Tag Archive for: garden

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The Cedars Wedding – Sara & Zac

Sara and Zac’s The Cedars wedding could not have taken place on any better day for the weather, and the incredible light that seeped it’s way through the trees!

It had been a while since I was last at the Hans Heysen House, or The Cedars as it’s now called for a wedding – and I had very much been looking forward to shooting here again as I knew that for a wedding venue, the gardens here literally inspired one of the defining Australian Artists in Hans Heysen.

Preparation

When hosting a wedding at The Cedars, it’s not unsual to take advantage of the package deals that The Haus group offers. The Haus group now being the custodian of the Cedars wedding venue also runs quite a few spots around the historic town of Hahndorf, including accomodation, and places to hold receptions – like The Haus Restaurant.

Sara and Zac were preparaed at one such hotel, and then held their reception at The Haus – which was all very convenient as everything was very nearby and travel time between locations was minimal for everyone involved. Particularly good in a tourist town like Hahndorf on a Saturday!

Sara’s preparation was a quick affair with me trying top hang her dress in a nearby tree first, then her bridesmaids came and helped her put it on – it was all done within 30 minutes.

Engagement ring in large orange flower
Wedding dress hanging on large tree trunk
Bride’s family out the door
Bridesmaids helping bride in hotel room
Bridesmaids helping smiling bride
Bridesmaids helping smiling bride on deck
Smiling bride on htoel room deck
bride holding bouquet in double doorway
Bride laughing with bridesmaids

The Cedars Wedding Ceremony

The first time I saw Zac was in front of his arbour set up within the bushiest part of The Cedars’ gardens so that all their wedding guests would be shaded from the sun.

Sara and Zac’s dog was a centre piece for their whole day so I made sure to get a few nice photos of their fur baby before he was taken home!

Sara and Zac’s wedding ceremony itslf was a lovely, simple affair with a few readings being read by family and friends, and emotional vows from the two of them, helped along by ample pats of their lovely doggo!

Black dog in bowtie
Arbour set up at The Cedars wedding
Groom waiting by Arbour at his The Cedars wedding
bride arriving at her The Cedars wedding
Grooms first look at the cedars
The Cedars wedding ceremony
bride holding bouquet during wedding ceremony
Groom looking and his bride just before the ceremony starts
The Cedars wedding ceremony Hahndorf
bride and groom holding hands under arbour at The Cedars
Bride and groom during The Cedars wedding ceremony
First kiss at The Cedars wedding
The Cardars wedding ceremony bride and groom
Singing the registry in the sunlight
Bride and groom exiting The Cedars wedding ceremony
Wedding Party in heart shape at The Cadars wedding Hahndorf

Glamour Photos

After the group photos were taken on the large, grassy area just behind where The Cedars wedding ceremony was set up, we used the beautiful natural lighting that was peering through the trees to amplify the Autumnal colours from the trees. Honestly, this spot was a joy to photograph in due to the way the sun was behaving and the colours on the trees – it was all just stunning!

sara had made it clear to me that they had chosen me as their wedding photographer mainly due to how I’m able to incorperate nature and the l;andscape into my work, so this was just perfect for what I do best!

We were planning on heading up the road a little to make use of the Mt Barker rail tunnel, but the sun was fading quite fast, and I figured the best use of the remaining sunlight was really to stay at The Cedars – and maybe use some of the Autumnal colours on display on the Hahndorf Main street before heading in for their reception.

Black Dog Portrait
Bride and groom under autumn colours
The Cedars wedding Photography
Bridal party under the autumnal colours
bride and groom walking their dog through The Cedars
Bride and groom looking back at camera on bench
Bride and groom through foliage in the gardens of The Cedars
Bride and groom standing in amongst the garden
Bride and groom standing in amongst the sunlight
Bride and groom against tree in The Cedarts wedding garden
Bridal party walking along dirt path
Bridal aprty next to old stone wall
Bride and groom walking throguh long grass together
Bride and groom in the grass
Bridal party in the long grass
Bride and groom with old building in background
Wedding rings in sunlight
Bride and groom looking at one another under lights
bride and groom surrounded by Autumn colours
Bride and groom looking out onto main road in Hanhdorf
Bride and groom with smoke and Autumn colours

The Haus Wedding Reception

After taking ample The Cedars wedding photos, we head back to the main street of Hahndorf for Sara and Zac’s reception at the Haus restaurant where I had already set up my photobooth prior to their day starting.

