Almost every weekend I’m out photographing a wedding as an Adelaide wedding photographer and I’m always meeting new lovely people that officiate the ceremony, but there are a couple out there that I either run into so often, or that I know by how they conducted themselves that they are worth recommendation.
Of course there are quite a few Adelaide wedding celebrants, so I simply cannot list all the great ones here – but these are the ones that come to mind immediately whenever people ask me for recommendations. I will be adding more to this list as more come to mind, as I know there are more that are just on the tip of my tounge and I can’t put a name to their face.
The Best Wedding Celebrants Adelaide
Wedding rings on rock
Maria and Richard Rowland are a husband and wife team in Adelaide that conduct wedding ceremonies together. They offer a unique service where they can create seamless ceremonies with all the boxes ticked. Richard is bantering with the groom and queuing your music while Maria is off greeting the bride, fluffing her dress, and settling any last-minute nerves. They each bring their own personality and style to your ceremony. With their combined wealth of life experience, and their philosophy that life should be full of fun, along with their passion for meeting new people, they will take you by the hand and guide you along your wedding journey to create your dream ceremony.
Richard’s expert DJ/MC services are also included in the package, meaning your party can start at the ceremony and go through to midnight. They are proud supporters of marriage equality and welcome all couples with open arms. They are creative writers who will listen to your love story and retell it so that you and your guests will laugh and cry, making it a memorable experience. Maria and Richard believe in creating something unique and special for their clients, and they only charge a single celebrant fee.
Vicky is one of those names that is synonymous with weddings in Adelaide, always keen to have a bit of fun at weddings, and likes things to be light hearted – her personality suits being a wedding celebrant perfectly.
She has a nice loud, crisp voice and very rarely makes any diction mistakes – very easy to understand! I also love her car’s number plate – which you’ll just have to chat with her to find out what it is 😉
Married!
Peter is a delightful chap, always keen to have a bit of a joke throughout his ceremonies, but also carries with him an air of prestige and formaility simply by his physical appearance as a tall, well dressed bloke.
I think I’ve photographed around a dozen weddings with Peter at the helm, and each one has gone off without a hitch – a true professional at what he does!
Celebrant talking
When it comes to Adelaide wedding celebrants, Jacqui is a super popular choice, often being booked out years in advance, she brings an air of adventure and fun to her ceremonies. In fact as of writitng this, shes currently on a several month tour of Australia, adventuring about witrh her family!
Always with a smile on her face, Jacqui is one of those celebrants who you know just loves her job!
Laughing
Jen is one of those Adelaide wedding celebrants who always has an idea on how to make your ceremony more special in ways you might not have thought of. Very approachable and easy to talk to, she knows what makes a ceremony work and makes planning a wedding super easy, regardless on what type of personality she is presented with.
Celebrant talking during ceremony
Deborah is one of those celebrants in Adelaide that just doesnt say no to any request you might have. I’ve seen her dress up in medieval garb, put on voices, manage music playlists and even stay all day as an MC on a wedding day. Whenever I arrive at a wedding and see Deborah at the helm, I know that this ceremony is going to be memoriable!
The Manor Basket range wedding Ceremony
Bob is always nioce to have around, keen to chat and have a bit of fun with his wedding ceremonies. As of writing this, last time I was photographing him he was quoting lines from the Princess Bride with full voice acting and all!
A very experienced Adelaide marriage celebrant, he is able to facilitate all kinds of wedding ceremonies from the simple, to complex and everything inbetween!
Holding hands smiling
As with all wedding celebrants on my list, Penelope is another very experienced wedding celebrant, officiating at over 500 weddings in the last 10 years, alse even being rated in the top 5 marriage celebrants in all of Australia according to the 2022 National ABIA awards.
Always with a bubbly personality, Penelope is keen to make everyone at ease throughout their ceremonies and loves a bit of humour throughout!
Celebrant
I’m sure I’ve missed some Adelaide Wedding Celebrants that should be on this list!
Hopefully this little list of wedding celebrants Adelaide helps you find the perfect celebrant for your big day – again I hate to miss out on any of the other hundreds of celebrants I’ve worked with other the years!
10 Honeymoon Tips For An Amazing Trip
You deserve an eventful trip to beautiful places for your honeymoon. Planning a great wedding is crucial, but you also need a perfect honeymoon to complete your experience. Your wedding requires you to be conscious of your guests, friends, and family as you make memories. However, your honeymoon is the real introduction to married life where you and your spouse would get to know each other intimately. This is why you must take note of some essential honeymoon tips to guide you through your trip.
