Photo + Video
The Elopement
$2,490 AUD
Registry Weddings and Elopements
A registry ceremony takes a few minutes, and the afternoon around it can be as full or as quiet as you like.
As featured on
A registry wedding is the simplest way to get married, and it can still fill a whole afternoon.
The ceremony takes minutes, so the rest of the day is yours: portraits in the streets around the registry, a long lunch, a bar with the people you love most, or a beach at sunset on another evening. We've photographed registry weddings on Chesser Street in Adelaide and at the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne, and this page gathers what we've learned at both.
A registry ceremony takes a few minutes, and the afternoon around it can be as full or as quiet as you like. Collections from $1,190.
Karina and Chris, a legal-only registry wedding at the Old Treasury Building
Our latest film is ready to play. Press any film to watch it with sound.
Latest filmKarina & Chris
Our registry weddings
Chesser Street in Adelaide and the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne, from a legal-only ceremony with two mums to thirty guests and a lunch by the river.
Venues we know
Our notes from each one: where to get ready, where the ceremony happens, the portrait spots and the plan for rain.
Terrie and Jon at the Adelaide Registry Office
A walk through the city to Chesser Street, a ceremony of less than twenty minutes and espresso martinis at Treasury 1860.
Cecile and Stefan at the Old Treasury Building
Portraits first, vows in the Margaret Craig Room with about thirty guests, then lunch at Studley Park Boathouse and a rowing boat on the river.
Your quote, in minutes.
Pick your date, your venue and the coverage you want. The price builds itself as you go.
Small,Close,Unhurriedin the heart of the city.
Before you book a registry
Your notice Lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage at least one month before the day. In Melbourne the registry recommends booking three months ahead, and longer for a summer date.
Your numbers The Adelaide Registry Office takes up to 30 people in total, counting the two of you, your witnesses, every guest and your photographer. At the Victorian Marriage Registry, the Margaret Craig Room holds up to 55 guests and the Thomas Hyde Room up to 8, with one professional photographer on top.
Your celebrant and witnesses Both registries use their own celebrants, and neither supplies witnesses, so bring two, aged 18 or over.
Your day of the week Adelaide marries Monday to Friday. Melbourne holds classic ceremonies on any day and legal-only ones Monday to Thursday.
Afterwards Nothing is served at either registry, so plan a bar, a lunch or a courtyard to go to next.
Where we shoot
- Adelaide CBD
- Adelaide Registry Office and Treasury 1860. A weekday ceremony on Chesser Street, red brick laneways and sandstone arches for portraits, then a bar or a courtyard for the celebration.
- East Melbourne
- Victorian Marriage Registry at the Old Treasury Building. Two warm timber ceremony rooms at the top of Collins Street, with the sandstone steps and balcony outside.
- Spring Street
- Treasury Gardens and Parliament House. Fig trees, a fountain lawn and a long colonnade, all a few minutes on foot from the registry.
- Kew
- Studley Park Boathouse. Where Cecile and Stefan took thirty guests to lunch on the river after their ceremony.
How we photograph a registry wedding
We plan the portraits around the ceremony rather than squeezing them in after it. In Melbourne there is no separate entry for one of you to arrive unseen, so all three of our couples there met us early, had their portraits done first and walked in together. Karina and Chris spent an hour and a half beforehand on the steps and in the colonnade of Parliament House and under the fig trees of Treasury Gardens, then married with only their mums beside them. Their short film is on this page.
Inside, the ceremony goes quickly, so we stay close and move quietly around the edge of the room: the walk in, the vows, the rings, the kiss and the hugs that follow. In Adelaide, Terrie and Jon walked to Chesser Street with their guests, stopping at a sandstone church with Gothic arches and in the laneways on the way, and from the walk in to the walk out took less than twenty minutes. The walk was as much a part of their wedding as the vows.
For a small wedding like this, our Elopement collection is usually the right fit: the ceremony, the people standing closest to you and a little time for the two of you afterwards. Photography starts at $1,190, and photo and video at $2,490. It works away from the registry too, in a back garden or on a city rooftop.
The rest of the day
The registry is where the day starts. Cecile and Stefan married on Valentine's Day in the Margaret Craig Room with about thirty guests, read vows of their own from a card and a phone, then took everyone to a long lunch at Studley Park Boathouse, with a champagne tower, speeches on the verandah and a rowing boat on the river. Terrie and Jon went back to Treasury 1860 for espresso martinis in the front bar and cupcakes under a clear marquee in the courtyard.
