I was out in Mawson Lakes, north of Adelaide city for Kate and Stuart’s Watershed Wedding on a fine June evening. Family and friends had travelled far and wide to attend, and that’s always lovely to see!
The watershed cafe, on the outskirts of Mawson Lakes was a wedding venue I had not visited before, so I was excited to shoot a wedding there as I always am!
Before the Ceremony
Before the ceremony, Kate and Stuart had be capture the short preparation that Stuart and his family went through in order to prepare for Kate and their guests’ arrival. Kate through proxy of her wedding planner made it clear that it was important to capture Stuart and his family help out place flowers on lapels, and helping out the boys get ready – much to the bemusement of Stuart who dutifully did his thing!
The rest of the family was fussing about layout out decorations in the reception hall, and making sure everyone looked fantastic prior to the ceremony.
The Watershed Wedding Setup
Wedding favours
Groom arriving for preparation
Helping guests
Laying out seating places
helping place flowers
Putting on the grooms flower
Helping put on the grooms flower
Guests looking on
Happy Dude
Wedding rings on wooden table
Groom looking on as groomsman has his flower put on
Groom striking a pose
Bride arriving in carpark
Helping Dad with his flower
Putting cousage on guest
Groom waiting patiently for his Watershed Wedding
Smiling groom at his watershed wedding ceremony
Bride looking pretty in the watershed wedding reception area
Bride standing in front of windows
bride in the Watershed Wedding reception area
Bride and bridesmaid
Watershed Wedding Ceremony
When holding a Watershed wedding, the couple has a choice of either using the undercover decking looking out over the wetlands, or an adjacent decking without the covering roof. As Kate and Stuart were holding a later wedding in winter, they opted for the undercover setting.
The area is large enough for small to medium sized weddings, and with their guest list of around 60 people, was the perfect size.
Kate and Stuart’s ceremony took place reasonably late in the day, meaning that by the time it had finished, the sun was setting and there was not much time at all to have family or glamour photos done! Luckily I usually have a collection of lights ready to go in the car!
Grooms first look at bride at the Watershed Cafe
Standing for the bridal couple
Watershed Wedding Ceremony
Holding hands during wedding ceremony at the watershed
Bride and groom under the arbour togather
Smiling bride as she listens to vows
Bride stating her vows
Exchanging wedding rings at the Watershed wedding
First kiss at a Watershed Wedding
Bridal exit at a Watershed Wedding
Group photo at a watershed wedding
Glamour Photos
It was a bit of a later wedding ceremony which meant that the sun faded quite quickly straight after the group photos meaning that even if the nearby wetlands were open to walk through and take photos in (they were closed due to rennovations) we couldnt have used them anyway! Instead we made use of some of the small pockets of land nearby the water I had scouted out earlier.
I managed to capture some of the dying sunset’s light in the sky when coupled with some off camera lights, and we also used the interior of the Watershed wedding reception area before all of Kate and Stuart’s guests were allowed in.
Bride and groom out after sunset
Bride and groom in the dark
Bride and groom under the night sky
Bride and groom together in the Watershed Reception Area
The Watershed Wedding Reception Area
Bride and groom out the front of the Watershed Cafe
Watershed Wedding Photo
Watershed Wedding Reception
As the wedding was rather latre in the day, the glamour photos did not eat up much time before heading back to the reception area. The night was filled with well wishing family and friends, alongside a bunch of kids who were running around having a blast playing with the battery-operated candles on display.
Throughout the night there were speeches, dancing, but primaraly just people mingling and having a good time. Luckily I managed to coerce Kate and Stuart h=back out into the cold for a few more glamour shots out the front of their Watershed wedding.
