Ekhidna Winery Archives

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Ekhidna Wines Mclaren Vale Wedding – Nikki & Trenton

December 23, 2020/0 Comments/in Wedding preview, Wedding /by Steven Duncan

I always love heading to Ekhidna Wines Mclaren Vale, as it’s one of my absolute favourite wineries in Mclaren Vale to shoot a wedding at! So I was excited to head there once again for Nikki and Trenton’s wedding that took place right at the end of October! The day was a little overcast and windy, but that diddnt hampen the spirits of these two lovely people and their guests!

Preparation

Trenton and his entourage were being prepared in a bed and breakfast on Main street Mclaren Vale, and while Trenton seems cool, calm and collected he was obviously trying to find things to do to keep his mind busy – but he certainly managed to do so, and had his groomsmen nearby to keep the nerves away!

Wedding rings on table top

Wedding rings on grooms shoes

Figuring out the flower

Groom buttoning up shirt

Groomsman walking the hallway

Groom helping best man get dressed

Groom playing funny buggers

The boys looking smashing

Nikki was being prepared a little further away in a hidden bed and breakfast nearber Kangarilla. It was a spectacular location, overlooking the rolling hills the region is so famous for and the building has some amazing architecture! Nikki was being helped to prepare by her sole bridesmaid/maid of honour which made for a very stress-less time!

Helping put on the wedding dress

bridal boots

Helping put on the wedding dress in front of window

Ring in flowers

Smiling bride with bouquet 3

Bride and maid of honour together

Ekhidna Wines Mclaren Vale Wedding Ceremony

Both Niki and trenton were quite excited by their bridal cars so they made a big entrance by driving right up onto the lawn near the vineyards at Ekhidna Wines Mclaren Vale. From there, the ceremony took place with the hills and vineyards in the background and was personalised by some funky personal quirky events Nikki and Trenton planned.

Things such as a coin toss to figure out who says their vows first, adn then their fur baby dog coming to visit as they signed their paper work. These sorts fo things are always guarnateed to put a smile on everyone’s face!

Groom watching bridal car arrive

bridal car arriving amongst vineyards

Bride looking out window of car

Bride in front of Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale

Grooms first look as she walks towards him

Groom looking at his bride during the ceremony 2

Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale Wedding Ceremony

Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale Wedding Ceremony Cloudy

Laughing bride 2

Bride and groom holding hands closeup

Laughing bride during vows

Groom listening to her vows

Bride and groom laughing together under the arbour

First kiss Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale

Smiling bride after first kiss

Best Man being as imposing as possible

Best wishes from fur baby

Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale wedding Ceremony on cloudy day

Kiss to the head of his bride

Glamour Photos

As their dog wasn’t going tostay long we began by taking some glamour photos of both Nikki and Trenton with their dog – however they were a little afraid that he would run off – so I ended up having to photoshop out the leash which was held by one of their sons as he ran with the dog down the vine ally way 🙂

The day’s weather was a finicky beast being cloudy and windy one minute, then sunny the next – but we made the most of it by walking about the vineyards a bit, then using the barrels Ekhidna Wines have on display.

One major reason why I love Ekhida Wines as a Mclaren Vale Wedding Venue is the direction their vine yards face – it always makes for a great drone sunset shot – despite there not being much of a sunset!

Wedding dog

Dog running through vines on wedding day

Bride and groom with their dog

Kiss amongst the Ekhidna WInery vines

Bridal couple walking together amongst the vineyard

Bridal couple through the vines

bride and groom leaning on wine barrels

Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale wine barrels photo

Bride and groom in the sunlit vines

Bride and groom kissing over the bouquet

bride and groom walking together in the vineyard 2

Holding one another in the Ekhidna winery Mclaren Vale vineyard

Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale vineyard

Drone shot of bride and groom in vineyard

Night time wedding photo

Wedding Reception

To finish up the day, Nikki and Trenton held a cocktail style reception in the Ekhidna Wines cellar door, and also had the SvenStudios photobooth set up! The night was a lovely casual affair, which really picked up once the dance floor opened and everyone cut loose for a bit 🙂 Was a lot of fun to be a part of!

Bridal couples names sign

Wedding favour cookies

Wedding cake topper with names

bridal party entry to reception

Bride and groom entry to Ekhidna Winery

Wedding cake set up at Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale

Personalised wedding serviettes

Maid of honour speech 2

best Man Speech 2

bride and groom listening to speeches

Cutting the wedding cake together

First dance 10

First dance 11

Thanks a bunch Nikki and Trenton for having me as your wedding photographer! Hope you enjoy your photos as much as I did taking them!

