A beautiful safari celebration {Awe & Elandi's wedding}

“In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.” Maya Angelou

Wow, what a wedding. I always say that the no matter what you do, it's always about the people, and people make and/or break your wedding day and your experience as a photographer. When we first met, I loved them from the first moment. I remember Awe was a bit reserved, but Elandi chatted like we were best buddies! Elandi got my details from her sister, Sunette, after the family shoot I did for Sunette and Stefan. We immediately clicked and I knew that the wedding was going to be special, and it truly was! Some say that "Laughter is the best medicine, and in almost every set of pictures I got to capture so many laughs, and funny moments. So much fun!

This wedding was full of so many emotions, and I just love the pictures of Elandi and her father. They are so special. I got to capture so many year's of love and this why I love what I do. Telling stories of love to be cherished forever!

I just love the venue, Zebra Country Lodge. They allowed us to the engagement shoot during winter earlier this year at the venue, and that made me very excited for the wedding. See the engagement shoot pictures here (click).

I just love engagement shoots. I got to know Awe and Elandi a little better, and I got to experience their amazing chemistry in front of the camera for the first time. They could also see the way I work, and get comfortable with me, because when they are more comfortable the better the pictures look at the end of the day. I always say that I can just imagine myself in their shoes when they arrive for a wedding and think "I hope the photographer will capture me in the best way" or "I wonder what I look like through his camera?". That is why I do engagement shoots, and almost always do engagement shoots with all my customers.

Something quite mysterious and funny, is that I found out at the wedding that we attend the same church. Elandi's dad, Arrie Genis, is the headmaster (he actually retired a day or 2 ago) for the Louw Geldenhuys Primary School, which is right across our church, and great deal of the kids in our church go to his school. The Genis family means a great deal to the Linden community, and they contribute in incredible ways. When we moved to Johannesburg, we moved to a flat (even before I got married) right across Linden church (our flat, Louw Geldenhuys and the church are on the 3 corners of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue in Linden). We then moved to Northcliff, and eventually to Fourways where stay at the moment, but we are still entwined in the Linden community. The mystery...how did we not cross paths before...? Don't know, but in any case...back to the wedding!

It was most probably the hottest day I experienced in a while, definitely the hottest wedding I shot at. I always feel sorry for the bride and groom when it's this hot...they probably wanted to wear shorts and a cocktail dress...I must say there were a pool not far from the reception hall, and the thought crossed my mind a few times..."I hope they jump in the pool with their wedding clothes...it will make for such a cool picture!" 

The decor was out of this world, and full of personal touches. Elandi and Awe did the table flower arrangements themselves. They bought the proteas from Doornkraal Proteas and the roses from Malanshof Flora. 

Elandi's beautiful make-up was done by Elzette van der Schyff, and her exquisite hair by Rory Sandilands from Blo Hairdressing Salon. 

Elandi's exquisite wedding dress was made by Eurobride & her bridesmaids' dresses by Gelique. Awe rented his suit from Eurosuit and he just looked amazing with his waistcoat! The cupcakes and cake was made by Magnolia Bake and Cake. 

Congratulations again on your wedding day, and may the Lord's blessing rest on your marriage, and may your love for Him give you the strength to love each other!  

Enjoy the pictures and please leave a comment at the end!

Awe & Elandi's winter safari {e-session}

“Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So, today is my new favorite day.” – A. A. Milne

Awe and Elandi are such great people to be around with and the love Elandi has for Awe is contagious! They are so much in love that I didn't need to create moments to photograph, they just rocked the shoot!

I can't wait for their wedding at the Zebra Country Lodge in Pretoria later this year, and they asked that we do the engagement session there as well. We chose to do a cold early morning safari, but we ended up to be super early...even before the sun was up. The advantage was that the light was OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Venue: Zebra Country Lodge

Enjoy the pics and do not hesitate to leave comment at the end!