Bride and Groom arriving at their Watershed Wedding Reception
Smiling bride while dancing
First Dance at the Watershed Cafe
First dance at the Watershed Wedding
Dancing guests at the Watershed Wedding
Mobile Phone Photographers
Kids having a blast
Wedding Cake on display with Certificate
Bride mingling
Guest cheers
Groom speech at lecturn
Groom having some fun
Thanks go out to Kate and Stuart for having me as their wedding photographer! I loved being a part of your big day and I hope you enjoy your photos! 🙂
One of the highlights of wedding planning is getting an amazing, creative guru to document your day. You get to have creative shots with your significant other and a dedicated team of wedding photographers to take candid and planned photos of the two of you. However, if you want to have a picture-perfect wedding, you have to be wary of common wedding photo mistakes and know how to address them properly.
Feel free to use this article as the beginning of your journey into wedding photography to ensure you fill up your album only with great, memorable wedding photos. After which, please do get in touch as there’s nothing I’d rather talk about!
3 Common Wedding Photo Mistakes and How to Solve Them
Mistake #1: Having no plan for group photos
Since you are inviting your friends and family to your big day, you can expect that most of them want to take pictures with you as a newly married couple. Therefore, a few photo opportunities should be readily available, especially during the reception, since that’s where most of the fun begins. You can start by indicating when your photo op will be with each guest, and it’s highly recommended to do this in groups for easier picture taking and to commemorate shared memories.
The best way to ensure you have a seamless experience for your wedding photo op is to go about it by table arrangement. Ideally, you want people who know each other well seated together. This way, your wedding photographer can just call the group by table assignment (e.g., by number), instruct them on the appropriate spacing or framing for your picture, and give the finished product to friends or family members that appreciate who they are with in their photos.
When it comes to family photos directly after your ceremony, making a list of must have photos is essential. This does not mean a list of individuals – but rather a list of groups who are listed by name. Your photographer will not know who needs to go where, and who is friendly/unfriendly with one another. It’s one aspect of wedding photography the photographer will 100% be looking for you to guide the photos as they don’t want top step on any toes.
Boys group photo
Mistake #2: Giving you and your partner no chance to have pictures together
During your wedding, you and your partner are the highlights of the day; people will greet you and support your union as you look forward to spending the rest of your lives together. If it were up to your guests, you would be spending all day with them and celebrating your union – which doesnt sound like a bad thing, but you also want some stunning glamour shots to hang on your wall of just the two of you. That’s why you should always make time on your dayto go to some lovely location and have some taken.
If you and your significant other want to get inspired for your photo op together, you can go for a relevant theme to your relationship. For instance, if you fell in love with one another because of your love for Halloween, then you can have a spooky-themed photoshoot, or perhaps you got engaged in a forest overlooking the city? Head there!.
Just ensure you coordinate with your hired photographer to set your creative direction. Most importantly, just have fun and be natural when having your pictures taken. One of the most common wedding photo mistakes is that often couples are strapped for time, even when they allocate some time for a glamourshoot like this – try to take your time with it and make the most of your time together as a couple – it’s one of the only times on your wedding day that you’ll be able to do this away from the hustle and bustle of family and friends!
Smokey greenhouse
Mistake #3: Relying on amateur photographers for your wedding
You cannot expect high-quality photos from a ‘friend with a camera‘, so why would you hire them for your wedding? Doing this will not only result in poor quality images, but also poorly timed images that don’t represent your big day well. A wedding photographer has been to hundreds of weddings beforehand, and knows by experience what to expect and be in position the majority of the time.
It also makes your wedding seem not as special because you and your partner just went for the cheapest cameraperson you should find. Worse, it may even affect how your friends, family, and children perceive your wedding. Also you’re paying someone who otherwise would not be a part of your guest list to attend your wedding to take photos so that your actual guests can enjoy the day with you – it’s not really fair on your friends to i ask them to work on the day that you’re also expecting them to have a good time.
With a professional wedding photographer, you can be assured that your photos are well-produced and edited to a standard you’ll be happy with. Some even have photo booth hires and videography services, allowing you to interact with your guests and make memorable pictures together. This way, you can always refer to your pictures to reminisce how exciting and romantic that big day was as you retell it to your children, and maybe even your grandchildren!
