is often the cause of stress for the bride and the groom, both financially and logistically. The advantages of a small wedding, on the other hand, are many, even if people who are accustomed to traditional weddings would tell you otherwise. Also due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people are being forced into having smaller weddings.

So I’m here to say, Less is more, even at weddings and why smaller weddings are better!

It’s not your fault to want to dream big about walking up to the altar with your soon-to-be spouse because a momentous occasion deserves a certain level of extravagance. However, there’s more than one way to dream big besides going all out with larger venues and crowds.

Ekhidna Winery Wedding Ceremony

Let’s explore three convincing reasons you should aim for less in planning your wedding and why smaller weddings are better!

3 Logistical Reasons Why Smaller Weddings Are Better

  1. No more complicated invites

The best part about choosing to go small for your wedding is that you’ll have fewer issues with attendance. Since you won’t have to deal with distant friends and relatives, you don’t have to prepare for extra seats for surprise plus ones on the day itself.

Having a smaller event keeps your guest list compact to your closest friends and family. On the other hand, this might make some of your distant friends and family bitter about not getting an invite. You should remember to let them know that you’re cutting back on going for a grand occasion so that you can have a more intimate event so that they’ll understand your wishes.

Usually omitted guests are cool with this, especially as though many people understand the huge costs weddings can be. They’d be even more so considerign the current travel bans due to the pandemic!

Invite
  1. Fewer people means less planning

A smaller event means a smaller guest list, which leads to fewer seats to fill, and less food to prepare. One of the most painful parts of planning a wedding is making sure that everyone is covered for seating, food, drink and even bonbonerie.

Since there’ll be fewer people attending, you’ll be able to focus on just the important people in your life. Instead of shaking hands from one table to the next with acquaintances that you barely even know, you’ll be able to keep the engagement short and compact without worrying about overcrowding or overtime.

You’ll even be able to personalise your tables a bit more with a menu that people you know will enjoy, provide inside jokes and even give out personalised gifts if youre doing that.

Gifts
  1. You can upgrade your wedding for other luxuries

With a smaller event, you’ll be able to cut down on your expenses drastically. This flexibility in the budget will allow you to purchase other luxury options that you wouldn’t be able to purchase with a large crowd in mind.

Furthermore, you’ll be able to hire more experienced photographers and videographers who can make the most out of the small venue you’ll use. You can also buy more expensive food options since you’ll be serving a smaller crowd. Reallocating your budget from logistical necessities to luxury options will give you a variety of ways to make your wedding more memorable.

wedding dress hanging in tree

A wedding shouldn’t be a stressful situation to plan, prepare, and execute – rather it should be a bunch of fun! Remember that your marriage is not a contest in one-upping your relatives’, your friends’, or even your parents’ own matrimonial ceremonies. It’s an event that you want to share with your special person in the best way possible.

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The Best Wedding Photo Locations in Darwin

Darwin’s Pride rock

Wedding Photo Locations in Darwin

Despite being based in Adelaide, possibly my favourite place in Australia to cover a wedding is in Darwin. From the weather, the people, and the incredible sunsets, shooting a wedding in Darwin has always been an incredible experience for me and I’d like to share some of my favourite wedding photo locations in Darwin.

My goal here is to provide a simple list of locations in and around the Darwin general area, without having to force bridal couples to travel too far. I’ve also restricted this list to free to enter locations – that is photo locations that do not require a permit in order to be allowed ot have photos taken there. An example of an otherwise obvious addition to this list would be the Darwin Botanic Gardens which do require a permit.

A list of my favourite Wedding Photo Locations in Darwin

Nightcliff Jetty and Surrounds

The Nightcliff Jetty and surrounding parks is a popular spot for locals and tourists a like to bask in the glow of the famous Darwin sunsets that light up the sky in a glorious orange glow during the Darwin wedding season. It’s not uncommon to see multiple weddings having their sunset photos done here in the evening.

