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Winner of the 2020 Wedding Photo of the year!

 

Winner of the 2020 Wedding Photo of the year!

I’d like to thank once again all my couples I covered as their wedding photographer in 2019, and all those who submitted their favourite photo for my little annual wedding photo of the year contest! It’s always a little bit of fun to run this contest each year as I get to reconnect with all the couples I spent their wedding day with throughout this contest and find out which of the photos I took were their favourite. This in turn helps me in the future to be a better photographer!

So without further ado, here is the winner of the 2020 Wedding Photo of the year with 100 votes!

Congratulations Leah and Jarron in receiving the most votes on their favourite photo from their wedding at Kuitpo Hall. I’ll get in contact soon to discuss details of your prize of a large framed print! They were lagging the photo from Hailey & Brad’s big day at Al-Ru Farm for quite a while, but a surge of Leah and Jarron voters last night put them over the line in a frantic finish hailey and Brad ended with 67 votes! There were also quite a few voters for Astrid and Corey and Chelsea and Nathan online last night, but unfortunately not enough 🙁 Chelsea and Nathan’s wedding at St Francis Winery came in third place with 55 votes.

In all, this year’s contest, with 22 weddings entering recieved a total of 581 votes which is more than any of the previous 4 years in which I have run this contest, so that is an awesome turnout! Hopefully there will be even more in next year’s edition – providing of course I get out and shoot more weddings this year! There were a significant number more in total votes, however some people like to think I can’t detect those of you who try to vote twice or more by using different devices, emails addresses, etc 🙂

Winner of the $100 cash prize for voting

I also like to give away $100 cash to a random voter simply for casting their vote, so if your name is the one below, check your emails as I’ve sent you an email asking for your bank account details 🙂

Jasmine P.

Once again thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to those who won! 😀 Looking forward to when the world returns to normal after all this COVID-19 stuff :/

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Top Wedding Photo Locations in Adelaide CBD

Over the years of being an Adelaide wedding photographer I’ve been able to explore the Adelaide CBD and find a multitude of spots that are suitable to take wedding couples to to have their photos done without having to worry about having photo permits of permission to do so. So I thought I’d put together this list of wedding photo locations in Adelaide so that other have no need to do the scouting themselves.

I’ve purposely put this list together for those who do not wish to purchase a photography permit to use the area, and are only of those locations within the Adelaide CBD that are considered ‘public space’ and therefore need no prior arrangements to be made to have photos taken there. A good example of a popular wedding photo location in Adelaide that will not be on this list would be the Adelaide Botanic Gardens – as couples need a photography permit to have their photos taken within the gardens.

List of my favourite Wedding Photo Locations in Adelaide

Veale Gardens

If you’re planning on also having your ceremony in Veale Gardens, then you will need a permit from the council, but if you’re just looking to have your photo shoot done, then no such permission is needed. Located in the southern park lands, Veale Gardens boasts beautifully manicured lawns and a man made river sweeping through the whole garden area.

There are a number of different rock pools that also make for a great setting for wedding photography. One of the best things about Veale Gardens though is the variety of photos you can take here, as just behind the gardens is a small gum tree forest and a rather unkempt area for a more rustic feel to your wedding photos – something you’d usually have to travel outside of the city to find.

Himeji Gardens

The Himeji Gardens are also located in the southern park lands, and right nearby Veale Gardens. Himeji Gardens is  build to commemorate Adelaide’s sister city relationship with the Japanese city of Himeji. The whole area is designed to look pretty as it’s a properly designed garden with the Japanese aesthetic in mind. Wedding ceremonies are not allowed to take place within the gardens, but you are able to walk through and take your glamour photos within.

Just be sure you try to use the gardens during it’s opening times. The best times to visit are during the autumn months as the Japanese maple’s start to show some incredible colours.

North Terrace

The old buildings along North Terrace, coupled with some of the nice trees and art installations along the road make North terrace one of my go to wedding photo locations in Adelaide. Many of the old buildings along here belong to the Adelaide University campus, but I felt as though the campus itself deserved it’s own mention on this list.

Adelaide University

The Adelaide University campus itself has some wonderful spots hidden around the place as it’s such an old campus. One such spot has romenesque columns lining a walkway towards a door. This one spot – quite close to the Torrens footbridge – has become a huge hot spot for wedding photography often having to queue up behind other wedding couples wanting to have photos done there on a Saturday.

Old Police Barracks and Migration museum

The old Police barracks are located right behind the South Australian Museum and library. It’s a beautiful old building which is very much hidden from view and you’d be forgiven for not knowing it was there unless you had specially sought it out. It is public space, however can also be booked for wedding ceremonies so it would be best to enquire before your wedding day if it was being used or not before heading down there to have photos done.