Wedding disposable camera
Wedding photos are vital to any celebration of love being united. As such, there’s no room for wedding photo mistakes. Fortunately, you now have a better idea of what you should avoid when it comes to wedding photo mistakes. Just ensure you and your partner have the right plans and resources ready for that picture-perfect moment. Work on your picture-taking arrangements today!
Are you looking for the best wedding photographers in Adelaide to document your big day? Book our team at Sven Studios. We can offer you high-quality photos, videos, and other documentation solutions to capture every magical moment. Download our price list and get in contact to have a chat! We’d love to hear about your day!
If you’re getting married soon, first of all, congratulations! It’s a big day and there’s so much that goes on leading up to it. One of the best parts is getting to wear your dream dress. However, if your game plan is to get photos of yourself in it on the actual wedding day, you should rethink that. One of the best ways to preserve the memory of yourself in your dress is to find wedding photographers in Hobart and get bridal portraits done.
Bridal Portrait Sessions – What Are They and Do You Need Them
What is a bridal portrait?
Bridal portraits are a lesser-known sub-section of wedding photography. Typically, brides will put on their dress, get all dolled up, and have a solo photoshoot taken at their ideal location. The portrait prints resulting from this photo session will make lovely gifts that the wife can give to her spouse and/or parents. It can also serve as decor for the reception by way of creative displays.
The time spent on having a bridal portrait done often coincides with a ‘makeup trial’ and can be used to get used to wearing in your wedding shoes, and feeling out your wedding dress – often with friends and family so you can bounce ideas off one another.
bride looking out windows
What are the benefits of taking a bridal portrait?
Having bridal portraits taken are undeniably another add-on and extra expense. The advantages far outweigh these factors, however.
Not time-pressed
No matter how well your wedding is planned or how perfectly it’s meant to flow, stress and even chaos can manifest on the day itself. Bridal portraits on the day itself are usually taken under some kind of time constraint. This is understandable since the wedding day can be pretty jam-packed as it is.
When photos of the bride are only taken on the wedding day, it’s usually during tight pockets of time: before the reception, before you leave for the ceremony or even while the couple photos are being taken. On-site same-day bridal portraits can make you stressed out and feel a little rushed. At the end of it, you might not have the most ideal photos in order to immortalise how you look.
However, when you opt to have a bridal portrait session, you won’t be under a time constraint, you won’t be rushing to head elsewhere, and your creativity can manifest all the way to entire set-ups.
Bride looking pretty at AlRu Farm
A chance to get creative
It should be noted that bridal portraits aren’t strictly constrained to you in your wedding dress. Aside from any formal shots, you’ll be able to express yourself in more casual, fun ways. If you have any furry friends, for example, you can get photos of yourself with your beloved pet. Some brides even go as far as taking boudoir photos, making for a great personalised surprise wedding gift for their soon to be spouse.
When you set aside time to get bridal portraits done, you open yourself up to a world of creative possibilities. It also gives you far more flexibility and far less stress on the wedding day itself.
Bride looking pretty in black and white
Bridal portraits are an excellent choice to make for any bride-to-be – of course it doesnt have to be limited to the female side of things though! All the benefits of bridal portraits can also just as easliy apply to the Men.
Whether you’re doing it to preserve your look in your dream dress, to express yourself in certain ways for a gift to your spouse or both, it’s a fantastic experience and keepsake. It allows you to be far less stressed out or rushed during your actual wedding day itself, much in the same way an engament shoot can too, without the addition of your future spouse.
Looking for a great photographer? Contact SvenStudios today! Allow us to craft the precious memories of your wedding day (or before the wedding itself!) in a fun and relaxed way that you’ll be proud to look at forevermore.
The Adelaide Hills Inglewood Inn was the chosen backdrop to Belinda and Andrew’s wonderful wedding on a sunny day in late May. The Autumnal colours were fading on the surrounding elm trees which made for some stunning, subtle highlights to some of their wedding photos.
