Just as Ruth was about to walk down the aisle of St George's Cathedral in Franschhoek, the electricity went out - true Africa style. No accompanying organ for the wedding March or scheduled hymns and no air con on a very hot summer's day in the winelands. No one seemed too bothered by this though, least of all the bride, who walked down the aisle with her dad in simple silence.

There were so many more beautiful aspects to this wedding.. .the reception at Tokara in Stellenbosch was absolutely stunning (definitely one of the most beautiful venues I've worked at so far), the bride and groom were completely mesmerised with each other, and the whole affair had such a lovely and relaxed vibe - but what struck me the most by the end of the day was how great the whole family was. Everyone seemed to adore each other and have so much fun together. Definite warm fuzzy feeling stuff.

Anyway there's a lot more I could say but it's Monday and I'm still waiting for caffiene to kick in. I'm sure it's the images you guys are really interested in anyway so here you go: 

How much excitement can one person contain? I LOVE the energy in this shot.

When I met Rob for the first time a few weeks ago he told me that he realised that he was in love with Amber when he saw a photograph of her - he was looking through an album when he saw a particular photo of Amber and it suddenly struck him that he was in love with this woman.

They had a small wedding with friends and family from Cape Town and the USA at Clouds Estate in Stellenbosch, with every detail perfectly organised by Aleit .Thanks to you two for trekking around with me on what must have been the hottest day of the year so far. I hope these images will remind you of the amazing love you have for each other. Many more to come, but just a few for now!

I had to laugh when I got an email from Marika saying that she was at 'the lovely Maldives in a private hut, enjoying the hell out of her honeymoon!'  Heinrich organised the trip as a surprise which is pretty darn - dare I say - AWESOME!

It was apparently also his 30th birthday yesterday  so she asked if I would post one or 2 photographs that included him - so here you go, a few images including the lovely groom himself... a little bit belated for your 30th. I think spending your birthday in a private hut in the Maldives with the love of your life is not too shabby indeed. Hope you guys enjoy the hell out of the rest of your time in paradise! Happy Birthday Heinrich!

It's not every wedding that I'm lucky enough to get the combination of time, a grungy rustic location as well as a stunning bride willing to play around in a dress designed for play! So from Marika and Heinrich's wedding, here are a few of the bridal portraits we took at Montpellier where the girls got ready. Yes, there were beautiful gardens and a pretty Cape Dutch House but somehow ruins and grungy locations are much more fun to shoot at then pretty gardens!

Delane and Kaivalya came out from the USA to exchange their vows in an intimate ceremony at Cascade Manor in Paarl with just 2 friends from home to witness their commitment to each other. Despite the howling wind and the best man's suit disappearing with his luggage on the flight over, it was a beautiful day. I hadn't met them before their wedding and was pleasantly surprised to see what a gorgeous couple they are... I think it's near impossible to take a bad photo of these guys!

While I love directing some portraits during a wedding, my most favourite photographs are often those that just happen, the unexpected moments just there to be captured. This photo reminds me of something out of Hollywood:

Since the birth of my son 7 weeks ago I've been laying a bit low in a sleep-deprived coma.. so it was so amazing to head to Franschhoek on a beautiful sunshiny, windless day to photograph Tanya and Henry's elopement in the winelands. They exchanged their vows at the NG Kerk in the presence of the minister, one other friend and myself as a witness - which I guess is probably quite an apt description for what I normally do!

I had a great few hours with them from witnessing them express their commitment to each other, to cruising around the hot streets of Franschhoek much to the entertainment of a bunch of Japanese tourists (who probably took more photos of them than I did!). Despite the harsh midday sun, we got some great shots and it was really cool not to have any time pressures and just mosy around town. 

...is a phrase that will hopefully never pass my lips at a wedding I shoot. Nor will I ever ask you to cheesily smile at me with a perfectly positioned bouquet whilst signing the register in the church - or actually to interrupt in any of the 'official' proceedings of your day. I have been to weddings as a guest where photographers have shunted people around, told them where to stand and what to do - all to throw the bouquet to get the safe posed shot for the album. I like seeing how differently people do things; your wedding is unique and so your photos should reflect your individuality.

Isn't a shot like this much more fun than a rigid posed photo of the couple holding the cake knife and saying cheese?

Just a note though - although for most of the day I will be a fly on the wall, I do also love shooting fun and creative 'directed portraits' where I'll tell you what to do, where, and then see how you do it naturally... alot of the couple images you see on this site are some of these.

It's winter time in South Africa which is low wedding season in Cape Town and a refreshing time for wedding photographers.Those amazing wonders known as weekends are a reality once again and for the first time in a year you get to look at a whole whack of images you've been shooting.

I'm going to be uploading just a FEW (really this time!) of my personal favourites from different parts of weddings taken last season, over the course of the next few weeks. The shots below are all from the bridal preparations before a wedding - this is one of my favourite parts to shoot as there is so much excitement, anticipation and tension around. Plus being a girl is great as I just kind of blend into the action...

I completely love what I do - how many jobs are there out there where you get to mess around and have fun with people? Yesterday I had the priviledge of doing a shoot with Wedding Concepts, an awesome wedding co-ordination team based in Cape Town. The winter rain managed to stay away and they were such a fun and down-to-earth group to work with! 

The rain on their wedding day did absolutely nothing to dampen Debbie and Dax's celebration in Tulbach. I've seen excited brides before, but Debs literally pounced into her dress in excitement and couldn't keep still, Dax had a permanent grin for the entire day. Thanks guys for braving the rain, climbing out of windows voluntarily and for such contagious enthusiasm!

Morgansvlei is a stunning venue, something a little different to the winelands. Wedding Concepts did a great job once again organising every little detail and the flowers were unlike anything I've seen before, wow, I must get the contact details for the very creative florist.

By the way, for any brides out there who think that rain will ruin your photos and the whole day, that's really not the case. I like shooting in the rain, it forces you to do things a bit differently and gives a whole different feel to images. So no flare for this entry, just a whole lot of moodiness and a bit of a wonky umbrella. (Thanks Anne for the loan!)

Anyone who knows me will know that I have a possibly abnormal respect for any creature larger than myself (birds and parktown prawns too, but that's another story). So when Ryan mentioned he'd like to do the bridal party photos in a paddock of cows at Rockhaven Farm, I did wonder at the sense of this, but imagined a field of docile, grass-chomping cows lazily flicking their tails and blinkedly observing us - and thought it was an awesome idea.

Fast forward to the bridal party and myself in the said paddock where the docile cows were actually two bulls and came running straight towards us when we arrived. (In our minds visions of Pamplona and RAGING bulls). It must have been a hilarious sight to any observer as the bridesmaids, bride and photographer squealed in fear and all panickedly crammed into the backseat of the nearby car. Man, was I grateful for that car. Apologies to anyone I may have squashed in the mad rush.

We tentatively got out the car when we were sure that the bulls were a distance away and were being herded by a farm-worker. As I lay down in the grass to take a group shot, aware of the black bulls behind me, I was joking that they would get me first - when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a black shadow rapidly approaching me, accompanied by the sounds of heavy stomping. Of course, the sensible thing to do when you think you're about to be stampeded is to curl up in the fetal position and let out a high-pitched scream, which is precisely what I did - much to my mortification as I discovered that the raging bull was actually Gail's brother-in-law sneaking up on me.

'Near-death' experiences aside, Gail and Ryan's wedding was so relaxed and stunning and it was awesome to share it with you guys. Aidan, I'll be sending you my therapist's bill shortly :-) Enough babbling for this entry - here are some images: