,

Arkapena Station Wedding – Wilpenda Pound

Ok, this year has been absolutely crazy for some of the locations I’ve visted when covering weddings. So far this year I’ve covered a wedding in Greece, several in Darwin, and then of course some spectacular spots around Adelaide! But I’m going to have to say that Arkapena Station, right next to Wilpena Pound would have to be the most ‘remote’ and specatularly beautiful in a way that only outback Australia can be! I was super excited to head out this way as visiting Wilpena Pound had always been on my bucketlist as a keen landscape photographer, but never really had the chance or the reason to venture out there until now.

All that being said though, I’m sure you’re keen to see some amazing photos from this spectaular corner of South Australia, but the bride and groom has requested that no images that can identify them be placed online – which means that some of their amazing wedding photographs are not here. Oonly shots from behind their heads, or simply landscape shots of Arkapena Stations and the nearby Rawnsley Park Station, where they held their reception. Occasionally some couples I shoot have requests like this and I’m more than happy to oblige – it just means that many of their amazing photos I can’t show you guys! 🙁

Arkapena Station

The bride and groom generously put me up in accomodation along side many of their guests in the nearby Rawnsley Park Station, where they were also to hold their reception later that night. I began the day quite early as I was keen to get shots of the famous Cazneaux Tree at sunrise before heading to the Woolshed restaurant on site and had the most amazing ‘big breakfast’ and coffee for a very reasonable price. Sorry I dont usually write about what breakfast i had on the day of a wedding – but it was just too good not to mention! 🙂

The bride was being prepared across the road in the house on Arkapena Station, a short walk away from the ceremony location. The whole scene was backdropped by an amazing vista of the side of Wilpena Pound. Was an amazingly Australian setup, complete with dust, flies and jaw-dropping beauty. I ate at least 2 flies.

Engagement ring
Wedding Dress hanging infront of Wilpena Pound
Wedding dress hanging in Arkapena Station
Wedding signs
Wedding shoes on tree
Bride getting ready
Bride getting ready in Arkapena station

In order to cut down on nerves and make things a little more intimate, the bride and groom opted to have a bit of a family gathering out the back of the Arkapena Station homestead and have the first look surrounded by close family members. Another reason why they did this was that they were both going to arrive together via helicopter to the ceremony proper later on.

Before heading away on their helicopter flight though, we used the Arkapena Station scenery for a bit of a photoshoot.

Wilpena Pound from Arkapena Station
Helicopter taking off
Bride and groom walking along creek on Arkapena Station
Helicopter and homemade pinata
Bride and groom walking towards Wilpena Pound

Arkapena Station Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony location as I mentioned before was backdropped by the most gorgeous vista of Wilpena Pound, framed by giant gum trees that really made me think of Hans Heyson’s paintings – it was beautifully scenic and a joy to be a part of – the only draw back were the persistant flies… You wouldnt believe how many I had to photoshop out of their photos!

Wedding set up at Arkapena Station

After the ceremony, the entire congregation retired to the homestead for a short little ‘warm up’ reception complete with icecream van and plenty of refreshments to combat the heat. The bride had constructed a wonderful loveheart pinata for the kids, and the rest enjoyed their icecream and drinks surrounded by the wonderful views.

Arkapena Station from the sky
Arkapena Station Homestead

Rawnsley Park Station at Wilpena Pound

Inbetween heading from the Arkapena Station homestead, and the reception location at Rawnsley Park Station, we made the use of the setting sun a bit with more of the amazing scenery for some more landscapey photos.

Bride and groom walking along driveway
Bride and groom walking
Bride and groom walking with wilp[ena pound in the background
walking toward wilpena pound
Wilpena Pound wedding
Arkapena station wedding
Rawnsley Park Station

In case you havent noticed, I had a ball of a time photographing this amazing place and this wonderful couple! 😀

,

St Francis Winery Wedding – Jess & Chris

  • Jess & Chris

    St Francis Winery Wedding

    veil flowing amongst the trees

Jess and Chris held their lovely St Francis Winery wedding on a lovely day in early October. While the sun wasn’t out, the temperature was warm and everyone had a wonderful time. I was asked to be Jess and Chris’ wedding photographer after having covered Kate and Callan’s wedding at Peacock Farm a few years prior. Callan happened to be one of the groom’s men for Chris 🙂 It’s always nice to be recommended by previous bridal couples, makes me feel that I’m doing something right! haha