Ekhidna Winery Wedding – Kelli & Ben

December 28, 2018/0 Comments/in Wedding preview, Wedding /by Steven Duncan

Kelli & Ben
Ekhidna Winery Wedding

It was a beautiful day for Kelli and Ben’s wedding at the Ekhidna Winery in Mclaren Vale. Their wedding ceremony was a bit later in the day so that, despite me only being with them for 3 hours as their wedding photographer, I was still able to make the most of the amazing light that presented itself during the later periods of the day for some great shots!

Preparation

Kelli and her bridal party were being prepared in the bed and breakfast directly next door to the Ekhidna Winery, so it was a very convenient walk in between the two locations once they were done getting ready for the ceremony. The morning was jovial, with the girls all having a blast as they were getting ready – very little in the way of nerves were visible 🙂

Ekhidna Wines

Bed love heart

Smiles

Looking out window

Looking in mirror

Engagement ring

Out in the sun

Putting on dress

Hanging the wedding dress

Next to window

Ekhidna Winery Wedding Ceremony

Ben was standing out the front of the congregation, waiting for the slightly late bridal party having a bit of fun with his entourage of groomsmen. It was great to see the groomsmen making light of the time before the ceremony as it allowed Ben to relax a bit and help their little boy run about getting the flower petals ready to distribute amongst their guests. The ceremony itself took place overlooking the lovely vineyards out the back of the Ekhidna Winery cellar door, in beautiful mid afternoon light with just a touch of wind which blew the white shawl over the arbour nicely.

Groom patiently waiting

At the altar

First kiss

Exchanging wedding rings

Holding hands

Bridal exit

Bridal entrance

Ekhidna Winery Wedding Ceremony

Vows

Bridal party

Celebrant

Glamour Photos

Once the whole group photo was done with the drone, we first head back to the bed and breakfast where Kelli was being prepared for some group shots with the whole bridal party – there was some lovely trees there that I wanted to use 🙂 We then head back to use the vineyards and finally drove into Mclaren Vale to utilize the Olive grove along the main street to take a shot I’ve a little bit famous for 🙂

Ekhidna winery wedding

Walking through the vineyards

In the vineyards

Under the sunlight

Through the vines

Playing Croquet

Amongst the olive trees

Walking amongst the Ekhidna Winery vines

Amongst the olive trees

Ekhidna Winery Wedding Reception

Once the glamour shots were done, we head back to the Winery for Kelli and Ben’s reception where we did the group family photos and generally had a nice party! I noticed however that there was a stunning sunset brewing, so luckily I was able to draw Kelli and Ben outside for a bit to utilize it! Using the drone and getting above the Ekhidna winery vineyards always creates a special shot and it’s a huge drawcard for the venue.

Wedding cake

Smiles

Mobile phone snap

Smiles

Doggy

Cutting the cake

Smiles

Sunset

Smiles

Kids having fun

Thanks so much kelli and Ben for having me as your wedding photographer!

Ekhidna Wines Wedding – Sarah & Ricardo

March 17, 2020/in Wedding preview, Wedding /by Steven Duncan

Sarah & Ricardo
Ekhidna Wines Wedding

Ekhidna Wines, or Ekhidna Winery in Mclaren Vale was the stunning backdrop to Sarah and Ricardo’s wedding amongst a wonderful bunch of people who had travelled from far and wide to attend their big day. A big difference between their wedding and many others however was the fact that they opted to do their glamour shoot a few days prior to their wedding day. They instead got dressed up 2 days before their wedding day in mid Januray and had a bit of a ‘first look’ and glamour shoot using optimal light later in the day.

Pre Wedding Shoot

The great thing about what Sarah and Ricardo decided to do was that they were able to dedicate their whole wedding day soley to their friends and family, without leaving everyone at their Ekhidna wines reception while they went off to have their glamour photos taken. As their glamour photos had already been done a few day prior they were able to just party all day! It was also great to me as we were able to make use of the best light during the day, without worrying about getting back inside for speeches or cake cutting. It was a wonderful idea and I can’t believe more pople don’t opt to do this!

Our glamour shoot began as a simple little ‘first look’ between Sarah adn Ricardo in the garden of the bed and breakfast they were staying at that night. It was a very small little garden, but it worked out beautifully as the sun was in a great spot for it to shine in through the leaves of the trees lining the road. Then we head out to the main street of Mclaren Vale where there is a stunning little grove of Olive Trees that are free to walk through as a tribute to the regions large Olive business. I like using this spot later in the day as the sun shines through the canopy of this little grove quite nicely. The next spot we head to was the ‘story bench’ in Willunga which I learnt about back when I was a teacher at the nearby Willunga Primary School. Its a simple little park with large gum trees, a big open grassy area and some nifty, whispy trees I’m not sure what their names are. 😀 We then finished the day back at Ekhidna Wines where Saraha and Ricardo’s dog came to visit for a bit of a shoot throughout the vineyards.