Their night was full of fun filled people, happy to be there, celebrating Sara and Zac’s special day, and the photobooth got a good workout during the rest fo the night!

Bridal kiss through cheers
Place name for guests
Cupcake wedding cake
Thumbs up wedding guests
Guests enjoying the photo booth
First dance at the Haus
First dance at the Haus bride
Dancing
Cutting their wedding cake
Feeding each other wedding cake

Thanks so much to Sara and Zac for having me shoot at your Hans Heysen – The Cedars wedding! Was a great day and I hope you enjoy the resulting photos!

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Adelaide Botanic Gardens Cycad Collection Wedding – Joanne & Blake

Joanne and Blake held their wedding ceremony at the Cycad Collection area, which is one of the many wedding ceremony locations available within the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

The weather was fantastic and the smiles on everyone’s face made for the most wonderful atmosphere for this lovely couple’s simple wedding celebration!

 

Cycad Collection Wedding Ceremony

After a little bit of a wait due to the unfortunate parking situation causing Joanne to be a little late – Joanne and Blake’s wedding ceremony took place under the shade provided by the large gum tree at the foot of their Cycad collection wedding location. It’s not often that shade is there due to the orientation of the spot, but as their ceremony was quite early in the day, this space was perfect!

Music was provided by a nifty two man strings band which played music before and after their ceremony. Joanne and Blake really seemed to enjoy their presence and they were good enough sports to join in for a bit of a fun photo at the end of their group photos.

Joanne and Blake’s Cycad collection wedding ceremony was presided over by a family member – who happend to also be a celebrant, which was lovely as it made for the while ceremony to be that much more intimate, it was lovely to see the celebrant herself tear up!

Their ceremony also included a number of different people who stepped up to recite a bit of a reading, and their little page boy kept stealing the show by shyly joining in at random moments – including a blended family sand ceremony, which is nice to see.

Blake waiting for his bride
Groom at his Cycad Collection wedding
Groom watching the page boy approach
Bride arriving at Cycad collection wedding
Groom watching his bride arrive at Cycad collection wedding
Bride and groom under the tree
Groom listening to ceremony
Cycad collection wedding ceremony
Standing parents
Celebrant raising hand
Page boy wearing heart
Sand ceremony
One of the speech givers
Wedding under the tree
Bride and groom holding hands
Bride and groom holding hands smiling
Bride grinning looking at her groom
Groom grinning as talking into microphone
Page boy handing over rings
Newly married couple at Cycad collection wedding
Newly married family
String band with bride and groom

Adelaide Botanic Gardens Glamour Photos

After the group family photos, and saying goodbye to the string band, we went on a little bit of a whirlwind tour of the Botanic Gardens before returning to the National Wine Center for a lunch time reception.

We began right near the Cycad collection area, and snaked our way north, through the heritage listed green house, the famed elm walk way right up through the friendship gates to make use of the trees in Botanic park – and back again.

We moved quick in order to make use of all the spots in the Botanic Gardens I knew would work in this light, and also to get back to the wine center on time.

Bride and groom in rainforest
Bride and groom looking at camera in foliage
Bride and groom leaning against large tree
Bride and groom leaning against large tree with sunlight
Bride and groom in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens
Cycad collection wedding photo
Bride and groom looking at camera under a funky tree
Bride and groom bathed in sunlight
Adelaide Botanic Gardens wedding photo
Bride and groom leaning against the friendship gates
Bride and groom in Adelaide Botanic Park
bride and groom under bamboo
Bride and groom in the Adelaide Wine center cellar
Bride and groom in the Adelaide Wine center cellar smiling
Cheers under raised glasses

Joanne and Blake’s wedding was a joy to be a part of and I’m so glad they chose me as their Adelaide wedding photographer! Hopefully you guys love your photos!

