December's been one big hectic whirlwind and I have to admit that I was wondering why I had agreed to go up to Joburg for a wedding with so much happening in Cape Town. A whole load of emails had been sent between Cape Town and Dubai, where Nicole and Guiseppe live... but I hadn't had the opportunity to meet these guys until about 30 minutes before the ceremony during a frenzy of last minute activity.

The internet is a phenomenal communication tool, but there is always an element of surprise when actually meeting someone who you can only associate with an email address. So I was blown away when it turned out that Nicole looked like this: 

Aside from being gorgeous, they were a dream couple to shoot, completely relaxed, fun and didn't bat an eyelid getting next to a rusty container or going traipsing through the bushveld. And...when I asked what they wanted, they replied : 'anything different' - a photographer's dream to hear those words!

What a stunning African/Italian evening - Thank you for flying me up for the ocassion! Here are just a few more:

Marlinda and Guillaume are such a lovely and relaxed couple and their wedding day was just the same. They had a small and intimate mid-morning ceremony under the oak trees at Morgenhof in Stellenbosch followed by lunch. Because the ceremony was going to finish at midday with harsh sunlight, they decided to see each other before their ceremony at her parent's farm near to Stellenbosch to take a few photos of them together. I'm trying to cut down on the number of images I post online so here are a few from their day: 

 

Wow, it's been a crazy few weeks - trips up to Joburg, Christmas, family coming to stay in Cape Town, and a whole lot of shooting at some very cool weddings... so I'm a bit behind on the blogging front!

Maryke and Charles booked me from London without having met me so it was great to discover what an awesome couple they are. They got married in a town close to Durbanville called Philedelphia that I never even knew existed, on what must have been the hottest day of 2007. Despite the heat, they were still up for stopping at some of the farm fields in the area to take some shots. There are many more photos from the wedding including cows and lots of 'langarm' going down, but here are just some of my favourites:

Charles and Maryke booked me from London so the first time I met with them was to do their engagement shoot and to check out their wedding venues a few days before their big day. They are a gorgeous couple and despite their protests of being 'camera shy', were so great to photograph.

 I went up to Joburg last week especially for Justine and Justin's wedding - everytime I'm up there it seems to be bucketing down with rain. What a dream wedding to shoot - a radiantly gorgeous couple who love the camera and who are completely besotted with each other. Justine was ready with plenty of time to spare so I had loads of time to get some awesome bridal portraits, which was a change from the usual mad pre-ceremony rush. Their Jewish ceremony was followed by one HUGE party... these guys know how to get down on the dance floor!

I struggled to narrow down the pics so there are quite a few...

After a very long year of doing the long-distance thing between Cape Town and Adelaide, Nadia and Andrew exchanged vows underneath a big oak tree at Little Stream in Constantia. The balmy summer evening was perfect for their picnic-style reception that was held on rolling meadow-esque lawns.

Nadia is my sister-in-law and as well as being a hotshot opthamologist, she's one of the biggest free-spirited kids I know...you guys are so complete together and it's awesome to be part of your family and to see you two married at last! 

It was such a pleasure to be at Sid and Shayna's wedding and to witness the way that they're so relaxed, natural and divine with each other and to everyone around them.  From being there right at the start with Shayna at the hairdresser to the festive reception was so great, I felt more like I was hanging out than working. One of the amazing things about Jewish weddings is the way that they get down on the dance floor... I think that all couples should enter the reception room with a horah equivalent, what a great vibe and celebration!

I'd never been to the Mount Nelson and expected a typical hotel - it's actually more like a little village with some really great colonial details, so we spent a bit of time cruising around the little nooks and crannies (even to the washing area at the back, thanks Sid for being so up for anything!).   

Lisl was the most uncomplicated, relaxed, yet efficient bride I have ever met. She showered, had her nails, hair and make-up done and got dressed in under 30 minutes. Every time I lifted the camera to take a shot she had moved somewhere else she was so fast!

