Tag Archive for: St Francis Winery

St Francis Winery Wedding – Sue & Roy

October 26, 2022/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Sue & Roy
St Francis Winery Wedding

Sue and Roy held their St Francis Winery wedding on a delightful day surrounded by a small group of family and friends who are keen on celebrating their love as much as possible!

Sue and Roy held their ceremony on the St Francis WInery lawns shaded by the nearby trees, and had a delightful bagpiper set the atmosphere which I just loved!

Preparation

Roy was prepared in the dedicated Honeymoon suite at St Francis – it’s actually usually where every bride I’ve ever had for a wedding at St Francis Winery has got ready!

He was helped by his two groomsmen and also their little page boy who was running about with the flower girl inbetween rooms.

Grooms shoes

Boy getting help with tie

Groom putting on tie in mirror

Children involved with wedding

Groom putting on tie near bed

Smiling groom in black and white

Grooms man helping with tie in window light

Groomsman helping with tie in window light

Groom with his men

Wedding rings on wood

Sue was prepared with her bridal party in another room accross the courtyard. We had to rearrange the furniture a little in order to make enough space to take some photos – but it all worked out in the end! I think we used the balcony walkway more than inside.

Engagement ring in pink rose bouquet

Black wedding dress

Heirloom gold watch

bridesmaids helping bride get ready

Smiling bride ready to get married

Bride with her ladies

Bride walkig down stairs

St Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

Sue and Roy’s St Francis Winery wedding ceremony way orientated so that the large gum trees lining the grassy area nearby the pond was in the backdrop, rather than having the wishing well, and pond there. This allowed for all their guests to enjoy the shade afforded by the tree and also helps to shield their ceremony from cars coming down South Road.

Sue arrived flanked by their bagpiper, and Roy was all smiles throughout. During the ceremony there was a few readings, and Sue and Roy held their own personal vows – but overall it was a sweet, simple ceremony which allowed for more time with family and friends.

St Francis winery wedding ceremony setup

Bagpiper through leaves

Bride and entourage ready to walk down aisle

bagpiper leading the bridal procession

Grooms first look of bride as she approaches

St Francis Winery wedding ceremony

Happy groom during ceremony

Happy speech giver

Bride and groom holding hands with horseshoe

Bride and groom holding hands under arbour

Happy bride looking at groom

Groom about to exchange rings

First kiss at St Francis winery wedding ceremony

Sitting signing registry

Bride and groom with bagpiper

Glamour Photos

After the group shots, where the resident magpie finally managed to hit my drone with one of it’s dive bombing poops, we made use of some of the nearby features of the historic St Francis winery. We diddnt move too far away from the ceremony location using only the tree and rotten barrels around the side of the building and some of the nearby bushgs and trees.

We also head off for a short stint behind the nearby bus terminal where a portion of the old railway is accessible as a walking trail and makes for a rather nice scene.

One thing that was super unique about Sue and Roy’s St Francis WInery wedding was that they held their little reception not ion the usual place, but in the restaurant portion of the resort! Made the feeling that much more intimate!

Bride and groom in front of wedding car at St Francis Winery

Boy in front of group

bride and groom running away together

bride and groom under tree bext to barrel

bride and groom holding one another

Bride and groom under a nice tree

Bride and groom under a nice tree looking at camera

Bride and groom next to wedding car

bride and groom next to old cart

Hugs under sunset

bride and groom under trees near St Francis winery wedding

Bride and groom walking down track together

bride and groom infront of window with guests

Thanks Sue and Roy for having me be part of your day!

Saint Francis Winery Wedding – Lucy & James

April 9, 2016/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Lucy & James
Saint Francis Winery Wedding

Lucy & James held their surprise wedding at the Saint Francis Winery in Old Reynella. If you aren’t aware of the dynamics of surprise weddings, they can be a lot of fun to be a part of, particularly as a wedding photographer. It’s fun as you generally turn up to a party that is otherwise going swimmingly, when a photographer with a giant camera shows up and starts taking your picture 🙂 Now obviously it’s not often you attend a small party, even an engagement party – as is what Lucy and James’ guest thought they were attending, where there is a professional photographer in attendance. So there was a bit of surprise.