Rymill Park

Rymill Park is one of the main venues used for the famous Adelaide Fringe festival held each year in February and March so if you want to have photos in Rymill Park during that period of time, it may be tricky. Rymill Park has a wonderful pond and beautiful trees and path ways meandering about the area which makes the spot one of the popular wedding photo locations in Adelaide.

Rundle Mall

Rundle Mall is the home of Adelaide’s defacto mascot of the Mall’s Balls art installation. Everyone from Adelaide knows the spot in Rundle Mall as an easy point of reference within the city. As a wedding photo location, it’s better suited at night, as there will not be as many random people in your photos, and it allows for the pretty lights that line the area to be used in your photos.

Adelaide Arcade

When thinking of wedding photo locations in Adelaide, the oldest shopping precinct in the city fits the bill nicely, with centry old architecture, and the ability to explore above the main shops a bit, it makes for a nicely unique spot to have your photos done.

Old Adelaide Market Area

One of the lesser known wedding photo locations in Adelaide is the old market area on East Terrace. The lane ways off Charlick cct and Vardon ave have some great scenes available for a wedding photographer – particularly during the autumn months as the trees are starting to turn some nice shades of yellow and red.

Wilson Parking Hindley St

Bit of an odd place to think about having your wedding photos done is in a car park, but the Wilson Park on Hindley street actually opens up onto it’s roof enabling your wedding photographer to get a unique perspective on the Adelaide skyline if that’s you’re thing. Sorry I only have some shots of batman to demonstrate what I’m talking about 🙂

Elder Park

Elder park is the area where every postcard of Adelaide is shot from. The park is surrounded by a lovely stretch of the river Torrens, Adelaide oval, the Festival theater and convention center. One of the main draw cards as one of the best wedding photo locations in Adelaide is the huge rotunda sitting surrounded by beautifully manicured lawn. There is also the King William street bridge and of course the river itself.

Adelaide Botanic Park

Leading straight next door to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens though is the Adelaide Botanic Park. A popular spot to hold wedding ceremonies and have photos taken with the multitude of pretty Moreton Bay Fig trees. The area is often used for live music events so some of the park may be cordoned off, and is a nice spot to hold a family picnic so if it’s a nice day, expect a lot of other people using the area while you’re taking photos.

The fig trees scattered throughout the park have amazing roots that lend themselves well to wedding photos and at certain times of day the sunlight will seep through the foliage nicely.

Torrens foreshore & footbridge

The Torrens meanders throughout the northern part of the Adelaide CBD and winds past the northern entrance to Adelaide University. At that point there is a pretty footbridge that traverses the Torrens river. You can use the footbridge itself as one of the great wedding photo locations in Adelaide, but there are also some hidden spots nearby like weeping willow trees and some nice footpaths.

Adelaide is a very pretty city, and it was designed to be so! This list is therefore not an exhaustive list of wedding photo locations in Adelaide, but more of a guide to give you an idea of some of the more popular, and in some cases lesser known spots to head to with your wedding photographer!

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Lot 100 Wedding – Alice & Dion

Lot 100 Wedding – Alice & Dion

As an Adelaide Hills wedding photographer, capturing Alice and Dion’s Lot 100 Wedding in Hay Valley was an absolute blast! The day was filled with so much fun and excitement that it seemed to fly by in a flash. Even though I started early in the morning in Myponga and didn’t finish until late at Lot 100, every moment was filled with joy and celebration.

From the exhilarating clay pigeon shooting to the lively German folk dancing, the entire day was a thrill to be a part of. As a wedding photographer, I was able to capture some amazing scenes that truly showcased the love and happiness of the couple. Overall, Alice and Dion’s wedding was an unforgettable experience that I was honored to be a part of as their photographer.

 

Preparation

Dion and a group of his friends all congregated in the early morning at Myponga to go Clay Pidgeon shooting together on a nearby farm. I had never even been present when this sport was going on, so I was quite excited for it – certainly made for a different change in pace to what I’d usually be taking photos of while the boys were getting ready! Dion even gave me a turn at trying my hand at shooting, and it turned out I was pretty good at it! Gave a new meaning to the phrase ‘out shooting a wedding’. 🙂

Alice and her bridal party were being prepared at a bed and breakfast in Stirling. It was a delightful little cottage with an intimate green garden full of little nooks to have details shots done of the rings, shoes, etc. The inside of the house was also well set up to take photos as there was some like windows around on plainly painted walls that just work very well for this kind of thing. Along with Alice’s bridal party there was also Alice’s brother there making sure everything ran well, but also there to provide some friendly, brotherly fun. 🙂

 

Lot 100 Wedding Ceremony

The location where Alice and Dion chose to set up their Lot 100 Wedding ceremony was on the sloped grass behind the main restaurant on site. It has a bit of a slope to it, but not so much that people could not stand straight. It was also great as there was a wonderful backdrop of tall gumtrees in each shot. The only unfortunate thing was that because it was set up that way, the sun was directly in Alice, Dion’s and the celebrant’s face – but the guests were more comfortable!