Preparation

I started the day at Jess and Chris’ house, south of Adelaide which was where Chris and his groomsmen were getting ready. I arrived just as an incredible breakfast was being served to each of the boys, a full stack of wonderful looking pancakes that make me want to sit down and join them! They looked pretty good… Callan then got onto the ironing, as was tradition, and the boys got dressed. It was nice that Chris’ mother came to join them just before I was to leave to visit Jess and her girls getting ready at St Francis winery.

putting on tie
getting ready
groom ironing
putting on flower
groom almost ready

The girls were getting ready in the usual room that is generally reserved for brides getting ready on wedding days at St Francis winery. The room is usually used as it has some nice natural light and large windows available for some nice shots. The girsl were fairly laid back while they were being prepared, and they even had enough time to wander through the reception area and view the ceremony spot on the St Francis winery lawn before putting on the wedding dress and heading out.

bride looking in mirror
bride looking at bouquet
pretty bride
bride getting ready
putting on dress

St Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

St Francis winery has several different spots where a wedding ceremony can be set up. The majority of ceremonies I’ve covered here have overlooked the pond, however Jess was concerned with the possibility of it being a sunny day and the sun shing in their eyes while they stood there, she also diddn’t like the idea of having the nearby supermarket in the background of her photos. So to avoid these issues, Jess set up her ceremony facing the St Francis Winery buildings, which allowed for the lovely foliage from the trees and interesting architecture from the buildings to be in the backdrop. As the day was fairly overcast, the guests were pretty comfortable out on the grassy area and the ceremony worked out quite well.

st francis winery wedding ceremony
bride waiting
proud mumma
st francis winery wedding ceremony
together
smiling groom
st francis winery wedding ceremony
waiting groom
grooms first look
bridal exit at st francis winery
best man
wedding sign

Glamour photos

After the ceremony, I got out the drone and had a big group photo done on the grassy area in front of the lake, and had smaller group photos done in front of the weeping willows and love sign. Jess, Chris and their bridal party then went for a little walk around the St Francis winery lake to make use of the broken down carts, and wonderful weeping willow trees for photos. We then had a little break to grab a drink before going for a short drive to the nearby bike track which I knew had some awesome arching trees that I could use as a backdrop. The lack of sun really worked to my advantage, limiting the amount of harsh shadows and made for some awesome shots!

kisses
veil flowing amongst the trees
bridal party amongst trees
bridal party near cart
floating veil
flowing veil
passion
happy couple

St Francis Winery Wedding Reception

Jess and Chris’ reception was a fun little party, punctuated by heading out for some photos under the lit up willow trees at night, and in front of the lit love sign which I believe Jess had won in a competition leading up to her big day. They had the reception hall decked out really nicely with floral arrangements and a beautiful abckdrop behind the bridal table, and their first dance was complete with smoke machine. It was all pretty neat!

[popup_anything id=”19292″]

looking at rings
first dance
st francis winery wedding reception
under the st francis winery trees at night
guests having fun
st francis winery decor
hugs
dancing guests
wedding cake
cutting wedding cake
entrance
first dance at st francis winery
pretty at night
dancing in front of love sign
dancing guests

Thanks so much to Jess and Chris for having me as your wedding photographer! I had a great time and I hope you enjoy your photos!

,

Mt Lofty House Wedding – Naomi & Neil

  • Jess & Chris

    St Francis Winery Wedding

    veil flowing amongst the trees

Naomi and Neil held their lovely intimate Mt Lofty House wedding on a lovely day in late September. Unfortunately they could not hold their ceremony out on the house’s lawn, overlooking the Mt Lofty botanic gardens, due to it being a little chilly, but the great thing about a  Mt Lofty House wedding is that there’s always a backup spot for a ceremony inside, just in case! I was asked to be their wedding photographer for 3 hours on their big day, and I was so pleased to be a part of their lovely day!

Preparation

My day started with Naomi being prepared on site inside one of the private cottages surrounding Mt Lofty House. Neil was also getting ready there, but left before Naomi had her dress put on, allowing for the traditional ‘first look’ of the dress as Naomi walked down the aisle.

The atmosphere within the house with Naomi and the girls getting ready there was upbeat and quite laid back, punctuated just before leaving for the ceremony with a little emotion as Mum and Dad came in just before she left. It’s always nice to capture the smiles and/or tear of the parents as they witness their little one all ready to be married! 😀 One of the reasons why I love being a wedding photographer, you never know how people will react, and it’s wonderful to share in the emotion of wedding days!