Before Party

Lucy & James’ guests were invited to their engagement party and were treated to a lovely spread put out by the Saint Francis Winery, including cheeses, fruits and meat platters, including an open bar. The congregation was located out the front of the Winery, near the famed pond next to South road when I arrived amd all were having a great time 🙂 Not many even noticed Lucy and James slink off to change into their wedding finery.

Boys and gran

Food

Lucy and James engagement sign

Engagement party

Lucy & James’ Saint Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

The wedding ceremony was set up within around 30 minutes, before the ceremony, but after everyone had arrived so that the secret was not blown. In past weddings I have covered at the Saint Francis Winery, the ceremony itself has taken place next to the lake, out the front of the winery, however as this one needed to be ‘hidden’, the ceremony took place in the grassy courtyard area surrounded by hotel rooms.

Saint Francis Winery Wedding

Bride and groom

Bride and groom holing hands

Wedding setting

First kiss

Saint Francis Winery Wedding

Wedding setting

Bride and groom

Wedding setting

Saint Francis Winery Wedding

Glamour photos

Between their ceremony and their reception, Lucy and James had barely 40 minutes of sunlight in order to walk around the winery grounds for their glamour photos. But we made good use of the available light and took some crackers.

Saint Francis Winery Wedding

Francis Winery Wedding

Saint Francis Winery Wedding

Francis Winery Wedding

Wedding reception

I was only able to stay for a portion of Lucy and James’ reception as they had opted for having me at their wedding using my very affordable 3 hour package. In the limited amount of time I was there for, I was able to cover their first dance, speeches and even their wedding cake cutting.

Through the doors

First dance

Signing guest book

First dance

Wedding cake

Little dancer

Bride groom and little one

Thankyou Lucy and James for having me at your lovely surprise wedding, it was a lot of fun to be a part of!

St Francis Winery Wedding – Fiona & Nick

January 6, 2016/in Wedding, Wedding preview

Fiona & Nick
St Francis Winery Wedding

Fiona and Nick took advantage of my very flexible wedding photography packages to have me at their St Francis Winery wedding for 7 hours. The day went very well, with all guests enjoying themselves immensely. This was helped along as Fiona and Nick had a very laid back and fun personality which was reflected by their wedding and the weather was absolutely splendid, but very sunny. I actually live within walking distance from the St Francis Winery and had been looking forward to being their wedding photographer there since they booked me.

Preparation photos

Both Fiona and Nick were prepared in the St Francis Winery accommodation, with both the groomsmen and bridal party being prepared at the same time, so I was walking in between rooms and the winery grounds. The groomsmen started out by playing a bit of AFL marks up out on the grass before donning their finery, as the bridesmaids were putting on their makeup. It’s been a while since I saw groomsmen in top hats and tails, but credit to the boys for wearing such an outfit on the very warm day. The bridal party were confined to their room as they did not want anyone to be able to see Fiona’s dress before the wedding ceremony.

Groomsmen playing football

Groom

Wedding dress

Bridal party

Bride and Mother

Groomsmen

Bride getting ready

Bridal party

Wedding dress

Groomsmen playing football

Bridal party

Groomsmen

Wedding rings

St Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

The St Francis Winery, located down south of Adelaide in Old Reynella is one of the original wineries in the famed southern Adelaide wine district. Originally owned by Reynella’s namesake, John Reynell and his family from 1869 to the early 1940’s the winery has been transformed into a 41 suite resort situated on 5 acres overlooking Lake Carew Reynell and built around the circa 1852 winery building. The suites are built surrounding a lovely courtyard grassy area with lovely old brick walls and wooden railings. The whole area feels beautifully rustic, while still being modern. The wedding ceremony itself took place next to the lake on the larger grassy area outside of the main banquet hall.

St Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

Glamour Photos

After the ceremony we roamed around the St Francis Winery’s land taking advantage of the gardens, and in particular the wonderful weeping willows situated around the lake. They provided an amazing backdrop breaking up the very harsh sunlight beating down on us.