The ceremony itself was nice and simple, with a reading from a friend and a bit of laughter all round as the celebrant retold small bits of Alice and Dion’s relationship up to now.

Glamour Photos

A rather unique part of Alice and Dion’s day was the after effects of the large bushfires that were raging on the nearby Kangaroo Island, causing smoke to waft up through the valley and cause the backdrop of most of their photos to be quite hazy. It made it very easy for me to create a beautiful set of wedding photos that really isolate Alice and Dion, but also incorporate the stunning surrounds of their Lot 100 wedding day.

We began their glamour photos using the trees nearby where they had the wedding ceremony set up. I wanted to use the valley as a bit of a backdrop with the bridal party and also use the sun shining through the trees a bit to create an ethreal feel to the shots. We then moved up the hill a bit with the bridal party and took a few more shots on a giant felled tree trunk, which was pretty enat to arrange a group shot like that.

Finally we hopped into their 4 wheel drive and drove around the huge paddock on site, towards a magnificently huge gum treeright in the middle of it all. While doing this I also had the drone flying about as the scenery was absolutely epic from the sky. We finished off by using the small forrest of gum trees situated at the top of a nearby hill, where I was looking forward to again taking shots looking through the trees.

Lot 100 Wedding Reception

The Lot 100 wedding reception area is a beautifully set out restaurant enclosed within a modernly built structure lined with windows all around. The center of the restaurant is the bar where they serve a huge amount of different craft beers and wines. Alice and Dion had their dance floor set up at one end of the area.

A huge standout of their night was the German dancers Alice and Dion had organised to come in and perform for their guests. The dancers made a bit of a mockery of Dion in good spirits while they also demonstrated their skill with some highly complicated dancing and music! Was a sight to see!

Another stand out for me was the fact that their night happened to be on a night with a super full moon, so we made sure to get out and make use of the moon while it wasnt hiding behind clouds. The smoke from the fires also made it a rusty orange colour! Really quite pretty!

I’d like to thank Alice and Dion for having me do their Adelaide wedding photography! Was a great day and I hope you enjoy your photos! 😀

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Ekhidna Wines Wedding – Sarah & Ricardo

  • Sarah & Ricardo

    Ekhidna Wines Wedding

    Ekhidna wines wedding

Ekhidna Wines, or Ekhidna Winery in Mclaren Vale was the stunning backdrop to Sarah and Ricardo’s wedding amongst a wonderful bunch of people who had travelled from far and wide to attend their big day. A big difference between their wedding and many others however was the fact that they opted to do their glamour shoot a few days prior to their wedding day. They instead got dressed up 2 days before their wedding day in mid Januray and had a bit of a ‘first look’ and glamour shoot using optimal light later in the day.

Pre Wedding Shoot

The great thing about what Sarah and Ricardo decided to do was that they were able to dedicate their whole wedding day soley to their friends and family, without leaving everyone at their Ekhidna wines reception while they went off to have their glamour photos taken. As their glamour photos had already been done a few day prior they were able to just party all day! It was also great to me as we were able to make use of the best light during the day, without worrying about getting back inside for speeches or cake cutting. It was a wonderful idea and I can’t believe more pople don’t opt to do this!

Our glamour shoot began as a simple little ‘first look’ between Sarah adn Ricardo in the garden of the bed and breakfast they were staying at that night. It was a very small little garden, but it worked out beautifully as the sun was in a great spot for it to shine in through the leaves of the trees lining the road. Then we head out to the main street of Mclaren Vale where there is a stunning little grove of Olive Trees that are free to walk through as a tribute to the regions large Olive business.

I like using this spot later in the day as the sun shines through the canopy of this little grove quite nicely. The next spot we head to was the ‘story bench’ in Willunga which I learnt about back when I was a teacher at the nearby Willunga Primary School. Its a simple little park with large gum trees, a big open grassy area and some nifty, whispy trees I’m not sure what their names are. 😀 We then finished the day back at Ekhidna Wines where Saraha and Ricardo’s dog came to visit for a bit of a shoot throughout the vineyards.

