Old Woodhouse Manor Wedding – Victoria-Rose & Adam

Victoria Rose and Adam’s Old Woodhouse Manor Wedding was such an interesting wedding to be a part of! First up was a lovingly choreographed first look between this lovely, couple, followed by a classical music concert and then a delightful outside reception in the shadow of this delightful old manor in the Adelaide Hills.

Preparation

Both Victoria-Rose and Adam were being prepared in one of the many rooms in this delightful old Manor. Walking through the rooms was super nostalgic for me as the last time I had visited this Scout-run venue was over 20 years ago for a school camp.

This grand gothic sandstone house was built for one time Premier of South Australia and Chief Justice of South Australia Sr Richard Davies Hanson. Hanson built this large mansion in the 1860s, while the Australian Boy Scouts purchased the house and property in 1972 and to this day run the site as a training ground and popular camp site.

Victoria-Rose was keen on having a grand ‘first look’ with Adam next to the nearby stream so much of the time we were with Victoria-Rose as she got ready, Adam was with his groomsmen awaiting her arrival.

White suit jacket in tree

Groom having tie tied on verandah

Groom playing with cufflinks

Bride having makeup touched up

Engagement ring in red and pink bouquet

Groom pasing hallway

Engagement ring perched between shoes

Groom tie being adjusted in mirror

Wedding dress habging in window at manor

Bride smiling in small mirror

Groom talking to groomsmen

Grandma watching as girls get ready

Bridal party inbetween doorframe

Bridal bouquet closeup

Bride at Old Woodhouse Manor

Firstlook Photoshoot

Victoria-Rose and Adam held their first look at the bottom of the gardens surrounding the Manor, we made use of the nearby foliage for a bit of shade during the midday sun for a few glamour shots before heading to a nearby clearning for their ceremony.

Groom waiting patiently for first look

Bride arriving for first look

Bride approaching groom in first look

Smiles at first lok

Bride and groom hugs at first look

Choosing The Best Wedding Photographer in Adelaide

Bride leaning into her groom

Bridal party amongst the greens

Groom tickling his bride

Bride and groom on small bridge

Bride and groom close together through leaves

Bridal party silly photo

Bride and groom in the lush greens

Bride and groom embrace together

Bride and groom walking together

Bride and groom leaning in for kiss

Bridal portrait in the undergrowth

Old Woodhouse Manor Wedding Ceremony

Victoria-Rose and Adam’s Old Woodhouse Manor wedding ceremony took place under the shade of a large tree, nearby the car parking spaces reserved for people heading to the Manor.

Victoria-Rose arrived in a modern Mustang, with a rather brave driver, as they were completely off road and in heavy grass as they approached. I would have been worried aboult getting such a low car out of there!

Victoria-Rose walked along a small footbridge towards Adam and their congregation with Enya playing in the background and held a nice, simple ceremony topped off by having one of their grandmothers join in with a hand-fasting ceremony, which was a nice touch.

Groom looking out for his bride

Bride hitching dress up to walk in long grass

Old Woodhouse Manor wedding ceremony

Old Woodhouse Manor wedding holding hands

Groom looking at bride at ceremony

Bride looking at groom at ceremony

Placing wedding ring on her finger

Grandma joing in for hand fasting ceremony

First kiss at Old Woodhouse Manor wedding

Bride and groom exit on sunny day

Famiyl with wedding certificate

Old Woodhouse Manor Wedding Reception

Inbetween Victoria-Rose and Adam’s Ceremony and sit-down reception which was taking place in a large paved courtyard, shaded by the old manor, everyone was treated to a classical mucic concert as a surprise, put on by their parents.

Bride and groom walking up hill

Old Woodhouse Manor wedding reception setup

3 tiered white wedding cake with leaves

Bride and groom arriving at concert

Bride and groom cutting cake outside

Bride and groom enjoying concert

Mum and guest

Bride cork popping

Bride and groom leaning against large tree

Bride and groom under sunlight and trees

Fiurst dance at Old Woodhouse Manor wedding

Thankyou so much to Victoria-Rose and Adam for having my wife and I cover your wedding as both wedding photographer and Videographer! Was a lovely day!

March 10, 2023

Wedding preview, Wedding

Ekhidna Winery Wedding – Chami & Bryce

While I’m sure Chami and Bryce planned their Ekhidna Winery wedding to be memorable and something that their friends and family would talk about for a long time afterwards – whatever they planned to do paled in comparison to what mother nature had in store for their big day!

