Tag Archive for: barossa wedding

Chateau Tanunda Wedding – Libby & Simon

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  • Libby & Simon

    Chateau Tanunda Wedding

    Kiss in the vines

Libby and Simon returned form their home in Texas, USA to celebrate their wedding day at the Chateau Tanunda with friends and family living in South Australia. Both their families were spread out around the globe, so it was wonderful to witness the coming together of these two lovely families 🙂 I was asked to be their wedding photographer for the majority of their day, seeing me at Libby’s place of preparation, through to the first dance at their reception.

Preparation

I was asked to start the day with Libby and her bridal party preparation at a nearby bed and breakfast in Tanunda. All morning there was the bustle of activity as each bridesmaid, flower girl and a few other family members all used the large, old cottage as a base of operations 🙂 The house featured a large, open lounge room, complete with a wonderful bay window, perfect for bridal preparation photos.

An interesting side not for the day was that I was contacted by Raw Cotton Collection, a clutch bag manufacturer based in Perth, through Instagram to give Libby and her flowergirls a free clutch and bags in exchange for some photos with the girls, was a fun little side note 🙂

Lacing up
Engagement ring
Flower Girl in Window
Having fun in the veil
Lacing up
Bride at front door
Flower Girl
Wedding Dress
Flower Girl helping out
Getting Ready
Bride and flower girl

Chateau Tanunda Wedding Ceremony

The Chateau Tanunda has been a feature of the Barossa Valley since the 1880s, being built near vineyards that were planted in 1840s, it’s a historic place that makes for a wonderful backdrop for a wedding! Libby and Simon’s wedding ceremony took place in a long, thin function hall/chapel on the far left of the Chateau which featured some wonderful wooden slat ceilings and large windows overlooking a grassy croquet field.

Flower girls
Bride in Mirror
Wedding Ceremony
Hugs
Holding hands together
Groom’s First look
Chateau Tanunda Wedding
Bored flower girl
Bride walking down aisle
Holding hands together
Chateau Tanunda
Holding hands together
At the altar
First Kiss

Glamour Photos

Directly after the ceremony, Libby, Simon and I escaped in their MG getaway car and used the surrounding beauty that is the Chateau Tanunda grounds. First making use of the picturesque driveway through the vineyards towards the Chateau, then behind the building in a small park situated beyond a disused train line. The sun was setting beautifully for some nice sun flare coming through the trees. We were also lucky enough to utilise the wine barrels in the large tasting room for the winery.

Together in the trees
Together in the trees
Together in the wine barrels
Kiss in the vines
Walking on the disused train line
Getaway car
Bride and Groom together in front of Chateau Tanunda
Flower girls running about
Happy groom
Running through the vines
Together in the sunset
Walking through the trees
Walking together
Driving toward Chateau Tanunda
Wedding rings on railway
Ivy
Together in the wine barrels
Chateau Tanunda
Doorway
Laughing couple

Chateau Tanunda Wedding Reception

The venue boasts a huge reception hall, big enough for Libby and Simon’s wedding reception guests twice over, which made the dance floor quite large! As it was a chilly night, being the beginning of May, their were plenty of gas-fired heaters throughout the room to keep guests warm.

Speech
Wedding Cake
Chateau Tanunda Wedding Reception
First Dance
Cutting the cake
Speech
Mingling
First Dance

Thank you so much Libby and Simon for having me be your wedding photographer, I hope you enjoy your photos! 😀

AlRu Farm Wedding – Emma & Brad

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  • Emma & Brad

    AlRu Farm Wedding

    Alru farm wedding photo

I was priviledged anough to have been asked to be Emma and Brad’s Wedding photographer at their stunning AlRu Farm wedding towards the end of May!

The setting, the atmosphere, the weather and just about everything came together to form the most perfect day for these two newly weds, and it was an absolute joy to be a part of!

Preparation

I began the day with Brad and his groomsmen getting prepared in the on-site International Suite accomodation which boasts a large living area lots of beautiful natural light streaming in throught he rustic windows that line the rooms. The setting is delightful for preparation photos with such a lovely, rustic backdrop.

We also made a point of walking about the grounds a little but – without sneaking a peek of Emma as she was also being prepared on site in a different area.

