Tag Archive for: wedding photography

St Francis Winery Wedding – Molly & Ian

St Francis Winery Wedding – Molly & Ian

I had been looking forward to covering Molly and Ian’s wedding at the St Francis Winery ever since shooting their engagement photos in the city about a year prior. I was also asked to build them an RSVP website, which was a good way to keep in contact all throughout the wedding planning in between. The day was a super sunny, bright, beautiful day which translated into a love-filled celebration of the wedding of Molly and Ian 🙂

Preparation

One of the great things about most of the weddings I’ve covered at the St Francis Winery is that both the bride and groom are staying on site and are prepared in separate rooms, so I’m able to flit in between rooms to take photos of them both being prepared at the same time. Both Molly and Ian were fairly laiud back in their preparation, with fun events like Molly’s small gift to ian being an exploding card, and of course running after the less than co-operative kidlets 🙂

Mum helping
Groomsmen lounging about
Pensive
Looking out window
Looking out window
Hustle and bustle
Smiling bride
Wedding sign
pensive
In front of window
Wedding rings
getting ready
Looking in mirror
Smiles
getting ready
Smiling groom
Dad’s first look

St Francis Winery Wedding Ceremony

Molly and Ian wisely opted to move the location of their wedding ceremony into a small – shaded area closer to the buildings of the winery as standing out in the sun for the duration of their ceremony would not have been fun. The ceremony was short and sweet, and culminated in a barrage of confetti thrown by the guests.

Smiles
St Francis Winery Wedding setup
Blushing bride
Flower girls
Exchanging rings
Signing registry
Wedding ceremony
At the altar
Smiles
First kiss
St Francis Winery Wedding
Smiles
Bridal exit

Glamour Photos

As I usually do, I made use of the incredible weeping willow trees surrounding the duck lake within the winery’s grounds, and as the sun was beating down, tried to make the most of it’s rays shing through the foliage.

Standing together
Under the sun
Smiling girls
Bouquet
hehe
Under a weeping willow
Next to the cart
Standing together
Smiles together

St Francis Winery Reception

To finish up the day, Molly and Ian’s wedding reception took place on site within the St Francis Winery reception hall, with the end section used as the dancefloor. The end section is great for the first dance dry ice as the walled off area allows for a lovely carpet of mist – makes it quite beautiful.

Dancing boy
Decorations
St Francis Winery Wedding Reception
First dance
First dance
Shots
Smiling groom
Smiling bride
Talking
Wedding cake
Children’s activity book
Under the weeping willow at night
Under the weeping willow at night
Cutting the cake
Lolly bar

Thanks so much to Molly and Ian for having me as their wedding photographer and I hope you enjoy your photos! 🙂

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Pepper Tree Cafe Wedding – Amanda & Daniel

  • Amanda & Daniel

    Pepper Tree Cafe Wedding

    Under the gate

I was super excited to be a part of Amanda and Daniel’s wedding at the Pepper Tree Café due in no small part to Daniel’s enthusiasm and endearing eagerness to hold the most perfect wedding possible for his bride to be. He was in constant contact, making sure I knew all the details including how well the dancing lessons I had got them at Dance Amor were doing, and how the Pepper Tree was going to be set up on the day.

Everything he had planned came to fruition on the day, with the slight unfortunate hiccup of a bit of rain directly after the ceremony. Fortunately it let up a bit for us to get out and about in the garden for a few photos J

Preparation

I started the day as I usually do at Daniel’s place of preparation. He and his boys were all getting ready and were in various stages of undress when I arrived. Daniel was keen on having everything set up and running smoothly – he was obviously excited!

In front of car
Putting on shirt
Putting on shirt
Dad helping out
Smiling groom
Groomsmen getting ready
Groomsmen Gifts
Shoes
Putting on cufflinks
Cheers!
Looking out window
Wedding Rings

I then head over to where Amanda and her bridal party were being prepared – the atmosphere was noticeably more laid back and fun filled with the ladies, with laughter and fun times being had. Emotions were high when gifts were handed out which made for some marvellously genuine photos!

Cork popping
Mum looking on
Smiling
Flower crown
Smiles
Helping with the dress
Bridesmaids gift
Smiles
makeup
Wedding Dress
Love the new bub
Engagement ring
Smiles
Smiles
Helping with the dress

Pepper Tree Cafe Wedding Ceremony

The Pepper Tree Café was a wedding venue I had not yet had the privilege of visiting, but it turned out to be a lovely little intimate space in Aldinga, featuring a large Pepper Tree (naturally) alongside a rustic live music and dining area surrounded by a nice mix of curated garden and wilder natural scenes. Quite a nice spot for photography.

Their wedding ceremony took place on the grassy area in the centre of the gardens, with all the guests standing either side of an aisle lined by small lanterns. The rain was threatening by this time, but thankfully held off until after I had my drone in the air and took a couple of group photos.

Together
Smiling Groom
Holding Hands
First Kiss
Bride arriving
Wiping
Bridal Exit
Putting on ring
Cars arriving
Hugs
nervous groom
Together
Smiling Bride
Groom’s first look
Holding Hands
Family Hug

Glamour Photos

Directly after the ceremony ended we had to rush into the Café area to avoid the rather heavy rain that was now falling. We made use of the time to take family photos on the stage and have a bit of a mingle with guests. Once it was evident that the rain had set in a bit, Amanda and Daniel decided we’d need to head out in the rain for a few photos, so that’s what we did. Thankfully soon after this decision, the rain stopped for long enough for some proper shots around the garden.

