Bill and Jennifer | Adelaide Botanic Gardens Wedding | Festival Function Centre
It was just months ago when I photographed Bill and Jennifer's engagement session. As an Adelaide wedding Photographer, I must say that it was a lot easier to photograph weddings for couples whom I have photographed their engagement shoot. It is because that a good rapport has been established, couples are often more relaxed and they just know what to do or how to pose.
Being the preferred Adelaide Wedding Photographer of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, I am very familiar with the ceremony as well as the photo locations. Bill and Jennifer have chosen one of my favourite ceremony locations, the water fountain. Adelaide Botanic Gardens is well known for their well maintained gardens and their friendly staff. I am looking forward to photographing more weddings at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.
In this blog, I would like to share one of the sweetest couples that I have met. Their love story is so romantic. I have seen them at least 6 times before their wedding, be it during our meeting or in other client's weddings, they are always so in love!
It was my pleasure to be their wedding photographer and I was over the moon when they are happy to share their love story and wedding tips.
I hope that everyone who reads this blog will enjoy as much as I did. Thank you very much to Bill and Jennifer for their fantastic wedding advice.
“With Jen, it was love at first sight. I knew I was in love when I wasn’t able to stop staring at her smile that night all the way across the other end of the restaurant. We were strangers on two different tables. Luckily we had mutual friends on each other’s table and I managed to ask her out on a date. We were at Sushi Train for hours talking and laughing. We had lost track of time, the waitress constantly came back asking us if we wanted to order anything else. It was embarrassing, but the best night of my life. From that night I knew that my life had changed for the better. Jen, You give me purpose in life and make me want to become the best person that I can be.”
“When we first started going out, you spent 3 weeks making origami roses and then came to my house late after work and said to me “Happy one month”. You always have your ways of surprising me. On the night you proposed to me, you told me to take an origami rose and open it. Inside all your careful folds and creases, it read, “Will you marry me?” I asked you, “How did you know you were going to marry me back then?” You answered, “I knew from the start.” Bill, You made me feel so special then and continue to do so. I feel like I’m the luckiest girl in the world when I’m with you.”
Bill & Jen’s advice to brides and grooms to be:
Give yourself time. So you have your engagement ring. Now what? Modern weddings are very time consuming to plan. You are frequently exposed to beautiful images of celebrities getting married, social media loops of what ‘wedding goals’ look like, and even in local bridal magazines featuring everyday scenery looking extraordinary through the lens of a professional wedding photographer. You don’t know where to start! Our advice is to take your time to explore ideas. Go out and look at real wedding venues, make yourself a vision board (Jen made one on pinerest) and discuss it with your close friends and family.
Plan together. Wedding planning is not one person’s job. It should be a fun event in the planning between you and your partner. What is our budget? Who should we invite? What type of food should we serve our guests? It is stressful but fun at the same time. When you share the planning, the stress halves and the fun doubles! You will even learn more about your partner along the way.
Do it together. You can’t please everyone. Family and friends will have their opinion on everything about your wedding! In Asian culture, weddings are traditionally a uniting of two families where the parents have a huge influence on. I had so many fights with my parents along the way because I didn’t agree to what they wanted. It is really hard to keep everyone happy.
Listen to them, consider their advice, but stay on track with what your heart tells you. It is your wedding after all!
Not everything will be “perfect”. Accept that not everything will turn out the way you imagined it. The biggest obstacle we had at the start was with the venue. The venue we originally wanted was 18 months booked out in advanced for Saturdays. We were lucky enough to have booked another magnificent venue so everything turned out fine.
Embrace the unexpected, and each others' opinions, and don't let an unattainable ideal sour the big picture. Take a step back and remember what is important—you are marrying the love of your life! The dresses, cake, flowers, food, and drinks will have no bearing on the success of your marriage, so don't sweat it and always focus on keeping a realistic perspective. You're in this together, now and for the future.
Eat, Drink, Smile and have fun! Take the time to eat and drink. You will be running around all day and night so please keep yourself fueled and hydrated! Small little bites here and there won’t take too much time. It is definitely much more fun when you are not "hangry" (hungry and angry)!
The most important thing is love. Our final piece of advice for brides and grooms planning their wedding is to never forget that it is a celebration of the union between two people.
Below is a list of wedding suppliers used by Bill and Jennifer
Adelaide Wedding Photography - Scott Goh Photography
Wedding Venues - Adelaide Botanic Garden (Ceremony), Festival Function Centre (Reception)
Dress Designer - Bridal on Pulteney
Suit Designer - Joseph Uzumcu
Flowers - Marden Florist
Wedding Cake - Sugar and Spice
Rings - Bell and Brunt
Invites and Wedding Favours - Hong Shoppe
Music & DJ/MC - Paul Stubbings
Videographer - Cinecraft
Wedding Cars - Adelaide Classic Hire Cars
Celebrant - Timmy Parvi
Check out our Previous blog : DANIEL + DANIELLE | CUMMINS HOUSE WEDDING | KRYSTAL FUNCTION CENTRE
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