Groom’s shoes
Wedding rings on tie 2
Groom reading letter
Groom putting on tie in window
groom pacing AlRu Farm
Suit Jacket hanging on windowsill
Groomsman looking in mirror at AlRu Farm
Groom looking out doorway
groom and groomsmen having fun on driveway
groomsmen shot
groom and groomsmen lost shot
Groomsmen together

Emma was being prepared also on-site in the Garden Pavillion, which is in my experience the best place for the bridal party to get ready due to it’s wonderfully huge windows lining the entire length of the cottage making for a stunning backdrop for bridal portraits and shots of the dress. AlRu Farm has such a wonderful set up in regards to accomodation, providing 3 separate, wonderful spots for preparation photos on a wedding day – which makes it one of my favourite wedding venues in Adelaide.

Emma and her bridesmaids were really relaxed all morning leadning up to the moment where we head out for Emma and Brad’s ‘first look’ amongst the gardens of Alru Farm. We even had a bit of fun tryign to get the cork to fly off a champaign bottle! Lucky we had 2 to get it right!

Bridal shoes
Putting makeup on
Wedding dress hanging at Alru Farm
Helping with brides hair
Engagement ring in amonst the flowers
bridal party with champaigne
Bride and bridesmaids in gowns
Wedding dress hanging above bridal party
Wedding dress hanging At Alru Farm wedding
bridesmaids helping put on bridal gown
bride having a wine while getting dressed
Buttoning up bridal gown
Smiling bride in windwo at Alru Farm wedding
Alru Farm wedding bride

First Look

Emma and Brad opted to have a first look done before the ceremony, having the nerves and pent up energy of the day shared with their bridal party rather than the entirety of their guests at the ceremony itself.

We also made use of the time before the ceremony to walk around the grounds a bit to take some glamour phtoos with the bridal party with the idea that they will have more time after the ceremony to spend with their guests rather than taking phtoos all day.

Groom waiting patiently for his first look
bride approaching groom for first look
nervous groom waiting for first look
grooms first look at Alru Farm wedding
Smiling bride during first look

Glamour Photos

We walked around the grounds of Alru Farm making use of the overcast day to really allow the yellows for the dying autumnal leaves to come through as much as possible in their photos. We also made friends with the local wildlife while walking about!

bride and groom amongst the long grass at Alru
Guinea Fowl
bridal party on the driveway at their AlRu Farm Wedding
bridal party looking at bride and groom on bench
bride and groom on bench
Groomsmen sneaking up on bride and groom
Bridal party Charlies angels
bride and groom sharing a kiss in the gardens
bride and groom under veil before their ceremony
Laughing bride and groom amongst ivy

AlRu Farm Wedding Ceremony

Emma and Brad’s AlRu Farm wedding ceremony took place in the shaded grassy area nearby the on-site pond, allowing the bridal procession to walk through the famous romanesque pillars as they approached the wedding ceremony.

The area allows for the bridal party to be elevated in front of their guests on the stairs, while having the pond and parts of the pillars as a backdrop.

The weather was just perfect for their ceremony, with the sun making an appearance right towards the end, allowing for some awesome group photos at the end!

bride approaching her wedding ceremony
Happy bride and groom during ceremony
Groom glancing at celebrant
Alru farm wedding ceremony on steps
smiling bride listing to vows
Alru farm wedding ceremony on steps 3
Exchanging wedding rings in front of celebrant
Wedding ceremony at AlRu Farm
First kiss on the steps at Alru Farm
Signing documents over the pond
Bride and groom with signed wedding documents
Bridal exit from their ceremony
group photo at Alru Farm wedding
Alru farm wedding ceremony on steps 2

More Glamour Photos

After the group shots – which Emma specifially requested we do while moving, allowing for different backdrops in a majority of their group photos. I was keen to make use fo the dying sunlight that was making a beautiful specticle of itself shining through the foliage at AlRu Farm.

This is the best thing about having an AlRu Farm wedding – the whole place seems to be geared towards precisely this time of day, with the sun dropping down over the horizon, and it’s beams shining through the trees like it does – just makes for an amazing time as a wedding photographer!

At night time too! An Alru Farm wedding would not be complete if I diddnt fill the on-site greenhouse with a bit of smoke and create some amazing silhouettes!

Alru farm wedding photo
Fliying veil at Alru farm wedding
bride and groom walking along driveway
bride and groom hugging on driveway
bride and groom hugging on Alru farm driveway
Bride leading groom holding hands
bride and groom amongst the gum trees at Alru Farm
Smiles all round in the gum trees
Bride and groom leaning against big gum tree
bride and groom on the driveway at Alru Farm wedding
bridal party in the Alru Farm pillars
Dancing in the pillars
Alru Farm greenshouse wedding photo
Wedding photo in the alru farm greenshouse with stars
Wedding photo in the alru farm greenshouse

AlRu Farm Wedding Reception

Emma and Brad’s Alru Farm wedding reception took place in the old barn house that’s on site. It’s a rustic space, lined with floor to ceiling mirrors that accomodates more guests than you would expect!

