The Karkoo Nursery in Blackwood was the rather unlikely backdrop for Kirsty and Jason’s wedding! They had never hosted a wedding there before, but it made for the perfectly eclectic backdrop for Kirsty’s keeness to keep things simple and do as much as she could herself. This allowed for a lovely aesthetic that spoke perfectly of Kirsty and Jason’s personality while focussing on the important stuff! I was asked to be their wedding photographer for 3 hours which saw me with them for the ceremony at Karkoo Nursery, glamour photos at the nearby heritage listed Gamble Cottage, then a short time at Eire Cafe for an early dinner reception.
Karkoo Nursery Wedding Ceremony
The Karkoo Nursery regularly hosts live music events in this space, so it’s not as if the store had no experience in holding events, and there was ample numbers of chairs for guests and room to move about. It was the eclectic nature of the backdrop and surrounds that drew Kirsty and Jason to hold their wedding ceremony here. Every chair was different, and the surrounding merchandise was as random as any antique furniture store, but it suited very well!
Kirsty did a lot of work herself leading up to the day, hand making a delightful bouquet and lapel pins out of scavenged knick-knaks, and sourced some delightful hollowed out ring ‘books’ that held their rings in a lovely unique way. They had close friends be wedding singers and copnduct readings which made for a wonderful friendly atmosphere.
Closeup of button
Ring Books
Plan
Groom standing out the front
Hand made bouquet
Groom nervously waiting
Bridal arrival
Grooms first look
Karkoo Nursery Wedding Ceremony
Bridesmaid
Groomsman
Speech
Holding hands
Smiling bride
Karkoo Nursery Wedding Ceremony
Groom
Exchanging wedding rings
Kiss
Congratulations
Hugs
Congratulations
Congratulations
Glamour Photos
After the family photos and the mandatory ‘breakfast club’ recreation photos, we head over to the nearby heritage listed Gamble Cottage to use the delightful small garden there for photos. As the day was fairly overcast we were very lucky to see a little bit of sun poking out through the clouds while we were there which made for wonderful ‘fairytale’ lighting.
Breakfast Club
Holding one another in Karkoo Nursery
Bridal Party
In a tree
Wedding rings
Walking amongst the garden
Standing in the garden of Gamble Cottage
Under a tree near Gamble Cottage
On a bench together
Walking by Gamble COttage
Under a tree in front of Gamble Cottage
Eire Cafe Wedding Reception
Finally, after the glamour photos in Blackwood, we head down the hill a bit to Eire Cafe which is a small little cafe suitable for smaller congregations just like Kirsty and Jason’s family-oriented reception!
Personalised name placing
Guests
Wedding Cake
Having fun
Thanks so much to Kirsty and Jason for having me as your wedding photographer! I had a great time, and I hope you enjoy your photos!
Auchendarroch House in Mt Barker was the venue for Rebecca and Simon’s stunning wedding day under the sun. The day was complete with fireworks, courtesy of the nearby Christmas celebrations and absolutely sublime weather which all made for an incredible day! Rebecca and Simon opted to have be as their wedding photographer for most of their day, leading up to their reception, and then took advantage of the SvenStudios photobooth throughout their reception complete with one of my new hand-made wooden guests books!
Preparation photos
I began my day at the house that Simon and his grooms men were being prepared in. Simon was in high spirits, joking about and being super helpful in getting all his gear ready for some photos. Soon after we started, more of his family arrived and I think the reality of the situation sunk in a little bit as some nerves were starting to show 🙂
Groom’s watch
Groom’s shoes
Dad looking on
Groom getting ready
Adjusting the tie
Groom smiling
Groom walking the hallway
Groom smiling
Rebecca and her bride’s maids were being prepared at their home in Mt Barker, nearby Auchendarroch house. The atmosphere was very laid back with Rebecca’s brother being on hand at all times to lighten the mood with silly jokes. The morning went very smoothly with everything happening as it should so there wasn’t really any need for any nerves 🙂
Bride looking pretty
Wedding dress
Putting on wedding dress
Bridesmaids attending bride
Bride looking pretty
Engagement ring
Putting on wedding dress
Putting on makeup
Bridesmaids
Taking down wedding dress
Auchendarroch House wedding ceremony
Auchendarroch House was originally opened in 1860 by a Scottish migrant named Lachlan MacFarlane to be used as a hotel – then known as the Oakfield Hotel. Soon after, in 1878, it became the Summer residence of local businessman and philanthropist, Robert Barr Smith. It then became a convalescent home and Air Force hospital before being restored by the Wallis family in 2002 into the magnificent function center it is today. The house is a popular location for weddings in Mt Barker due to it’s old-world charm, surrounded by some quite impeccable gardens and local parks. All while still being the the center of the town of Mt Barker, so still quite convenient.
Rebecca and Simon were wed under the heritage listed tree next to the house. I’m sure their guests were quite thankful for this due to the weather becoming very hot by this time of day. It made for a wonderful backdrop to their wedding photos, complete with some easy to manage shadows over the entire party. It was wonderful!
Exchanging wedding rings
Signing registry under tree
Celebrations after being married
Groom smiling
Girl in aisle
Sitting under the tree
Bride and groom under the tree
Bride arriving in front of Auchendarroch House
Signing registry under tree
Groom seeing bride for first time
Bride and groom in front of guests
Glamour Photos
After getting my drone out to take some family photos, we utilised the grounds of Auchendarroch House to take some glamour shots, with a few silly shots sprinkled in. We then made use of the magnificent interior of the house before heading over to the old main street of Mt Barker.
Silly shot 🙂
Bride and groom under tree
Closeup of wedding rings
Bride and groom under tree
Bride and groom under sun
Bride and groom under tree
Bride walking the gardens
Bridal party through a kiss
Bride and groom on bench
The interior of Auchendarroch House is everything you’d expect from an 1800s hotel. Grand, opulent and full of beautiful wooden details complete with contrasting carpets and drapes. The whole setting makes for some of the best scenes for some intimate wedding photography.
Kiss at the front door
Walking along the outside fo the house
Standing in windows
Dancing in the window
Sitting chatting
Auchendarroch House wedding
In between these amazing glamour photos we also took a moment to take a photo where the bridal party was to look concerned about something I’ll photoshop in later. In this case Rebecca and Simon are big fans of Star Wars, so they requested a scene where they were running from some Star Wars war machines. They also happened to have Simon’s car in the background so I decided to blow it up!
Star wars wedding at Auchendarroch House
Auchendarroch House wedding reception
Rebecca and Simon also opted to have my photo booth set up at their reception, so I was tasked to take a few photos of the reception while also man the photobooth. The great thing about this wedding reception though was the fact that the local Christmas party was happening right next door, so we got some killer fireworks shots from above the house also!
Bride smiling at groom
Catching the garter
Catching the bouquet
First dance
Cutting wedding cake
Wedding cake
Guests smiling
Fireworks wedding over Auchendarroch House
Head table
Adelaide photo booth SvenStudios
Rebecca and Simon’s Auchendarroch House Wedding was such an awesome wedding to be a part of! Everything went smoothly from my perspective, and some amazing images were produced! I hope Rebecca and Simon enjoy their photos as much as I enjoyed producing them and I hope to cover another Auchendarroch House Wedding soon!