10 Honeymoon Tips For An Amazing Trip
1. Plan it Together
Marriage is a partnership. You can start living the reality of that fact even while planning for your honeymoon. Make sure that you and your spouse are actively involved in the planning process to ensure that it is not one-sided. Consider your partner’s interests when choosing the right destination, the duration, and the convenient time to travel. Considering these factors would require a lot of compromises and selfless thinking so you can meet each other’s needs.
2. Plan Early
Planning a wedding is tiring; however, combining it with plans for your honeymoon can be nerve-wracking. This is why you must ensure that everything goes smoothly. Check out for events you both might want to attend and see if you could schedule your honeymoon around that period. Also, take the necessary breaks off work to ensure you can enjoy your honeymoon to the fullest. You can book your flight tickets ahead of time to cut down on costs and even get hotels that offer special services to new couples.
3. Set A Realistic Budget
To enjoy an eventful trip, you need a reasonable budget that can cater to both of your needs. There’s nothing cheap about a memorable trip for your honeymoon, and it’s best if you set money aside to cater for it. You need to consider the cost of flight tickets, accommodation, food, and other experiences you would love to have during the trip. If you want a worry-free experience, you should settle the financial aspect.
4. Create The Perfect Itinerary
It’s normal for you to get excited about your honeymoon. However, you can plan hectic activities, touring, and sightseeing that will wear you out easily. Avoid the temptation to do many things within a short time; it would only leave you to steal the perfect moment from yourself. Create a plan with lazy walks across the beach or intimate talks on the balcony. These activities would help you regain energy and make you spend quality time with your spouse. Take out time to relax your nerves; you can even schedule a spa session that would help you achieve that.
5. Get Some Help
You can always find ways to lessen the workload when planning an eventful trip. Instead of handling it, you can get a travel agent to book a package for you both. Choose the one that covers hotel bookings, tours, and feeding. Also, some agencies offer discounts for new couples that can help them save costs while having the best time of their lives. Perform thorough research to find the best agencies that provide premium service for new couples.
6. Choose The Right Timing
Most couples assume they have to leave for their honeymoon immediately after getting married. However, that’s only a myth that happens in fairy tales. Planning your wedding can be exhausting and it’s only fair that you get some rest before you go on a trip.
One of the great Honeymoon tips I can give you is take some time to blow off steam from the heavy dancing and singing you’ve done at your wedding reception. Afterwards, you can go on your honeymoon, that way; you’d be refreshed to enjoy the pleasant experience. Timing is key which is why you must carefully consider it when planning your honeymoon to avoid unexpected situations.
7. Plan Surprises
Since you would be spending the rest of your life with someone you love deeply, it’s only proper for you to make them feel special during the honeymoon. You can spice up the entire trip by paying for an event that you both didn’t plan for initially. Make sure you choose something that would delight your spouse; if your husband loves games, you can find the nearest game centre to get him excited. On the other hand, you can take your wife shopping for new clothing items. Whatever you decide, make sure it suits their needs.
8. Capture Your Moments
Although you would go on multiple trips as a couple, your honeymoon only happens once. This is why you need to capture every moment to help you remember this lovely event even after you’ve gone home. Imagine showing your children cute pictures from your honeymoon after decades of marriage. You can take a camera along or use a smartphone that captures vivid images. Don’t forget to make videos also because they always have a way of putting a smile on your face when things get difficult.
What would be even better though would be to enlist the help of a local professional photographer for a bit of a photoshoot – similar to an engagement shoot!
9. Pack Smart
If you plan to visit multiple destinations, it can be burdensome to pack too much stuff. New brides, don’t try to take all of your new shoes and clothes. It’s good that you’re excited but you need to reduce what you pack. Try to study the weather of your destination to determine the perfect clothes to take along. Also, take out materials that would take too much room in your bag.
10. Try Out New Meals
What’s an amazing trip with great food? One fun part you must explore during your honeymoon trip is the food, especially the ones specific to the culture of the people. This way, you can spice up your adventure and include something new in your archives. No need to stick with boring meals when you can explore new ones.
Adelaide Parklands Family Photoshoot
I head out to the delightful Veale Gardens on south terrace recently to meet this loving mother and her two sons who had asked me to conduct a simple little Adelaide parklands family phtoshoot with them!
We began in the small carpark behind the Pavillion Restaurant, which alowed us to start with the gum trees and have a more Australiana backdrop to their first photos. As the weather hadn’t been fantastic lately, there was plenty of puddles to use, while the greens were lovely and lush throughout.
We then head over the hill, walking along the man-made river that courses throughout the Veale Gardens and using some of the vantage points I know have worked throguhout my many years of using this same area for portraits while covering weddings.
The aim of this Adelaide Parklands family photoshoot was to simply capture some nice family photos for Mum to put up on the wall, in particular some individual portraits of her boys, while also having a bit of fun together, and I think our little walk about the park ceratinly achieved that!