Despite the unfortunate weather that had Bryce and his groomsmen running all over Mclaren Vale looking for umbrellas in the morning, Chami and Bryce refused to let it hampen their day, and they were certainly rewarded for their optimism with a stunning afternoon and evening after the freak mini cyclone had hit!

Chami’s Preparation

Chami was being prepared with her family and bridesmaids in a bed and breakfast I had visited before for another Ekhidna Wines wedding – but this time unfortunately I could not make much use of it’s pretty gardens due to the weather, so we made dow ith the interior as best we could after having moved some furniture around! 🙂

Bridal flat shoes

Engagement ring in red rose in bouquet

Wedding dress in small window

Mum helping daughter get ready

Bride getting help get ready

Bridesmaid fiddling with hair

Close up of brides hands

Smiling bride holding bouquet in window

Bride with bridal party

Bryce’s Preparation

Bryce and his groomsmen were being prepared in an older bed and breakfast nearby with easy access to vineyards, some trees and some nice scenery we tried to make use of inbetween rain spells.

Bryce was nervous, but kept his spirits up thanks to the antics of his groomsmen complaining about the workmanship of some odd design details about the house.

Grooms affects laid out on table top

Wedding bands on shoes

Groom leaning on window sill

Groom tying tie

Groom putting on flower

Groom peering out window

First Look Photoshoot

Chami and Bryce’s plan was that before their cermeony they were to have a first look on the beach at Pt Willunga. Of course with the weather how it was, that would have been quite silly, so instead we made use of the verandah at the ebd and breakfast that Bryce and his groomsmen had been prepared at.

Wasn;t quite as scenic as the beach, but the moment was no less sweet between these two lovely people, which by the way the horrid weather still had not wiped either of their smiles off their faces or excitement in their eyes.

We even had a bit of fun running about in the rain amongst the olive grove on Mclaren vale’s main street before heading back to Ekhidna Winery before guests started arriving.

Grooms first look

Smiling bride during first look

Bride and groom cuddle at first look

Bride and groom head butt in corner

Bride and groom under umbrella

Bride and groom under umbrella in vineyard

Bride and groom under umbrella through vines

Bride and groom in the Mclaren Vale Olive Grove

Bridal party in the Olive Grove

Bride and groom walking throug the Olive grove

Smiling bride and groom through flowers

Bride and groom practising at the arbour

Bride and groom in front of fairy lights

Ekhidna Winery Wedding Ceremony

Just before Chami arrived to the ceremony – that had been set up inside the Ekhidna Wines retaurant area the brunt of the incredible weather system hit, causing sidewards rain – trees falling which waya dn that, and thousands of houses across Adelaide to lose power for multiple days!

Not to mention the reception area of Ekhidna winery flooded significantly – to the point that the head table needed to be re-positioned on the opposite end of the room. Credit goes to the staff though, as once the storm had passed, and the ceremony was over they were out there with brooms and a water pump to dry out the courtyard and towards the end of the night you wouldnt have known it was wet at all.

Chami and Bryce’s ceremony took place with the wide panoramic windows overlooking the vineyards as their background – not that we could see much through the rain, but it made for a nice airy backdrop for their photos none-the-less.

bridal approach inside ekhidna wines

Indoor Ehkidna Wines wedding ceremony

Indoor Ehkidna Wines wedding

Smiling bride under arbour

Groom reading vows

First kiss indoor Ekhidna wines wedding

Bridal exit Indoor Ekhidna Wines wedding

Glamour Shoot

Pretty much directly after the ceremony was over, the rain waned and we were able to venture outside to make use of the stunning surrounds that make up the reason why I love heading to Ekhidna Winery – not only for their stellar ginger beer!

We first made use of the road out front for some group shots with the bridal party, then walked down the road a little for the amazing grove of gum trees a short walk away. We then used the vineyard a bit while we were sure we could as we diddnt know what to expect later in the evening in regards to more rain.

Thanksfully that rain never came, and the weather actually cleared up completely, allowing for an amazing sunset and we even had Chami and Bryce’s guests outside to enjoy the nice weather!

