Mias & Csilla got married on the 23rd of March 2013 at the beautiful Eagles Nest, situated on the hills over-looking the magnificent Garden Route Lakes District between Sedgefield and Wilderness.
M.J. & Rosemarie’s fairytale wedding in the magical Klein Karoo was held at Surval Boutique Olive Estate in Oudtshoorn on the 16th of March 2013 and was officiated by Ds Johan Lessing. Rosemarie, a media planner from Pretoria, met M.J., a farmer from Grootvlei in the Parys district (where they both live now), on university campus during their student days.
Rosemarie’s hair was styled by Helen from Clip ‘n Snip whilst Michelle from Placecol took care of her make-up. Her dress is from The Wedding Box and jewellery gifts from her parents. Rosemarie’s grandmother, Ouma Bellie, travelled all the way from Namibia and lovingly made her garter. M.J’s suit is from Florida Mansuitrusters. He had his amazing pocket watch, which he received as a gift from Rosemarie, close to his heart.
Their wedding cake came from Le Delice at Tramonto. The bouquets & corsages were made by Marina at Jasmyn Bloemiste whilst the rest of the flower arrangements were beautifully done by friends & family. Henlu & Karen Cronje captured their beautiful day on digital video and was an absolute pleasure to work with. Lukas Crause, M.J.’s brother in law, was a superb MC.
Prior to my return home, following Ryno & Angela’s wedding, I met up with Nico & Anita at the quaint Komatiland Forest picnic site near Kaapsche Hoop. We decided on a picnic/fishing themed shoot as they both share a love for fishing and often spend weekends at the dam. This was so much fun – despite the extreme heat, shooting at mid-day! 
I’ll be back in the Lowveld during September to photograph their wedding in Nelspruit – exciting!!
Ryno & Angela got married on the 24th of January 2013 at the magical little Kaapsche Hoop in Mpumalanga, well known for its wild horses. This is a place that holds many precious memories for them and was the perfect location to start their new adventure together. Their wedding was held at Silver Mist, with their intimate ceremony officiated by Rev. Willie Swart. Ryno is in the “working at height” industry and Angela in the IT industry. They are both devoted mountain bikers and Ryno also a serious trail runner and adventure racer.
Angela’s hair was styled at Visible Hair in Nelspruit whilst her make-up was done by Tranquil Beauty at the venue. Her dress is from Brides Only in Pretoria and Ryno’s suit from EuroSuit in Nelspruit. The delicious cupcakes were made by Helen’s Cake Craft and their flowers supplied by Flower Market. The talented Anneke Coetzer added a classy element to the tranquil atmosphere with her violin.
Ryno & Angela, thank you ever so much for everything!! You are super awesome people!! It was an absolute honour to share and capture your special memories in such beautiful surroundings. Stef
M.J. & Rosemarie’s wedding will be held at the magnificent Surval Boutique Olive Estate in Oudtshoorn in March. This was also where we met to discuss their wedding photos. After a walk through the venue and a lovely cup of coffee, we headed out to the le Roux’s beautiful family farm for their “cowboy” themed pre-wedding shoot.
The Klein Karoo is such a magical place!! It will be the first wedding that I photograph here and it’s going to be very-very special to share it with such wonderful people!!
What a way to start the New Year! I met up with the energetic Mias & Csilla at Victoria Bay just after 06h00 but soon realised that the 1st of January is not the best date to do a photo shoot at this very popular beach. We opted for a quieter setting at the Wilderness Beach where we did some cool “surfer girl” shots with Csilla, an avid surfer. After breakfast at the Beejuice Café in Wilderness, we spent some time around town before heading out to Sedgefield where Mias worked as a tandem pilot for Cloudbase Paragliding over the festive season. I must also mention Juno, Csilla’s well behaved four legged friend, who accompanied us the whole day – such a cute little dog!!
Mias & Csilla are getting married at Eagles Nest, Sedgefield in March. Can’t wait!!
It was finally time for me to meet Ryno & Angela after many months of e-mails back and forth. I was so excited that I actually arrived an hour early and had to keep busy photographing some farmyard chickens – the location for our meeting and their pre-wedding photo shoot was the beautiful and much loved Irene Dairy Farm in Centurion, nestled between Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Ryno & Angela are getting married in January at Kaapschehoop near Nelspruit, their very special place. I’ll tell you more about them then…
Erik & Kate’s dream wedding, at a luxury safari lodge in Africa, came true on the 20th of December 2012 when they got married at the exclusive Chitwa Chitwa Private Game Lodge in the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve in South Africa. Erik & Kate own a back pain clinic, Spine-Care, in Breda where clients get treated by a team of medical doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists and biomedical staff. The gorgeous couple travelled all the way from The Netherlands with their family and closest friends for this momentous occasion. They fell in love with South Africa back in 2005 when they first experienced it and now proudly call it their second home. South Africa was therefore the obvious destination for their special day as they didn’t want to do things the traditional way back home. It was at Chitwa Chitwa, on the 14th of August 2011, that Erik arranged the perfect engagement with the Chitwa Chitwa staff and asked Kate to marry him by the fireplace, followed by a romantic dinner. Kate suspected nothing and was under the impression that Erik booked them a 4×4-roof-top-tent safari through the South African bush, since it was his turn to plan their holiday and that’s what they loved doing.
Their guests were welcomed by an African drum beat and traditional dancers. Their intimate ceremony was held on the viewing deck of the lodge, overlooking the breathtaking bushveld scenery, and officiated by George de Roubaix. The Agapanthus Africanus (African Lily) was used as confetti – they chose this beautiful indigenous flower as they want to remember their wedding day every time they’re in South Africa. They also planted an Ekebergia Capensis (Cape Ash) tree as part of their ceremony, symbolising love, life and caring.
