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! 

Hayley and Pete's wedding was traditionally beautiful and they exchanged vows beneath the magnificent stained-glass windows, pillars and arches of  St George's Catherdral in Cape Town. The day was perfect for their seaside lunch at the Radison Hotel in Seapoint where scrumptious food was accompanied by the serenading melodies of the Hungarian Trio and lots of Beyerskloof Merlot. It seemed remarkably civil until the middle table started pouring numerous shots of zambucca!

It was great to be part of your special day, thanks to you and your family for making us feel so welcome!  Hope you guys are having an amazing time in Mauritius.

It was a beautiful summer day in Joburg on Saturday for Jan and Warren's wedding - perfect for their ceremony outside under the jacaranda trees at Summerplace in Sandton. The service was probably the shortest one that I've ever been to, which left plenty of time to take photos before the reception. These guys are an awesome couple and Jan was not only strikingly beautiful bride but also such a thoughtful and kind woman who kept asking Caron and I if we were OK - in fact, she even told us to put our cameras down for a few moments and join in the festivities!

Thanks for letting me share in your special day - hope you guys have an amazing time in Mauritius!

A few months ago I thought I would enter some photos in to the Fujifilm Professional 2007 Awards for the first time. I was pretty stoked this morning to see that a few of my images had won awards in several different categories.

These 2 from Nicole and David's wedding received awards in the wedding category:

Steve and Karien's wedding was one of the most beautifully simple and relaxed weddings that I've been to. The day started at Constantia Uitsig where a whole group of gorgeous flowergirls and ladies spruced themselves up, then onto a heart-felt service at the Stone Chapel at The Range and then to a delicious lunch and entertaining speeches back at the restaurant at Constantia Uitsig. The festivities then continued later that night as they transformed their home garden into an awesome party spot. It was wonderful to witness the way that these 2 enjoy each other's company and life so much - they were so easy to photograph as they seemed to just laugh the whole day long!  

This past weekend I went to go and do a portait shoot with the Walker family who run a divine guest lodge in Swellendam called Schoone Oordt  . In addition to luxury accommodation, they also have a beautifully manicured lawn and facilities for more personal weddings. Swellendam is just a 2 hour drive from Cape Town... if you're looking for a country wedding that's a little bit different to a beach or wine farm, it's definitely worth a look. Alison, Richard and Roy are very hospitable and relaxed hosts! To see some of their family shots, have a look here .

On Friday, Mark and Lauren got married at Langverwacht - a beautiful venue in Kuilsriver. Saturday's weather forecast warned about the possibility of 'extreme weather' and Thursday had been a typical Cape winter day of consistent drizzle, so I did wonder about how their outdoor ceremony was going to go ahead - but the day arrived with not a cloud in the sky, just the most glorious sunshine. Friends and family from around the country gathered on a beautiful lawn shaded by towering autumn trees to witness the vows of this couple so besotted with each other. Mark was completely mesmerised by his bride who was composed of serious princess stuff in a fitted beaded bodice, full skirt and tiara.

I felt like I really knew the family already as everyone was so welcoming and warm. Lauren and Mark were completely relaxed and such fun to be with... just like at their engagement shoot a few months back. Thanks guys for being so great and up for anything!

 

Last weekend I went up to Johannesburg to shoot David and Nicole's wedding which was held at Villa Arcadia in Parktown - an old mansion designed by Sir Herbert Baker.  They had a Jewish ceremony held after sunset on the chilliest night of the year so far!  Everyone huddled together in the cold outside as they witnessed the vows, beautiful singing and blessings of the ceremony.

Nicole is one of the most graceful and stylish women I've met and the two of them are a very dynamic couple, with an incredible talent for the English language - their speeches had me mesmerised. Nicole made reference to David being her 'Mr. Darcy' from Jane Austen's Pride and Predjudice and I certainly felt like the event could have been something from a classic romantic novel.

I recently had the priviledge of going to Pretoria for Denise and Ahmed's wedding celebration. These guys have been living in Dubai and were already married in the Middle East, but had a garden party to celebrate the occasion with friends and family down South. It was a typically beautiful highveld day and it was amazing to witness the culmination of Arabic and Afrikaans cultures.

As they're living in the Middle East, we had to have an 'Arabic' style photo! 

Just come back from Natal once again...this time for Kirsty and Devon's wedding at Woodridge Country Estate just next door to Michaelhouse school in the Midlands.

These two weren't looking for romance when they met each other, but they found each other when Kirsty went on a 6 month working holiday in New Zealand amidst her round-the-world travels. Devon emigrated to NZ from South Africa a few years before.

A whole bunch of friends and family from New Zealand, England, Australia, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg all made the effort to get to their wedding...  It was an perfect celebration of different friends, amazing families and a beautiful venue.

Last weekend I headed out  to a beautiful country venue called Rockhaven, just outside Grabouw. It was my first experience to photograph a same gender wedding with 2 brides literally bursting with happiness - they were both amazingly down-to-earth and relaxed too.

Rockhaven Farm has a beautiful outdoor wedding venue... luckily it bucketed down in the morning, leaving a bright afternoon with blue skies. Not a bad spot to get married...

Fumi had a gorgeous African outfit made up for her from Sun Goddess, beaded with an African design.

It seems that it's wedding season among all my friends and I've just been a bridesmaid again, this time for my friend Taz. She got married at a beautiful country venue called Providence set amid rolling green hills in the Natal Midlands. She looked absolutely stunning! I managed to grab just a few shots in the madness of all of us getting ready. Else I relaxed and had a great party!

Her dress was brought in from London...

 I love the ringlets... they suited the dress perfectly!

Almost ready to go!