People often ask me why I head up to Darwin so often as a wedding photographer – well it’s in no small part due to weddings like Lauren and Trent’s Darwin Surf Live Saving Club wedding!

Their day was super laid back with Trent and his boys swapping shirts and ties for hawaiian shirts and thongs, while Lauren enjoyed going barefoot! This along with the stunning Darwin weather and incredible sunet, it made for such a stunning day!

Preparation

Lauren and Trent’s places of preparation were conveniently located across the road from another in separate houses which meant I wasn’t confined to one spot the entire time and could flit inbetween houses as needed.

Trent and his boys were quite keen on being as lowkey as possible, lounging about in their hawaiian shirts while having a beer, while Lauren and her girls had their hands full with the little flower girl who liked to be the center of attention 🙂

Wedding rings perched on wood

Groom putting on hawiian shirt

Groom and groomsmen by the pool

Groomsman in pink hawaiian shirt

Groom and groomsmen on street

We spent a little bit of time getting the little one ready before realising we also had to get Lauren in her dress ready to go too!

The whole atmosphere surrounding Lauren and Trent’s day was very laid back and low key which made evrything that much more enjoyable!

Wedding dress hanging in the foliage

Fun loving baby

Engagement ring in pink rose

Opal necklace on rock

Mum talking to Bride

Little flower girl

Bridesmaids helping out

Darwin Surf Life Saving Club Wedding Ceremony

Lauren and Trent’s Darwin Surf Life Saving Club Wedding Ceremony took place on the beach front, just beyond the large grassy area in front of the club house itself. The famed Casuarina beach is a delightful sight to behold with a huge amount of sand inbetween the surf club and the water, as far as the eyes can see in either direction.

The wedding ceremony was set up so that the lowering sun took pride of place in the background along with much of the beach – it was a beautiful sight!

The weather was a little windy, but still very warm for a September wedding but everything ran very smoothly and after a few giggles and personal anecdotes this loving couple were married in front of family and friends!

Wedding ceremony set up

Groom approaching ceremony on beach

Bride approaching wedding cermeony

Groom watching as his bride approaches

Wedding ceremony at Darwin surf life saving club

bride listening to her groom during ceremony

Groom listening to bride during ceremony

Beach wedding ceremony

First kiss at darwin surf life saving club wedding

Darwin Surf Life Saving Club Wedding Ceremony

Glamour Photos

We had a short period of time for some glamour photos after the family shots were done, so we made use of the sunset while walking along the beach front as muich as we could, then retired to a nearby swing set up for people to just sit and enjoy the view.

During the night I also brought out some lighting to use the stunning nighttime scene that is the surf club’s grassy area!

bride and groom with little one

bridal party under the sunset

bridal party standing on the beach

Bridal party walking along casuarina beach

Bride and grom walking on casuarina beach

bride and groom enjoying sunset

casuarina beach wedding photo

Holding hands in sunset

bride and groom walking at sunset on casuarina beach

Groom lifting bride on casuarina beach

Bride being carried by groom on beach

bride and groom sitting together at sunset

Bride and groom in trees at night

Darwin surf lifesaving club wedding reception

Darwin Surf Life Saving Club Wedding Reception

The grassy area in front of the club house is such a stunning location, it’s little wonder why it’s such a popular wedding spot in Darwin. The main draw is the fact you get uninterrupted vews of the spectacular Darwin sunsets over the incredible Casuarina beach while enjoying the company of family and friends on a private patch of grass.

During the night the fairy lights illuminate the whole space beautifully and creates an amazing atmosphere that only Darwin can provide!

Darwin surf life saving club wedding reception at sunset

Darwin surf life saving club wedding reception at night

Dad and boy enjoying the lights

Two tier white wedding cake

bride playing with children

First dance at Darwin surf life saving club wedding reception

Guests during reception

bride and groom cutting cake

bride and bridesmaids standing togetherbride and bridesmaids standing together

Thanks so much to Lauren and Trent for having me as your wedding photographer! Was an amazing day and I hope you enjoy your photos and video!

There’s nothing better than travelling up to Darwin for a wedding during the winter months, getting away from the cold weather in Adelaide during this time of year! these past few months have been full of travel for me, having covered a wedding in Santorini, Greece just a few weeks prior to Jane and David’s wedding at the St Mary’s Cathedral in Darwin! It was so awesome to be a part of as I knew Jane and David were wonderful people last time I met up with them on the remote Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin for an engagement shoot.

