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Idyll and Co Wedding – Monique & Anthony

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  • Monique & Anthony

    Idyll & Co Wedding

    Idyll & Co wedding photo

Monique and Anthony’s Idyll and Co Wedding was simply devine! Nestled in amongst thick bushland, the Idyll & Co Bed and Breakfast turned out to be the most brilliant of venues to host Monique and Anhtony’s wedding! The combination of the thick foliage in every direction, with the cloudy weather and beautiful people made me thankful that they chose me as their wedding photographer as I had an absolute blast all day, and I had a smile on my face the entire time I was editing their photos!

Idyll and Co Wedding Ceremony

The spot that Monique and Anthony had chosen to host their Idyll and Co Wedding Ceremony was hidden down the hill a little from the main bed and breakfast house which meant that their whole ceremony was shaded in all directions by the most magnificent Ausralian bush land I had experienced when compared with any other wedding venue I have visited.

The fun part about hosting a Idyll and Co wedding is the mode of transport the bride and her entourage gets to make use of to arrive at the ceremony! The owners of the venue actually makes the use of a little ride-on tractor available for anyone who wishes to make use of this unique feature which put a smile on everyones face as soon as they laid eyes on it!

Monique and Anthony’s ceremony itself was full of smiles and heartfelt vows, intermingled with personal anecdotes of funny times when they were dating and readings from close friends. You know you’re doing something right when emotion shows all everyone’s face!

Smiling groom 4
Bride arriving at Idyll & Co bed and breakfast
Idyll & Co bridal transport
bride about to walk down the aisle
groom looking on at bride
Bridal approach 5
Idyll & Co Wedding Ceremony 3
smiling bride 7
Wedding ceremony 8
Groom smiling at his bride
Idyll & Co Wedding Ceremony 2
Holding hands during wedding ceremony 2
Reading reader
Idyll & Co Wedding Ceremony
Bridesmaid emotions
Best man pulling rings out
Exchanging wedding bands at Idyll & Co wedding
Wedding ceremony at Idyll & Co
First kiss at Idyll & Co Wedding
Bridal exit at Wedding ceremony at Idyll & Co Wedding

Glamour Photos

I could have spent all day roaming the grounds taking Idyll and Co Wedding photos with Monique and Anthony! The grounds simply suit my style of wedding photography perfectly and in fact was a big reason apparently what Monique and Anthony had chosen me in the first place which is lovely to hear as I really try to bring in the surrounding details of the venue itself within my photography.

I like to point out to all my bridal couples that while I’m super passionate about wedding photography, I’ve also had past successes being an Australian reknowned landscape photographer, taking out numerous state and national awards for my work in other genres and I like to bring in that knowledge to create some unique wedding photography.

It was that uniqueness that drew Monique and Anthony to me, and they specifially stated on the day to make them as small as possible within the more ‘landscapey’ shots I was going to create for them, so hopefully they enjoy the shots I took! The Idyll and Co grounds was a perfect space to do this in too, with rolling hills, thick forests and even a pond to make use of; I had a blast!

Sitting on a fallen tree together
Sitting on a fallen tree together at Idyll & Co
In amongst the Idyll & Co forest
In amongst the Idyll & Co forest together
Bride and groom with bridal party amongst the trees
Bride and groom with bridal party amongst the trees 2
groomsmen flasks
Bridal party going for a ride
Bridal party at Idyll & Co
Bride and groom surrounded by pond
Groom surprising his bride 2
Amongst the tall trees at Idyll & Co
Amongst the tall trees at Idyll & Co 2
On the water’s edge together
Walking around the Idyll & Co grounds
Idyll & Co wedding photo
Cuddles in amongst the leaves
Bridal party with Idyll & Co bed and breakfast
Bride and groom at Idyll & Co bed and breakfast
Kisses between thebig trees
Walking about Idyll & Co’s forests
Walking about Idyll & Co’s forests 2
Sunset through the trees at Idyll & Co

Idyll & Co Wedding Reception

Monique and Anthony has set up a temporary gazebo to expand on the space of the nearby the small shed the venue has set up to host small parties, and up the hill, they had enlisted the help of Daisy Burger to cater their reception with their lovely burgers. My photobooth was also set up spitting out photos all night, and it was awesome to be a part of 🙂