Wedding shoes
Flower
Engagement ring
Wedding dress
Wedding dress
Helping bridesmaids
Using the mirror
Putting on dress
Looking pretty
Dad’s first look

Mt Lofty House Wedding Ceremony

As I mentioned earlier, Naomi and Neil’s Mt Lofty House wedding took place inside the hotel’s restaurant instead of the previously planned lawns overlooking the valley due to being a little cold. The space provided by Mt Lofty House in these cases has ample space for medium to large sized congregations, and it fit all of Neil and Naomi’s guests nicely. The space as they had it set up has huge windows overlooking the valley as if they were outside on the lawns anyway, while having the added confort of being inside. It was the second time in a row I’ve been the wedding photographer at a Mt Lofty House wedding inside.

Wedding sign
Groom’s first look
Bridal approach
Bridal approach
Together
Holding hands
Holding hands
Dad looking on
Smiles
Smiles
Mt Lofty House Wedding Ceremony
Mt Lofty House Wedding Ceremony
Exchanging wedding rings
inside wedding ceremony
First kiss
Exit

Glamour Photos

After some family photos which we took outside on the lawns, we used the gardens surrounding Mt Lofty House and the interior spaces of the house itself for some glamour photos. As the sky was rather overcast, walking about the gardens and taking photos there were an absolute dream and made the task of making pretty photos that much easier! The inside of Mt Lofty House was as always a super stately affair, and as Naomi and Neil were keen wine drinkers they were excited to head down to the well stocked wine cellar located below the house itself. Some very expensive wine bottles down there!

Starway
Mt Lofty House cellars
Playing chess
In the library
Starway
Against the wall in the Mt Lofty House gardens
In amongst the trees
Bridal party
Narnia
Most interesting man in the world
Engagement ring
On the steps
Mt Lofty House Garden
Mt Lofty House steps
Walking about
Mt Lofty House steps
Wedding rings

Mt Lofty House Wedding Reception

Naomi and Neil’s reception took place in the newly rennovated add-on room nearby the Mt Lofty House restaurant, which is a lovely airy space, adjacent to the gardens. They held a simple lunch time reception which allowed me to capture their cake and it’s cutting, and a photo of pretty much everyone there before I had to leave. I’ve noticed this before, but Naomi and Neil also opted to have a non-traditional wedding cake – which was actually several cheese wheels stacked upon one another. This is feel is a wonderful alternative for those of us who aren’t real cake eaters. Looks great too! I believe they had it cut up and distributed as part of their bonboneire gifts for their guests!

Wedding cheese cake
Wedding bubbles
Guests
Speech
Food
Smiling bride
Smiling guest
Guests
Cutting the wedding cake
Cheers

Thanks so much to Naomi and Neil for having me as your wedding photographer, I enjoyed myself immensely, and I hope you love your photos!

,

St Francis Winery Wedding – Chelsea & Nathan

  • Jess & Chris

    St Francis Winery Wedding

    veil flowing amongst the trees

It was a stunning day in amongst some rather ordinary weather for Chelsea and Nathan’s St Francis Winery Wedding at the beginning of September. It’s rather exciting to head to weddings like ths as I knew form the outset that Chelsea and Nathan were excellent dancers so I knew their reception was going to be a blast! I was lucky enough to be asked to be their wedding photographer all day and we managed to make most use of the time without the day seeming too rushed.

Preparation Photos

I was asked to begin the day with Chelsea’s preparation photos at the St Francis Winery room where she was being prepared, but I felt as though Nathan was missing out a bit so I head around to the nearby house he was getting ready at for about 10 minutes also – just to grab a shot of the rings and other small things lying about the place.

Getting ready
Through the makeup light
Wedding rings
Engagement ring
Getting ready
Getting ready
Wedding dress

First Look

The preparation phtos wasn’t a huge deal to Chelsea and Nathan, but what was exciting was they opted to have their main ‘glamour’ photo shoot done before their wedding ceremony in what’s known as a ‘first look’ where the groom and bride meet each other before the ceremony away from prying eyes and the nerves that would otherwise accompany the usual tradtional ‘first look’ as the bride walks down the aisle.

One of the Nathan’s groomsmen was a good sport here as Chelsea had secretly dressed him up in a stunning dress to play a bit of a prank on Nathan before she arrived for the real first look! 🙂

Groom walking about
Groom and groomsmen
The beautiful bride approaches
Surprise
Hugs
The actual bride approaches
The actual bride approaches
Hugs

Glamour Photos

After the first look we had a good amount of time to use the St Francis Winery grounds and surrounds for some glamour photos. This time of year the weeping willows surrounding the pond on the grounds was just starting to turn green again which always makes for a lovely backdrop – particularly on sunny days where the sun flares through the foliage. We also head out for a bit to the nearby bike track which I knew – having lived in the area for quite a while – made for a lovely backdrop wth it’s arching tall trees either side. This made for a little diversity in their photos.

