What a gorgeous wedding this was! Tracy and Jorden were wed on the grassy hill next to the Royal SA Yacht Squadron club houses in Outer Harbour on a super sunny, but not too hot day in November. The day provided for some amazing scenes thanks to Tracy and Jordan’s eagerness to travel and get to the right places for the best shots. It also helped quite a bit they had planned to go to some amazing spots for their photos after their ceremony. As they opted to take advantage of my value-packed full day package as their wedding photographer, I was on hand to capture every single moment of their stunning day.
Preparation
As s often the case, I began the day with Jordan and his grooms men. When I arrived in the morning, the boys sprang into action getting ready while also putting finishing touches on the best man’s speech. Most of the photos were taken in Tracy and Jordan’s house, which a small amount of time taken to take the dogs for a walk to the local park.
Tracy and her bridal party were being prepared in a room overlooking the Largs Pier at the Largs Pier Hotel. This stunning old building has some incredible details throughout the building, with none more impressive than the grand staircase meandering up the floors. The bridal party were in high spirits and were actually prepared quite quickly so after a few photos, we had a bit of time for a bit of a breather before heading down to the pier and bar for a few shots outside.
Royal SA Yacht Squadron wedding ceremony
The Royal SA Yacht Squadron has has a presence in Outer Harbour since 1924 after having been founded at Birkenhead in 1881. The Royal SA Yacht Squadron is a stoic institution, originally founded amongst the tall ships of Port Adelaide as a social organisation, the club was forced to move to Outer Harbour due to the port becoming too congested.
Today the clubhouse of the yacht squadron has become a very popular location for weddings, and receptions, especially due to it’s newly renovated function room overlooking the marina. I myself journey to the Yacht Squadron a number of times a year for weddings and their receptions. The most recent of which would be Vanessa and Justin’s only a few weeks prior.
Tracy and Jordan’s wedding ceremony took place on the grassy hill overlooking the marina. The wind picked up just before the ceremony so there was a bit of that to contend with, but other than that the ceremony went off without a hitch.
Glamour Shots
The first location we headed to directly after the wedding ceremony was the Yacht Club’s quaint little original boat house that is located under the newly renovated function center. The area provides for a stunning backdrop with some very interesting lighting suitable for striking couple shots framed by glowing light.
We then headed down to the Semaphore beachfront to take advantage of the sun and surf. Before heading to the jetty though, we first went for a bit of a walk toward the rocks that line the inlet towards Outer Harbour. Tracy was looking forward to using the rocks as a bit of a prop, and I was more than keen to oblige!
Finally we navigated the crowds congregating for the Port Adelaide Christmas pageant to drive to the wonderfully popular wedding photo location that are the old Wool sheds for some inductional themed shots. These turned out incredibly considering the amount of redirected traffic we had to contend with while shooting. I’ve never seen this road that busy!
Royal SA Yacht Squadron wedding reception
After having taken these amazing shots around Port Adelaide, we headed back to the newly renovated Yacht Squadron for the wedding reception. The party was a boisterous affair with some characters keeping the night from becoming boring 😉 All in all the entire day was an absolute blast and I really enjoyed myself!
It was a warm, sunny day on the day of Xavier and Ryan’s wedding at the Stockade Botanical Park. Aside from a small hiccup where their celebrant didn’t arrive until the last second, and some killer mosquitoes, the entire day went really well. In fact judging the smiles on both Xavier and Ryan’s faces the entire day I doubt very much they even noticed. Xavier and Ryan opted to take advantage of my flexible hourly rates to commission me as their wedding photographer, so I was with them from the beginning of their ceremony until mid way through their reception at the Mawson Lakes hotel.
Stockade Botanical Park wedding ceremony
Xavier and Ryan were wed in front of the Stockade Botanical Park’s small rotunda after having Xavier walk up the wonderful rose-lined path leading to it. They were very lucky with the lack of random on lookers during the ceremony, despite the marvellous weather, as the park is open to the public, and what a wonderful little park it is!
Glamour Photos
The Stockade Botanical Park boasts a large man-made waterfall which cascades into a little pool at it’s bottom. It’s such a shame that such a beautiful waterfall is shut off behind a hideous fence though! It’s ok though as just in front of the falls are some stupendous small gardens perfectly suited to getting some bush-bashing photos that turned out absolutely stunning!
Named for the nearby small stockade which has fallen into disrepair, the parkland was created to fill what was a rather ugly unused rock quarry for the local residents. The park contains numerous public art installations and a wonderful green backdrop for weddings.