Preparation

On the actual day of the wedding, Sarah and her bridal aprty were being prepared at the Ekhidna Wines on-site bed and breakfast which is always convenient as it’s right next door to the wedding venue. I had a little bit of time with Sarah and everyone there and grab a few shots of them all getting ready!

Ekhidna Wines Wedding Ceremony

Sarah and Ricardo’s wedding ceremoyn was full of meaningful readings and heartfelt cameos by friends and family throughout, and was of course backdropped to what I feel to be one of the best backdrops to any wedding venue in Mclaren Vale – that of the Hills behind Ekhidna WInes. When there is a little cloud in the sky, it just makes for a stunning backdrop!

Ekhidna Wines Wedding Reception

To finish up I was at Sarah and Ricardo’s wedding reception on site at Ekhidna wines for a few hours before my wedding photography coverage was at an end. Can you believe I maaged to grab all these shotswithin 6 hours?! 2 hours on their glamour shoot day, and 4 on their actual wedding day and I managed to pretty much cover it all! It was obvious to me that many of those who made speeches throughout the evening were used to public speaking as the quality of all the speeches were fantastic, and tall the guests got right into each one, making the whole experience that much more intimate and special.

Sarah and Ricardo, your wedding was an absolute joy to be a part of and I hope you enjoy your photos!

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Inglewood Inn Wedding – Kasia & Ben

  • Kasia & Ben

    Inglewood Inn Wedding

    Inglewood Inn Wedding Photo

I’d been looking forward to being Kasia and Ben’s wedding photographer ever sinse Kasia had asked me to do it several months prior as I grew up with Kasia’s brother throughout High School and knew they were a wonderful bunch of people! It was a super hot day for Kasia and Ben’s Inglewood Inn wedding, but the heat really did not stop the jovial nature of their wedding guests. The whole day was full of laughter, joy and intimate moments that just makes being a wedding photographer all the more worthwhile.

Preparation

Ben and a few of the boys were being prepared at a house on the other side of town. If Ben had any nerves he certainly wasnt showing them as he was quite keen on making the preparation time quite fun by having photos done in his jocks, and throwing banter about with some of the other boys getting ready there.

Kasia was being prepared in a hotel room at The Watson, North East of the city. The room was light and airy with a huge window at one end of the room which made for great natural light to seep through and illuminate everthing. Kasia was getting prepared in the same room as several others, including her brother who was also acting as her ‘Man of honour’, and ‘Flower Man’ during the cermeony.

Inglewood Inn Wedding Ceremony

The day was so hot that it was an absolute blessing to have the canopy of stunning oak tree foliage covering Kasia and ben’s guests during the ceremony. I really felt bad for Ben and some of the other men through in 3 piece suits! I even had some of my secondary equipment fail on me due to the heat it was that hot. Luckily, when holding an Inglewood Inn wedding ceremony, usually the whole ceremony takes place in the shade. Also, it certainly did not put any hamper on processings as Kasia and Ben’s ceremony was full of heartfelt vows and readings from important members of the family. Even their celebrant was a friend of the family!

It was lovely to be a part of 🙂 It’s also a lot of fun to see a grown man act as the ‘flower man’ rather than a little girl – always puts a smile on everyones face!

Glamour Photos

The Inglewood Inn is an incredible place to take photos in, with beautifully curated areas around the grassy spot for the ceremony, but also very unkempt areas surrounding a number of creeks flowing through the property. Theres also even a beautiful old colonial cottage ruin a short walk away, along with a paddock full of farm animals and gum trees.

Of course though, the main drawcard for having wedding photos done at the Inglewood Inn is Gollop’s Bridge, which happens to be the oldest road bridge still in use in SA.  Named after John Gollop who constructed a wooden bridge over the branch of the Little Para river just below the Inglewood Inn in the 1840’s. The bridge was replaced by the current stone-arch bridge in 1863. We used the bridge during the day to get what I figure to be the ‘money shot’ of an Inglewood Inn wedding, but we also head back out at night with some smoke in a can to use the area in the dark.

Inglewood Inn Wedding Reception

The inglewood Inn reception area overlooks the ceremony grounds so well that you could potentially attent a wedding here without leaving the reception hall. It boasts panoramic windows overlooking the hills surrounding the venue and is large enough to host larger weddings, while still being quite an intimate space.

Kasia and ben’s reception was full of lovely speeches by quite a few guests, and everyone was up on the dance floor which was great to see!

I’d like to thank Kasia and Ben for having me on their special day and I hope they enjoy their wedding photography! 😀