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Darwin’s Dudley Point Wedding – Melanie & Kerry

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  • Melanie & Kerry

    Darwin’s Dudley Point Wedding

    Darwin East Point Pride Rock wedding photo

It was so good to be up in Darwin again for a wedding, and I was super excited for Melanie and Kerry’s as it was the first time as a frequent Darwin wedding photographer to be in the Top End for Territory day!

I had heard stories of the fireworks and how crazy the streets of Darwin gets, but I finally was going to be in town to see it! Even better they head out to East Point for a spot of private fireworks the night before – awesome!

Melanie and Kerry’s big day’s weather turned out brilliantly – if not a bit chilly for Darwin, and it was an awesome day to be a part of!

Preparation

Melanie and Kerry had a pretty nifty set up for their preparation, having two separate properties connected via a shared backyard, where Kerry and his groomsmen got ready in one house, while Melanie and her bridal party got ready in the other!

I spent the time I was with them walking inbetween houses as things were happening and using the nifty surrounds which included pools, lush green trees and triple tiered interior of one of the houses!

The whole aesthetic of Melanie and Kerry’s day was very beachy, laid back and fun. The boys were dressed in Hawaiian shirts, while the girls were dressed in nice, short dresses with a blue theme for the beach.

Wedding rings in shell
Groomsman talking to groom
Blue engagement ring on yellow flowers
Bridal jewellery on rock
Wedding dress hanging in tree in Darwin
Flower girl watching bride get ready on balcony
Groomsman with socks on head
Groom and grooms men in middle of pool
Groom standing in middle of pool
Bride having her hair done
Flower girl makeup
Flower girl admriing herself in mirror
Bride decending down stairs
Bridesmaids in blue helping bride
Naked cat
bride putting on ear rings nearby window
Bride walking down stairs
bridal party on stairs
Bridal party next to pool

Dudley Point Wedding Ceremony

The East Point Reserve, just north of the Darwin city center was where Melanie and Kerry chose top hold their wedding. It would have to be one of my favourite spots in Darwin to take photos, so that was great!

Their Dudley Point wedding ceremony took place in the corner of the picnic area, with a view of the nearby cliffs. There was enough room for a large number of their guests, while also being intimate due to the fact the ceremony took place on top of the cliffs.

The ceremony itself was a lovely, simple affair with stories of how the two met, their vows were personally written and heartfelt – and everyone was all smiles at the end walking through bubbles!

Tesla Arriving at Dudley Point Wedding
Bride exiting Tesla
Posing in front of Tesla wedding car
Relaxed groom
Bride arriving at Dudley Point Wedding Ceremony
Grooms first look of bride at Dudley Point wedding ceremony
Bride andgroom talking at Dudley Point wedding ceremony
Dudley Point wedding Ceremony
Darwin’s Dudley Point wedding Ceremony
Bride smiling at her groom during ceremony at Dudley Point
Bridal vows
Bride and groom framed by square arbour
First kiss at Dudley Point wedding ceremony
Bride and groom exit from their Dudley Point wedding ceremony

Glamour Photos

Time was running short once we had sorted all the group photos, and I had managed to corral all members of the bridal party for a short walk along the cliff top to what I affectionately call ‘pride rock’ as it looks like the bride and groom are perched upon a thin sliver of sliff top, when it’s quite a wide chunk of rock – and it kind of looks like Pride Rock from the Lion King.

I wanted to head here first as I feared being the 2nd of July – it would be a super busy day in Darwin for weddings, and I presumed we would have to beat many other couples off this spot with a stick. Surprisingly no other weddings showed up! So we actually had the run of the place before driving out towards the Fannie Bay Foreshore for the sunset on the beach.