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Auchendarroch House Wedding – Emma & Stephen

Emma and Stephen’s wedding at Auchendarroch house in Mt Barker was the coming together of two people who went through quite a bit in order to keep a world-spanning long distance relationship alive!

As soon as he was able due to COVID restrictions, Stephen flew to Australia, all the way to Virginia  to meet and marry his sweetheart to the tune of the Portal theme music and their celebrant re enacting certain lines from Lord of the Rings 🙂

It was good to see this couple again as I had met them not too long ago during their enagagement shoot at the Belair Train Station.

Auchendarroch House Wedding Ceremony

As Stephen had travelled from Virginia, many of his family were still back in the United States , meaning that having a live stream set up was quite important to both Emma and Stephen in order to include those who could not attend. They not only had my free livestream, but also a much more elaborate setup which left nothing to chance!

As I mentioned earlier, their celebrant was asked to have a little fun during their ceremony by putting on voices and reciting lines from The Princess Bride – which made everyone giggle.

After the ceremony, they retreated into a back room to have a proper chat with Stephen’s family back home via facetime.

Auchendarroch House window
Limo
Happy bride arriving
Bride on red carpet
Groom waiting under Auchendarroch House window
Bride arrival at Auchendarroch House window wedding
Grooms first look at Auchendarroch House window wedding
Celebrant doing speech
Bride and groom holding hands in front of window
Speech from family
Auchendarroch House bay window wedding
Holding hands smiling
Exchanging wedding rings at Auchendarroch House
Celebrant talking
First kiss at Auchendarroch House bay window wedding
Head butt
Bridal party facetiming family

Glamour Photos

Emma and Stepehen’s Glamour photos were taken in and around the Auchendarroch house grounds, not straying too far away as they wanted to spend as much time as possible with their family and friends. As their wedding took place in the morning, their glamour photos were taken at around midday, which most phtographers would cry about due to the harsh shadows on display at this time of day – but we managed to keep out of the sun for the most part

The inside areas of this old manor is gloriously ornate which makes for some very opulent scenes when moving some furniture around. The less in the photos the better, as the architecture can really do the talking in a place like this. I love the windows, and curtains which I used quite a bit to frame Emma and Stephen being all romantic with one another, which is always good fun!

The gardens out the front of the house is also awesome to use, even in the midday sunlight, as the trees available block out most of the light and their leaves make for nice framing devices for a nice composition.

Auchendarroch House wedding photo
Bride and groom on bench under tree
Wedding rings in pink flowers
Bride and groom in the Auchendarroch House gardens
Smiling bride looking at camera
Bride and groom in amongst the garden foliage
Under the pretty trees
Groom leading his bride on a walk
Head butt under the tree
Auchendarroch House door
wedding photo at Auchendarroch House
wedding photo at Auchendarroch House dancing
Gallant kiss on the hand
Bride and groom dancing on wooden floor
Bride and groom enjoying the bay window
Groom looking out window at Auchendarroch House
bride looking out window at Auchendarroch House
bridal head butt in front of red curtains
Kiss under the sweeping veil
Traditional wedding photo
Wedding photo under tree leaves

Auchendarroch House Wedding Reception

Emma and Stephen’s lunch time reception was a nice laid back affair, scored by some wonderful music played by a band of young musicians. I made sure to record some of the music in order to use in the background of Emma and Stephen’s highlight film. It’s always a bit of fun hearing music like the portal theme song being played at a wedding!

The afternoon came to an end when Emma threw her bouquet to the waiting group out on the lawn – twice as some of the guys were running about messing things up 🙂

Square wedding cake
Bride lovingly glacing at groom
Musician
Glancing at his bride
Holding hands
Cutting the square wedding cake
Bouquet toss on the lawn

Thanks so much to Emma and Stephen for having me be your wedding photographer – I hope you enjoy the resulting photos!

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Ayers House Wedding – Mona & Lester

Mona and Lester held their Ayers House wedding mid-week which meant that we had the run of their entire estate for their wedding photos!

Their Ayers House wedding ceremony and reception took place in the main grand ballroom, flanked by large TVs on which relatives who could not attend watched on via live stream – which Lester seemed to have a lot of fun setting up before the ceremony began!.

Ayers House Wedding Ceremony

Prior to their Ayers House wedding ceremony, amongst the running about that Lester was doing trying to get the live stream to work correctly, Mona was waiting in a small room down the hall, as their guests milled about thir wedding sign – so we took a few group shots while we were waiting.

Mona and Lester’s ceremony began with a precession of almost all of their guests who took their places at the front of their chairs in order to watch the ceremony.

The Ballroom is a grand old space to hold a wedding ceremony with a huge arched window space at the head of the room where Mona and Lester had an arbour set up to frame the head of the ceremony. To the right of their set up were some custom candles with their names which symbolised the coming together of the families.

The only unfortunate thing about holding an Ayres Hourse Wedding ceremony in this space is the bright sun shinging through one of the windows – in this case the left – just behind where Mona was standing. This caused her white dress to become quite bright int he dark room, but she certainly stood out!

After the ceremony had ended we had all their guests congregate on the lawns out the front of the house in order to get some shots of them walking under thrown flower petals!

Ayers House Ballroom
Wedding rings in black box
Wedding candles
Guests waiting patiently
Bride holding bouquet looking at them
Bride looking into illuminated mirror
Groom having flower put on
Standing in front of wedding sign
bride peeking around corner
Groom about to enter
Little page boy
Groom standing at front
Groom first look at bride
bridal entrance at Ayers House wedding ceremony
Ayers house wedding ceremony as bride enters
Holding hands together at ayres house
Under arbor at Ayres house wedding
Bride looking at guests during ceremony
Guests lighting wedding candles
Speech during cermeony at Ayres house
Celebrant talking to bride and groom
Groom holding hands with his bride
Giving of wedding rings
bride listening to vows
Newly married couple at Ayres House
First kiss at Ayres House wedding ceremony
Bridal couple exiting Ayres House wedding ceremony

Glamour Photos

Ayers House is one of those Adelaide wedding venues which have been around forever and have become quite an institution within the city. The manor was built all the way back in 1871 after the land having changed hands a few times right after South Australia was founded!

As Mona and Lester’s wedding took palce on a Wednesday – there were no other functions occuring at the venue, so we had the run of the grounds for glamour photos – which we took advantage of so that we diddn’t spend too long away from family and friends.

bridal couple in front of Ayers House doors
bridal couple on Ayers house wall
Ayers house wedding photo
Bridal couple looking at camera
Close up of engagement ring on groom shoulder
Kiss from below
bride and groom in between pencil pines
bride and groom on Ayers House porch
Ayers house wedding photo in garden
Ayers house wedding photo between foliage
Ayers house wedding photo amongst the garden
bride walking through doorway
Ayers House wedding photography
bride and groom classic portrait in low light

Ayers House Wedding Reception

Mona and Lester’s wedding reception took place in the same room their ceremony had been held, after being cleared of their seating and tables set up for their sit-down reception dinner.

During the evening many speeches were held by family, friends and well wishes – even from guests overseas both pre-recorded and live, which again were played on the large TVs placed at the front of the ballroom. The whole night was a lovely, simple affair and lovely to be a part of!

Bride entering her wedding reception
bride and groom watching the live stream
Tears during speeches
Cheers over heads of bride and groom
Green wedding cake
bride and groom in the photo booth
bride and groom cutting their green wedding cake
First dance at Ayers house wedding reception

My thanks go out to Mona and Lester for having me both photograph and put together a simle little highlight video for you, and I hope you enjoy your life together as husband and wife!