The light faded fairly quickly during the night due to the overcast weather, meaning that some amazing light started to filter throughout the surrounding bushland. This made for a good opportunity to take a few more photos of the bridal party before everyone got too jovial, and I even coerced Monique and Anthony to traipse about in the darkness to take some spectacular shots nearby a gnarly old tree 🙂

bride and groom arriving at reception
bride and groom arriving in gazebo
Guests hanging out at Idyll & Co
Wedding cake under the tree
Cutting the wedding cake under a tree
Cutting the wedding cake under a tree 2
Groom cutting cake enthusiastically
Bride and bridal party together
Girls having a laugh
Groom and groomsmen together
Dip kiss
Speech Giver
Speech Giver 2
First dance near gazebo
First dance hugs on dance floor
Idyll & Co Wedding Photography
Wedding at Idyll & Co

Thanks so much to Monique and Anthony for having me be your phtoographer on your big day! Your was an amazing wedding to shoot and I hope you enjoy your photographs! 😀

The Manor Basket Range Wedding – Kate & John

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  • Kate & John

    The Manor Basket Range Wedding

    bride and groom in amongst the lights

It was such a joy to head back out for a big wedding after having South Australian COVID restrictions ease for weddings! I saw myself at The Manor Basket Range, a majestic wedding venue for Kate and Josh’s wedding on a stunningly sunny day; despite it still being winter!

it was a super fun day to be a part of, and I even met some long lost relatives as it turned out I was actually related to half of the guests somehow! Adelaide is such a small city, and it’s so much fun to meet people and head to weddings because of it!

 

Preparation

The day turned out to be a fairly long one for me, with Kate and her girls requesting I first meet them in Hahndorf while they were having their hair and makeup done early in the morning! Which was fine, it just emant I had to get up ealier 😛

I then head on over tot he bed and breakfast that John and his groomsmen were getting ready. I Unfortuately put my foot in it in the mornign and called John ‘Josh’ so much in the mornign that the boys just ran with it for the rest of the day as they found it pretty funny 😛 Sorry John!

The boys were all pretty laid back, having had a bit of a board game night the night before, and leasurely got ready – until it was time to put on their ties that is. Only one of them knew how to properly tie a tie so that took up most of the time I was there 🙂

The bed and breakfast boardered a farm with some llamas and featured a cubby house which we very much took advantage of.

Grooms watch on ties
Wedding rings on table
Grooms suit jacket
Belt and ties
Groom smiling while putting on cufflinks
Helping out with the ties
Smiling groomsman 3
Groom looking happy
Groom adjusting tie in window 2
Groomsmen joking about 2
Groom putting finishing touches on
Groom and groomsmen in cubby house 2

Once the girls had had their hair and makeup done in Hahndorf, they made their way to the Manor to put on their dresses and take a few shots helping Kate get into her wedding dress.

I made sure to make use of the amazing huge chandelier in the entrance lobby to the Manor to really put a bit of medieval flair to their preparation photos, as after all they were getting ready in a castle! Fun tidbit, the last time I was at a The Manor Basket range wedding was back when it was called Camelot castle.

The girsl got ready without much fuss, and made a point of having Kate’s Dad come in for a bit of a father daughter ‘first look’ as he had not seen his daugher in her wedding dress prior to the day. It’s always a lovely moment to share!

 

Wedding dress hanging illuminated by window
bride through doorway 2
Lacing up the wedding dress
Laughing bride in mirror
Medieval bride getting ready
bride overlooking chandelier
Bride standing in dark room
Close up of bride under veil 2
Bride being silly on shae lounge
Bride at The Manor Basket Range
Dad’s first look 3
Dad’s first look 4

The Manor Basket Range Wedding Ceremony

As a mentioned earlier, The Manor was once called ‘Camelot Castle’ due to the fact that it’s built in the image of a medieval castle, complete with a small stone chaple, snuggled amongst a garden and tall battlements along the top of the manor. In front of the chapel is usually where wedding ceremonies are held, and Kate and John’s was no exception.

One exceptional thing about Kate and John’s The Manor Basket Range wedding ceremony though was Kate’s surprise entrance flanked by 5 medieval knights in full battle armour! Apparently there were supposed to be 6, but one could not make it. They took up position behind the bridal party during the ceremony and formed a guard of hnour as it ended.

Another highlight of Kate and John’s ceremony was their hand fasting, which culminated quite cleverly in a ceremonial ‘tying of the knot‘ to mark their union.

bridal approach at The Manor Basket Range
Father and Bride walking together
bride during wedding ceremony 2
The Manor Basket range wedding Ceremony
Groom looking at his bride during the wedding ceremony
Hand Fasting ceremony 2
Best man with the rings
Exchanging wedding rings 5
The Manor Basket Range wedding ceremony in front of the chapel
Tieing the knot 2
The Manor Basket Range wedding ceremony 2
First kiss 5
Wedding ceremony in front of the chapel
bridal exit at The Manor Basket range

Medieval Tournament

Directly after the ceremony, the knights that formed an honour guard around Kate and John headed towards the grassy area in front of the Manor Basket range’s accomodation area to conduct a short tournament.

Kate was asked to select her ‘champion’ knight and attach her colours in the form of a handkerchief around the arm of her selected knight as what would have happened back in medieval times had a noble woman been watching. In this case it was the bride – the most important lady on the day!

It was a really neat spectical to witness, with the knights from Ironclad Academy really going at it and hitting each other wish some force! They were also really neat sporta about having photos with the bridal party and guests, and I even managed to get in for a shot!

As Kate and John had a bit of a Harry Potter theme going on in their reception, I also phtooshopped a bit of a cheesy Harry Potter photo where they were fending off the knights with magic. Bit silly 😛

Fighting Knights
Knight Fight
Knight tournament
Knight ready for a fight
Knight in front of bridal party
Fighting knights at The Manor Basket Range
Medieval Tournament at a wedding
Groomsmen with swords
Good looking guest
Grandma with sword
Grandma victorious
Bride and Groom standing over dead bodies
Harry Potter Wedding Photo

Glamour Photos

We then had some time to meander around the grounds and used the grounds to take some wonderful glamour phtoos of Kate, John and their bridal party.

The best time to take The Manor Bastket range wedding photos I found was certainly towards the end of the day, particularly as it was such a sunny day! The sun hides behind the nearby hills nicely to create quite a magical aura around the grounds to make some beautiful photos!

I also coerced Kate and John outside during their reception to make use fo the unique architecture the Manor offers!

Bridal party in the gardens
Kiss in front of the Manor Basket Range
In amongst the trees 2
Bridal party together in the trees
Having a bit of fun on their wedding day
Bride and groom in the castle gardens
Bride and groom in the castle gardens 2
Bride and groom in front of the manor basket range’s chapel
The Manor Basket range Wedding Photo
Birdal party acting out Charlies Angels
bride and groom in amongst the lights
Kiss under the lights
Bridal party on the foot bridge
Traditional wedding photo
Close up of engagement ring 2
The Manor Basket Range doorway photo
bride and Groom under the castle doorway
The Manor Basket Range Wedding Photo at night

The Manor Basket Range Wedding Reception

As the the COVID restirctions had eased before Kate and John’s wedding in South Australia, there were still plenty of rules to follow so that we minimised the risk of potentially spreading an infection. This included the banning of dancing on the dance floor, and drinking while standing throughout the night.

That being said though, I felt as though all of the guests respected these restrictions and really had a blast of a time anyway! The night really was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed my first large wedding back immensely!

Table setup
Nametag 2
Harry Potter wedding cake
Stein
Look its a camera!
Mobile phone photo 2
Kiss through the crowd
Cutting the Harry Potter wedding cake
Crossing arms
Having fun 3
Kiss during first dance 2
Hugs from relative
First dance at The Manor Basket Range wedding
Shoe game 2

Thanks so much to Kate and John for having me photograph your The Manor Basket Range wedding! Hope you enjoy your photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Thorngrove Manor Wedding – Darren & Nahal

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  • Darren & Nahal

    Thorngrove Manor Wedding

    Bridal couple just married in the garden

I was super excited to head back to the picturesque Thorngrove Manor for Darren and Nahal’s intimate wedding in mid July as I hadn’t been back this marvellous spot for several years! It’s quite a rare thing to shoot a Thorngrove Manor wedding as the owners tend to like to keep the number of people on their property to a minimum – which is fair enough considering how amazing this place is!

It was a magical time Darren, Nahal and I had walking around this gem of a spot for their small, intimate wedding/elopement!

 

Preparation

My time with Darren and Nahal began with Nahal in amongst the stone-hewn chambers of the bed and breakfast’s Queen chamber of the Manor where Nahal was completing her makeup. While nerves weren’t showing too much just yet, as time drew nearer to make the walk through the garden towards her fiance, it became a bit more of a thing.