I also stuck in a firework photo I took the night before because I thought it was cool 🙂

Bride and groom out on clifftop
bride and groom nearby the tree on Pride Rock
Bride and groom with ocean in background
Bride and groom admiring sunset
Darwin East Point Pride Rock wedding photo
bridal party at East Point
Wedding socks
bride and groom with sunset in background
Groom elading bride through the undergrowth
Bride and groom share embrace surrounded by foliage
bride leads groom along beachfront
Bridal portrait of bride and groom
Bride and groom walking along Darwin beach
Bridal party with Darwin’s cliffs as a backdrop
Darwin’s Cracker night couples photo

Darwin Wedding Reception

After their Dudley Point wedding ceremony and their glamour photos, Melanie and Kerry held their reception at turned out to be a huge shed that they had spent untold hours setting up for their party!

Thousands of fairy lights adorned the ceiling over their huge u-shaped table seating all their guests – it actaully made for a pretty neat group photo spot!

The night was full of fun, speeches, great food and was great to be a part of!

Darwin reception setup in shed
wedding memorial table
group shot of all wedding guests
Grooms speech in front of white backdrop
Another angle of Darwin wedding reception
Bride’s speech
Triple wedding cake
Cutting their wedding cake
Bridal couple dancing
Groom having some fun
Bouquet toss result

Thanks so much to Melanie and Kerry for having me at your Dudley Point wedding!

Doubletree by Hilton Darwin Wedding – Kelly & Ben

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  • Kelly & Ben

    Doubletree by Hilton Darwin Wedding

    bride and groom amongst thin trees in Darwin

I was right in the middle of the Darwin CBD for Kelly and ben’s Doubletree by Hilton Darwin wedding that took place on the lawns nearby the hotel’s pool, with glamour photos just across the round in Darwin’s Bicentennial park, and reception in the Doubletree by Hilton Darwin reception center a few doors down from the actual hotel!

The weather was absolutely fantactic, as you’d expect from this time of year in Darwin – while perhaps on the warmer side, but that was ok as Kelly and ben were keen to get back to their friends and family sooner rather than later for their reception, instead of spedning took long taking photos!

Doubletree by Hilton Darwin Wedding Ceremony

Kelly and Ben’s Doubletree by Hilton Darwin wedding ceremony took place on the lawned area alongside the hotel’s pool area. The grassy lot has ample room for small to medium sized wedding ceongregations and is a private little space, surrounded by tall buildings, fences and greenery.

The ceremony itself was a short, simple affair, with Kelly of course being a tad late – which is of course tradition – but once she was there, it was smiles all around as these two lovely people said their vows and tied the knot.

Groom waiting at his Doubletree by Hilton wedding ceremony
Bride arriving at Doubletree by Hilton
Smiling bride in the Doubletree by Hilton lobby
Bridal entrance at the Doubletree by Hilton
Grooms first look at doubletree by hilton wedding
Doubletree by hilton wedding ceremony
Holding hands at wedding ceremony
Bride and groom holding hands on the grass at doubletree
Wedding ceremony on the grass at Doubletree by hilton
Doubletree by Hilton Darwin wedding ceremony
Groom during his wedding ceremony
Page boy bringing the rings
Vows at a wedding ceremony
First kiss at Doubletree by Hilton Darwin wedding
bride and groom exit their Doubletree by Hilton wedding ceremony

Glamour Photos

After holding the family group shots over the water of the pool, using the small patch of greenery as the backdrop – we head over the road to Darwin’s Bicentennial park for glamour photos. It kelly and ben weren’t overly keen to travel too far away for their glamour photos, opting instead to have a few done close by, allowing them to spend more time with their family and friends back at their reception. It was also quite a warm day, so moving too far wasn’t on the top of most people’s lists of things to do 🙂

The sunny day meant that I was presented by quite a bit of sun glare shining through the foliage of trees, so I made good use of the light bathing the bridal party in it’s glow. We managed to walk around the park a bit, all the way down to the rocky shoreline and back before retiring to get ready for the reception.

bride and groom on the pool edge
Bridal party in Darwins Bicentenniel park
Bride and groom in Bicentennialpark
Ring in flowers
bridal party in Bicentennial Park Darwin
bride and groom amongst thin trees in Darwin
Bride and groom in thin trees in Bicentennial Park
bride and groom on the Darwin bay lookout
Bride and groom on the Darwin foreshore
bride and groom amongst the Darwin Foliage
Smiling bride and groom surrounded by green
Darwin Bicentennial Park Wedding Photo
Darwin Bicentennial Park Wedding Photography

Doubletree by Hilton Darwin Wedding Reception

It was the second time I had covered a wedding in this Doubletree by Hilton Darwin reception hall – as there are a number to choose from, but I think this hall is quite popular due to it’s size and ease of access from the road. The area boasts ample room for a medium sizes wedding party, with dance, while the kids were keen on using the spare space for games and running around.

