Shadowfax Winery wedding photos: Casey and Damian stand together beneath a tall gum tree on a ridge above a bushland valley in Melbourne
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Real wedding · Werribee, Melbourne

Shadowfax Winery Wedding Photos: Casey & Damian

Shadowfax Winery · Werribee VIC · Melbourne

Winery & Vineyard Wedding · City: Melbourne · Venue: Shadowfax Winery

Orange cliffs above a winding river, a long avenue of gums and vows down among the oak barrels. Casey and Damian’s Shadowfax Winery wedding in Werribee started with afternoon portraits on the clifftop and turned into a party full of happy faces, with a ring, a signing kiss and a heart drawn in light under the night sky. We were right there with them, from the first laugh by the water to the last frame after dark.

The gallery
Damian in a navy suit leans against a shaded gum trunk, the sunlit grass behind him softened to green and gold
Damian in black and white, resting on a gum trunk in the shade with the bright open ground blurred behind him
Casey smiles beside a pale gum trunk while Damian rests a hand on a low branch behind her above the river cliffs
Casey and Damian rest forehead to forehead, her red nails and silver bracelet bright against his navy suit
Framed between two pale gum trunks, Casey leans on a branch and laughs with Damian, orange cliffs glowing behind
Casey and Damian laugh on the rocky edge of the K Road Cliffs, the Werribee River and flat farmland stretching away
Damian kisses Casey under leaning gums on the cliff edge, orange banks and the winding river far below
Casey and Damian stand small at the foot of a single tall gum at the K Road Cliffs, Werribee South, under clear blue sky
In black and white, a lone tall gum rises above Casey and Damian on the clifftop, the river flats spread out below
Casey and Damian kiss far down a gravel drive lined with tall gums at Shadowfax Winery in Werribee Park
Casey walks the gum-lined winery drive holding red roses, her high-low skirt falling behind her in the late sun
Damian kisses Casey beside a tall pale trunk in the shaded woodland at the edge of the vineyard estate
Casey lifts the long back of her skirt and smiles over her shoulder in leopard print heels, the gum avenue stretching behind
Damian leads Casey by the hand through the trees at Shadowfax, the low sun rimming her hair as she looks back at us
In black and white, Casey holds Damian's hand and her roses, glancing back as they walk through the winery trees
Casey and Damian, his jacket off, with four loved ones on the green lawn at Shadowfax Winery under big old trees
Casey and Damian with two loved ones on the lawn at the vineyard, golden light filtering through the trees
A family line-up on the lawn at Shadowfax Winery, Werribee, with a little girl in a pink lace dress grinning out the front
Guests crowd in under timber beams and wine racks inside the winery, laughing as the ceremony gets under way
Guests clap and smile among the wine racks, a baby in the middle, as the room fills for the ceremony at the vineyard estate
Damian covers his face, overcome, as Casey smiles during the vows beside the oak barrels at Shadowfax Winery
Casey slides a gold ring onto Damian's finger, her red nails bright against her white dress at the winery ceremony
Damian signs in a red folder as Casey kisses his cheek, her red and white roses beside them among the Shadowfax barrels
A heart drawn in light glows above Casey and Damian as they embrace under the night sky at the vineyard
The wedding story

Our Shadowfax Winery wedding photos: river cliffs, vows in the barrel hall and a heart drawn in light

Werribee River cliffs · An avenue of gums · Family groups on the lawn · Vows in the barrel hall · Signing among the barrels · A heart of light after dark

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Damian in the gum shade

We met Casey and Damian late in the afternoon and went straight to the river cliffs off K Road, not far from Shadowfax. Before we put them together, we gave Damian a minute of his own. He leant against a gum trunk in the shade while the open ground behind him blazed in the sun, and we used a longer lens so the background melted into soft green and gold. A shaded face against a bright background is the easiest way to make a portrait glow in hard afternoon light. We liked that frame so much we kept a black and white version too.

Orange cliffs above the river

Then Casey joined him under the gums on the clifftop. The Werribee River curves right below that edge, and the far bank is a wall of orange earth that glows in low sun. We started close, Casey and Damian forehead to forehead, her hand on his chest, then stepped back and framed them between two pale trunks. Out on the rocky edge they couldn’t stop laughing, with the water and flat farmland stretching away behind. For the wide kiss under the leaning branches we stood well back, so the cliffs, the river and the two of them all fit in one frame.

One tall gum on the rock

Our favourite spot was a single tall gum on a slab of rock at the cliff top. We stood low and shot upward, so the trunk ran straight into a clear blue sky and Casey and Damian stood small and close at its foot, with the treetops of the river flats spread out below. Scale photos like this need a patient couple, because we are a long way back and every small adjustment takes a minute. Casey and Damian were happy to just hold each other and wait. The frame works in colour and in black and white, which is always a sign the shape is strong.