It’s the uninterrupted view of the sunset and the wonderful rocks that emerge from the ocean that draw people here to have their photography done!

Darwin wedding sunset

East Point Reserve

Similar to the Nightcliff rocks, the East Point reserve has some incredible rock formations you can have an adventurous bridal couple climb over for some epic scenes – particularly at sunset. Also if you’re able to time it right, at low tide you can walk down from nearby Pee Wees on the Point to the beach with some incredible rocks, mango trees and coloured cliffs that make for some great backdrops! Just takes a bit of planning from the bridal couple to get down there. You can also use some of the World War 2 historical buildings nearby.

Darwin’s Pride rock
Out on pride rock
Darwin wedding photo

SunSet Beach / Fannie Bay Foreshore

Just down the road from the East Point reserve is SunSet Beach which is one of my favourite wedding photo locations in Darwin largely due to it’s so easy to get to. Both Nightcliff and East Point rocks require your bridal couple to be ok with traipsing over rocks – where as its the same with Sunset beach, but it’s a lot easier to get to, and less dangerous.

Out on the water

Lake Alexander

Right across the road from SunSet Beach is Lake Alexander. If you’re looking for a little more greenery in your Darwin wedding photography, then heading to the Lake Alexander park would be your best bet. With curated lawns and green trees bordering the lake itself, it makes for a nice change in pace from the dark greens, and yellows you would get from shooting in front of cliffs, beaches and rocks all day.

Walking together
Holding one another

Gardens Park Trees

When covering a wedding in Darwin I always try to visit the incredible trees located on Gardens rd, just outside the entrance to the Darwin Botanic Gardens. The  unique trees that are growing in Gardens Park make for an incredible backdrop for wedding photography. And it’s not just one or two of thetrees here, it’s pretty much all of them! They are climbable, huge, always green and would not look out of place in any Harry Potter movie.

Under a tree
Bridal Party under a tree
Darwin wedding trees

Vestey’s Beach Rocks

If you’re looking for a relatively quiet sandy beach, and a few rocks, then Vestey’s beach is a good bet. It’s a beach that’s closed off from the famous Mindil beach next door, but usually without the crowds that usually go along with Mindil beach during the dry season due to the Mindil beach markets. The rocks a short walk from the boat ramp make a nice frame to any shot too.

Vesteys beach rocks

Darwin Waterfront Precinct

If you’re after a more industrial feel to your wedding photography, the Darwin waterfront precinct would be one of my favourite wedding photo locations in Darwin. Away from the restaurants and tourists, there are some fun walkways and industrial looking walls lining walkways with the bay in the background.

There is also the Bicentennial park nearby, which I have not made one of my favourite wedding photo locations due to the fact that it’s nearly impossible to go there without getting others in the background which is usually the aim win wedding photography.

Bride and Groom walking together near Wharf One
Bridal Party

Rock formations on Casurina drive

It’s really hard to get a bridal couple to head out here for photos, but when they do it always pays off. The famed ‘fingers’ rock formation is difficult to get to, due to the long walk, or jumping over a fence to get to, it’s also a fair way away from any other photo spots – so to get here it can eat up a bit of time which is usually at a premium on a wedding day. But just look at this place!

Darwin Fingers Rock Formation

Darwin Surf Club Beach

It’s not so much the Darwin Surf club, but rather the beach out the front of the wedding venue. The beach not only goes on for miles in both directions, but also boasts hundreds of meters of sand between the land and the water at low tide. The reflections you can get in water pools at sunset are absolutely awesome.

Darwin Surf Club

There are so many other gems of wedding photo locations around Darwin, but these are a few of my favourite wedding photo locations in Darwin to get you started exploring the wonderful photo opportunities that this city offers.

