Tag Archive for: elopement

Pt Willunga Beach Wedding – Georgia & Chris

March 22, 2022/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Georgia & Chris
Pt Willunga Beach Wedding

I was super excited to cover Georgia and Chris’ Pt Willunga Beach Wedding in front of the famed Pt Willunga Jetty ruins as I knew they were a couple that were keen on doing anything for the best possible photo opportunity – and boy did we managed to get some wonderful photos!

More of an elopement than a wedding – Georgia and Chris had me cover their short Pt Willunga Beach wedding ceremony as both their photogrpaher and videographer, before heading over to Mclaren Vale, and finally Blanche Point for their glamour photos.

Preparation

Both Georgia and Chris got prepared at the same bed and breakfast nearby at Sellicks beach. Georgia and her bridesmaid tried to keep away from Chris and his groomsman as much as possible while being prepared, but despite the plan being just to have photos done of Georgia beign prepared, it enabled me to also grab a quick few shots of Chris too.

Boys about to get dressed

Wedding bands on shoe

Engagement ring amongst white flowers

Groom getting help on tie

Bride getting help with dress

Bride getting help with dress smiling

Bride admiring in mirror

Pt Willunga Beach Wedding Ceremony

I arrived at the beach only to notice that there were a few other weddings having their shoot done in front of the jetty ruins – momentarily being worried that Georgia and Chris may not be able to use the vista as their ceremony backdrop – but they moved on before they arrived.

Having a Pt Willunga Beach wedding ceremony is quite special in that not many people know this but this beach has a reputation of being the most photographed beach in all of South Australia – the unique forms of the sticks from the ruined jetty make for a stunning contrast to the serene waters that surround them.

Georgia and Chris’ Pt Willunga Beach wedding ceremony was beautifully intimate with both members of their bridal party also making a contribution in the way of a heartfelt speech – which was quite unique, before Georgia and Chris also reciting their own vows for one another.

Groomsmen arriving with celebrant

Bride and bridesmaid about to walk down to beach

bride approaching her Pt Wilunga Beach wedding

bride approaching her Pt Wilunga Beach wedding ceremony

Grooms first look of bride at beach

Pt Willunga Beach wedding ceremony

Bride looking around her

Bride listening

Groom vows

Pt Willunga Beach Wedding Ceremony in sun

Smiling bride at the beach

Smiling groom at the beach

Wedding in front of the Pt Willunga Jetty

First kiss at Pt Willunga Beach Wedding

Congrats from groomsman

signing registry in beach cave

Glamour Photos

After the marriage documents had been signed within the famed beachside cliffs, it was time to make use of the dying sun for some glamour photos! The beach was rather busy at this time, so it was rather tricky to keep the beach loking pristine for Geaorgia and Chris, but I think I managed with clever angles – and of course that ol’ Photoshop chestnut.

Bridal party walking together on beach

Wedding photo at beach with drone

bride and groom holding hands at the ebach

Groom tickling his bride

Black and white closeup of engagement ring

Closeup of bridal bouquet on ground

Pt Willunga Beach wedding photo

Pt Willunga Beach wedding photography

Bride and groom looking out

Wedding photo at Pt Willunga Beach wedding

Chris was quite adament on having a variety of backdrops in their wedding photos, so we head into the center of Mclaren vale to make use of the delightful Olive Grove set up for anyone to use. It’s one of my favourite spots in Mclaren Vale to photograph at this time of day due to the amazing light that filters through the trees!

We also found a quick spot to stop at to make use of some vineyards.

Kiss with sunlight

Laughing bride and groom

Under the Mclaren vale olive grove

Under the Mclaren vale olive grove with sunlight

Bride and groom amongst some vines

Bride and groom amongst some vineyards

Heading out to Blanche point at sunset for a wedding shoot was always a dream of mine – I’ve been shooting weddings for 10 years now and within the last few months I have head here twice now, but only once at sunset. This spot really allows my landscape photographer head come into play to create some stunning vistas for my couples!

Helps too that the sun set was absolutely spectacular! We had to squeeze through no less than 3 other weddings also using the location, but we found our own little spot and it turned out fantastically!

Popping champaigne at Blanche point

Blanche Point wedding photo

Bride and groom at sunset Blanche Point

Blanche Point sunset

Blanche Point sunset looking out

Bride and groom looking at camera at Blanche Point

Blanche Point wedding photography

bride and groom on the snad dunes at Blanche Point

Sunset silhouette

It’s honestly not common to manage having a bride climbing over rocks and cliffs in heels and a dress – so I thank Georgia for being such a trooper and I hope you enjoy your photos!

