Tag Archive for: wedding photography

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Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding – Ciara & Max

  • CIARA & MAX

    Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding

    Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding

It was a beautifully sunny day for Ciara and Max’s Adelaide Botanic Gardens wedding in April, which was great considering the kind of unpredictable weather we had been having leading up to the big day. With Ciara’s Irish heritage and Max’s Korean heritage, their wedding was a wonderful example of the coming together of two very separate cultures within one of the most multicultural of cities, Adelaide. I was asked to be their wedding photographer for the entire day, and we made good use of the time, covering a lot of ground to get the most diverse portfolio of wedding photography as possible in and around the Adelaide CBD and botanic gardens.

Preparation

I was to cover the preparation of just Ciara and her bridal party, who were getting ready nearby in the Mayfair hotel, as Max was spending the morning running about putting final finishing touches on things before the wedding ceremony. The girls were fairly laid back and had a lovely morning being pampered and getting pretty. Unfortunately the plan was to have a few photos taken in the upstairs Hennessy rooftop bar, only to find out it required a prior booking. This didn’t dampen spirits however while we took a few photos in and around the hotel room instead.

Walking across King William st
Putting on wedding dress
Smiling bridesmaid
Wedding Shoes
Engagement ring
Wedding dress
Putting on veil
Smiling bride
Mum helping
Bridal party dresses
Smiling bride
Bride in mirror
hair spray

Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding Ceremony

Ciara and Max’s Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding Ceremony took place on the far side of the gardens, nearby the ‘Friends Gates’ on Plane Tree drive. The location boasts a beautiful grassy area, bordered by a small stream and a picturesque footbridge in the background of the whole setting. Despite the Adelaide Botanic Gardens being a public place, the venue can easily host around 3-4 weddings on the same day in different locations around the gardens without having too much of a hassle with members of the public wandering in the way of any photos or guests attending a wedding. The area also provides for some top notch vantage points for some incredible wedding photography, so I always enjoy visiting the gardens!

The ceremony was a lovely affair, complete with a traditional giving away of the bride by the father, and a rather beautiful hand binding ceremony that brought together the customs of the celtic together with Korean culture by using a traditionally woven sash brought from Korea specially for the occasion. The sun was out, and provided for a stunning backdrop filtering in through the giant gum tree Ciara and Max were wed under.

Whole congregation
Groom’s first look
Bride under her veil
Hand binding ceremony
Sun lit wedding ceremony
Walking back down the aisle
Holding hands
Best man and the rings
Speeches
Hugs
Speech
Father taking arm
Bride and Groom
Smiles
Exchanging wedding rings
Picking something out of his hair
Smiling groom
Wedding Ceremony
Bride saying vows
Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding Ceremony
Bride arriving

Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding Photos

After taking the family photos, Ciara and Max, flanked by their bridal party went for a walk around the gardens for their glamour photos. As I said before, I love covering Adelaide Botanic Gardens Weddings as the area in and around the vicinity of the gardens provides for an incredibly diverse pool of scenery I can call upon as a wedding photographer.

Adelaide Botanic Gardens wedding
Crest of a hill
Walking through the foliage
Walking together
Lounging about
Groomsmen jumping
Having a rest
In the bamboo forest
Big oak tree
Holding hands with wedding rings
Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding
Under a tree
Holding the bouquet together
Walking to the footbridge together
Autumnal colours
Walking through the foliage

Once we exhausted the areas we wanted to visit within the gardens, we said farewell to the majority of the bridal party to expand out around the Torrens and North Terrace where we made use of Government House, and the buildings in and around Adelaide University. Ciara and Max had one of their first dates near the Torrens so it was important for them to revisit on their wedding day.

Near the Torrens
On the steps of Government house
Adelaide Museum
Adelaide University Wedding
On the steps of Government house
Adelaide University
Adelaide University Wedding Photo
Adelaide Museum
Adelaide Museum
Bride and Groom in Adelaide University
Adelaide University Wedding
Bride and Groom together

Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding Reception

What was absolutely glorious about Ciara and Max’s wedding as opposed to any other wedding I had covered at the Botanic Gardens was that they chose to have their reception at the cafe located at the very center of the entire place which meant that I had the very rare opportunity to make use of the Gardens after dark! The Botanic Gardens Restaurant is a lovely intimate venue that can cater for a smaller wedding guest list. The food was wonderful, and staff more than friendly which all combined for a wonderful evening.