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Civic Park Wedding – Susie & Ricky

  • Susie & Ricky

    Civic Park Wedding

    Bride leading groom on merry jape

It was a gloriously sunny day for Susie and Ricky as they hosted their Civic park wedding ceremony up on the hill above the maid grassy area nearby the Sferas Convention Center. They had originally planned to hold their reception only to put that on hold for later in the year until the COVID threat had quietened a bit.

Despite their little postponement of their reception, this happy couple still made the most of their shorter day with gusto!

Preparation

Ricky and his best man was prepared at the family home nearby. I arrived as they were playing a few last video games – which is always a great start, and then we moved on to more usual things like cleaning mirrors while trying to tie ties 🙂

Video games playing groom
Groom getting help with his tie
Groom and groomsman squeezing into mirror
Bestman sorting out tie
Grinning groom
Groom getting lapel straightened
Simpsons cufflinks
Putting flower on lapel
Putting flower on lapel on best man
Groom leaning on doorframe

Susie and her bridal party were prepared at one of the suites at the Sfera’s Convention center in which they had a grand view over where their Civic Park wedding ceremony was being set up overlooking the little creek area at the center of the entire park.

I arrived just as the girl’s makeup was almost done, which is great as then I’m able to make the use of the time taking phtos of things like dresses and shoes, etc.

Susie spent some time in during her preparation on two special moments – the first being a first look with the handsome man who walked her down the aisle, and the other with her flower girl – to which Susie gifted a fluffy white cat toy, which the little girl wasn’;t overly keen on at first but came around to it 🙂

Engagement ring in purple flower
Makeup on bride
Sister hugs
Bride playing with veil
Bride sitting looking at wedding dress
Bridesmaids getting tangled in veil
Bridesmaids stretching out train
Smiling bride looking at camera
Bride standing in window light
Bride smiling looking up
Bride twisting back at bridesmaids
Bridesmaids reacting to engagement ring
Bride showing off train
Groom leaning on doorframe

Civic Park Wedding Ceremony

Susie and Ricky’s Civic Park wedding ceremony took place under the shade of the gum trees that line the dry creek area that adorns the top of the path way that wiggles it’s way through the center of the park – while lined with grass. The path connect’s the Tea Tree Plaza shopping center and Sferas.

Being set up here was wonderful as Susie and Ricky’s guests were therefore protected by the harsh sun, as opposed to the poor other wedding ceremony that took place on the main grass area just after theirs.

Their ceremony itself was a lovely simple affair, with private in jokes based on a variety of popculture references which made a different small portion of their congregation chuckle at different times throughout.

Checking the time together
Groom waiting at Civic Park wedding
Bride arriving looking at Dad
Grooms first look at bride
Civic Park wedding ceremony
Grinning bride during ceremony
Groom looking at his bride
Bride and groom looking back at congregation
Exchanging wedding bands at Civic Park wedding
Bride smiling at her groom at wedding
First kiss at Civic Park wedding
Bridal exit at Civic Park wedding

Glamour Photos

After coaxing everyone out on the grassy hill for a group photo using the drone – so as to socially distance – We made use of the rest of Civic park for a few glamour photos before heading across the road to the Solandra Wetlands for a few more.

As the sun was super bright, my main goal throughout was simply to use as much shade as possible to bring some sun flares coming through and making the scene super pretty. It was however fairly early in the day – so this was a little tricky, but the beautiful surrounds of the foliage available still made for some lovely shots.

Kisses under a tree at Civic park wedding
Groom kissing his bride’s head under a tree
Flying veil on bride
bridesmaid pointing
Smiles all round as headbutt
Smiling bride with groom and jacket
Bridal party reacting to kiss
Bride and groom under sun lit tree
Bride leading groom on merry jape
Bride and groom in long grass
Bride and groom in weeping willow
Bride and groom in weeping willow foliage

Thanks so much to Susie and Ricky for having me as your wedding photographer! I’m so sorry that wouldnt be able to cover your reception on your new date! But I hope you enjoy the photos taken on your wedding day!

Tag Archive for: garden