Botanic Park Wedding – Naz & Peter

April 20, 2021/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Naz & Peter
Botanic Park Wedding

Peter and Naziera opted to hold a very small, intimate Adelaide Botanic Park wedding in front of their 3 sons, their celebrant and myself which made for a cozy little atmosphere under the stunning moreton bay fig trees on a stunningly sunny day!

Although their Botanic Park wedding ceremony was flanked by no fewer than 3 engagement celebrations and other users of the public space, their wedding ceremony felt beautifully personal regardless!

Adelaide Botanic Park Wedding Ceremony

Peter and Naz’s tiny little ceremony – which could also be called an elopement took place on one of the larger moreton bay fig trees on parade along the Botanic Park, just north of the Adelaide Botanic Garden‘s Friendship gates.

We attempted to have as little as possible behind Peter and Naziera during their cermeony so that their photos did not have anything but the stunning beauty of the park in the background. Wasn’t always possible of course, but we tried our best!

Their ceremony was short and sweet, with two of their three sons acting as witnesses on their marriage certificate.

Three sons standing under stree

hugs before the wedding ceremony

bride looking pretty before her Botanic Park Wedding

bride and groom using the lovely tree before their wedding ceremony

Smiling groom before his Botanic Park Wedding Ceremony

Wedding celebrant arrives

Smiling bride ready to start wedding ceremony

bride and groom standing under tree during their wedding ceremony

Celebrant talking during ceremony

Botanic Park Wedding Ceremony

Smiling groom during his wedding ceremony

Adelaide Botanic Park Wedding Ceremony

Wedding cceremony under Moreton Bay Fig Tree

Shot of bride though shoulders of Sons

Sun gleaming through the foliage

Wedding ceremony in the Adelaide Botanic Park

Exchanging wedding rings on bent arm

Groom kissing hand of his bride

Married now!

Glamour Photos

For glamour photos, we made good use of the Botanic park’s trees, going for a little walk and trying to get the midday sun to shine through the foliage before heading into the Botanic Gardens to make use of some different backdrops.

The Moreton bay fig trees in Botanic park make for some stunning backdrops for wedding photography – I just love walking through them – particularly on sunny days such as this, the atmosphere is one of such joy and happiness when the sun plays nice!

The Adelaide Botanic Gardens as always turned it on for us, walking through we managed to make use of quite a few little spots I had grwon fond of after my many weddings I have shot through here. That being said though, the middle of the day is possibly the wost time of day to take photos through here – so I attempted to head to shadier spots to make use of the shade rather than direct sunlight.

bride and groom sitting on a bench together

Bride and groom after their Botanic Park Wedding Ceremony

bride and groom under a moreton bay fig

bride and groom headbutting one another

brige and groom cuddles

Bride and groom walking under the trees after their Botanic Park Wedding Ceremony

Bride and groom walking under the trees after their Botanic Park Wedding

Large Moreton Bay Fig trees as a backdrop to the bride and groom

Bride leaning into groom against a wall

Adelaide Botanic Gardens wedding photo

Adelaide Botanic Gardens wedding photo 2

Bride and groom amongst the foliage in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Museum of Economic Botany doorway photo

Museum of Economic Botany doorway wedding photo

bride and groom inside a tree

bride and groom enjoying the bamboo forest

Groom leading bride over a hill

Amongst the trees at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Bride and groom’s sons take center stage

Peter and Naz’s Botanic Park wedding ceremony was a delightful little outing, and I do hope they enjoy their photos!

Kangaroo Island Elopement – Claire & Jacob

May 26, 2021/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Claire & Jacob
Kanagroo Island Elopement

Claire and Jacob held a super secret Kangaroo Island Elopement unbeknownst to all their family and friends except for their witnesses! From the moment I met with Claire and Jacob I knew their elopement was going to be a special one, and it certainly turned out to be a fantastic day starting from sunrise on pennashw’s beach, up to Cape Willoughby Lighthouse before finally heading to Pennington bay for their elopement ceremony.

Morning Photoshoot

We began the day at the crack of dawn – hoping for a stunning sunrise to illuminate the sky behind the lovely rocks at Frenchman’s rock. Unfortunately that wasn’t to be with a rather overcast beginning to the morning, we made use of the rock formations anyway, before finally slivers of the sunrise revealed itself towards the end of our time there.

As a result Claire and Jacob’s Kangaroo Island elopement photoshoot began by getting our feet wet a bit, which in my books is the best way to start a day of photo taking! Next stop was scaling cliffs near the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse!

Frenchmans rock wedding photo

Frenchmans rock wedding photography

Holding one another on the beach

Out amongst the Frenchmans rocks

Penneshaw beach sunrise

Kangraoo Island Elopement photoshoot

Penneshaw beach Wedding

Before heading out to the lighthouse however, we made use of the nearby Sculpture trail on Penneshaw beach to take some shots within some of the sculputes and on the lovely suspension bridge cutting across the gully.

