Tag Archive for: 2019

Al-Ru Farm Wedding – Hailey & Brad

/in ,

  • Hailey & Brad

    Al-Ru Farm Wedding

    hugging bridal couple

Hailey and Brad’s Al-Ru Farm Wedding took place on a stunning day in mid November and made for some stunning photos and awesome memories for all those involved! Hailey and Brad had put huge amount of effort into making their day as stunning as possible, and they certainly did a great job! I was so pleased to be Hailey and Brad’s wedding photographer and I feel as though I took some neat shots!

Preparation

The day started as it usually does with Brad and his groomsmen where they were being prepared in room at the Mawson Lakes hotel. It was a nice sized room which allowed everyone to move about and create some nice wide sweeping shots. The atmosphere was jovial, with the boys all ripping on one another and drawing attention to their matching underwear they had bought specially for the occasion! They made an appearance again later in the night during Eagle rock.

looking on helping
Looking out of window pensively
Groom getting ready
Standing in front of window
Wedding rings on shoe
Tieing tie in front of window
Leaning on the balcony
Wedding ring box
Boys getting ready
groomsman helping
Dad and Groom

Hailey and her bridal party were being prepared on site at Al-Ru farm in the awesome little cottage bed and breakfast they have. The cottage features some wonderfully rustic features like a wall of arched windows and beautiful wooden floors. It’s a great set up – perfect for wedding photos like this! The girls were all enjoying their morning when I arrived and were enjoying sharing a bottle of their favourite wine. The highlight of the morning I feel was when Dad walked in for the reveal of Hailey’s dress – which is always an awesome moment to capture!

Engagement ring in bouquet
Wedding dress hung in window
Bridal party on bed
Pinning flower on Dad
Mum
Girls helping out bride
Smiling bride
Bridal party getting ready at Al-Ru farm
Bride getting ready at Al-Ru Farm
Al-Ru Farm bridal preparation
Dad’s first look
Bride looking pensive at Al-Ru farm
Dad looking on
Bride looking pretty at Al-Ru farm
Bride standing in window at Al-Ru farm
Bride in cottage door at Al-Ru Farm
Bridal party chatting

Al-Ru Farm Wedding ceremony

Hailey and Brad’s Al-Ru farm wedding ceremony took place in the purpose built little grassy area on site with the sun located behind the bride and groom. As it was a fairly sunny day, this is always appreciated by a wedding photographer as it makes it that much easier to expose correctly.

There was a humerous moment as the ceremony began where Hailey seemed to purposely take her time to make an appearance, the guests all made funny faces towards Brad, heckling him as if she wasn’t arriving – but of course she did 🙂 The whole ceremony was a light hearted affair, complete with several readings from family and friends. The whole thing was quite beautiful.

bride walking toward ceremony
Groom waiting
Bridal approach under flowers
Groom’s first look
smiling bride
Wedding at Al-Ru Farm
Al-Ru Farm wedding ceremony
smiling groom
Laughing bride
Guest speech during ceremony
Exchanging wedding rings
first kiss
just married
Exit from wedding ceremony at Al-Ru Farm
Al-Ru Farm wedding ceremony

Glamour Photos

Al-Ru farm is an incredible little gem hidden amongst the Adelaide hills, it almost seems purpose built to take stunning wedding photos wherever you venture – I could easily spend all day just wandering about the gardens with a couple and take awesome photos! After the usual family photos, Hailey, Brad and their bridal party went for a bit of a walk through the gardens making use of the incredible foliage available. From the trees, to the yellowed grass and the sunset setting over the pond – they were all amazing scenes. During the night we also head out to the lovely little greenhouse Al-Ru Farm has on site and I opened a smoke bomb, filling it with white smoke to create an awesome effect, worked really well!