The awesome Hand Stitched Films crew were flown up from Cape Town to capture their special moments onto digital video. Click here to view Erik & Kate’s awesome video “teaser”. Trevor, Lucia and Ludwig, thank you once again, it was a pleasure working with you. You are such talented and creative people – your work is an inspiration and I will strongly recommend your services to anyone!
Kate’s dear sister, Marlou van der Heijden, styled her hair and was also her witness. Her beautiful dress was tailor made by a small Asian lady called “My” who owns a tailor made design studio, Un-Finished, in Breda, The Netherlands. Her pearl earrings came from Borneo and were a present from her sister, who bought them there on vacation, whilst her ring is a rose gold Bunz diamond ring. Erik’s smart suit is from Scapa in Antwerp, Belgium whilst his watch (instead of a ring) is a rose gold IWC, Portuguese Perpetual Calender. He had his best friend, Sander Hammer, by his side as his witness. The Vienna String Quartet from Johannesburg added style and elegance to the day and was superb. Kim Hoevenaars, Kate’s best friend, was their dazzling MC. Their music, meticulously selected by Erik & Kate themselves and mostly from “Cafe d’Afrique” which they collected over the years they travelled to South Africa, was played from their iPod.
Erik & Kate, thank you so much for inviting me to share a part of your amazing journey. I am humbled by the experience and will keep the sweet memories forever in my hart. I just love your wedding date, 20-12-2012, so cool! All the best for your future, you are lovely people and it’s a pleasure to know you! Stef
Dean & Anri is op die 8ste Desember 2012 in die huwelik verbind. Hulle troue is by die pragtige Utopia Village op Heroldsbaai gehou waar Prof. Francios Engelbreght hul spesiale seremonie behartig het. Hulle troue was saamgestel deur die vaardigheid en liefde vir kuns van familie en vriende.
Aangesien ek dit nie self beter kan sê nie, deel ek graag Anri se eie woorde met julle: “Met die aanloop tot ons troudag het ons net weer besef hoe kosbaar familie en vriende is en hoe nodig ons mekaar het. Vir my as bruid was dit die grootste vreugde om my eie troue te beplan en om alles wat lekker en mooi is te reel en te maak. My ma, Trudie van Niekerk, was ‘n groot hulp en het aan alles gedink waaraan ek nie het nie. Sy het baie van die kos voorberei en ook die blomme gedoen. Tannie Ilze Stander het heerlike kolwyntjies gebak en Tannie Tilla Venter, van Pepa Rose Catering in George, het die kombuis behartig. My bruidsmeisies, Amelia Theart en Nicola Griesel, was albei van baie groot hulp en ons goeie vriend Marius Marx was ons seremonie meester. Ons is in besonder dankbaar vir ons ouers se hulp, ondersteuning en liefde wat alles moontlik gemaak het. Ook vir ons broers en susters wat die las ligter gemaak het, ons hele familie vir hul onbaatsigtige harde werk, en ons gevolg en vriende vir die vreugde wat hulle bring. Sonder die Here sou die troue nooit gerealiseer het nie – Hy is ‘n getroue God wat wonders doen!”
Dean & Anri het ‘n baie interessante ervaring gehad met die nommer 8. Hulle het op die 8ste Augustus 2012 verloof geraak. Die 8ste Desember 2012 was die enigste datum wat uitgewerk het as troudatum. Dean is die 8ste lid tot die van Niekerk familie en so ook Anri, as Dean se ma se 8ste kind (as aangetroude skoondogter). Op die plaashek van Anri se oupa se vorige plaas (waar hy, asook Anri se ma, grootgeword het) net oorkant die venue, waar ons ook ‘n paar foto’s gaan neem het, is daar ‘n nommer 8. Gedurende hulle wittebrood, bevind hulle hulself in “cabin” nommer 8. Die nommer 8 stel vir hulle ‘n nuwe begin, ‘n verbond, voor.
Glen & Amy celebrated their love with the special people in their lives on the 24th of November 2012 at Beyond the Moon’s Forest Venue in Hoekwil near Wilderness. Their ceremony was officiated by family friend, Peter Grobler. Amy and her sister-in-law, Laurell, planned the entire wedding with lots of help on the day from everyone – they made the original decor themselves! As our CAW numberplates here in George suggest – Cold And Wet – this day was no different, although it was more a case of Cold And Windy. Despite the drastic change in weather on the day, alternative plans were quickly made and their ceremony was held in the warmth of the venue’s reception hall. Unfortunately we had to face the weather as we simply could not miss out on their important bridal couple photos – this truly was the closest to a hurricane I’ve ever experienced – the wind was insane and it was ICE cold! Luckily I had the coolest couple (no pun intended) and the best assistant who made some lovely images possible – most of their photos were taken at the cherished family farm near the venue.
Amy’s hair was styled by Joanne from Colour, Cut & Curl in George whilst her cousin, Jenna Dobie, did her make-up. Glen’s mom, Christa, lovingly made Amy’s beautiful dress. Amy’s jewellery & accessories came from Bridal Inn and their flowers were from South Cape Flowers, both in George. Delicious catering & their beautiful cake was the hard work of Amy’s mom, Lauren, from Lauren’s Deli Eatery in George. Tinus provided live music during the couple shoot. One of their friends, Benjamin, was the MC and was brilliant! DJ Janet was arranged through ISP Group in George and provided sound & music during the evening.
Glen & Ames, thanks! You were so awesome to work with, even throughout hurricane kataza! If I was to award a “bridal couple of the year” it will most definitely be handed to you! :) All the best to you and for your new life together in Cape Town!