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Selecting your wedding venue – 5 Things to think about

  • Carclew House

 

Selecting your wedding venue – Things to think about

Your wedding venue is as important as your wedding dress. It’s one of the things you will remember vividly from your big day as either fantastic and perfect, or rather dull and a horrible choice. This is because it is where the ceremony takes place, and where your guests will stay or go to during reception It’s where your whole day happens. It also affects how your wedding would look and feel like, both in your memories and in your wedding photography. No matter how good you planned your wedding program, if the venue doesn’t do it justice, your wedding will turn out not as expected, which is the last thing you will want on your special day.

Before visiting your potential wedding venue

Doing venue visits is tiring and costly, which is why you should review the place first with the information that you can find online. Do your initial check remotely to see if the venue is fit for you. I’ve put together a large list of wedding venues in Adelaide for anyone looking for their perfect Adelaide wedding venue. You can sort them by location in Adelaide and also by their type.

Aside from how good a venue looks, there are several factors that you should consider when choosing the right venue for your wedding. Whether you’re planning to hold it on a hotel, garden, beach, or an overlooking hill, you must take into consideration the following:

  • Availability: Is the venue available on your desired wedding date?
  • Cost: Is it within your budget range?
  • Alcoholic beverages: Do they permit the serving of alcohol in the venue?

Most soon-to-be brides and grooms always prioritise the aesthetic appeal of a place when deciding on a venue. They choose a place that they know will look great in their wedding photos. But also keep in mind that your venue will affect the mood of your wedding, which is why you should choose a place that makes you feel comfortable and delighted.

Glanville Hall Wedding

5 Things to think about when selecting your wedding venue

In this article, we will share with you five things to think about when selecting your wedding venue:

  1. Sufficient Capacity

The capacity of the venue should always come first on your venue checklist. When checking the holding capacity of the location, plan in your head how you will arrange the tables, chairs, and decor. Doing so will help you decide whether the place is a good fit for your planned wedding activities.

Serafinos Wedding Reception
  1. In-house Catering

Although you can get a separate food service, having in-house catering will help lessen your planning responsibilities. In-house catering can give you plenty of options from their menu, and you can ask for special servings if you would like. Let the venue staff help you out and allow them to take care of this matter.

Also, ask if the chairs, tables, utensils, and table arrangements are part of their package. If they are, then that’s one less responsibility that you’ll have to think about. This said however, opting to self cater and doing a DIY wedding may help with the budget.

Kuitpo Hall wedding reception
  1. Parking Area

When thinking of things to think about when selecting your wedding venue, this is possibly the most overlooked aspect. Make sure that the venue has adequate parking spaces to accommodate your guests. If there isn’t enough, see if there are nearby ones where your guests can park. Although, keep in mind that doing this can be risky since you wouldn’t want your guests to wander on unfamiliar streets. Also, make sure that the venue is accessible because you wouldn’t want your guests to come to your wedding looking all tired and haggard because the road is sketchy.

Cars arriving
  1. Covered Facilities

You will never know if the weather on your wedding day will be great or not. Especially if you’re planning on an outdoor wedding, make sure that there is a covered facility that you can use in case it rains. If there is none, ask at least if they have marquees or anything similar that they can provide. If not you can hire them, or if you’re budget concious, Bunnings actually offer some cheap alternatives.

Surprise Backyard wedding under the marquee
  1. On-site Accommodation

If you have guests coming over from different states or overseas, make sure that they have a place to stay after the reception. Once the day is over, you would not want to leave your guests on their own, especially if you’ve done your wedding away from the cities. Check and see whether or not the venue has facilities to accommodate your guests after the long night.

Guests enjoying themselves

Your wedding day is a celebration of love, not only with your partner but also with the special people in your life. Let them know that you appreciate their presence at your wedding by making them feel comfortable throughout the day. Hopefully this list of things to think about when selecting your wedding venue will help in your selection of the perfect spot to hold your perfect day!

If you are looking for a professional wedding photographer in Adelaide to capture the best moments during your wedding, and to help you plan out your day get in touch with us today to see how we can help!

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The Golden Hour: Why Is It The Best Time For Photos?

Ekhidna wines wedding vineyards

The Golden Hour: Why Is It The Best Time For Photos?