First dance
Cheers!
Dancing guests
Smiling groom
Gangnam style!
Cutting the cake
Hugs
Wedding Cake
Dancing guests
Girls together
First dance
Guests talking

During the night I took Ciara and Max out into the night to make use of the magnificent arch way of trees at night, which is a rare opportunity as member of the public aren’t allowed to enter the gardens at night.

Light Painting wedding photo
Light Painting wedding photo
Light Painting wedding photo

Thanks so much to Ciara and Max who had me as their wedding photographer and I hope they enjoy their photos as much as I enjoyed taking them! 😀

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Essential Wedding preparation tips for the Groom

Grinning groom in window

Wedding preparation tips for the Groom and Groomsmen

While most blogs generally relate to the wedding preparation of the bride and her bridal party, there’s not much out there about Wedding preparation tips for Men. So when bespoke diamonds – a wedding ring designer from Dublin, Ireland – sent me this infographic to share on my site, I figured it was a fairly good idea!

As a wedding photographer based in Adelaide, I’ve been to hundreds of weddings, and at every single one, the men tend to need as much help as possible. I mean sure, some are better than others, but even at my own wedding I mistakenly forgot a few of these tips despite being a wedding professional! – pro tip men, iron your shirt BEFORE your big day 😉

groom and groomsmen on road

This list of Wedding preparation tips for the groom and the men of the wedding would be perfect reading for those of you planning a wedding together, but sometimes the groom doesn’t have much of an idea of what, or how to contribute. So if you brides out there looking for some help, send him this way to have a little read. It’s his big day too, so it can’t hurt of brush up on the basics.

I love infographics like this, that outline quite complicated concepts such as organising a wedding in such a simple way you’d think that it’s the easiest thing in the world. It really isnt though, and having as much help as you can get should be a welcome sight to anyone going through the process. Organising the men can often be even more complicated so having this list of Wedding preparation tips should help out quite a bit. Enjoy!

Wedding preparation tips for Men

Men

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Thorngrove Manor engagement shoot – Rya & Evan

It was quite an exciting time when Rya contacted me from Indonesia asking me to shoot her engagement shoot as she was coming out to Adelaide specifically to use the Autumn colours around the Thorngrove Manor for her engagement shoot. I had never shot there before, but I had seen it’s beauty in the past through other wedding photographer colleagues in the AIPP. Rya was quite keen on having a castle-style photo shoot and chose the Thorngrove Manor as her ideal location. She also originally planned to go on a whirlwind tour of Adelaide, shooting at the Manor, Mt Lofty Botanic Park, then head up to Cleland nature preserve to hug a kangaroo, and also head into the city to use Veal Gardens and North Terrace, all within 3 hours. We ended up only going to two of these locations, but I think they turned out great!

Thorngrove Manor Shoot

The Thorngrove Manor is a small luxury hotel located amongst the side streets of Crafers. Despite it’s medieval looks, the hotel was actually built relatively recently, only around 32 years ago. The hotel is billed as one of the most romantic and intimate places to hold a wedding, or photoshoot as the surrounds are something out of a fairytale. It really is quite an incredible place to shoot at.

Bride and groom standing in front of their hotel door
Looking at each other
At the gate of Thorngrove Manor
Castle awning
Smiling bride
Playing the harp
On the balcony
Couple next to the fire
Playing the harp
Engagement ring
Thorngrove Manor engagement shoot
Castle awning
Thorngrove Manor
Couple next to the fire
Hugs on the balcony
Wedding dress
Engaged couple at the door of Thorngrove Manor
Bride framed in the castle fixtures
Kisses
Smiles
Holding hands

Mt Lofty Botanic Park Shoot

After the shoot around the Thorngrove Manor, we head down the road to the Mt Lofty Botanic Park to make use of the waning autumnal colours still present around the gardens. With the sun popping over the hills, the colours came to life quite quickly however and created some lovely bright  scenes – much to the delight of Rya. 🙂

Autumn colours
Bride and Groom on bridge
Autumn colours at the Mt Lofty Botanic Park
Bride and Groom in autumn
Autumn colours at the Mt Lofty Botanic Park
Bride and Groom walking
Bride and Groom holding one another
Bride and Groom walking
Bride and Groom at Mt Lofty Botanic Park
Bride and Groom on bench