I went up there for a few days camping and exploring the remote island where Jane and David live amongst the local Tiwi islander community. It also happens to be the location of the wedding featured in the recent blockbuster ‘Top end wedding‘, which was pretty neat!

Preparation

David was being prepared with his groomsmen in an apartment overlooking the Darwin waterfront precinct. The atmosphere was laid back and easygoing and it all went pretty smoothly until I apparently interrupted a crossfit competition when we were waling about for photos on the beachfront.. sorry about that! Diddn’t seem to interrupt much as I diddnt even notice until after when someone mentiuoned it to me.. haha.

Getting ready

Socks

Walking along the beach

Getting ready

Close up of flower

Wedding rings

Getting ready

Wedding rings

Jane and her bridesmaids were being prepared in a rather lavish bed and breakfast overlooking the Darwin skyline. The house featured a 3 story long single stairway which I was super keen on utilising for photos! 🙂 Similar to the guys, the girls were super laid back and if there were any nerves, Jane was hiding it well 🙂

Ready to leave

Putting on dress

Sitting around

Putting in earrings

Buttoning up dress

Smiles

Jane and Mum

Wedding dress

Everybody helping

Girls together

Engagement ring

Wedding dress

Engagement ring in shoes

Champaigne

St Mary’s Cathedral Wedding Ceremony

St Mary’s Cathedral, or ‘Star of the Sea’ Cathedral is located fairly central to the darwin CBD and features a rather unique arch design right throughout it’s main chamber. The Cathedral is lined with local indigenous artwork which was quite important to Jane and David having strong connections with the local Tiwi islander community where they live and work. In the days leading up to the wedding day, jane was keen to point them out to me and tell me the meaning behind it all. It was facinating to learn about!

The Cathedral was built after the war in 1962, with it’s first tone taken from the first uranium mine built in the Northern Territory. As a result, it’s arather modern cathedral with ample natural lighting and wide open spaces in order to move about without getting in anyone’s way while taking photos 🙂

Jane and David’s wedding ceremony was a traditional Catholic affair, complete with readings and full mass service, and even the ex-bishop of Darwin was in attendance which was quite the surpise to Jane and David! The main thng that really made Jane and David’s service stand out though was the wonderful performance from the local Tiwi islanders who had made the trip out to Darwin to celebrate Jane and David’s wedding with them.

Wedding sign

Bridal entrance

Grooms first look

Smiling bride

Holding hands

Everyone out the front

Smiles

Groom

Inside St Mary’s Cathedral

Standing together

Holding hands

priest

Sitting together

under the arch

Ring bearer

First kiss

Celebrations!

Mass

Sitting together

Signing the registry

Smiling at one another

Dancers

Dancing bride and groom

Guitar player

Dancing back down the aisle

Glamour Photos

After family photos and more Tiwi islander dancing out the front of St Mary’s Cathedral, we head out for the glamour photos. We first made use of the wonderful trees out the front of the Darwin Botanical park, before heading over towards Lake Alexander and East Point for photos amongst the wonderful red rocks and cliffs along the beach. jane and david were keen on having photos done similar to what they would have had done in the Tiwi Islands so I suggested heading around here. We also made use of a small park nearby the Darwin Surf Club before heading in for their reception.

Amongst the trees

Pride rock

Out on the water

Pride rock

Walking along the beach

Under the veil

Pride rock

Under the sun

Pride rock

Under the veil

bridal party

Walking along the beach

We head into the Darwin Surf Club for the beginning of their wedding reception only to leave about 20 minutes later to drive to the Nightcliff area for some sunset photos. I’m glad we did too as it was a spectacular sunset and I was about to angle myself in order to make the sun look larger than it actually is. It’s great when that’s possible with a sunset like this!

Watching the sunset

Sillouette

yay!

Darwin wedding sunset

Nightcliff wedding sunset

Sunset photo

Darwin Surf Club Wedding Reception

As is usally the case in Darwin during the dry season, the temperature during the night was absolutely perfect for a night time reception out on the lawn, and the great thing about the Darwin Surf Club is that the sun sets right over the beautiful beach lining the venue. The entire guest list were certainly there to have a good time and I was so pleased to see so many people up on the dance floor! Even David serenaded jane during the night with his newly gained guitar skills! It was such a fun night to be a part of which even featured a gelato bar!