The setting was lovely, the weather was great and the people involved wanted to have a good time – was the setting for a memorable day!
Preparation
As I arrived at Andrew’s place of preparation, I was surprised to see that he and his groomsmen were already mostly dressed! I had to ask for some of the button fitting and jacket pulling to be saved for some photos, such was Andrew’s anticipation for his big day!
Andrew was being prepared in a relatives house not too far was from the Inglewood Inn, and the main cause of excitement throughout the house was not just the fact that Andrew was being married today, but also the arrival of the red Ford Mustang Belinda and Andrew had as their motorcade! It was a source of playful jibes all morning as Andrew’s best man was apparently a Holden guy. 🙂
Wedding rings in white box
Groom trying to tie up tie
Best man Helping tie up the grooms tie
Helping tie up the grooms tie
Groom tieing tie alone in room
Groom standing in hallway
Help putting on flower
Groom walking along walkway
groomsmen receiving help with tie
Groom walking out the door
Groom in red car
Belinda was being prepared at another relative’s house along with many of her family. The front room of the house provided for plenty of wonderful light for the preparation so we stayed primarily in this room.
The highlight of the morning was the delightful way that Belinda’s Mother and Father were obviously overjoyed at the occasion and the touching ‘first look’ of Belinda in her dress.
Engagement ring poised in bouquet
makeup time with bride
bridesmaid getting ready through door
Bridal affects laid out on tabletop
Wedding dress hanging on front door
brides parents
Bridesmaid helping out with wedding gown
Smiling bride as she gets ready
bride playing with bouquert in front of window
Dads first look at his daughter
Bride and proud parents
Bride in mirror
Bride looking back at camera in hallway
Adelaide Hills Inglewood Inn Wedding Ceremony
When holding a wedding ceremony at the historic Inglewood Inn, you make use of the large green, grassy area lined by 100 year old elm trees at the foot of the estate. The area is surrounded by a lovely creek bed and makes for a super intimate space for any sized wedding, complete with a scenic driveway for the bridal motorcade to enter by.
Belinda and Andrew’s wedding was no different, making use of the sunny day to provide some beautiful dappled light streaming through the foliage while allowing for the Inglewood Inn itself to shine like a beacon atop of the hill.
Adelaide Hills Inglewood Inn Sign
Laughing groom waiting patiently
Bridal car driving down Inglewood Inn driveway
Bride and father in back of car together
Bride being escorted by Dad towards wedding ceremony
grooms first look of bride at Inglewood inn
Adelaide Hills Inglewood Inn wedding ceremony
bride listening to celebrant at Inglewood Inn
Bare trees at Inglewood Inn wedding ceremony
Looking at Inglewood Inn
Holding hands during their Inglewood Inn Wedding ceremony
Smiling bride during her ceremony
Smiling groom during his cermeony
Sun shining through the trees at Inglewood Inn wedding ceremony
Laughing bride during her ceremony
Exchanging wedding bands at wedding
Adelaide Hills Inglewood Inn Wedding Ceremony in May
First kiss at Adelaide Hills Inglewood Inn
Signing the wedding register
After the wedding ceremony
Glamour Photos
I always think of the historic Gollop Bridge as the ‘must have’ money shot when holding a wedding at the Adelaide Hills’ Inglewood Inn. Gollop’s Bridge is the oldest bridge still in use in SA which is an interesting tidbit of information I’d just like to throw out there! So often after all the family photos and whatnot, I like to first use the dying light that filters through the trees in the background of the cermeony location, then head straight to the bridge.
It’s always interesting to see what we get from the bridge, as over the years the ivy surrounding the bridge gets pruned, the water under the bridge is low or high, and the next door neighbours like to place their boundry fence right where the photographer would like to stand for the best angle. In belinda and Andrew’s case, the ivy surrounding the bridge had been pruned quite heavily allowing the historic brick work to be on full display.