Mawson Lakes Hotel wedding reception
Xavier and Ryan’s wedding reception was held at the Mawson lakes Hotel nearby. Ther reception hall is wonderfully set up with a lit backdrop for the bridal table, along with ample sitting area for a large wedding, or a lounge area along with a dance floor. Xavier and Ryans guests were obviously full of love for them as the whole day was a beautifully happy affair with smiles everywhere one could see, it was a lot of fun and I’m so glad I was a part of it!
Why we give guests a gift for attending a wedding
Ever wonder why we give guests a gift for attending a wedding? Seems a bit odd doesn’t it? I mean you’ve just forked out a small fortune to host this spectacular wedding reception to celebrate your marriage, why should you spend any more on gifts? Surely the $100 per head 3 course dinner you’ve provided for them is enough, right? Well in my research of wedding traditions, the answer lies in what people believed to help with the vitality of the party.
Ever wonder why we give guests a gift for attending a wedding?
The origin of the tradition dates back to the 1600s when French aristocrats used to give out jeweled boxes full of sugar coated almonds as a means to increase vitality in the party. A gift of a bonbonnière was a symbol of care extended to all guests. Sugared almonds carried additional significance at weddings, as the bitterness of the almonds and the sweetness of the sugar was thought to symbolise the bitter-sweetness of marriage. The practice spread across Europe where the Italians, Greeks and Spanish also thought the sugar on almonds gave health giving properties. As the price of sugar fell, more and more people were able to copy society’s elite much in the same way white wedding gowns became the norm in the 1800s. The shape and colour of the almonds also mimicked eggs, a symbol of fertility.
While the opulent, jeweled boxes have fallen to the wayside in favour of cheaper options, such as paper bags in modern times; those sugar coated almonds remain. Love them or hate them, they are a staple at weddings and you’ll find them in almost every wedding. They are cheap, small and easy to give out, but these days people often opt for more substantial gifts to compliment them. From photo frames to lego minifigs right through to bottles of liquor and pieces of jewellery, modern bomboniere can be very diverse.
The reason why we give guests a gift for attending a wedding all stems from the tradition of the French of getting a sugar high from eating too much sugar. Who knew? 🙂
St Andrew’s Church Wedding – Vanessa & Justin
Vanessa and Justin’s wedding took place at the historic St Andrew’s Church in Walkerville, north east of the city. The church provided some beautiful surrounds to what was obviously a love filled ceremony to celebrate two wonderful families coming together. I started the day at St Andrew’s Church for the ceremony, and saw us venture into Port Adelaide for some industrial-themed glamour shots and then to the Royal Australian Yacht Squadron for Vanessa & Justin’s reception. vanessa and Justin opted to take advantage of my flexible hourly package for 4 hours. The weather on the day was absolutely stunning which enabled some amazing photos to be taken. Enjoy!
St Andrew’s Church Wedding Ceremony
I arrived around an hour early to the wedding which enabled me to float about capturing Justin and his entourage putting the final touches on their suits and adjusting their hair. Justin was all smiles which just a touch of nervousness sneaking in, but he hid it well 🙂
St Andrew’s Church is a historic church being built in 1848 on land enthusiastically donated by a local brewer. It’s claim to fame are its magnificently preserved stained glass windows, the majority of which are from the British Company of James Powell and Sons of Whitefriars. The insides of the church provide a wonderfully dimly-lit atmosphere perfect for a sacred ceremony such as marriage, plus it’s cavernous ceilings give great opportunities for epic photographs.
Glamour photos
After the ceremony and group photos out the front of the church, we headed down to a very popular wedding photography spot in Port Adelaide. So popular in fact that we had no less than 3 different weddings there at one point! While we waited for the other weddings to leave at the Port Adelaide Wool Sheds, I suggested we head around the corner to a more quiet location with wonderfully industrial walls to use as a backdrop.
After the other weddings had left, we had the roads in front of the famous Port Adelaide Wool Sheds all to ourselves, and the sun was fantastic! I used the sun’s flares to great effect behind Vanessa and Justin to create a beautifully lit, dreamy backdrop. I had loads of fun 🙂
Before the reception started at the Royal Yacht Squadron, we had a few minutes to utilise the stunning backdrop of the marina for a few more photos. This was mainly due to having tried Semaphore beach for some shots with the jetty, but not finding a park.
Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron Wedding Reception
I’ve been down to the Yacht Squadron quite a few times now for different weddings and receptions. It’s become quite a popular venue due to its neat backdrop of million dollar yachts and close proximity to beaches like Semaphore. The clubhouses have been upgraded to have a modern, clean feel overlooking the marina and the staff couldn’t be nicer.
I’d like to thank Vanessa and Justin for having me be their wedding photographer on their wedding day, and I hope they enjoy their photos!
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