First Look Photo

First look with the sun in the background

Bride looking pretty in Mclaren Vale

Kisses in the MClaren vale Olive Grove

Walking through the Mclaren Vale Olive Grove

Standing together amongst the trees

Holding one another

Close up of Engagement ring

Passion amongst the trees

Walking through the trees

Sitting on the Willunga Story bench

Looking through the tree at his bride

Having fun together

Amongst the wispy trees in WIllunga

Holding each other under the winspy trees

Fun in the sun

Kisses in the sun

Together in the Ekhidna Wines Vineyard

Dog running in the Ekhidna WInes vineyards

Bride and Groom together in the vineyard

Ekhidna wines wedding

Above the Ekhidna Winery vineyard

Bride and groom throught the vineyards

Kisses under the veil

Wispy veil

Dog portrait

Ekhidna winery wedding

Preparation

On the actual day of the wedding, Sarah and her bridal aprty were being prepared at the Ekhidna Wines on-site bed and breakfast which is always convenient as it’s right next door to the wedding venue. I had a little bit of time with Sarah and everyone there and grab a few shots of them all getting ready!

Flower girl dress

Hanging wedding dress

Looking in mirror

Wedding rings box

Getting flower girl ready

Pinning flower on Dad

bride with kids

Kids

Mum helping bride get ready

bride getting ready on her wedding day

Ekhidna Wines Wedding Ceremony

Sarah and Ricardo’s wedding ceremoyn was full of meaningful readings and heartfelt cameos by friends and family throughout, and was of course backdropped to what I feel to be one of the best backdrops to any wedding venue in Mclaren Vale – that of the Hills behind Ekhidna WInes. When there is a little cloud in the sky, it just makes for a stunning backdrop!

Bride approaching her wedding ceremony

Groom watching his bride walk down aisle

Mum and Dad looking on

Wedding ceremony at Ekhidna wines

little one in the aisle

Priest speech

Family member speech

Ekhidna wines wedding ceremony

Bride looking on

Groom looking on

Ekhidna winery wedding ceremony

Wedding

Wedding ceremony

Holding hands during the Wedding ceremony

Exhcnaging wedding bands

Mclaren Vale wedding ceremony

first kiss at Ekhidna wines

Smiling bride during exit

Bride and groom exit

Ekhidna Wines Wedding Reception

To finish up I was at Sarah and Ricardo’s wedding reception on site at Ekhidna wines for a few hours before my wedding photography coverage was at an end. Can you believe I maaged to grab all these shotswithin 6 hours?! 2 hours on their glamour shoot day, and 4 on their actual wedding day and I managed to pretty much cover it all! It was obvious to me that many of those who made speeches throughout the evening were used to public speaking as the quality of all the speeches were fantastic, and tall the guests got right into each one, making the whole experience that much more intimate and special.

Guest book on table

Bride and her bridal party

Groom and his groomsmen

Talking groomsman

Laughing Mum

Kids running about

Happy groom

Drone group shot at Ekhidna WInes

Wedding cake set up at Ekhidna Wines

Speeches

Giving a speech

Dad giving a speech

laughing groom at speeches

Bride smiling at speech

Interpretor

Giving a heartfelt speech

Cheering being married

Cutting the wedding cake together

Sarah and Ricardo, your wedding was an absolute joy to be a part of and I hope you enjoy your photos!

Ekhidna Wines Wedding – Jenna & Josh

May 6, 2020/in Wedding preview, Wedding /by Steven Duncan

Ekhidna Wines Wedding
Jenna & Josh

Jenna and Josh’s Ekhidna Wines wedding was an absolute joy to photograph! Loving vibes all around and a group of people that just seemed to love life! Jenna and Josh were surrounded by some of their best friends and family and they all made sure everyone knew they were there to celebrate their big day! It was a pretty neat wedding for me as I actually first met Jenna and Josh while I was up in Darwin as a wedding photographer – and they just happened to live up there at the time. I believe Ekhidna Winery actually referred me to them as a photographer.