It was a lot of fun shooting at the Thorngrove Manor and I hope Rya and Evan enjoy their photos! 🙂

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Royal SA Yacht Squadron Wedding – Anika & Phil

  • Anika & Phil

    Royal SA Yacht Squadron Wedding

    Sitting on the yacht together

The wedding of Anika and Phil took place on the sunny day in April, amongst the wonderful surrounds of the Royal SA Yacht Squadron. I was asked to be their wedding photographer for the entire day so I was shooting from both locations of preparation, through to the end of their reception. The entire day from the Ceremony took place on the grounds of the Royal SA Yacht Squadron and we were lucky enough to be able to utilise a yacht that was moored within the marina – which is a very rare occurrence! Was fun.

Preparation

I arrived at the house where Phil and his groomsmen were getting ready, only to find that no one was there! Apparently the guys were chasing some choice sushi in the city before heading back to get ready. Once there, we had less time than usual to shoot some choice photos, so the morning was a bit rushed, but still pretty organised regardless!

Putting on the flowers
Wedding rings
Cufflink
Groom getting ready
Groomsmen getting ready
Groomsmen getting ready

The girls on the other hand were nice and organised, sitting about waiting for the makeup artist to finish, and having set up all the items I needed to take photos of before I arrived. The atmosphere was laid back and they were keen on having a good time and some fun leading up until they left. They ended up leaving a little late,m but that’s just to be expected. 🙂

Flying veil
Putting on wedding dress
Engagement ring
Putting on wedding dress
Talking ladies
Putting up the hair
Smiling bride
Wedding dresses
Looking in the mirror
Bride leaving the house

Royal SA Yacht Squadron Wedding Ceremony

The wedding ceremony took place on the decking area located next to the bar behind the boat shed. This was a major difference to the other times I had covered wedding ceremonies here, with others opting for having their ceremony on the large, open grassy area located nearby the boat house. The location Anika and Phil opted for however was wonderful for such a sunny day however, as the sun provided for a wonderful backdrop to the ceremony, and it helped keep their guests cool under the umbrellas.

The Sailing club has been on this location since 1924 after having been founded at Birkenhead in 1881. The Royal SA Yacht Squadron has recently been renovated into what has become quite a popular wedding venue, with myself heading there quite a few times a year!

Wedding ceremony
Groom’s first look
Exchanging wedding rings
Walking back down the aisle
Drone shot of the Royal SA Yacht Squadron
Wedding ceremony
Bride and father
Wedding ceremony at the Royal SA Yacht Squadron
Married!
Wedding ring exchange
Holding each other
Smiling bride

Glamour Photos

After the group photos and family shots on the grassy area, we used the inside of the historic boatshed for a few shots, then walked about the marina taking some shots with the magnificent sunset as a backdrop. We were lucky enough to be able to use a family member’s yacht for some photos, in which case I was super keen to bust out my drone to get some unique angles of the bridal party on the yacht from the water.

Walking into the sunset
Bridal Party
Sunset at the Royal SA Yacht Squadron
Catching a bride
Sitting on the yacht together
Kissing in the marina
Dancing in the boat house
Sitting on the yacht together
Royal SA Yacht Club Boat House
Bride and her bridesmaids
On the stern of the yacht
Royal SA Yacht Club Boat House

Royal SA Yacht Squadron Wedding Reception

Anika and Phil had set up the Royal SA Yacht Squadron’s function hall with a slightly nautical theme, making sure that their personalities and heritage was on show. With Phil’s affinity for fishing, and a beautifully cultural wedding cake the night was topped off with a live band which kept the dance floor full the entire night! Anika’s bouquet throw was quite a bit different as she held a ‘reverse’ bouquet through were only married women were allowed to be in contention. The MC then had them all dance and having them leave the dance floor the longer their wedding has gone on, with the winner being the longest married women receiving the bouquet. I thought it was sweet and a great way to hold a bouquet throw when there arent many single ladies in attendance!

First Dance
Wooo!
Night shot on the dock
Listening to speech
Bride and groom entry
Speech
Bride dancing with brother
First Dance
Guys at the bar
Wedding Cakes

Anika and Phil’s wedding was a blast to be part of, and I very much hope they enjoy their photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!