The atmosphere was fun and laid back, with a number of speeches and plenty of dancing later in the evening. I;d like to thank Kelly and Ben for seating me at a table! I had a lovely chat with the people at the table who clued me on some places to visit for the next time I was in Darwin – which happened to be only last week. Unfortunately though my trip was cut short due to COVID 🙁

It was a lovely night to be a part of!

wedding sign in Hotel
Wedding favour jelly beans
Doubletree by Hilton Wedding Reception
bride and groom arriving at their reception
Wedding reception food
bride and groom outside the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Darwin
Groomsman announcing himself
Laughing groom during speeches
Wedding cake on display
Cutting the wedding cake together
Daddy daughter dance
On the dancefloor as a family
First dance at Doubletree by Hilton wedding
Guests dancing at Doubletree by Hilton Darwin

Jervois Park Wedding – Darwin – Kate & Dylan

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  • Kate & Dylan

    Darwin’s Jervois Park Wedding

    bride and groom looking out at the sunset

I have never before seen such impeccable timing than Kate and Dylan’s wedding where they timed their big day the day before a major COVID lockdown in Darwin. The day itself was a typical stunnly sunny Darwin day that made their Jervois Park wedding – just south of the Darwin CBD such a wonderful experience!

Kate and Dylan’s big day was full of family fueled fun, joy and beautiful moments I was so glad to capture with both photography and videography!

Preparation

Both Kate and Dylan were prepared nearby their Jervois Park wedding venue, with Dylan in a bed and breakfast I had shot in before, and Kate in a hotel room within the CBD.

As per usual on a wedding day, small things often go wrong that just cannont be helped – in the case of Dylan’s preparation, unfortunately one of his groomsmen got on the wrong end of a chainsaw only days before the wedding was to take place! Thankfully the injury wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and he was certainly a champ powering through the rest of his mate’s big day!

The morning was fun filled, and the guys had the usual trouble tieing their ties before Mr. Youtube came along to help! A troup of male strippers also made an appearance! – More of Dylan’s mates trying to create some silly photos 🙂

Wedding rings resting on white tie
Wedding stubbie holder
Engagement ring in between grooms shoes
Groom tieing tie surrounded by windows
Father helping tie tie
Groomsman tieing tie
Groomsman putting on socks
Groomsmen gathered around groom
Groom putting on jacket
Smiling groom looking at camera
Groom at the top of the stairway
Groomsmen at top of staircase
groomsmen in front of pool

Kate and her bridal party had a slightly more straightforward preparation, with plenty of makeup and hair to sort out before the ceremony. The ladies were all in good spirits and were obviously having a great time!

A highlight of the morning with the bridal party for me was the arrival of Kate’s father where we set up a bit of a first look for him seeing Kate in her dress for the first time. Always a crowd pleasing moment!

Wedding dress hanging from roof
Bridal shoes with bouquet
bridal makeup
bridesmaids reaching for dresses
bride and bridesmaids in doorway
Bride sitting in makeup chair
Bride and bridesmaids with gowns
Bride and bridesmaids having fun under veil on bed
bride looking back
Bride being preparaed
bride looking at bridesmaid while being prepared
Bride standing alone in living area
bridesmaids looking at bride
Fathers first look
Bride and Dad
Bride and bridal party
Bridal party on balcony

Jervois Park Wedding Ceremony

Kate and Dylan’s Jervois Park Wedding Ceremony took place inbetween a few trees, providing shade to the majority of their congregation while looking out over Darwin Harbour as a backdrop. It’s a pretty nice spot to hold a wedding ceremony – with quite a bit of parking space for guests, reasonably isolated from passers by, and still being in the center of the city!