Preparation

The day started as it usually does, with me at the groom and groomsmen place of preparation at a bed and breakfast not too far away from Ekhidna Winery. I arrived as the guys were just finishing putting on their shirts and everyone was running about making sure everything was ready for the big day. Josh was showing a bit of nerves, always trying to look directly at the camera, or trying to do something, but not really doing any thing 🙂

Smiling groomsmen putting on tie

Groom playing with cufflinks

groomsmen getting ready

Groom looking at camera

Wedding rings on shoes

Bunch of groomsmen

Grooms shoes in woods

Groom leaning on tree

Groomsmen ready to go

Best man putting on tie

Finishing touches on grooms suit

Smiling groom getting ready

Getting ready in heart mirror

Groomsman wearing sunnies

Jenna was being prepared in a bed and breakfast at the center of Mclaren Vale, it was a well set out house complete with opulent bedroom which made for a great staging spot for photos and video. Jenna seemed to be a lot more laid back than Josh during her preparation, having a lot of fun with her bridal aprty and everyone else there. There were smiles all morning 🙂

Bride looking out window

wedding dress hanging in bay window

lacing up the wedding dress

Bride looking pretty in wedding dress

bride looking at mirror

smiling bride with bridal party

bridal party peeking through window

smiling bride as she gets ready

Bride walking out front door

Bride leaning on door frame

Bridesmaids fussing over bride

Bride and bridesmaids having fun

bridesmaid helping put on dress

Putting on makeup in front of window

bridal bouqet on bedside table

Father of the brides first look

First Look

Jenna and Josh opted to hold a ‘first look’ well before their Ekhidna Wines wedding ceremony so that they can spend more time with their friends and family directly after the ceremony, instead of running off to have their photos done after. The bed and breakfast they had booked was well equipped for this purpose, with a lovely little garden that blocked the sun due to it’s copious foliage. Jenna walked up behind Josh and gave him a cuddle and Josh’s sweet side shone directly after seeing Jenna in her bridal gown for the first time. It was incredibly sweet the way he reacted and teared up while Jenna was all smiles the entire time.

First look

bride sneaking up on groom

bride and groom’s first look

bride and groom together in the morning

bride and groom kissing at their first look

boutonniere

First Look Glamour Photos

We then used the grounds surrounding the small bed and breakfast for some glamour photos. The surrounding area boasted a small vineyard and some nice gum trees which we made use of, along with a small paddock which we made sure to get their pride and joy, the car in some shots. The birdal party were more than keen to get on top of the car and just have some fun with the whole situation 🙂

walking together on the driveway

Holding one another in the vines

Holding one another in the vineyard

hugs amongst the vines

under the gums

bride and groom in the long grass

bride and groom holding each other the long grass

bridal party and car

Ekhidna Wines Wedding Ceremony

Jenna and Josh held their Ekhidna WInes Wedding Ceremony overlooking the stunning southern Adelaide hills and the vineyard out the back of the Ekhidna winery cellar door. It’s an incredible vista that makes for a wonderful backdrop for a wedding. They had a triangular arbour, and with 6 people on each side of the bridal party, there were 15 people out the front during the ceremony including their celebrant! Their guest list was not on the small side either! Lucky Jenna and Josh made use of my optional second photographer and videographer to cover all the angles.

Their ceremony was simple and heartfelt, with nerves coming into play on both sides as they recited their vows, but it just made the whole ceremony that much more intimate.

waiting groom

bride walking with father

bridal approach at Ekhidna wines wedding

bride and groom together at altar

Ekhidna wines wedding ceremony

Ekhidna wines wedding ceremony with triangle arbour

smiling bride during ceremony

groom through bridesmaids

wedding ceremony at winery

wedding at Ekhidna wines

best man and wedding rings

during the wedding ceremony at Ekhidna winery

first kiss

Just married

bride and groom escaping under flower pettels

Ekhidna Wines Glamour Photos

As we had done much of our glamour shots before the wedding ceremony, the ceremony itself took place quite late in the day, meaning that soon after the usual group shots of family and friends, the sun was soon fading. We did manage to get a few speeches in before we head out for the sunset though – which turned out to be absolutely incredible. I got some wonderful golden light filtering in through the vines and from above with the drone!.

Smiling bride in sun light

Having some fun

Admiring the groom’s ring

Bridal party on love sign

bride and groom walking into sunset

bride and groom walking into Ekhidna winery vineyards

Ekhidna wines wedding photo

Ekhidna wines wedding vineyards

Bride and groom in Ekhidna wines vineyards

Bride and groom walking together in vineyards

Ekhidna wines wedding at sunset

Vineyards wedding photo

Bridal party walking about Ekhidna Winery

Bride and groom holding one another on driveway

Nightime wedding photo

Bride and groom in vineyard at night

Ekhnidna Wines Wedding Reception

As is the case with any Ekhidna wines wedding reception on asuch a beautiful day, the whole courtyard area was opened up and extended into the grassy area to the side of the cellar door. This was where Jenna and Josh had set up their dance floor. Their photobooth was set up inside, and the whole flow of the night was beautiful. Speeches were heartfelt and natural, while the dance floor was not empty all night. Jenna and Josh’s guests certainly knew how to have some fun 🙂