Tag Archive for: adelaide

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St Francis Winery Wedding – Sue & Roy

Sue and Roy held their St Francis Winery wedding on a delightful day surrounded by a small group of family and friends who are keen on celebrating their love as much as possible!

Sue and Roy held their ceremony on the St Francis WInery lawns shaded by the nearby trees, and had a delightful bagpiper set the atmosphere which I just loved!

Preparation

Roy was prepared in the dedicated Honeymoon suite at St Francis – it’s actually usually where every bride I’ve ever had for a wedding at St Francis Winery has got ready!

He was helped by his two groomsmen and also their little page boy who was running about with the flower girl inbetween rooms.

Sue was prepared with her bridal party in another room accross the courtyard. We had to rearrange the furniture a little in order to make enough space to take some photos – but it all worked out in the end! I think we used the balcony walkway more than inside.

St Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

Sue and Roy’s St Francis Winery wedding ceremony way orientated so that the large gum trees lining the grassy area nearby the pond was in the backdrop, rather than having the wishing well, and pond there. This allowed for all their guests to enjoy the shade afforded by the tree and also helps to shield their ceremony from cars coming down South Road.

Sue arrived flanked by their bagpiper, and Roy was all smiles throughout. During the ceremony there was a few readings, and Sue and Roy held their own personal vows – but overall it was a sweet, simple ceremony which allowed for more time with family and friends.

Glamour Photos

After the group shots, where the resident magpie finally managed to hit my drone with one of it’s dive bombing poops, we made use of some of the nearby features of the historic St Francis winery. We diddnt move too far away from the ceremony location using only the tree and rotten barrels around the side of the building and some of the nearby bushgs and trees.

We also head off for a short stint behind the nearby bus terminal where a portion of the old railway is accessible as a walking trail and makes for a rather nice scene.

One thing that was super unique about Sue and Roy’s St Francis WInery wedding was that they held their little reception not ion the usual place, but in the restaurant portion of the resort! Made the feeling that much more intimate!

Thanks Sue and Roy for having me be part of your day!

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Himeji Gardens Family Shoot

It was nice to meet up with Cristina and Matthew again after having shot their engagement photos what seems like eons ago – well before this website was developed! We head out for a Himeji Gardens family shoot on Adelaide’s South Terrace with their grandparents. The weather was great, and everyone was all smiles – the only issue was how busy the gardens were!

I’d never seen the Himeji gardens so busy! It seemed like everyone was out just enjoying the weather – which was fair enough! But it meant that I had to get a bit creative when it came to the angles I was using – and a touch of photoshop – to make sure there was no one in the background of these family photos.

It was a little frustrating, as other times I had head out for a Himeji Gardens family shoot, I had no such issues and I could use all of the ‘money shots’ that the gardens are famous for. But it turned out ok as Cristine and Matthew were keen to take as many phtos as possible – but Grandpa and Yaya ran out of steam rather quickly.

The main goal was to get a few shots together as a family so I think we achieved that!

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Sinclairs Gully Winery Wedding – Suzanne & Karen

It had certainly been a while since I covered a Sinclairs Gully Winery, so I was super excited to head back to this secret little spot in amongst the Adelaide Hills!

The weather unfortunately wasnt the best for their big day, but it certainly diddnt seem to phase Suzanne and Karen with their own sense of quirkyness and fun, they had smiles on their faces all day!

Sinclairs Gully Winery Wedding Ceremony

The Sinclairs Gully Winery at Norton’s Summit is a delightful little Adelaide Hills wedding venue hidden amongst very dense bushland. The whole area feels like a campground in that you wouldn’t know you were anywhere near civilisation – it’s a beautiful spot boasting huge white gum trees and quite a bit of native flaura and fauna about the place!

Suzanne and Karen’s wedding ceremony took place on the small grassy clearing set up just off the driveway into the cellar door. Hidden amongst the trees, the setting is very intimate and suited for small ceremonies like theirs. The unfortunate thing about being such a ruggen location however is that on a rainy day such as this one – there was quite a bit of water underfoot to contend with!

The personality of these two shone through the entire ceremony, beginning with a rugged ‘flower man’, a dancing number performed by Suzanne and Karen and delightful quirky touches such as a broccoli bouquet and bubbles all over the place!

Glamour Photos

After the ceremony, we took a quick drone photo of the group just as it started to rain – so we got plenty of umbrellas in the shot! Thankfully the weather cleared up a bit more after though!

We made sure to use the stunning tall, white gum trees nearby for some bush shots, and also the beautifully curvy driveway leading into the Sinclair Gully Winery cellar door.

One neat reason why Suzanne and Karen chose me as their wedding photographer was my affinity for landscape work, so I made sure to work in the surrounds as much as possible! Not that I dont do this anyway – it’s just how I approach my weddings!