Kate and her bridal party arrived in huge all terrain vehicles, which spoke to their affinity for the outdoors, and the ceremony itself was a simple affair with Kate and Dylan sharing personal vows, before breaking off to celebrate with guests and have family photos done.

Jervois Park wedding sign
Arriving parent
Groom standing around
Guests mingling
Bride getting out of car
bride arriving with Father
Groom smiling at bride in jarvois Park
Smiling groom during Jervois Park Wedding
Jervois Park Wedding Ceremony
Holding hands during Jervois Park Wedding Ceremony
Smiling bride during her wedding ceremony in Darwin
Groom listening to his bride’s vows
Exchanging wedding rings under arbour
Closeup of wedding rings exchange
First Kiss at Darwins Jervois Park
bride and groom holding one another after the ceremony

Glamour Photos

For glamour photos, one of the main spots Kate wanted to head to were the marvellous trees located in Garden’s Park, just in front of the Darwin Botanic Gardens. The area in there provides for some stunning shots – particularly later in the day with the sun lowering and gleaming through the foliage, or the trunks of the huge trees growing here.

We then head to one of my favourite spots in Darwin for wedding photos – the East Point cliffs. Us along with 2 other wedding parties who also had the same idea! Thankfully we arrived just as one party was finishing up, so we managed to get the prime spot out on the ‘pride rock’ rock formation in time for the sunset. Unfortunately for the couple arriving after us they kind of missed out! Very popular spot!

Bride and groom in front of wedding 4WD
Bride and groom in green foliage
Bride and groom amongst the green trees
Bride and groom framed by the green foliage
bridal party in the large trees
bride and groom walking between the trees of Darwin’s Botanic Park
Wedding Photo in front of Darwin’s Botanic Gardens
Gardens Park wedding Photo
Gardens Park wedding party Photo
Bridal party at East Point
Bridal party at East Point together
bride and groom out on pride rock
East Point Wedding Photo
Darwins East Point Wedding Photo
East Point in Darwin wedding photography
East Point Bride and groom
Bride and groom Darwin sunset
bride and groom looking out at the sunset
wedding couple looking out at the sunset

Private Property Wedding Reception

Kate and Dylan then had a bit of a drive out to their wedding reception which was held on a pricate property out by Howard Springs. The front yard of a house was decorated with a beautiful display of fairy lights covering all the tables for guests which had also been set up.

What I found most striking from their reception setup was the beautiful tiki torches lining the entrance to the reception – really made the whole setting quite intimate and glamourous, despite the bobcat holding the drinks in it’s digger!

bride and groom arriving at reception
Bobcat holding drinks
Guests selecting drinks
Maid of honour speech
Hugs after speech
Wedding cake on display in circle
Cutting the wedding cake as husband and wife
Dad and daughter dance
Happy bride in first dance
Smiling groom during first dance
Bride sitting on grooms knee
Dancing guests at the reception
Guests on swing
Table setting
Shoe game under the lights
Bride and groom kissing on the dance floor
Dance floor
bride and groom between the tiki torches
Cooling off in the pool
Bride dancing on the dancefloor
Dancing guests

Kate and Dylan, I’m so glad you guys got to celebrate your big day before COVID decided to ruin anything! Thanks so much for having me as your wedding photographer at your Jervois Park wedding!

St Mary’s Cathedral Wedding – Darwin – Jane & David

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  • Jane & David

    St Mary’s Cathedral Wedding

    Darwin wedding sunset

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
Getting ready
Getting ready
Getting ready
Walking along the beach
Wedding rings
Socks
Getting ready
Wedding rings
Getting ready
Close up of flower

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 🙂

Engagement ring
Putting in earrings
Engagement ring in shoes
Ready to leave
Everybody helping
Putting on dress
Buttoning up dress
Champaigne
Sitting around
Wedding dress
Smiles
Girls together
Wedding dress
Jane and Mum

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
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.

Under the veil
Out on the water
Amongst the trees
Walking along the beach
Pride rock
Pride rock
Under the sun
Pride rock