The last time I was on Kangaroo Island before Claire and Jacob’s kangaroo island elopement was about 10 years prior, and I had just got into photography then. I ventured out this way myself hoping to capture some stunning landscapes and of course I did so – but that trip allowed me to remember some amazing spots bewteen Penneshaw and Cape Willoughby – including tree lines dirt roads and grass along the sides of some roads! made sure we made use of them.

Kangaroo Island Sculpture trail

Kangaroo Island Sculpture trail Photo

Bride and groom inbetween sculpture

On the side of the road in Kangaroo Island

On the roads in Kangaroo Island

under the trees on Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island road wedding photo

Our time at the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse was the moment I was most looking forward to before heading out for Claire and Jacob’s elopement. I remembered there was an amazing winding road leading to the lighthouse itself, and also some stunningly tall cliffs whcih I was keen to ask Claire and Jacob to scale for photos! I was lucky they were keen to do so! Not since Georgia in Hobart had I seen a bride so willing to run around on rocks in her wedding dress before the ceremony!

It was absolutely marvellous despite viewing the footage my wife took after the fact and realising how high the cliffs under us really were!

Walking to Cape Willoughby Lighthouse

Walking up the road together

Together on the hill near the lighthouse

On the cliffs near Cape Willoughby Lighthouse

Wedding photo on cliffs

Together nearby Cape Willoughby Lighthouse

Bride and groom in front of Cape Willoughby Lighthouse

Wedding photo at Cape Willoughby Lighthouse

Kangaroo Island Elopement Ceremony

Claire and Jacob’s Kangaroo Island Elopement ceremony took place on a little secluded beach, surrounded by cliffs nearby the beautiful Pennington Bay. This secluded location allowed for minimal wind to interrupt the ceremony and it made for a lovely, intimate ceremony.

bride groom and celebrant at pennington bay

bride groom and celebrant

Bride smiling at her groom on the beach

Kangaroo Island elopement ceremony

Pennington Bay wedding ceremony

Pennington Bay wedding

Laughing bride on beach

Exchanging wedding bands at Pennington Bay

First kiss on Pennington Bay

Celebrating marriage at pennington Bay

Family photo on Pennington Bay

Pennington Bay Glamour Shoot

The waters around Pennington bay is beatifully clear and shallow enough so that Claire and Jacob could wade out a bit for some photos, so of course I made them do so! The scenery just called for another round of wading so we certainly made use of it all!

bride and groom in the water

Pennington Bay Kangaroo Island

Bride and groom walking along Pennington Bay

bride groom and dog

bride and groom walking with dog along beach

bride and groom amongst the pennington bay rocks

bride and groom on a rock

Thanks so much to Claire and Jacob for having me as your wedding/elopement photographer I know some of the things I asked you do do for the shot wasnt easy, but I am so grateful you gavClaire and Jacob held a super secret Kangaroo Island Elopement on the pristine sands of Pennington Bay after scaling cliffs and getting wet!e me the opportunity to take some amazing shots!

Thorngrove Manor Wedding – Darren & Nahal

August 3, 2020/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Darren & Nahal
Thorngrove Manor Wedding

I was super excited to head back to the picturesque Thorngrove Manor for Darren and Nahal’s intimate wedding in mid July as I hadn’t been back this marvellous spot for several years! It’s quite a rare thing to shoot a Thorngrove Manor wedding as the owners tend to like to keep the number of people on their property to a minimum – which is fair enough considering how amazing this place is!

It was a magical time Darren, Nahal and I had walking around this gem of a spot for their small, intimate wedding/elopement!

Preparation

My time with Darren and Nahal began with Nahal in amongst the stone-hewn chambers of the bed and breakfast’s Queen chamber of the Manor where Nahal was completing her makeup. While nerves weren’t showing too much just yet, as time drew nearer to make the walk through the garden towards her fiance, it became a bit more of a thing.

Darren and Nahal certainly made their whole tiny wedding quite an easy wedding to photograph though! With two very good looking people and a stunning location like Thorngrove Manor, it’s certainly one to show off!

Hanging Thorngrove Manor wedding dress

Wedding dress hanging in Thorngrove Manor

Engagement ring in box

Bride looking out window at Thorngrove Manor

Bride playing with bouquet at Thorngrove Manor

Bridal approach at her Thorngrove Manor wedding

Thorngrove Manor Wedding Ceremony

Where else to hold a Thorngrove Manor wedding ceremony but right in front of the majestic view that is the driveway leading to the front door of this marvellous house? Nahal walked swiftly the the waiting arms of her finance and their intimate little wedding ceremony began.

