Joanna & Darren

Adelaide does  beautiful weddings so well. Today’s winery wedding kicked off with a  traditional Ukranian marriage ceremony which just added another flavour and another beautiful layer to the wedding day. Watching different ceremonies and traditions makes telling the stories so much richer.

Joanna tells the story of their relationship. “We met seven years ago at a local pub in Adelaide. One of my friends gave Darren my contact details and we have been together since.”

Photographs today are by Sydney photographer Todd Perry who has just turned to photography full time. I like his eye- the traditional yet whimsical and fun moments captured.

Darren and his groomsmen wore suits from Travellers Apparel in Melbourne.

 Joanna and her bridesmaids wore gowns from Rapsimo.

Joanna and Darren were married at the Ukranian Catholic church in Adelaide.

Joanna walked down the aisle to ‘Ava Marie’ by Beyonce.

There were little nods to Joanna’s creativity, she explains, “I designed the Mass books and menus (in keeping with the design of our invitations) and tied white bows on them. We also made traditional Ukrainian label pins for all guests. ” Adelaide Flowerhouse styled the bridal party flowers, church arrangements and reception arrangements.

Joanna remembers, “It is traditional in the Ukrainian culture that the bride and groom’s parents given the bride and groom a blessing. It was lovely to have Darren’s parents involved in that special tradition.”

Of their photographer, Joanna explains, “We wanted relaxed photos which captured the special moments of our day as they happened. Todd did exactly that. He was a pleasure to work with and stayed for the entire wedding. We absolutely love our photos –they’re so natural.”

Joanna remarks, “The bridal party stopped off at a small local pub in the Adelaide Hills on the way to the reception to have a drink and enjoy some time together. This was a great idea that was suggested to us by a friend.”

Joanna and Darren held their reception at Bird In Hand Winery. Joanna notes, “Bird in Hand is the most beautiful winery. We had the reception in the barrel room, which is an old sandstone building where the wine barrels are kept. Guests had canapés on the lawns overlooking the vineyards and then moved into the barrel room for the reception. The staff at Bird in Hand were a pleasure to work with and made sure everything went very smoothly on the day.”

For their first dance, Joanna recalls, “Darren and I wanted to have a fun first dance. We both love older music and so when we listened to Stevie Wonder’s – ‘For Once in my Life’, we knew it was perfect.”

Congratulations Joanna and Darren! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you also to Todd Perry for sharing today’s images!