inside
Wedding rings
walking together
Holding bouquet
Chilling on the cart
Walking amongst the forest
In front of the cellar doors
Walking together
Under a tree
Under a tree
under the weeping willow
inside the St Francis winery wedding reception area
Walking amongst the forest
under the weeping willow
Bridal party
Standing together
Under the trees
Together in front of the flowers
On the bike path
Smiles under the trees
inside the St Francis winery wedding reception area
Near the cart
On the bike path

St Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

Chelsea and Nathan’s actual wedding ceremony was a lovely simple affair which, after the music had been fixed at the begining went off quite well 🙂 Unfortunately their music had been set up with the bridal party walking down together holding flash cards as a bit of an inside joke, but diddnt work out so well 😛 Diddnt put a dampener on anyone’s mood though!

wedding sign
Groom waiting patiently
Bridal approach
Bridal approach
Smiling groom
Smiling father of bride
St Francis winery wedding ceremony
Smiling bride
St Francis winery wedding ceremony
together out the front
Nerves
Vows
Listening
Smiles
Celebrant
Exchanging wedding rings
Exchanging wedding rings
First kiss
Celebrate!
Checking out ring
Congregation

St Francis Winery Wedding Reception

As I mentioned before I knew Chalsea ad Nathan were pretty good dancers as their circle of friends happened to be the same as a wedding I covered several years ago where the bride and groom attended the same dance club. I also knew that many of the same dance club would be there than night, so the dance floor was always in action this night, and not just with people swaying and bopping, actual proper dancing! It was great to witness 🙂

First dance
First dance
First dance
First dance
Daddy daughter dance
under the trees at night
bonbonerie
talking
Main
Speech
reaction
reaction
Dancing
Dancing
Dancing

Thanks so much to Chelsea and Nathan for having me as your wedding photographer on your big day!

,

Glanville Hall Wedding – Ashleigh & Corey

I was lucky enough to be the wedding photographer for Ashleigh and Corey’s Glanville Hall wedding in Sempahore at the end of August. I was asked to provide 3 hours worth of coverage which saw me there from before their ceremony right through to part of their reception, all on site at Glanville House. The weather held out just long enough to keep everyone dry before the rain set in later that night.

 

Before the ceremony

I arrived as I usually do rather early, so early in fact I was surprised to see Corey and some of his family standing about pretty much ready for Ashleigh to arrive any minute! Thankfully that wasnt for over an hour yet, but it just showed how eagre Corey was to get married! 😀

Lawn games
lawn games
The boys
Lawn games
running about
Closeup of flower
Glanville Hall
Waiting groom
Talking groom
Lawn Games

Glanville Hall Wedding Ceremony

There was a bit of a story behind the reason why Ashleigh and Corey were wed under the backdrop of the lovely Glanville Hall in Semaphore, as unfortunately their booked wedding venue nearby in Glenelg unfortunately went bankrupt only weeks prior to their wedding date, so it was very lucky such a venue was free on the same date! Glanville Hall is a stunning historic venue dating back to the early days of Adelaide settlement, and apparently there were family ties with the house itself amongst Ashleigh and Corey’s family so it all turned out to be a pretty neat spot to be married!

Their ceremony took place on the lawn, out the front of the historic house, with the congregation looking on as Ashleigh walked around the lawn to reach the front of the house. It was a fairly simple ceremony which was highlighted by the cute antics of the newly wed couple’s little boys 🙂

Bride arriving
Bride arriving
Page boys
Bridesmaid
Bridal approach
Groom’s first look
Hugs
Smiling bride
Together at the altar
Under Glanville Hall
Wedding ceremony
Exchanging wedding rings
First kiss
Family

Glanville Hall Wedding Glamour Photos

Once the family photos were over, we spent around 30 minutes walking around the house looking for vantage points for some quick glamour photos before the sun began to hide behind the rapidly amassing clouds. The lack of sun in the afternoon made for a much more moody atmosphere and worked well with the famed tree out the back of the house.

Under the Glanville Hall tree
Group photo
Under the veil
Bridal party
Together under the trees
Walking together
Laughing bride
Out the front of Glanville Hall at night
Wedding rings
Together
Under the tree
Engagement ring
Bouquet

Glanville Hall Wedding Reception

Achleigh and Corey’s reception took place in the dining hall within the manor which had just enough room for their congregation, including a nice little dance floor where they had their first dance before I had to leave.

First dance
Guests
Table
Wedding Cake
Guests
Cutting the Wedding Cake
First dance
First dance

Thanks so much for having me Ashleigh and Corey! Hope you enjoy your photos.