Perhaps I should refer to their wedding as an ‘elopement’ as due to the unfortunate events unfolding in the world at the moment due to COVID-19, Darren and Nahal opted to have in attendance only their suppliers – Nahal’s makeup artist, their celebrant and myself, while having the owners of the Thorngrove Manor bed and breakfast act as their witnesses. It was only due to the fact that they were staying the night that they were allowed to use the grounds for their ceremony.

Darren and Nahal had me also produce a ceremony video for them, alongside my usual 360 degree virtual reality video I produce so that their friends and family can relive their precious moment.

Groom watching his bride approach

Smiling groom during his ceremony

Smiling bride on her wedding day

Exchanging wedding bands

Groom looking at his bride

Thorngrove Manor wedding ceremony

Standing together in the sunlight

First kiss at Thorngrove Manor wedding ceremony

Thorngrove Manor Wedding Photos

As their wedding ceremony took place at 4pm, we had around 1 hour to meander around the Thorngrove Manor grounds and make use of it’s manicured beauty for photos. As I had shot here in the past I knew what would and would not work so I devised a little itinerary of where we should go and when.

Despite having forecast to be overcast and rather dreary, the weather was absoutely delightful for Darren and Nahal’s photoshoot. The sun was shining and made for a lovely golden glow through the trees. We did however wait until the sun was a little lower before we took some ‘money shots’ of the Manor’s main keep in the background as it tends to really shine bright in the sun.

I can certainly spend hours using the manor as a backdrop for wedding photos, but unfortunately all good things have to come to an end!

Before I left, Darren and Nahl were sitting down for a lovely looking home-cooked meal, surrounded by the medieval splendor that only Thorngrove Manor can put on show! It looked to be a supurbly romantic evening!

bride and groom looking on as the registry is signed

Bride and groom looing at each other bathed in light

Engagement ring in red bouquet

Wedding rings on slab

bridal couple in amongst the gardens

Bridal couple just married in the garden

Bridal couple holding one another surrounded by greenery

Thorngrove Manor bed and breakfast wedding couple

having some fun at Thorngrove Manor together

in front of the interesting architecture at Thorngrove Manor

Thorngrove Manor wedding couple

Thorngrove Manor wedding couple in front of front door

Thorngrove Manor Portrait

Leaning in for a kiss at Thorngrove Manor

Stained glass windows at Thorngrove Manor

Through the harp at Thorngrove Manor

Thorngrove Manor

Thorngrove Manor wedding photography

bridal couple under the arch

Bridal couple holding one another

Bridal couple on the balcony together

Thorngrove Manor’s main tower

Bridal couple enjoying Thorngrove Manor

Thorngrove Manor wedding at sunset

Bride and groom in the Thorngrove Manor chambers

Congratulations to Darren and Nahl on their wonderful Thorngrove manor wedding / elopement! I’d like to thank you guys so much for having me as your wedding photographer as I had an absolute blast!

St Helens Park Wedding – Nikki & Toby

August 7, 2020/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Nikki & Toby
St Helen’s Park Wedding

I was so happy to cover Nikki and Toby’s lovely St Helens Park wedding in Prospect, North Adelaide. Their original plan when they asked me to photograph their wedding was to hold a small, breakfast wedding later in the year, only to have it change to the beginning of the year, but then COVID hit. So their little St Helens Park wedding, or rather elopement at the end of July ended up being their big day, and I was super happy for them 🙂

St Helens Park Wedding Ceremony

The plan was to meet at the gazebo at the center of the St Helens Park and sort out where the hold the wedding ceremony. One option was the gazebo itself, while I actually suggested the rather neat old tree nearby to stand in front of. It was a pretty neat spot as the sun was shining through the foliage quite nicely while Nikki and Toby shared their vows.

Nikki and Toby’s congregation was as tiny as possible, consisting only of themselves, their celebrant and a family of friends who acted as their witnesses. They opted to hold their tiny wedding due to the complexity of holding a slightly larger wedding during the height of COVID-19 restirctions. I often think these tiny weddings are much more intimate anyway!

Wedding ceremony at St Helens park

Sun through the tree

Happy bride in Prospect

Smiling bride looking at her groom

Smiling groom looking at his bride

Wedding ceremony under the tree

Wedding ceremony bathed in sunlight

Exchanging wedding bands under the tree

St Helens Park wedding ceremony

First kiss under the tree at St Helens Park

Looking at her bouquet

St Helens Park Wedding Photoshoot

In the early days of Prospect city, the area was a private subdivision of Yatala, which intersected at the village centre, which is now st Helens Park. The center piece of this historic park is a very neat old tree which is perfect for climbing and using as a framing device for wedding photos!

After the wedding ceremony, we went for a little walk around the Park, starting at the awesome tree right behind where they held their ceremony, and did a big lap of the area. We made use of the nice trees and nearby playground before finishing up back on top of the tree where they were married next to the gazebo.