Adelaide’s Pilgrim Uniting Church Wedding – Jesse & Luke
I was very much looking forward to covering Jesse and Luke’s Pilgrim Uniting Church Wedding from the moment they asked me to be their wedding photographer, and my excitement was well founded – what a celebration it was!
So much so that I know it’s hard to show while reading this blog but I’ve been sitting here staring at my screen thinking about what next to write. Jesse and Luke were surrounded their entire day with loving family and friends who just made their day that much better – let alone the incredible celebration they had planned that night!
Preparation
Jesse and Luke were prepared in separate rooms at the Hilton Hotel, in sight of the Pilgrim Uniting church across Victoria Square in the center of the Adelaide CBD. This was great as I was able to flit inbetween their rooms while they were being prepared – if things weren’t progressing in one room, then I’d head over to the other, and visa versa until it was time to leave for the ceremony.
Both Jesse and Luke were prepared with their parents and their entourage which made the whole time kind of hectic, but also quite a bit of fun trying to get everything ready to go.
Pilgrim Uniting Church Wedding Ceremony
Jesse and Luke’s Adelaide Pilgrim Uniting Church wedding ceremony was quite an impressive sight with it’s albiet dark, but impressive architecture inside. Jesse and Luke also had a chior singing below the church’s impressive organ which made for a beautiful atmosphere!
Both Jesse and Luke were walked down the aisle separately with their mothers after their fathers had lit ornamental candles on the church’s altar which I thought really helped bring both families togetheras part of their ceremony involved Jesse and Luke sharing the flames into one candle.
readings were read, vows were shared and Jesse and Luke were married!
Glamour Photos
The weather wasn’t the best all day, so we were quite lucky to be able to have the entire congragation out on the church’s steps for a group photo before heading back inside for smaller group photos.
Once they were done, we used the stunning interior of the church for a few shots with their entourage, while also waling around the church a bit to use it’s wonderful architecture. As the weather wasn’t great I was delighted to see that the church had turned on it’s outside lighting earlier than usual, so we got an awesome glow coming out of the archways at the front – was fun to use.
We then sped over to the Adelaide Railway station for a few photos, while dodging all the Crows fans who were walking through to get to Adelaide Oval at the same time.
Finally during the reception, and in the rain we head out to Victoria square to use the pretty lighting thats set up!
Adelaide Hilton Wedding Reception
Jesse and Luke’s wedding reception at the Hilton was certainly one to remember! Huge chandeliers framed the gigantic cake they had set up in front of the head table, fireworks flamed into life during Jesse and Luke’s entrance and first dance, and to top it all off a 19 piece band was playing all night as entertainment! In their own words their wedding theme was ‘gaudy’!
What made me crack up was a quip from Jesse that even the cake wasn’t straight – and indeed it wasnt, as it was leaning offto one side due to it’s enormous size!
Their whole night was full of plenty of drinking, fun and dancing, culminating in the throwing of bears that held a likeness to Jesse and Luke in liew of any bouquet toss.
It had been a little while since covering a same sex wedding, so covering Jesse and Luke’s Pilgrim Uniting Church wedding was awesome to be a part of, particularly at the beginning of pride month! Thankyou for having me and I hope you enjoy your photos!
Simple Somerton Park Family Photoshoot
I was recently asked to head out for a quick little Somerton Park Family Photoshoot to commemorate the 90th birthday of a family member. It seemed that everyone present had all grown up in the area, but had all moved on with their lives interstaate, so it was lovely to see and hear that most had travelled back to Adelaide for this momentous occasion!
The original plan was to head out to the beach from the bed and breakfast that the family had organised on the Somerton park foreshore, but it was soon realised that getting down there and back up again might be a bit tricky for the older members of the group, so we head to John Miller Reserve to make use of the grassy area there.
I was told that what the family wanted was some very simple shots of each of the gathered groups of the family, nothing too fancy – just wanted some family photos to mark the occasion.
So after spending a little time in the park, I realised that there wasnt much in the way of nice backdrops there other than a few spindley little trees, a chainlink fence and the surrounding roads and houses, so we went for a short walk to a road that was lined with some pretty beach trees that provided some shade and a nicer backdrop. It was here that we had a few other members of the group literally jump off their plane and meet us here.
After using both the middle of the road for big group shots, and then nearby a tree on the footpath for couples and individual portraits, we left the birthday girl at the top of the Somerton Park beach cliff and head down to the beach to finish up.
The beach’s tide was very high so there was some neat sand bars made within the water which we made use of by climbing over one of the sand bag brides that were put there to fight erosion. On the sand bar we took a few more couple photos and small groups, with a little more fun thrown in – at one point I asked the couple to push each ver – and boy did she lean into the push! 🙂
It was a delightful little family celebration that I was glad to be a part of! Happy birthday to the young birthday girl, and I hope you enjoy the family photos from your Somerton Park Family Photoshoot!