Flying veil
hugs
bridal party on Al-Ru farm’s driveway
bridal party
Leaning against a tree
against a tree in Al-Ru farm
Amongst the foliage
Amongst the grass at Al-Ru farm
hugs in the grass
fun in the veil
kisses for the bride
Skipping groomsmen
Sunshine at Al-Ru farm
The famous Al-Ru farm pillars
Bright
Together along the pond
Al-Ru Farm pond
hugging bridal couple
bride pushing groom
Walking along the pond
Standing together on the pond
Al-Ru Farm pond photo
Sun set through the trees
Passionate kiss in the sun glow
Smokey greenhouse
Al-Ru Farm greenhouse wedding photo

Al-Ru Farm Wedding reception

Speaking about smoke – Hailey and Brad has a bit of smoke going all night on their dance floor – making it tricky to get shots of their first dance – but the ones that did turn out, turned out awesomely! Really adds to the atmosphere. Everyone involved at the reception all seemed like they had an awesome time, complete with copious amounts of drinking and fun times. 🙂

Al-Ru farm wedding reception hall
wedding sign
wedding cake setup
wedding cake topper
Wishing well
Bride and groom entrance
Cutting the wedding cake
Guests
Al-Ru farm wedding reception
bridal party
teary bride
best man speech
Daddy daughter dance
first dance in blue smoke
first dance
kisses on the dance floor
Bouquet toss
bouquet toss winner
fun on the dance floor
wee
groom on the dance floor
Girls having fun

I’d like to thank Hailey and Brad for having me as their wedding phtoographer – I had an awesome time at their wedding and I hope they enjoy their photos!

St Francis Winery Wedding – Chelsea & Nathan

/in ,

  • Chelsea & Nathan

    St Francis Winery Wedding

    under the weeping willow

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
Getting ready
Wedding dress
Engagement ring
Getting ready
Wedding rings

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.

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

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!

Wharf One Wedding – Darwin – Amanda & Brian

/in ,

  • Amanda & Brian

    Warf One Wedding

    Out on pride rock

Amanda and Brian’s wedding was held right on the foreshore of Darwin under the verandah of the Wharf One restaurant with the picturesque backdrop of Darwin’s Kitchener Bay. The day’s weather was absolutely magnificent, as can be expected from Darwin at this time of year! I love heading up to the Northern Territory for this exact reason! Amanda and Brian had quite a few of their family and friends travel up to Darwin for their wedding day which included two separate tea ceremonies and a lovely laid back ceremony and reception at Wharf One.

Morning Tea Ceremonies

Amanda and Brian hosted two separate traditional tea ceremonies for their two travelling families. The first in a rather nice, large bed and breakfast propertry overlooking the Darwin shoreline. It’s also where Amanda and her bridal party had their makeup and hair done before greeting Brian who arrived brandishing flowers.

I rather like the idea of giving thanks to family members and seeking approval of the wedding through the exchanging of tea in the morning before wedding ceremonies as it brings together and includes family members who would otherwise not have as much to do on a wedding day. It formalises the idea of the coming together of two separate families in a lovely traditional way.

Makeup
Makeup
Family on couch
Engagement ring
Tea set
Wedding rings
Wedding dress
Wedding dress
Grooms arrival
Smiling bride
Hugs
Tea ceramony
Tea ceramony
Jewellery gift
Little girl
Smiling guests
Entrance
Mobile photos
Drinking tea
Drinking tea
Offering tea
Tea cup
Tea ceremony
Tea ceremony

Preparation Photos

As is often the case after hosting a tea ceremony on a wedding day, it’s not uncommon for the bridal party to change clothing into their wedding ceremony attire. After heading back from the Darwin city center and back to the bed and breakfast for lunch, Amanda changed out of her red dress into her white bridal gown, while Brian suited up. They managed to hide the dress entirely from Brian despite being prepared at the same location by hiding it in an upstairs bedroom which Brian was forbidden to enter. That way the tradition of seeing the bride for the first time on the day was saved for when she walked down the aisle in her white dress, which Brian hadnt seen yet! 🙂

