What to look for in an Adelaide South Australia Wedding Venue

There are 2 major parts of your wedding planning that can be the hardest to align – your dream wedding venue in Adelaide, South Australia, and your dream wedding photographer. Usually they are popular with other brides too if they have caught your eye, and might not be available on the same dates. If you happen to choose and book your Adelaide wedding photographer first and don’t have a particular wedding venue in Adelaide or South Australia in mind, then I have some hot tips on what to look for, purely from a photographers perspective in helping me to get you the best wedding photography possible.

The ‘getting ready’ wedding venue

This is where a lot of your pre-ceremony wedding pictures are going to be happening. The photos of you and your bridesmaids getting ready, the boys laughing and joking while working out how to tie a tie, and the big moment you get into your dress. Look for a venue with lots of natural light and windows – this will make a huge difference! Find somewhere with an open space, that isn’t too cluttered with pictures on the walls as they are distracting in your photos. Look at the colours of the venue – are they going to clash or distract from what you really want focused on in your wedding photos?

The ‘detail photos’

A lot of girls want their weddings featured in magazines, or on Real Wedding websites like Brides of Adelaide, The Knot, Polka Dot Bride, Style me pretty and White Magazine. The truth of the matter is that there are hundreds and thousands of brides that want the same, and what makes one wedding stand out from the other is all in the little details. This includes the details photographed before your wedding even begins – the rings, your dress, your shoes, your flowers, your something blue and borrowed, etc. If you want all of these photographed to tell the story of your day, they need to be all in one location (preferably with the bride) on the morning of the wedding! One thing that gets missed alot is your invitations and paper goods; magazines love these… So have a copy of your invitations as well as something plain that matches the theme of the day to take these detail photos on, ie some fabric in the same colours, a rustic piece of wood, a lace curtain and some burlap/hessian. If you really want to stand out, think of something outside of the square that still fits in with your day.

Oh – and get all the details together in ONE place before the photographer gets there, to maximise their time spent on taking photos of you – not finding the details that need to be photographed! The more details you have to be photographed, the more personalised the story in your wedding photography is.

The wedding ceremony and reception venues

These are a personal choice and there can be a lot of sentimental reasons for choosing your wedding venue anywhere in Adelaide, or like some of my past brides, on beaches on the Eyre Peninsula, in the gully’s of the Flinders Ranges, amongst the vineyards of the Adelaide Hills. But to get the best wedding photos and make the most of the venue and time, as a photographer I suggest that you look for and think about the following things:

• The light – is there natural light in the building? Natural light is a photographer’s best friend!
• Lighting inside the reception venue – what happens when its dark outside? Lighting adds so much dimension and ambiance!
• How much time is it between locations?
• Is there somewhere shady outside that we can take photographs?
• Is there a more ’plain’ wall or background for taking photos against?
• Do your venues provide a backdrop for photos that you would be happy looking at for the rest of your life? Inside and outside? What about the furnishings? The ceremony location is where the family photos will be taking place and often the best we have to work with is a brick wall. This isn’t a bad thing, but you might be able to find something even better.
• Does your timing line up with the kind of photos you want at your venue? ie would you like a sunset photo at your reception, but won’t get there in time to have one with a later ceremony? Are you sitting in front of the windows, only to have the sun glare in behind you during speeches?

I will always work the best at any venue I am at, however if you can think about these things when booking your wedding venues, you are already half way there!

The below images are taken inside the gorgeous reception area at Golding Winery