Emma and Brad’s love for animals was on display all night, with multiple references among the speeches which sometimes made for some fun listening hearing about the exploits they get up to in regards to adopting too many furry friends!

The night was full of fun, dancing and interesting customs, including shuffling along the dance floor duing one’s head like a broom. It was a really fun night that I was super glad to have been a part of!

Wedding cake on display 2
Table place settings
Speech giver
Smiling bride during speech
Toasting best man
Bride thanking her wedding planner
Cutting the wedding cake
Guests being silly
First dance together
First dance together closeup
First dance together at ALru Farm wedding
Dessert
Dacning bride on the dancefloor
boys group shot
Dancing guest
Head dragging along the dance floor

Thankyou Emma and Brad for having me capture your AlRu Farm wedding day!

Al-Ru Wedding – Emma & Nickolai

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  • Emma & Nickolai

    Al-Ru Wedding

    Al-Ru farm wedding photo

Emma and Nickolai certainly chose the perfect time of year to hold their Al-Ru wedding – just at the end of Autumn so that they had all the amazing colours that such a stunningly curated garden like Al-Ru Farm can provide!

I would have expected nothing less from Nickolai – landscape extraordinaire – who was sure to give me a thorough botanic lesson on some of the trees we were using as backdrops during their photo shoot!

Emma and Nickolai’s day was beaiutifully laid back, and family-oriented which made for a lovely atmosphere and an over-all amazing day!

Preparation

Nickolai was being prepared nearby in a friend’s house in Gawler. The homebrew beers and some exceptional liquor was handy and paired nicely with the Dominos pizza they had sourced for lunch.

While Nickolai was being prepared alongside a number of friends, both Nickolai and Emma did not have any bridal party, and instead just wanted to be prepared along side friends and family without having to burden anyone with the rigour of official bridal party business.

One rather neat addition to the whole preparation was Nickolai’s gift to his father in the way of a tie adorned with sunflowers – which represented their Ukranian heritage and I thought was rather touching. I was half expecting some other Ukranian customs to be held later too!

Brown Groom shoes
Wedding bands on brown table top
Groom and doggo
Helping with groom’s tie
Guys helping out getting groom dressed
Groom looking in bathroom mirror
Smiling groom with Dad
dad helping groom with tie
Groom holding dog inbetween cacti
Groom with friends
Groom and Dad

Emma and her friends were being prepared at the cutre little cottage on site at Al-Ru Farm. This cottage, I feel is the best spot to be prepared for a wedding in all of Adelaide due to it’s cute aesthetic and huge sweeping windows that suit as a backdrop to almost anything wedding related!

The atmosphere here was fun and laid back, with the proceedings punctuated by a touching first look by Emma’s Dad who came in and made everyone tear up as he spun around and saw his daugher all dressed up as a bride for the first time 🙂

Wedding dress hanging at Al-Ru Wedding
Ring perched in red flower
Wedding shoes boots
Al-Ru Wedding wedding dress
Guests having fun holding one another
Bridal makeup through window
Ladybug jewellery
Flower girls hugging
Bride firends reacting
Bridal hugs
Bride talking to flower girls
Dad’s first look at Al-Ru Wedding
Daddy daughter hug
Bride smiling as she places Dad’s flower
Al-Ru Wedding bride
Al-Ru Wedding bride looking out window
Bride friends surprise

Al-Ru Wedding Ceremony

Emma and Nickolai’s Al-Ru Wedding ceremony took place at the foot of the pond and roman columns set amongst the greenery of the gardens. This meant that Emma approached her ceremony from behind Nickolai and did not walk through her waiting guests to beghin their ceremony.

An Auslan interpreter was on site all day for those who needed it, while the ceremony itself was lovely and simple with some heartfelt vows and readings throughout.

After the cermeony, we staged a bit of a bride and groom exit up on the homestead’s main lawn where the guests lined a corridor to throw petals over the newly wedded couple.