Shoes
Cufflinks
Crossing fingers
Putting on shirt
Sorting out ties
Pose
Putting on jacket
Helping out
Helping out
Closeup of flower
Walking out door
Bridesmaid helping out
Putting on dress
Walking down the stairs
Bridesmaid putting in veil
Looking pretty
Bridesmaids

Wharf One Wedding Ceremony

The decking just outside the Wharf One restaurant was the setting for their wedding ceremony, with the entire congregation shaded from the hot sun, and yet still enjoying the beautiful weather while surrounded by the calm waters found in the Darwin artificial beach precinct. The ceremony itself was a lovely simple affair with a couple of friends and family sharing readings and laughter as their celebrant highlighted some of the funnier parts of their relationship.

Wedding sign
Groom waiting patiently
Bride getting ready to go
Bridal approach
Out the front together
Smiles
Smiles
Wedding ceremony
Smiling bride
Wharf One Wedding ceremony
Exchanging wedding rings
Holding hands
First kiss
Bridal exit
Bridal exit

Glamour Photos

After the family photos, the rest of the congregation enjoyed the precinct surrounding the Wharf One restaurant while Amanda, Brian, their bridal party and I went for a little drive to make use of some of the more picturesque spots scattered around Darwin. Our first stop was of course the decking surrounding Wharf One where we took a few bridal party shots. We then head over to the wonderful trees out the front of the Darwin Botanic Gardens. The trees here are wonderful to have photos done at that time of day as the sun peeks through the foliage in such a delightful manner! We then head around to the parklands surrounding Lake Alexander before heading up to Dudley point to make use of the delightful hanging cliffs for the sunset.

Bride and Groom walking together near Wharf One
Pushing the groom into the drink
Bridal Party
Bridal Party under a tree
Bridal Party under the trees
Bride and groom walking together
Bride and groom walking together
Under a tree
Amongst the scrub
Amongst the scrub
Romantic
Hugs
Walking together
Holding one another
Holding one another
Out on pride rock
Out on pride rock
Out on pride rock
Beautiful light on the rocks
Beautiful light on the rocks
Sunset
Sunset

Wharf One Wedding Reception

Amanda and Brian’s wedding reception was held back at the Wharf One restaurant a little late as we stayed out at Dudley Point for the sunset, but noone seemed to mind much. The atmosphere was jovial and everyone had a delightful meal backdropped by live music and the odd foray into the photobooth – who’s attendant happened to be the very same attendant at my first wedding in Darwin over 2 years ago! Very small world.

Bridal entrance
Speech
Schedule
Best Man speech
Bride
Maids of honour speech
Laughing bride
Hugs
Wedding cake
Speech
Cutting the cake
Inside Wharf One Restaurant
Boys hanging out

Thanks so much for Amand and Brian for having me as your wedding photographer! If anyone is looking for a photographer in Darwin, I’d be super keen to travel back up for your wedding! Check out my darwin website at https://svenstudios.com/darwin-wedding-photography/ for more details!

St Laurence’s Church Wedding – Sarah & Mal

/in ,

  • SARAH & MAL

    St Laurence’s Church Wedding

    Kiss in the Pews

Sarah and Mal had me as their wedding photographer for 6 hours on their big day backdropped by the beautiful St Laurence’s Church in North Adelaide. The weather on the day was super hot and dry which made it a bit of a challenge to get everything done in time, and all the while Sarah was quite a way along in her pregnancy 🙂 That being said however we did get everything we wanted done, except perhaps some photos out the front of the Bonython Hall on north Terrace, but is was a small thing to skip in order to keep the day rolling 🙂

Preparation

I started the day with Mal and his groomsmen being prepared together at their house in the North of Adelaide. All the boys were sitting around having a chat when I arrived and jumped into action, putting on their shirts and outfits just after. It was a bit of a whirlwind as I only had around 30 minutes before heading over to the girls.