We also head up over the driveway to the old ruined cottage for some photos, although it seems as thought he owners of the land are looking to discourage the use of the space for photos anymore having cut down all the beautiful trees surrounding it.
On the Inglewood Inn driveway
Bride and groom leaning against a tree
Bride and groom in the Inglewood Inn creek
Under the autumnal colours at Inglewood Inn
Gallop bridge Wedding photo
bride and groom under Gallops bridge
bridal party on the wooden bridge
Sharing a kiss on the wooden bridge
bridal party at the nearby ruin at inglewood Inn
Bride and groom at the ruin
Bride and groom paying around
Bride and groom under the gum trees
Draw me like your french girls
Adelaide Hills Inglewood Inn Wedding Reception
Belinda and Andrew’s wedding reception was a boisterous one, with the drinks being knocked back at quite a rate – even before Belinda and Andrew had been announced! This meant that the entire night was full of jovial people, keen to make sure that everyone had a good time and doubly sure that everyone joined in on events like the bouquet and garter tosses!
Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, which is why it’s important to capture every moment of your special day in the best possible way. Hiring skilled wedding photographers allows you to preserve those memorable moments and share them with future generations.
Your photographers may have the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to turn your vision into reality and tell your love story through high-quality images. However, you and your significant other may be unknowingly making mistakes that can ruin the quality of your wedding photos. Try these tips for getting the best wedding photos on your big day!
5 Effective Tips for Getting the Best Wedding Photos
Hide cables, microphones, and speakers
A sound system is essential for your celebrant on your big day, especially during the exchange of wedding vows. Ask the team you hired to set it up discreetly and keep unsightly cables, cords, and speakers out of sight to ensure they are not in your shots.
Additionally, keeping the sound system out of the way can get tricky at times. This is especially true if they are directly behind you during the ceremony. You can cover them up, so they don’t stand out in your wedding photos. The same tip is useful for things like garbage bins, signs, etc that cannot be moved.
First kiss at Seagrass Long Point Wedding Ceremony
Don’t be a director
Professional photographers have years of experience in the industry. You may tell them how you envision your photos, but don’t instruct them how to take them. They know what they are doing, so trust them and let them do what they do best. Just relax, be yourselves, and go with the flow. This way, you can have an enjoyable shooting experience and increase your chances of getting the perfect wedding shots that mirror your love story.
Currant Shed Wedding photo in trees
Ask your guests to refrain from using their own equipment to shoot
Did you know that your friends and family members can easily ruin your wedding photos? This dilemma usually happens when their selfie sticks, cameras, phones, and other gadgets hinder your professional photographers from capturing your best photos.
As a preventive measure, ask your guests to refrain from using their own equipment to shoot during the ceremony. It may disappoint them, but assure them that they can have their photos taken by the professional photographers you hired. This is what’s recently come to be known as an ‘unplugged’ wedding ceremony.
Mobile phone attraction
Empty your pockets
Your wedding day is when you supposedly look and feel your best. Don’t let your photos get ruined by a pocket bulge by placing your keys, phone, wallet, and other valuables in a safe area or entrusting them to your trusted friend or family member. This tip is also applicable to your guests, so make sure to ask those with pocket bulges to empty their pockets.
bride and groom amongst the tall pine trees
Opt for easy-to-eat meals
Tasty dishes make any celebration more special, but food stains can easily ruin your photos and mood during the wedding. When selecting the meals and refreshments for your big day, go for options that are easy to eat, especially if you are having an outdoor wedding instead of a formal sit-down meal. This way, you can prevent stained outfits and help everyone look pleasant and confident in photos.
Meal
Moments may be fleeting, but you can capture all the sights and sounds during one of the most unforgettable days of your life by immortalising them through photos. Once you have booked your photographers and feel like you are all set for your wedding, make sure to follow the tips for getting the best wedding photos listed above to enjoy having wedding photos you will cherish for years to come.