I was so happy for them as one of the reasons whey they had chosen me as their wedding photographer was the nice sunset shots I usually take over the vineyards during sunset – so I was happy to capture that for them! I even tried some new shot too which I hope they enjoy 🙂

Reflections in flooded reception area

Bridal couple on wet road

Wedding party in wet long grass

Bride and groom in front of bridal party

Windswept hair on bride

Bride and groom holding hands in the wind

Groom lifting bride

Bride and groom in gum tree lane

Bride and groom in gum tree lane and sun

Bride and groom in long grass and vineyard

bride and groom walking toward sunset

Bridal head butt in vines

Bride and groom in Ekhidna wines vines

Ekhidna Winery wedding photograph

Bride and groom in vines from above

Side on vines

Bride and groom with smoke in vines

Ekhidna wines night wedding photo

Ekhidna Winery Wedding Reception

Chami and Bryce’s wedding reception was just like any other – with the unique location of their head table which I had never seen set up that way before at Ekhidna wines due to the earlier weather – but it was pretty enat as there they were able to make use of their arbour as a backdrop to their table!

My photobooth was running all night, and everyone had an absolute blast with their live band playing all night long! Was a fun night!

Centre pieces

Blue wedding cake

bride and groom entrance at Ekhidna wines

bridal kiss under arbour at reception

Close up fo lego wedding cake toppers

Bridal kiss through cheers

Guests having fun

Laughing bride and groom during speeches

Speech giver 2

Groom giving speech

Guests unsing photobooth

Cutting the wedding cake

First dance

Candles

On the dance floor

Elephant model

Thanks so much Chami and Bryce for having me!

December 13, 2022

ideas, Wedding

4 Reasons You Will Want to Have a ‘First Look’

Want to Have a ‘First Look’?

During the wedding planning process, there is always one hot topic that the bride and groom will talk about: the ‘first look’. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, a first look is when a bride and groom meet together privately and see each other before the ceremony begins. This is different from the traditional ways, where the couple will only get to see each other during the ceremony.

While some may say a first look is unnecessary and untraditional, some will also claim that it is a must. Regardless of what you may believe, we sometimes suggest that you consider it as there are some compelling reasons why you may want to have a ‘first look’.

4 Reasons You Will Want to Have a ‘First Look’

Your wedding is held during winter

Typically, if you plan to hold the wedding ceremony late into autumn, during winter, or even early spring, you may want to have a first look done. This is because the sun sets quite early, and if you are holding your ceremony later in the afternoon, there will not be any natural light left for the photo-taking session.

As such, a first look early on ensures that you and everyone else will be able to have photos taken using the light still left before it goes below the horizon.

Photos taken during sunset are of course taken at sunset, after the ceremony, but you need not take as long as you usually would due to having had a photoshoot done before your ceremony.

You may have also considered having an engagement shoot done previously also for the same reasons.

Lightning

The reception follows the wedding immediately

If the reception starts immediately or almost immediately after a wedding, you will want to have a first look session done before the ceremony. Otherwise, you may spend the majority of your time during reception, taking photos rather than enjoying your meal. This is especially true if you also plan to have pictures of friends and family, which reduces even more time for your post-wedding activities.

On top of that, if you are planning to enjoy plenty of cocktails and other drinks during the reception, you may not look at your best after a few. In other words, you may want to have a ‘first look’ as it will ensure you and your partner can have your photos taken before getting busy with the ceremony!

First look

The location of the wedding is far from the reception venue

Many couples hold their reception on the same or near their wedding venue. However, some may hold their reception far away from the ceremony location. If the latter is your case, then it is smart to want to have a ‘first look’ before the ceremony. This way, you do not have to rush around trying to take pictures right after the wedding to give you and the others more time to reach the venue and prepare for a wonderful night. Plus, a first look ensures you get plenty of photos to add to your album, whereas rushing for pictures taken will only significantly limit how many photos you get!

first look in Kuitpo Forest

You are afraid of the pressure of your emotions at your ceremony

Perhaps the most common reason why people want to have a ‘first look’ is that they are afraid that the nerves leading up to a traditional ‘first look’ as the bride walks up the aisle may be too much to bear causing ugly crying or other such emotional reactions you may not want to display in front of family and friends.

Having a first look allows you to get these nerves and emotions out of the way before the ceremony thereby lessening the chance of not looking your best during the ceremony.

Grooms first look as she walks towards him

If you believe that you will have a rushed photo-taking session due to the tight wedding schedule, then you may want to have a ‘first look’ before the chaos ensues! Sure, the ceremony will be a blast, but you may regret it later when you find out that the resulting photos were not what you expected or that you do not have enough to work with because you didn’t allocate enough time for it.

Save yourself the headache and do a first look if any of the above reasons apply to you, or you simply want to see the love of your life before everyone else!

Sven Studios is a professional wedding photography service that helps couples capture their weddings’ emotional memories to treasure forever. If you are looking for the best wedding photographers in Adelaide or around Australia, get in touch with us today to see how we will capture the best moments of your day!

