Samantha and Levi were married on 7 June 2025 at Mt Beare Station, a working sheep and cattle station in Mount Compass on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Winter weddings in the hills come with a catch, and on the morning of the wedding the forecast had it right: grey skies, wind and showers rolling across the paddocks. This is the story of how the wet weather plan saved the day, and why a rainy wedding can end up with some of the best photos of the year.
The challenge: rain on the wedding day
The plan had always been an outdoor ceremony with the valley behind them. By late morning it was clear that wasn't going to happen without everyone getting soaked, so the call was made to move to the wet weather contingency plan and marry them indoors in the station's timber barn.
That call is only easy when your suppliers have done it before. Grace (my wife, and the celebrant behind Gathering With Grace) took the change completely in her stride, the barn was ready to go with its fairy lights and starbursts, and I adjusted my plan for the light: big, warm indoor ceremony coverage first, with portraits saved for any break in the weather.
An indoor ceremony that felt anything but plan B
Honestly, the barn was a stunner. Gold drapes, hundreds of fairy lights and the warm timber walls made for a ceremony that felt cosy rather than cramped, and the soft light from the big doors was beautiful on Samantha's beaded gown. Grace kept the whole room laughing and teary in equal measure, and nobody was thinking about the weather by the time the vows started.
If you're booking a winter wedding, this is exactly why it pays to choose a venue with a genuine wet weather option, and a celebrant who can adapt on the day. Grace's ceremonies are written from scratch for each couple, so moving rooms changed nothing about how personal it felt.
The break in the weather
Then, right on cue, the clouds lifted. Guests showered Samantha and Levi with confetti under the station's curved iron verandah, and as the sun dropped we raced out into the paddocks for portraits: the old windmill, the dam and the rolling hills of Mount Compass all lit up in that soft winter light that only comes after rain.
Reception and dancefloor
Back inside, DJ Ryley from Tennyson Events had the barn ready for the first dance, then kept the dancefloor full for the rest of the night. A great DJ makes my job easy: the energy builds, the lighting is right, and the best candid moments happen on their own, like the guest tunnel that sent Samantha flying down the middle of the room.
The team
- Venue: Mt Beare Station, Mount Compass
- Celebrant: Grace Moriarty, Gathering With Grace
- DJ: Ryley, Tennyson Events
- Photography: Dylan Sanders, Sanderism
Planning a wedding on the Fleurieu or in the Hills?
I photograph weddings across Adelaide and South Australia, rain, hail or shine, and you can book Grace and me together as a celebrant + photographer package. Sneak peek within 48 hours, full gallery within 12 weeks.
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