Darren and Nahal certainly made their whole tiny wedding quite an easy wedding to photograph though! With two very good looking people and a stunning location like Thorngrove Manor, it’s certainly one to show off!

Hanging Thorngrove Manor wedding dress
Wedding dress hanging in Thorngrove Manor
Engagement ring in box
Bride looking out window at Thorngrove Manor
Bride playing with bouquet at Thorngrove Manor
Bridal approach at her Thorngrove Manor wedding

Thorngrove Manor Wedding Ceremony

Where else to hold a Thorngrove Manor wedding ceremony but right in front of the majestic view that is the driveway leading to the front door of this marvellous house? Nahal walked swiftly the the waiting arms of her finance and their intimate little wedding ceremony began.

Perhaps I should refer to their wedding as an ‘elopement’ as due to the unfortunate events unfolding in the world at the moment due to COVID-19, Darren and Nahal opted to have in attendance only their suppliers – Nahal’s makeup artist, their celebrant and myself, while having the owners of the Thorngrove Manor bed and breakfast act as their witnesses. It was only due to the fact that they were staying the night that they were allowed to use the grounds for their ceremony.

Darren and Nahal had me also produce a ceremony video for them, alongside my usual 360 degree virtual reality video I produce so that their friends and family can relive their precious moment.

Groom watching his bride approach
Smiling groom during his ceremony
Smiling bride on her wedding day
Exchanging wedding bands
Groom looking at his bride
Thorngrove Manor wedding ceremony
Standing together in the sunlight
First kiss at Thorngrove Manor wedding ceremony

Thorngrove Manor Wedding Photos

As their wedding ceremony took place at 4pm, we had around 1 hour to meander around the Thorngrove Manor grounds and make use of it’s manicured beauty for photos. As I had shot here in the past I knew what would and would not work so I devised a little itinerary of where we should go and when.

Despite having forecast to be overcast and rather dreary, the weather was absoutely delightful for Darren and Nahal’s photoshoot. The sun was shining and made for a lovely golden glow through the trees. We did however wait until the sun was a little lower before we took some ‘money shots’ of the Manor’s main keep in the background as it tends to really shine bright in the sun.

I can certainly spend hours using the manor as a backdrop for wedding photos, but unfortunately all good things have to come to an end!

Before I left, Darren and Nahl were sitting down for a lovely looking home-cooked meal, surrounded by the medieval splendor that only Thorngrove Manor can put on show! It looked to be a supurbly romantic evening!

bride and groom looking on as the registry is signed
Bride and groom looing at each other bathed in light
Engagement ring in red bouquet
Wedding rings on slab
bridal couple in amongst the gardens
Bridal couple just married in the garden
Bridal couple holding one another surrounded by greenery
Thorngrove Manor bed and breakfast wedding couple
having some fun at Thorngrove Manor together
in front of the interesting architecture at Thorngrove Manor
Thorngrove Manor wedding couple
Thorngrove Manor wedding couple in front of front door
Thorngrove Manor Portrait
Leaning in for a kiss at Thorngrove Manor
Stained glass windows at Thorngrove Manor
Through the harp at Thorngrove Manor
Thorngrove Manor
Thorngrove Manor wedding photography
bridal couple under the arch
Bridal couple holding one another
Bridal couple on the balcony together
Thorngrove Manor’s main tower
Bridal couple enjoying Thorngrove Manor
Thorngrove Manor wedding at sunset
Bride and groom in the Thorngrove Manor chambers

Congratulations to Darren and Nahl on their wonderful Thorngrove manor wedding / elopement! I’d like to thank you guys so much for having me as your wedding photographer as I had an absolute blast!

Mt Lofty House Couple’s Shoot – Zoe & Shannon

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  • Zoe & Shannon

    In the garden

 

Mt Lofty House Couple’s Shoot

It was a delightfully sunny day for Zoe and Shannon’s Mt Lofty House Couple’s shoot where we wandered about the grounds of Mt Lofty House and a bit of the nearby Botanic Gardens on the anniversary of when they first met 🙂 It was a lovely tradition it looks like they’ve begun for their anniversary and I was delighted to be a part of it!

