On the morning of Su-Mare's and Gerlouw's engagement shoot, I was really feeling sorry for myself (insert slushy violin music).

 

A stomach bug was doing the rounds and, on that particular Saturday, I had been mercilessly tagged. On top of catching this thoroughly miserable lurgy, the mercury levels were at freezing, so it was the type of day that you were almost entitled to be sick in bed.

 
I knew, though, that this engagement session took some planning and that they would be driving up from Bloemfontein for the occasion, so there was no way at all that I could re-schedule the event.

 

As a result, I pulled it all together, met a very cheerful and energetic Su-Mare and Gerlouw and we managed to get some crackers out of their session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 They will be getting married in March next year, on a farm in Kroonstad.   Sigh...did I mention how I love farm weddings?

Many people choose to have their wedding in spring or early summer, which on the one hand means warm weather, but you also have the risk of downpours during the summer months. That being said, I am not sure why so few people choose marriage in winter? 

 

Yes, agreed, the days are somewhat cooler and the nights are often particularly chilly, so I suppose, on that basis alone, we're more inclined to hibernation than jollification.   However, winter is, as it happens, a beautiful time of the year in South Africa. There are rainless, clear blue skies with a wonderful soft iridescent light that sits lower on the horizon, casting those magical velvety silhouettes, and beautiful backlighting, nothing beats the lovely winter light.

Which now brings me onto my next post, which was a winter wedding - that of Angie's and Sergio's.

I knew, when I first met this couple at their engagement session, that their ceremony would be a special one.  This is quite simply because Angie and Sergio must be one of the sweetest individuals we have ever been fortunate enough to photograph.

This wedding was everything I expected it to be and represented everything that Angie and Sergio are: classy, elegant, fun, attractive and basically amazing in every way.

Your day was a slice of perfection. Thank you very much, Angie and Sergio.  Stella and I felt extremely lucky not only to witness it, but, to be a part of it, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved the wedding cake topper.

 

This flowegirl cake combo is becoming a small obsession of mine ;-)

 

That beautiful winter light...YUM 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The days are getting shorter now and the mornings colder. In fact, it's dark when I get myself caffeinated.

This week has been a pretty busy one with Grumpa's birthday, renovating Oliver's room and a luxurious dinner aboard Anthea, which is a vintage train locomotive part of Rovo's Rail.

So, just one image from my week that was.

Up next, Angie's and Sergio's wedding.

 

Loosely translated, the Afrikaans word kuier, in English, translates to the word visit, but it means much more than just that.

In fact, kuier is more about a gathering of family and friends; usually around a fire, with icy cold beers, good food and wholesome conversation.

Actually, kuier is the type of experience that leaves you with a warm smile on your face, when you reminisce on the day and makes you realise that you should kuier more often.  Well, that is exactly how we felt when leaving Bernice's and Nic's wedding.

I know I mention it all the time, but, Bernice's and Nic's wedding was just so extraordinary. They opted to have their intimate ceremony out on a deck, overlooking the Roodeplaat Dam.

 

There were fire urns, couches on the lawn, blankets, cold beers, hospitable guests and lots of delicious food. 

Whilst a wedding is not normally part of a kuier, I reckon Bernice and Nic may have just upgraded kuier to a new level.

It's miserably cold on this side of the world and I have three little midgets nagging me as to when we will be making our pizza, so I am going to make the post short and let the images speak for themselves.

A BIG thank you to Nic and Bernice - I, personally, would have skipped Roxette for such a special kuier! ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the reaction Bernice received from Nic's sister when she walked down the aisle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fluffy little guest propped up by this little girl so that he too could get a glimpse of the ceremony.

 

 

 

I absolutely love this one above, probably my favourite image to date.