Under the trees
Under the trees
Kissing amongst the Pepper Tree
Standing in the Pepper Tree
Bridal Party
Under the gate
Wedding Rings
Holding one another
Under the Gazebo
Under the trees
Under the Gazebo
Groomsmen
Under the gate
Under the Gazebo
Amongst the trees
Walking together

Pepper Tree Wedding Reception

The reception area at the pepper Tree Café is an intimate, rustic little area, decorated with steel and wooden styling, akin to an old wool shed. The area boasts a nice live music stage and room enough for a modest congregation.

Amanda and Daniel’s reception was a lovely display of heartfelt speeches, impromptu bagpipe recitals and high running emotions, it was a ball to be a part of, and I thank Amanda and Daniel for having me be a part of it! 😀

Thumbs up
Dancing
Smiling Bride
First Dance
Cutting the cake
First Dance
Catching the bouquet
Guests having fun
Best Man speech
First Dance
Smiles all round
Speech
Guests having fun
Catching the garter
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Adelaide Glamour Shoot – Jasmine & Mervyl

Jasmine and Mervyl were in Adelaide for a short while and while here they figured they’d use the time to have a bit of an Adelaide glamour shoot before their wedding next year back in Singapore. They are also planning on having photos taken in Canberra also a few days later, so they’ll have quite a bit of diversity to show on a big screen at the forefront of their wedding reception.

Himeji Hardens

We began our short shoot in the Himeji Gardens, on South Terrace. We were very lucky at this time of day as the weather surrounding the shoot, both before and after was pretty atrocious, with wind and heavy rainfall – so i was happy to make use of any sun we had! Unfortunately the hem of Jasmine’s white dress started to get muddy towards the end, but lucky she had a change in dress! 🙂

Sitting about
Holding one another
Smiles
Holding one another
Walking about Himeji Gardens

Veale Gardens

After about 30 minutes walking about the Himeji Gardens, we head over to the nearby Veale Gardens – a popular wedding venue in it’s own right the gardens boast beautifully manicured grassy areas, with a splash of unkempt Australiana just in the rear which we made use of.

Holding hands in veal Gardens
Under a tree
Walking together
Engagement ring
Amongst the trees
Suave

North Terrace

After a bit of a dress change and makeup touch-up, we continued our Adelaide glamour shoot around the lovely North Terrace buildings, including the Adelaide University and Bonython Hall. It’s at this time when the heavens started opening on us and it looked as though our luck with the weather was running out.

Holidn one another
On the footbridge
Holidn one another
Walking alone
Cathedral
North Terrace

Grange Jetty

We ended the shoot at the historic Grange Jetty, when fortunately the sun peeped out from the clouds for just a minute allowing us to run about in the bitter cold to take a few shots 🙂

On the jetty
Under the jetty
Under the jetty

I hope Jasmine and Mervyl enjoy the photos from their Adelaide Glamour Shoot and hope their wedding in Singapore goes fantastically!

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Preparation Wedding Photography

Bride leaning on door

Preparation wedding Photography

One of my favourite times of day on a wedding day is the preparation time, the time of day when the bride and groom are getting ready for their big moment in front of family and friends, which allows for some incredible moments of emotion and nerves to show through, painting a story of the personalities of the couple through Preparation Wedding Photography. Capturing the individual moments of personality of the bride and groom before they become an ‘item’ so to speak is a primary goal of taking photos during this time of day. This is the last moments of their lives where they aren’t sharing a family with a significant other. I feel it’s important to make use of this time to paint a portrait with my photography of the lives and personality traits the bride and groom exhibit as an individual. The lovey dovey moments when they are together come later.

If you consider a wedding album as a photographic story, then the preparation photos are the beginning of the story, the coming together of these two individuals would be the ceremony, and the happily ever after the glamour photos and reception.

Groom preparation wedding photography

When photographing the preparation of the groom and his groomsmen, it’s important to recognise the atmosphere of the situation, by gauging the nerves, and/or playful (or lack of) nature of the party getting ready. One is able as a photographer to guide the party through a series of unposed photos while getting dressed, while also focussing on small things like wedding rings and shoes. When having as many weddings as I do under my belt, I’m able to read when would be appropriate to also transition into a more traditional, formal shoot after the more photojournalistic scenes.

All together
Ring Box
Groomsmen being monkeys
Smiling groom
Boys walking together
groomsmen preparation glenelg
Smiling groom
Groom and his groomsmen
Getting ready

Bridal preparation wedding photography

When heading over to the girls and the bridal party, the approach to preparation photos is largely similar. There are still nerves, emotions and drama occurring all around, with the difference being that there’s an additional process (usually) considering makeup and putting on much more complicated clothing (bridal dresses). Once again it’s important to capture the small things, like jewellery and shoes while also being photojournalistic leading up to the point where the ladies are putting on their dresses. Preparation wedding photography also tends to become highly traditional in parts with the bridal party, with shots of the bridal party fussing around the bride, and other scenes such as putting on the garter which are very traditional scenes.

Wedding Dress
Putting on the dress
Smiling Mum
Lacing up
Looking in mirror
Flower Girl in Window
Smiles all round
Having fun in the veil
Dress
Engagement ring

I strongly believe however, particularly with preparation wedding photography that it’s far better to be as invisible as possible when being a wedding photographer as I feel that there would be nothing worse than having someone with a huge camera taking shots of you while you’re getting dresses on the most emotionally charged day of your life. As a result, I tend to stay primarily photojournalistic in having the bridal parties get ready as usual and take photos of that,m and then once they’re used to me being there, join in a little for more constructed photos. I tend to hate turning people into mannequins 😀