Sinclairs Gully Winery Wedding Reception

Suzanne and Karen’s reception was a simple affair taking place under the porch area of the cellar door. We made time for some group photos of guests and simply had a bit of fun enjoying each other’s company!

Thanks go out to Suzanne and Karen for having me cover their Sinclairs Gully Winery wedding, and I sure do hope you enjoy your phtos as much as I enjoyed taking them!

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Chateau Yaldara Wedding – Clare & Craig

After having to hold an ‘official’ wedding ceremony a year earlier with a lot fewer guests at the Mt Torrens Hotel due to the COVID pandemic. Clare and Craig were finally able to host their dream Chateau Yaldara Wedding on an amazing winter day!

Clare and Craig went to great lengths to produce a most amazing day for their guests who many travelled, including hosting a screening of their offical ceremony a year earlier, and then also recreating the ceremony in front of the impressive Chateau Yaldara cellar door!

Preparation

The day began at Clare and Craig’s house nearby as the two of them were being prepared at the same house surrounded by lush Australian bush and sweeping paddocks belonging to neighbouring farms.

It was definitely a display of the personalities of both Clare and Craig – with broadswords and metal bouquets on display due to Clare’s affinity for the medieval, while their dirtbikes played a central role in some of their group photos a bit later.

Pre Ceremony Photoshoot

We made sure to use the surrounding scenery of Clare and Craig’s house for some photos before heading to their Chateau Yaldara wedding ceremony.

As Clare and Craig had already spent a bit of time having photos together at their wedding at Mt Torrens, a focus was put on trying to get group photos at every opportunity throughout the day. We first used the gum trees and nearby dam on Clare and Craig’s property, along with their dirtbikes before heading to a pine forest.

Before the ceremony took place, Clare and Craig held a bit of a screening of their last wedding ceremony using a projector for all theguests who could not attend the first time. During which Clare and her bridal party hid in the cellar door area of Chateau Yaldara waiting for their recreation ceremony to begin.

Chateau Yaldara Wedding Ceremony

Taking place on the lawns in front of the cellar door, Clare and Craig’s Chateau Yaldara wedding ceremony was set up so that the backdrop fo the main building was framed nicely by the tree on the grounds, while also having the rest of the estate in the background. The time of day was also great for me due to the sun hitting the building nicely.

A bit of photoshop was needed to remove a few overly zealous members of the public and their phones taking phtos of Clare as she walked down the stairs, but it all worked out well.

Their recreated wedding ceremony was a short, sharp affair, simply put together just so that their guests could attend in person – which I thought was a delightful way to forget the past few years of annoyign COVID restrictions.

Glamour Photoshoot

After the ceremony, and the family photos which we took on the steps of the cellar door, we head inside to the back room which Clare quite enjoyed sipping port amopngst the rustic wooden walled room.

We then used the balcony overlooking the front lawned area, and finally the staff-only cellar area which had some incredible opportunities – despite Clare and Craig’s dislike of ‘silhouette shots’ :D.

A fun thing about hosting a Chateau Yaldara wedding is not just the winery grounds, but also the nearby dam and natural rocky ground on which some epic scenes can be had – particulary at sunset!

At night we also head out again with some lights and smoke to make use of the steps again in a grand night shoot!

Chateau Yaldara Wedding Reception

Clare and Craig’s reception was put on specifically to celebrate with family and friends who mostly travelled to be with the ‘newly wed’ couple. The night was full of heartfelt speeches, fun games and a photobooth set up to capture their guests whenever I diddnt!

Thanks so much Clare and Craig for having me as your Barossa photographer at your amazing Chateau Yaldara wedding day!

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Pt Willunga Proposal – Melissa & Malith

Malith certainly timed his proposal to Melissa perfectly with an incredible sunset on the famed Pt Willunga beach.

His secretive Pt Willunga Proposal was maticulously planned by Malith leading up to the big moment, and oh my goodness, some of the scenes were just incredible!

Pt Willunga Proposal

The biggest concern for any of us leading up to the big moment was the weather – as both leading up to and beyond the day Malith planned his big Pt Willunga Proposal, the weather was pretty bad, and the tides during the winter is often so high that there isn’t much beach to stand on at Pt Willunga. But all that worrying was for nothing as the evening could not have gone any better.

Despite a bit of a hiccup having Melissa and Malith arrive a bit later than expected due to being served a rather late lunch in nearby Mclaren Vale, Malith proposed in front of a delightful little arbour set up put together by a small company sepcialising in this sort of thing – Fox Meets Charlie.

The fun part of the whole set up was trying to keep Melissa in the dark as they walked towards the arbour set up, with the group of us standing nearby ready to pounce and start taking photos/video as the big moment happened. Surpisingly Melissa had no idea until Malith presented the ring and everyone was all smiles :).

After the big moment, then we went off for a lbit of a walk along the beach to take some pretty photos in front of the amazing sunset and what many consider to be the most photographed beach in South Australia!

Congratulations go out to Melissa and Malith!

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