The golden hour! Have you heard of it? If you are planning for your wedding or have spoken with a photographer, then, it should be in your lexicon. But what does it mean, especially with weddings?

Golden hour is that magical hour just before sunset when the atmosphere beams lighting that is perfect for taking photos. Before now, you must have seen some glowing wedding photographs of couples, and you can’t help but imagine when it was taken. No doubt, it’s possibly the golden hour. Finding the perfect time to capture priceless moments during a wedding ceremony can make all the difference.

But you shouldn’t be thinking about this on your wedding day, you have more important things to worry about. That’s why you need a photographer. And not just anyone will do. You need to hire a professional that understands the significance of this “hour” and what it means for your wedding.

As you plan for your wedding day, you must consider golden hour wedding photos and find an expert that knows how to leverage on this hour to make your day as memorable as it ought to be.

Semaphore Beach Sunset

Sadly, many wedding photographers fail to take advantage of this hour during a wedding ceremony. The fact is that someone that lacks the intricate photography skills can easily get stuck up in the reception and watch the sunset waste away without taking any photos. Therefore, it takes an expert to know when the sunset is likely going to occur and how to take advantage of it to create images that the couple would be glad to look back on for many years to come.

What Makes The Golden Hour So Unique?

It’s hard to discuss creative wedding photography without mentioning the golden hour. Why is this so?

First of all, during this time, the sunlight is less harsh and softer and usually a golden colour – hence the name. Therefore, your photos will radiate a beautiful soft glow due to the beautiful bright flares that hit the lens of the camera. Photos taken during this time are also devoid of squinty eyes and strong shadows. This makes the job of the photographer a bit easier as he won’t have trouble trying to make the faces of those starring at the camera less awful.

The golden hour helps in creating astonishing images for any wedding. Here are more reasons why you should treasure this precious hour.

  • It brings out the best look in the couple.
  • It doesn’t limit the extent of creative photoshoots.
  • Photo editing is a lot easier (at least for us)
  • The unique sunset that follows a wedding day is important to capture
Ekhidna wines wedding at sunset

Lighting Can Make or Break Any Wedding Photo

You must have realised how valid these words are if you have ever seen an awful wedding photo that makes you wonder if the photographer threw his skills to the donkeys during the wedding. You might be the most stunning bride in history, and your partner might be looking his best too, but if the lighting is not right, then your photos are not going to be the best.

If you are preparing for your wedding and you desire the best possible photos, there is no other better time to plan for it other than now. The magical imagery created during the golden hour can make your wedding photographysomething to be  cherished forever.

The truth is that any experienced photographer must have realised that no matter how hard you force a smile from the faces of guests when taking photos, if the sun is too hot in the sky and the photos are taken outdoors, you might not get the best shot. It’s a big reason to have photos done during this time of day, other than the amzing golden light. Therefore, taking wedding photos during the golden hour does not just help to bring out your best look during your wedding day, it also makes the job of the photographer easier.

But… what if the golden hour is not our best time for photos?

It’s common for me as a photographer to wish we were out taking photos during golden hour, only to be stuck inside for the reception.  In adelaide the golden hour tends to be around 7-8pm, and most receptions start at about 6-6:30. have a think about whether or not having sunset photos in the golden hour is worth popping out again during your reception. Often is well worth the effort! In the end, you will love the soft ambiance that this hour creates and the magical light it radiates.

Santorini Sunset

Hire a Professional Photographer For Your Big Day

There is nothing as devastating as hiring someone that can barely tell the difference between sunset and sunrise and how it affects wedding photos. That is why it is paramount to hire the best hands for your wedding. Fortunately, you have an expert photographer at your beck and call. I have worked with many clients all around Australia and the world and help them to take advantage of this precious hour. We can do the same for you. Instead of wondering what time is best to take wedding photos, let us help you plan it out.

We would love to hear from you and discuss your wedding photography needs as well as help you figure out the perfect spots to take advantage of this short time.