Groom standing out front of guests
Bride approaching through columns
Bride and father approaching groom
Standing together at the top of the steps
Al-Ru Wedding Ceremony
Bride smiling during ceremony at Al-Ru Farm
Groom looking at his bride during ceremony through leaves
Guests watching Al-Ru Wedding ceremony
Guest speaker during ceremony
bride and groom listening to speaker
Bride vows
Bride vows during cermeony
Bride laughing during Al-Ru Wedding
First kiss at Al-Ru Wedding
Bride and groom walking through guests after wedding

Glamour Photos

Oh boy did I have fun taking Emma and Nickolai’s photos! I mean they certainly made it simple for me by choosing an incredible time of year, they are both gorgeous looking people and the surronds you get to work with at an Al-Ru wedding is simply divine. The only thing that was a little dissapointing was the lack of any significant sunset due to cloud coverage, but it was still really pretty!

A big reason why Emma and Nickolai had me as their wedding phtographer was my tendancy to love taking photos with a bit of a landscape feel – bringing the entirety of the scenery into my photos rather than only focusing on them as portraits. There’s few better places to do this than at an Al-Ru Wedding!

We also made sure to use the famed Al-Ru greenhouse at night for a bit of night time photography, and walked around a bit int he dark with some smoke 🙂

Pink Flower girls
Groom having fun on lawn
Bride and groom together during lawn reception
Guests playing lawn games
Bride and groom kiss under tree
Al-Ru wedding photo
Al-Ru farm wedding photo
Bride and groom backlit by sun under tree
Bride and groom walking on lawn in front of cottage
Bride and groom headbutt in ivy
Wedding photo on Al-Ru Farm driveway
Wedding photo on Al-Ru Farm driveway above
Bride and groom at Al Ru Farm wedding
Bride and groom walking under red trees
Bride and groom embracing under red trees
Bride and groom walking in long grass at Al-Ru Farm wedding
Bride flying veil under bush
Bride and groom kiss under autumnal colours
Bride and groom in the Al Ru Wedding reception area
Bride and groom under the moon and dying sunlight
Bride and groom with sheep
Al-Ru wedding photo in front of greenhouse
Bride and groom under stars at Al-Ru Wedding
Bride and groom in front of Al-Ru arms greenhouse
Bride and groom in the rain in front of greenhouse
Bride and groom in the Al-Ru Farm pillars at night
bride and groom at night in the gardens of Al-Ru Farm

Al-Ru Wedding Reception

Emma and Nickolai’s Al-Ru Wedding reception was punctuated by heartfelt speeches through Auslan and interpreters and highlighted by the personal touches they, and their friends had added to their most amazing day – including one of the most interesting wedding cakes I have seen!

The rest of their night was full of singing, dancing and just having a great time. The whole day was awesome to be a part of and I hope Emma and Nickolai enjoy their photos as much as I enjoyed creating them!

Eclectic wedding cake
Bride and groom kiss under raised flutes
Clapping bride
Speech giving parents
Sign language speech
Little boy standing on dnacefloor
Groom giving speech
Bride lauighing during her speech
Bride and groom kiss after speech
Dancing guest jumping
Groom dancing with guests
bride dancing with guests

Chateau Yaldara Wedding – Clare & Craig

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  • Clare & Craig

    Chateau Yaldara Wedding

    Bride and groom perched on rocks

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.

Sword and bridal shoes
Groomsmen cufflinks
Engagement rign in metal bouquet
Wedding rings on slate
Dog with tie
Motorcycles lined up
Groom putting on cufflinks in light
Groom putting on tie in hallway
Wedding dress habing on gum tree branch
groomsman helping adjust tie in window
Bride standing smiling
Smiling groomsman while adjusting collar

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.

Groom with groomsmen
Bride chatting with bridal party
Bride and Groom with sword next to tree
Bridal aprty with motorscycles
Bride and groom in front of pond
Bridal party with reflection in pond
Bride and groom amongst ghost gum trees
Smiling bride and groom
Groom dipping bride in pine trees
Bride and groom in sunlight between pines
Bridal party in pine trees
Bride and groom kiss in between bridal party
Bride and groom walking through pine forest
Bridesmaid amongst bridal party
Bride and groom in front of old building at Chateau Yaldara and new
Chateau Yaldara wedding setup
Bride chilling with bridal party before ceremony
Classic Bridal portrait

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.

Groom and entourage walking together
Bride approaching Chateau Yaldara Wedding Ceremony
Chateau Yaldara wedding ceremony landscape
Bride approaching Chateau Yaldara Wedding Ceremony from cellar door
Chateau Yaldara wedding ceremony
Chateau Yaldara wedding ceremony portrait
Bride sharing vows at Chateau Yaldara wedding
First kiss at Chateau Yaldara wedding
Group photo at Chateau Yaldara wedding

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!