Bride

Groomsmen

embarrassed kids

St Francis Winery Wedding

Bride and groom

Bridal party holding groom

Bride and groom

groomsmen

Bride and groom

Reception

Fiona and Nick’s entire wedding took place within the grounds of the St Francis Winery. Including their reception.They had booked out the two banquet halls, turning one hall into a dancefloor, while the other was filled with sit down tables for their guests. I did not have a lot of time at their reception, but I did manage to capture the important moments, including the cutting of the cake, their first dance and all their speeches.

Wedding reception

First dance

Wedding reception

St Francis Winery Wedding reception

Wedding reception

I;d like to thank Fiona and Nick for having me as their wedding photographer, and I hope they enjoy their wedding photography!

St Francis Winery Wedding – Chelsea & Nathan

September 28, 2019/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Chelsea & Nathan
St Francis Winery Wedding

It was a stunning day in amongst some rather ordinary weather for Chelsea and Nathan’s St Francis Winery Wedding at the beginning of September. It’s rather exciting to head to weddings like ths as I knew form the outset that Chelsea and Nathan were excellent dancers so I knew their reception was going to be a blast! I was lucky enough to be asked to be their wedding photographer all day and we managed to make most use of the time without the day seeming too rushed.

Preparation Photos

I was asked to begin the day with Chelsea’s preparation photos at the St Francis Winery room where she was being prepared, but I felt as though Nathan was missing out a bit so I head around to the nearby house he was getting ready at for about 10 minutes also – just to grab a shot of the rings and other small things lying about the place.

Wedding rings

Wedding dress

Getting ready

Engagement ring

Getting ready

Through the makeup light

Getting ready

First Look

The preparation phtos wasn’t a huge deal to Chelsea and Nathan, but what was exciting was they opted to have their main ‘glamour’ photo shoot done before their wedding ceremony in what’s known as a ‘first look’ where the groom and bride meet each other before the ceremony away from prying eyes and the nerves that would otherwise accompany the usual tradtional ‘first look’ as the bride walks down the aisle.

One of the Nathan’s groomsmen was a good sport here as Chelsea had secretly dressed him up in a stunning dress to play a bit of a prank on Nathan before she arrived for the real first look! 🙂

Groom walking about

Groom and groomsmen

The beautiful bride approaches

Surprise

Hugs

The actual bride approaches

Hugs

Glamour Photos

After the first look we had a good amount of time to use the St Francis Winery grounds and surrounds for some glamour photos. This time of year the weeping willows surrounding the pond on the grounds was just starting to turn green again which always makes for a lovely backdrop – particularly on sunny days where the sun flares through the foliage. We also head out for a bit to the nearby bike track which I knew – having lived in the area for quite a while – made for a lovely backdrop wth it’s arching tall trees either side. This made for a little diversity in their photos.

inside the St Francis winery wedding reception area

On the bike path

Under the trees

Walking amongst the forest

Near the cart

On the bike path

inside

under the weeping willow

Walking amongst the forest

Smiles under the trees

Chilling on the cart

Together in front of the flowers

inside the St Francis winery wedding reception area

walking together

Walking together

Bridal party

under the weeping willow

Under a tree

In front of the cellar doors

Standing together

Under a tree

Wedding rings

Holding bouquet

St Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

Chelsea and Nathan’s actual wedding ceremony was a lovely simple affair which, after the music had been fixed at the begining went off quite well 🙂 Unfortunately their music had been set up with the bridal party walking down together holding flash cards as a bit of an inside joke, but diddnt work out so well 😛 Diddnt put a dampener on anyone’s mood though!

wedding sign

Groom waiting patiently

Bridal approach

Smiling groom

Smiling father of bride

St Francis winery wedding ceremony

Smiling bride

St Francis winery wedding ceremony

together out the front

Nerves

Vows

Listening

Smiles

Celebrant

Exchanging wedding rings

First kiss

Celebrate!

Checking out ring

Congregation

St Francis Winery Wedding Reception

As I mentioned before I knew Chalsea ad Nathan were pretty good dancers as their circle of friends happened to be the same as a wedding I covered several years ago where the bride and groom attended the same dance club. I also knew that many of the same dance club would be there than night, so the dance floor was always in action this night, and not just with people swaying and bopping, actual proper dancing! It was great to witness 🙂

First dance

Daddy daughter dance

under the trees at night

bonbonerie

talking

Main

Speech

reaction

Dancing

Thanks so much to Chelsea and Nathan for having me as your wedding photographer on your big day!