The unfortunate thing about the day was that a bit of the grounds of Mt Lofty House was under construction so I couldnt use all of the wonderful gardens and sights available, but we made do as much as we could. The sun was quite intense at times, but it made walking about outside all the more comfortable and certainly not as cold as it can be on top of the hill!

We began outside nearby the vine-encrusted coach house to use the lovely textures the vines and brickwork make, but standing out in the sun diddnt make for the most flattering shadows, so we moved inside to use the library and front door of Mt Lofty House. The house is always a great backdrop for some lovely, classy and moody portraits.

The garden was our next stop, wandering around while I was trying to replicate a couple of shots Zoe had given me as inspiration, before heading off to the upper entrance to the Botanic Park where we finished off.

On the couch
Checlers
On the Mt Lofty House Stairway
In the Mt Lofty House Doorway
In the Mt Lofty House Doorway
Narnia
Smiles
Hugs
Looking pretty
Looking suave
Walking about
In the garden
In the garden
Piggyback ride
Piggyback ride
Amongst the trees
Secret flower
Picnic
Hugs

Thanks go out to Zoe and Shannon for having me capture their love!

Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Engagement Shoot – Olivia & Dimitri

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  • Olivia & Dimitri

    Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Engagement Shoot

    Hugs under the maple leaves

 

It wasn’t the nicest day to go out and do a photo shoot out and about high in the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, but I’m so glad Olivia and Dimitiri were keen to head out anyway as the colours you can get here are just incredible! Also the rising mist from early in the morning just made the feeling of their engagement photos that much more surreal!

Olivia and Dimitri were umming and ering over where to go for their photoshoot, thinking maybe a beach, or the Belair National Park but in the end were very keen on heading to the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, mainly due to it was where Dimitri had originally proposed.

As this engagement shoot was happening only a few weeks after when they were supposed to be married, I thought this was quite appropriate! Olivia and Dimitri had had to postpone their wedding due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

Once a location was chosen, I really wanted to make use of the lovely light either in the late afternoon for the golden hour, or early morning.

We ended up getting up early on the freezing morning for the gates to open at 8:30 as the COVID-19 restrictions had just been lifted and we expected the Botanic Gardens to be packed with people trying to get out and about a bit! The early start, coupled with the drizzly weather meant we had the whole Gardens to ourselves.

Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Engagement Shoot

We began our photoshoot walk at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens lower carpark, nearby the dam wall. Our first reaction when arriving was that we were super lucky to still have some colours in the autumn leaves that made these botanic gardens so magical! I was kind of hoping to get a bit of fog into their photos, but it was fast rising.

We quickly hopped up the nearby hill to make use of some trees that were losing their leaves, then head down to the water’s edge as I wanted to use my favourite tree in all of the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, but unfortunately it had already lost all it’s leaves 🙁

Walking together in the Autumn colours
Cuddles by the water
Holding one another at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
Close up of engagement ring
Laughing through the red leaves
Walking along the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens dam
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Autumn colours

Olivia and Dimitri certainly made it easy as their carefree attitude was present all throughout the photoshoot and they had plenty of smiles on their faces!

We then head across the dam, which I feel is always an awesome shot to get, making the couple feel as though they are out in the middle of nowhere on ther path way. It’s a very tricky shot to get though as usually the dam walkway is always full of dozens of other people walking across!

Walking along the Mt Lofty Botanic Dam
Couple on the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Dam

The big draw of the Botanic Gardens are the wonderfully vivid autumnal colours you can get at this time of year, and thankfully we were able to capture some before they all fell from the trees. The colours, coupled with the misty morning really made for some wonderful scenes!

I had a blast taking photos with Olivia and Dimitri during this weather, but it’s so rare to get a couple to get up this early and head out in bad weather like this! 🙂

Just have a ook at the types of unique scenes you can get in weather like this! from fog, to muted autumnal colours!@ It’s a great time to take photos! Just not so great if you want to stay snug and warm :/

Couple under the yellow leaves
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Bridge
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens in winter
Couple under the orange trees
Laughing and playing
Hugs under the yellow leaves
Walking together with the mist
Hugs under the maple leaves
Looking at the camera under the maple leaves
Looking at a flower

I’d like to thank Olivia’s sister in law Thalia whose engagement shoot had been given to them by her mother for giving Olivia and Dimitri their engagement shoot! It’s always nice to know that people appreciate their photos so much they have their family and friends also have their photos taken with me! 🙂