Her and Don really just wanted to party and spend as much time as possible with their guests, so they decided to have their photos done before the ceremony. The whole wedding was very relaxed and so much fun and the whole crowd was clearly there to have a good time. You can't go too wrong with a wedding at Kirstenbosch either.. what a stunning location to get married.

Thanks guys for being so chilled out and to Don for eventually forgiving me for the Speedo comment!
Hope you have an amazing time in Zanzibar!

When I first met Lisl, she told me how her and Don really hated their photos being taken. A little while into their shoot, I remarked at how confident Don was (as it's usually guys that hate photos) and it came out that Don used to be a Speedo model! 

It's been a crazy few weeks, travelling up to Joburg a few times, moving home and acquiring two gorgeously crazy lab puppies... so I'm a bit behind on blogging! Apologies to anyone who's waiting for their shoots to come online!

Shayna and Sid had their engagement shoot at the Waterfront... I love shooting there as there is always somewhere different to go and so many different colours, textures, nooks and crannies. Plus there are so many tourists lurking around with cameras just as big as mine so I don't feel like I have a huge 'target' mugging sign pasted on me! 

Anyway, these two just seem so at ease with themselves and with each other and despite the semi-Arctic wind blowing, Shayna managed to look comfortable in her gorgeous strappy dress. The light was just beautiful too, late afternoon light is my favourite. Here are just a few from the shoot: 

I met Shannon and Jason at Llundudno a few weeks back while they were out from Australia manically sorting out details for their wedding next March in Franschoek. Besides almost being blown off  into the sea below, we had a great shoot clambering around the rocks above the beach. A few from the shoot: 

David Beckstead has been named as one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world and held a seminar at Monte Casino in Joburg this week - I thought it would be worth taking a few days away from the computer to go and check out what he had to show.  Very inspirational, his whole focus is on making art from each wedding and in breaking the rules of traditional wedding photography. 

A shoot was organised for the first afternoon around Monte Casino with some very patient models. It was challenging trying to get a photo without one of the 70 photographers' heads or elbows or big lenses somewhere in! It was quite hard though to take a really bad photo of these gorgeous girls who must have been quite daunted by a crowd of enthusiastic people with lots of lenses! Here are a few from the shoot...

Hilbre and Brent's wedding was set in Muldersdrift on a trout farm and I was so excited for the gorgeous bushveld location which made such a nice change from the beaches and vineyards of Cape Town. I flew up especially for the ocassion and was greeted with bucketing rain and frenetic traffic on Friday afternoon. 

Hilbre is a wonderfully organised woman and when I first met her at the beginning of the year, she told me how she had specially chosen her wedding date so that it would take place with a beautiful full moon. Saturday morning arrived in Joburg with loads of rain and clouds and the planned outdoor ceremony was moved indoors... but Hilbre still got her full moon later in the evening when the clouds lifted. A beautiful location, stunning bride with an ultra-sexy low-cut dress, a couple who so clearly adore each other, loads of heart-felt and sincere words spoken and some serious getting down on the dance floor.. all the ingredients for a stunning celebration...

.

You'd swear it was the middle of winter in Cape Town at the moment, but summer swelteringly arrived on Saturday  where a breezy lunch was had at Olivello farm in Stellenbosch for Jenny and Jorn's big day.

What struck me most at their wedding was what cool and close-knit family they have. Jenny's dad came to me during the reception and said that I should've climbed onto the pulpit during the ceremony - he had seen me eyeing it out at the back of the church, looking for different angles to shoot from! 

Hope you guys are having the most amazing roadtrip exploring the Cape! 

We almost cancelled Claire and Claude's engagement shoot on Sunday as it was raining in the southern suburbs, but it was a completely different day in Camps Bay with not a cloud in the sky and perfect sunshine. We cruised around  the main road and onto the beach and got some great shots.

They are such a sincere and gentle couple to be with and I'm really looking forward to their wedding next February in Cape Town.