Milena and Steven held their wedding under the big tree at the northern end of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens on a rather warm November day. I always love the kind of weddings where a huge mixture of cultures come together to have a huge party sharing all the fun traditions each culture celebrates for weddings. In Milena and Steven’s case it was the mixture of Serbian and New Zealand culture with a dash of a few others in there too. It was a tonne of fun as their wedding photographer! I was asked to cover their entire day and this is their preview.

Preparation

Steven and his entourage were being prepared at a hotel within the Adelaide CBD. The morning was pretty laid back and cruisy with the boys helping each other do up their ties all while using their sense of humour to have a bit of fun at Steven’s expense. Some nerves were showing through, but Steven handled it well.

Getting ready

Buttons

Putting on tie

Putting on tie

Wedding rings

Bros

The girls were being prepared at a house just north of the city. Milena was handing the nerves far better than Steven and there were smiles all round, at least until the little one started being a pain not wanting to put on his suit 😛 But he came around.

Looking in mirror

Smiles

Putting on earrings

Walking out door

Little one’s tie

Smiling bridesmaid

Buttoning up

Wedding shoes

Smiles

Engagement ring

Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding Ceremony

There’s a large old gum tree in on the northern edge of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens which in my experience in all  the times I’ve covered a wedding here, seems to be the most popular spot in the gardens. It’s a great spot as there’s a huge grassy area for guests and the sun goes down behind the heads of the bride and groom, so on a sunny day it creates a wonderful halo over their heads. Thankfully as the day was a very warm day, the sky was fairly overcast so it took the edge off the sun.

As part of their ceremony, Milena and Steven opted for a rose ceremony whereby members of their family would add a flower to a vase, symbolising the coming together of the family, it was a nice little gesture as once the family members approached the vase, they had the opportunity to give their personal well wishes formally to the newly weds.

Smiles

Sign

Bridal motorcade

Groom’s first look

Proud Dad

Together

Nervous

Smiling Bride

Kisses

Waiting for bride

Adelaide Botanic Garden Wedding Ceremony

Bride approaching

Harp Player

Flower Girl

Adelaide Botanic Gardens Glamour Photos

I love using the botanic gardens for weddings photos, as it seems as though the entire place was set up for just such an occasion! Unfortunately due to the weather however we had to cut the walking down a bit, but that was ok as we visiting most of the ‘money shot’ locations around the place. We also even got to duplicate a photo Milena and Steven had taken on one of their first dates, which is always nice!

Adelaide Botanic Garden Wedding

Wedding rings

Botanic Gardens Wedding shot

Smiles

The group

Under the arch

Carrying her

Holding one another

Community Center of Serbia & Montenegro Wedding Reception

Apparently it was a multi-generational tradition for Milena’s family to celebrate their marriage at the Community Center of Serbia and Montenegro, with several of their family members also celebrating their marriage there. It was during the reception where the multicultural nature of the entire day really came alive, complete with serbian circle dancing with live singers, and the New Zealand tradition of singing after speeches and of course, what I was most looking forward to, the Haka!

The entire night was a blast to shoot, as everyone was completely fueled by some Serbian hard liquor and the music never stopping all night!

First dance

Watching the Haka

Hugs

Speech

Entrance

Dancing

Dancing about

Haka

Photo time

Wedding Cake

Hard liquor

Cutting the cake

Cheers!

I’d love to thank Milena and Steven for having me as their wedding photographer and I hope they enjoy their photos!