Somerton Park Family Photoshoot
A list of the best 8 Adelaide Wedding Celebrants
Almost every weekend I’m out photographing a wedding as an Adelaide wedding photographer and I’m always meeting new lovely people that officiate the ceremony, but there are a couple out there that I either run into so often, or that I know by how they conducted themselves that they are worth recommendation.
Of course there are quite a few Adelaide wedding celebrants, so I simply cannot list all the great ones here – but these are the ones that come to mind immediately whenever people ask me for recommendations. I will be adding more to this list as more come to mind, as I know there are more that are just on the tip of my tounge and I can’t put a name to their face.
The Best Wedding Celebrants Adelaide
Maria & Richard – https://www.itmustbelovecelebrant.com/
Maria and Richard Rowland are a husband and wife team in Adelaide that conduct wedding ceremonies together. They offer a unique service where they can create seamless ceremonies with all the boxes ticked. Richard is bantering with the groom and queuing your music while Maria is off greeting the bride, fluffing her dress, and settling any last-minute nerves. They each bring their own personality and style to your ceremony. With their combined wealth of life experience, and their philosophy that life should be full of fun, along with their passion for meeting new people, they will take you by the hand and guide you along your wedding journey to create your dream ceremony.
Richard’s expert DJ/MC services are also included in the package, meaning your party can start at the ceremony and go through to midnight. They are proud supporters of marriage equality and welcome all couples with open arms. They are creative writers who will listen to your love story and retell it so that you and your guests will laugh and cry, making it a memorable experience. Maria and Richard believe in creating something unique and special for their clients, and they only charge a single celebrant fee.
Vicky Flanegan – https://www.vickyflanegan.com.au/
Vicky is one of those names that is synonymous with weddings in Adelaide, always keen to have a bit of fun at weddings, and likes things to be light hearted – her personality suits being a wedding celebrant perfectly.
She has a nice loud, crisp voice and very rarely makes any diction mistakes – very easy to understand! I also love her car’s number plate – which you’ll just have to chat with her to find out what it is 😉
Peter Champion – https://www.creativecelebrant.com.au/
Peter is a delightful chap, always keen to have a bit of a joke throughout his ceremonies, but also carries with him an air of prestige and formaility simply by his physical appearance as a tall, well dressed bloke.
I think I’ve photographed around a dozen weddings with Peter at the helm, and each one has gone off without a hitch – a true professional at what he does!
Jacqui Leopardi – https://www.jacquileopardi.com/
When it comes to Adelaide wedding celebrants, Jacqui is a super popular choice, often being booked out years in advance, she brings an air of adventure and fun to her ceremonies. In fact as of writitng this, shes currently on a several month tour of Australia, adventuring about witrh her family!
Always with a smile on her face, Jacqui is one of those celebrants who you know just loves her job!
Jen Attard – https://www.bymysidecelebrant.com.au/
Jen is one of those Adelaide wedding celebrants who always has an idea on how to make your ceremony more special in ways you might not have thought of. Very approachable and easy to talk to, she knows what makes a ceremony work and makes planning a wedding super easy, regardless on what type of personality she is presented with.
Deborah Lilley – https://lilley-cmc.com/
Deborah is one of those celebrants in Adelaide that just doesnt say no to any request you might have. I’ve seen her dress up in medieval garb, put on voices, manage music playlists and even stay all day as an MC on a wedding day. Whenever I arrive at a wedding and see Deborah at the helm, I know that this ceremony is going to be memoriable!
Bob McGilchrist – http://www.bobmcgilchrist.com.au/
Bob is always nioce to have around, keen to chat and have a bit of fun with his wedding ceremonies. As of writing this, last time I was photographing him he was quoting lines from the Princess Bride with full voice acting and all!
A very experienced Adelaide marriage celebrant, he is able to facilitate all kinds of wedding ceremonies from the simple, to complex and everything inbetween!
Penelope – https://www.celebrationsbypenelope.com.au/
As with all wedding celebrants on my list, Penelope is another very experienced wedding celebrant, officiating at over 500 weddings in the last 10 years, alse even being rated in the top 5 marriage celebrants in all of Australia according to the 2022 National ABIA awards.
Always with a bubbly personality, Penelope is keen to make everyone at ease throughout their ceremonies and loves a bit of humour throughout!
I’m sure I’ve missed some Adelaide Wedding Celebrants that should be on this list!
Hopefully this little list of wedding celebrants Adelaide helps you find the perfect celebrant for your big day – again I hate to miss out on any of the other hundreds of celebrants I’ve worked with other the years!