Martina and Diego married on an overcast Sunday morning and walked up Spring Street to Parliament House. A week later they met us again at Brighton Beach for an evening among the bathing boxes as the sun went down over the bay. If you love the idea of a beach but would rather not trust the ceremony to the weather, it's a lovely way to have both, and our beach weddings page has more on that half of the plan.
Photo + video packages
Four photo + video collections, from three hours to twelve. Every collection includes a planning call before the day and travel within 50 km of the CBD.
Compare every collection
From $2,490
Photo + Video
The Celebration
$3,990 AUD
Photo + Video
The Full Story
$6,490 AUD
Photo + Video
The Legacy
$7,990 AUD
Photo and video timeline
Your day, frame by frame
Not sure how many hours you need? Pick a collection and move it along the day: the moments it covers come up on the roll.
- Details
- Getting ready
- First look
- Ceremony
- Family photos
- Portraits
- Entrance
- Speeches
- Sunset portraits
- Cake
- First dance
- Dance floor
- Farewell
A sample day with a 3:30 pm ceremony. Every wedding runs to its own timeline, and we plan yours with you before the day.
The Legacy: 11:00 am to 11:00 pm, with details, getting ready, first look, ceremony, family photos, portraits, entrance, speeches, sunset portraits, cake, first dance, dance floor and farewell.
Why couples pick us
Megan and Jay photographed Terrie and Jon's registry wedding in Adelaide, and Jay, with Sofia on two of them, has covered three at the Victorian Marriage Registry in Melbourne.
- One team, one plan
- Photographer and videographer work from the same timeline, share the angles and never end up in each other’s shots.
- Less than booking apart
- Photo and video collections start at $2,490, below the same coverage booked separately.
- One creative direction
- Jay guides the edit of the photographs and the film, so they feel like the same day.
- Fast, both ways
- Photos within 3 weeks, films within 5 weeks.
★★★★★
Jay was an absolute professional. We loved how he set out a time line of our day and made it all so easy. Also loved the contrast of the black and white to the colour pictures. The sneak peek shortly after the day was a lovely touch. Thank you Jay and Megan.
Questions couples ask
How many guests can come to a registry wedding?
In Adelaide, up to 30 people in total, counting the two of you, your witnesses, every guest including children and your photographer. In Melbourne, the Margaret Craig Room holds up to 55 guests and the Thomas Hyde Room up to 8, and one professional photographer isn't counted.
How far ahead should we book a registry wedding?
Lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage at least one month before the day, in either state. In Melbourne the registry recommends booking three months ahead, and longer for a summer date.
Can we bring our own celebrant to the registry?
No. Both registries use their own celebrants. If you want your own, you marry somewhere else, and our Elopement collection works there too.
Do we need witnesses?
Yes, two, aged 18 or over, and neither registry supplies them. In Adelaide they count towards the 30. In Melbourne the ceremony doesn't go ahead if no witnesses turn up, so confirm yours the week before.
How long does a registry ceremony take?
In Adelaide, 10 to 15 minutes. In Melbourne a classic ceremony runs about 10 to 20 minutes and a legal-only one about 5 to 10. Terrie and Jon were in and out of the marriage room in less than twenty minutes.
Can you photograph inside the registry?
Yes. In Adelaide the photographer counts towards the 30, and the registry sets time aside afterwards for photographs with your guests; its page doesn't mention video, so ask when you book if you want the ceremony filmed. In Melbourne one professional photographer comes on top of your numbers, and guests may photograph and film as long as the doorways stay clear.
Which collection suits a registry wedding?
Usually our Elopement collection, made for your ceremony, the people standing closest to you and a little time for the two of you afterwards. Photography starts at $1,190, and photo and video at $2,490.
Do you photograph elopements away from the registry?
Yes. The Elopement collection suits any small wedding, from a registry room to a back garden or a city rooftop, with no limit on how many people come.
Where can we take photos after a registry wedding?
In Adelaide, the red brick laneway under its glass canopy is right at the registry door, and a sandstone church with Gothic arches and laneways hung with greenery are a few minutes' walk away. In Melbourne, Treasury Gardens is next door and Parliament House is a few minutes up Spring Street; check with Parliament before you plan on its steps.
Can guests throw confetti at a registry wedding?
Not at either registry. Adelaide bans confetti, rice and rose petals in the room, the waiting area and on the footpath outside, and Melbourne bans them inside the building, along with balloons and bubble blowers.
Get in touch
We're excited to work together and can't wait to get started!
talk soon! Jay x
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