StFrancis Winery Wedding – Bronwyn & Dayne

January 12, 2022/in Wedding preview, Wedding

Bronwyn & Dayne
StFrancis WInery Wedding

It was an incredibly sunny day for Bronwyn and Dayne’s StFrancis Winery wedding in late November!

Their day was full of fun filled hijinks curtesy of their bridal party and plenty of naughty water refreshments all throughout the day.

Their day was a bunch of fun to be a part of, so lets jump right into it!

Preparation

Bronwyn and Dayne were obviously up for a party right from the get go, with their respective entourages keen to have a bit of fun during their preparations! Dayne and his boys made sure to keep most of their body parts within their pants all morning, while we also made sure their delightful fur babies made it into plenty of their photos.

Groom and page boy suit

Grooms shoes on table top

Puppy

Groom putting on tie win sun

Groomsman with tie on head

Best man helping out with tie putting on

smiling groom at best man

Groom and dog

Groom looking out doorway

Groom helping with page boy flower

Grooms entourage on street

I arrived at Bronywn’s place of preparation to the beat of plenty of loud music! The bridesmaids were keen to dance about all morning, while also making sure Bronwyn wasn’t feeling too much in the way of nerves – as much as possible!

Engagement ring setting in flower

Wedding dress hanging in sun

Bridesmaids dresses hanging in tree

Bridesmaids with hands in air

Bridesmaids with earrings

Flower girls looking at each other

bridesmaids helping out with bridal gown

Flower girls watching bride get ready

Bride standing in lounge

StFrancis Winery Wedding Ceremony

Bronwyn and her bridal party arrived at their StFrancis Winery wedding ceremony via large hummer limo, and directly after had a bit of a ‘first look’ with Bronwyn’s family – which is always nice to see.

Their wedding ceremony was delayed a little bit due to guests being a little late, but bronwyn and her bridesmaids made the most of their time having a smoke and chilling under the shade, while Dayne and his boys also made sure to find some shade while having photos done with family and friends.

Dayne was in good spirits all day, being sure to make it known with huge emotive smile and laughter, while Bronwyn was a little more reserved. The ceremony itself was a nice, simple affair – being as short as possible so that the party could continue unabated!

groom waiting under arbour

Bridal party in limo

Bride exiting the limo

bride and family member

bride approaching ceremony at StFrancis winery wedding

StFrancis winery wedding ceremony

StFrancis winery wedding from side

Laughing bride during ceremony at StFrancis

StFrancis winery wedding ceremony with blue sky

Holding hands during wedding ceremony close

Smiling groom at his bride during ceremony

First kiss at StFrancis Winery Wedding

Guests at StFrancis winery wedding

Glamour Photos

We diddn;t spend too long out and about for glamour photos – the main goal of the day for Bronwyn and Dayne was to spend as much time with their friends and family as possible! before their limo hire ended, I did however managed to get them out to the nearby bike track which has magnificent arching trees overhead. I made use of this space the most for their glamour photos – while I also snagged a few shots around St Francis Winery in between drinks.

I made use of the extra time by taking some portraits of other couples and also had family photos done whenever I could. It was such a laid back day that it wasn’t overly pressing to have any photos taken.

Groom walking about

Dudes chilling around barrel

Hugs with little one

Bridal party under trees

bridal party messing about

Bride and groom together on bike track

Running page boy

Laughing bride under veil

Two kids look at water

Silly photo of bride and groom

Kids

Bridal party under arch

StFrancis Winery Wedding Reception

Bronwyn and Dayne’s StFrancis winery wedding reception was immaculately set up in the most beautiful way, with blue lighting and white floral arrangements as far as the eye could see! Their DJ had the smoke machine going during the first dance and made for a great party atmosphere.

Towards the end of the night, I managed to coax Bronwyn and Dayne out to the awesome lit weeping willows that lines the St Francis winery pond – which the boys were threatening jumping into all night. If they did I must have left too early to see it! Would have been a greast photo 🙂