Down the avenue of gums

Next came a long gravel road lined with tall gums on both sides, a natural tunnel that pulls every eye to the middle. We put Casey and Damian dead centre, a long way down the road, and let the stripes of shade across the gravel lead in. Casey then took a turn on her own with her red roses, walking away in leopard print heels, lifting the long back of her high-low skirt and smiling over her shoulder. Among the trunks at the edge, Damian stole a kiss. Avenues like this are at their best late in the day, when the low sun throws long shadows across the road.

Hand in hand through the trees

Our last couple portraits were a slow walk through the trees, Damian leading by the hand and Casey looking straight down our lens with a small, sure smile. The sun had dropped behind them by then, so it rimmed her hair and the edge of his suit, and we kept their faces in the shade for even skin. That frame earned a black and white version too. Casey and Damian had planned about an hour and a half for portraits, and it was enough for the cliffs, the gum avenue and this walk without a single rushed moment.

Family on the lawn

The family photos happened on a green lawn under big old trees, with golden light coming through the leaves. Damian had his jacket off by then, his white shirt bright against the grass. We moved through a few groups quickly: Casey and Damian with four loved ones, then another family group, then a line-up with three little ones out the front and a small girl in a pink lace dress grinning in the middle. Open shade beside a big tree is our first choice for group photos, because nobody squints and every face gets the same soft light.

Vows in the barrel hall

Inside Shadowfax the party was already going when the guests crowded in for the ceremony, standing behind the chairs and filling the room right to the back. We turned our cameras on them as much as on the couple: hands over mouths, big laughs, a phone held up and a toddler in the middle of it all. Then came the vows, down among the barrels. Casey stood smiling while Damian put a hand over his face, overcome for a moment. We shot past the shoulders of the guests so the dark front rows framed them, and kept the room’s low light instead of blasting it with flash.

A ring and a signature

Up close, Casey slid the ring onto Damian’s finger, her red nails bright against the white of her dress. We shot that tight and fast, because a ring moment lasts only seconds. Then came the signing at a small round table, a deep red folder open and her red rose bouquet resting beside it. Damian leant in to sign and Casey kissed his cheek, with oak barrels glowing behind them under the warm downlights. The barrel hall is dark, so we work close and let a few warm lights do the shaping. Guests stood all around, smiling, and the party carried on.

A heart drawn in light

Before the night ended we took Casey and Damian outside under the trees for an idea they had asked for: a heart drawn in light for their thank-you cards. With the camera on a long exposure, a light traced the heart above them and a bright line ran across the dark behind, while they held each other perfectly still. The sky still glowed orange at the horizon, with a few stars showing. Light painting is fun and quick, and it gives a couple a picture nobody else at the party has. It made the perfect last frame for our Shadowfax Winery wedding photos.

Photographer's venue notes

Shadowfax Winery, Werribee: clifftop portraits, an avenue of gums and vows down among the barrels

Read the venue notes

Cliffs first, winery second

Casey and Damian flipped the usual order. We met them late in the afternoon and went out to the river cliffs near the winery before anything else, then worked back through the long avenue of gums and a slow walk in the trees. Family groups followed on a lawn under big old trees at Shadowfax. By the time guests crowded in among the wine racks and oak barrels for the vows, the portraits were already done, and the couple could stay with their people for the ring, the signing and the rest of the night.

Hard sun turning soft

When we arrived, the clifftop sat in strong sun with the only shade under the gums. We used that shade for Damian’s solo portrait, letting the bright ground behind him blur to gold, and kept the couple turned away from the glare at the rocky edge. As the afternoon went on, the light dropped low enough to light up the orange banks across the river and throw long stripes of shadow across the gravel avenue. By the walk through the trees the sun was behind them, rimming hair and shoulders, and the lawn groups got gold filtering through the leaves.

Where we stood

Scale was the theme of this wedding. At the lone gum on the rock slab we went low and a long way back, shooting up so the trunk ran into clear blue sky with the couple tiny at its foot. On the gum avenue we stood dead centre and sent them far down the road, so the trunks and shadows led straight in. Indoors the opposite applied: the barrel hall was dim and full, so we stayed close, shot past the guests’ shoulders and let the warm downlights shape faces. After dark, a long exposure held the heart of light above them.

Tips for a cliff and barrel day

Plan footwear for two settings. The clifftop is gravel, rock and dry grass, so something easy to walk in helps there, and Casey’s leopard print heels came into their own on the smooth avenue. Leave the jacket on for the clifftop frames, then let it come off for the lawn groups, as Damian did, so the white shirt brightens the family line up. And if you want a light painting like theirs, talk it through ahead of time, so you and the team are ready to step outside the moment the sky darkens.

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