June 28, 2021

Wedding preview, Wedding

Beach Huts Middleton Wedding – Sarah & Tom

Sarah & Tom
Beach Huts Middleton Wedding

Sarah and Tom’s Beach Huts Middleton wedding was a delightfully intimate family affair with the focus being on enjoying themselves with their friends and family without ducking out too much to have photos taken. Due to this Sarah and Tom opted to have their glamour photos done before their ceremony at the nearby Middleton beach which was super busy due to the warm weather!

Middleton Beach First Look

While I’ve called their photoshoot beforehand a ‘first look‘ truth was that Sarah and Tom both arrived together so that whole idea of getting over the nerves with a first look photoshoot had already been done that morning :). All Sarah and Tom were really after were a couple of nice photos together without having to spend too much time away from their family and friends at the Beach Huts Middleton.

So after they arrived about 30 mins late due to usual wedding morning shenanigans, Sarah and Tom only had about half the amount of time originally allocated to have their photos done – but it was plenty of time to walking up the Middleton beach board walk and walk about the beach a bit. A bit of photoshop was required to remove all the other beachgoers though!

Walking the steps at Middleton Beach

Standing above Middleton Beach

Surprising his bride

Walking up the sand dunes

Spinning aorund

Walking along Middleton beach together

Bride and groom under a cloud

A bird flys over the bride and groom

Bride and groom walking along Middleton beach

Close up of Brides hands

Bride and groom standing together above Middleton beach

Beach Huts Middleton Wedding Ceremony

As is usually the case with a Beach Huts Middleton Wedding, Sara and Tom opted to hold their ceremony on the grassy area nearby the tennis courts, surrounded by the delightful little beach huts which the venue gets it’s name from.

While Sarah and Tom had opted to do thir photoshoot beforehand, they still did the traditional bridal entrance where she walked down the aisle with father on one arm and veil covering her face before approaching her soon to be husband.

The ceremony was a lovely, simple affair spearheaded by vows full of in jokes and funny anecdotes of the couple’s lives together.

Wedding sign at Beach Huts Middleton

Groom arriving at ceremony

groom waiting patiently for the bride to show

bride walking out Beach Huts Middleton

bridal arrival at the beach huts middleton

Groom look at his bride as she walks towards him

Beach huts middleton wedding ceremony

Groom smiling at his bride at Middleton

Beach Huts Middleton wedding congregation

Bride and groom under archway

Smiling bride during her wedding ceremony

Middleton beach huts wedding ceremony on the grass

Beach Huts Middleton wedding ceremony on the grass

Bride giving wedding band

First kiss at Beach Huts Middleton

Bridal escape

Reception

After the ceremony and before heading to the Blue’s restaurant on site at the Beach Huts Middleton for the evening reception, Sarah and Tom hosted a laid back afternoon reception for their guests which they were keen to be a part of.

The afternoon was full of lawn games, having fun with friends, and a couple of guests even picked up the tennis racquets and tried to hit my camera 😛 Every now and again I might catch Sarah and Tom and pull them aside for a quick photo, but I was aware they diddnt want to leave their friends and family for too long 🙂

The reception within Blues restaurant consited of a nice sit down dinner, with simple addons like a photobooth in the corner run by ‘In the Booth’, a kareoke machine set up as the DJ and Tom acted as his own MC – even going as far as announcing himself and Sarah as they entered the building!

It was a beautifully fun filled afternoon with plenty of lovely people laughing, playing and having a great time being together to celebrate this lovely couple’s love for one another.

Sunder the sun at Beach Huts Middleton

Having fun with the bride’s veil

Walking along the road at Beach Huts Middleton

Wedding bands on fence post

Talking best man

Engagement ring in the flowers

Guest playing lawn games

Boys being silly

Sarah looking pretty

Bride and groom amongst the roses

Guests playing games

Guest playing tennis

groom talking to guests

Guest playing lawn games

Laughing guests

Wedding reception table flowers

Flowers at wedding reception

Groom MCing own wedding

Bridal couple entrance to reception

Groom celebrating entrance

Bride and groom in the photobooth

Guests having fun

Guests out the front of Blues Restaurant

Little girl dancing to the music

Thanks so much to Sarah and Tom for having me capture their delightful Beach Huts Middleton Wedding for them! I had a blast taking the photos and I hope you guys enjoy them as much as I did taking them! Cheers!

February 27, 2021

Wedding preview, Wedding

Ekhidna Wines Wedding – Sarah & Ricardo

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.