Annika & Charel | Het Vlock Riebeek Kasteel Wedding

Annika & Charel's beautiful winelands wedding was held in Riebeek Kasteel, a small town with big heart. The ceremony and reception was at Het Vlock Kasteel, a gem of venue, overlooking the Riebeek Valley. What a lovely and in-love couple...you can spot these two reaching out to those less fortunate in their spare time.

"When Bon Jovi had a tour in South Africa we went to see the Johannesburg show. When they played their song "Always" I held her close while singing the song I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."

"My most memorable moment was when Charel surprised me by serenading me in front of all our guests. He even had me print the lyrics of Bonfire Heart by James Blunt in a pretty design on every table and I never suspected a thing! I can get lost in his voice and music so to have that included in our wedding day was very special to me."

- Venue: Het Vlock Casteel, Riebeek Kasteel
- Make-up artist: Kirsten Murphy Rossiter
- Hair Stylist: Kirsten Murphy Rossiter
- Decor: Hestia Wedding Stationery & Annika and her mom
- Florist: Fleur le Cordeur
- Hiring: Classy Hire: Table cloths and serviettes.


 

Kelly & Jean-Michel | Tramonto George Wedding

Kelly & Jean-Michel's beautiful wedding was held in George at the lovely Tramonto wedding venue. The excitement and anticipation was palpable during the entire morning...these two could just not wait to be married. Jean-Michel looked at her like she was the only thing he ever wanted to look at for the rest of this life. Kelly is a creative soul and she and her mom handcrafted the eclectic decor of the day. She also had a hand in designing her incredibly gorgeous wedding gown.

"From the moment we met it was a done deal. There was never a question in our minds about   whether or not we were meant for each other. It just was, this was it. We couldn't imagine our lives with anyone else."

Heart warming speeches, a perfectly romantic first dance and a killer party are some of the most memorable moments for me. What was also special to observe during the day was the close bond between Kelly and her twin sister, who was clearly so incredibly happy for her sister...beautiful to see. It is as always such a privilege to capture these cherished moments for clients. {Service providers listed at end of post}

Wishing you lifetime of love and happiness Kelly & Jean-Michel. Enjoy.

Love xo R ox

- Venue: Tramonto
- Make-up artist: Mari Douglas
- Hair Stylist: Beatrice Hartley
- Decor: my mom (Cheryle Gray) made the table decor & wedding favours, Ruby & Swallow made all of the stationary- stunning!
- Florist: Flowers 4 U
- Hiring: Flowers 4 U and Ilze Du Preez
- Dress designer: White Lilly Bridal
- Suite: Tiger of Sweden

-Cake: Sharlene Van Burick. The Dough Company

Maid of honor: Gabrielle Gray, the MOST amazing maid of honor and twin sister. I really could not have done it without her. She was so supportive and always at my side. I swear she could read my mind that day. What ever I wanted, needed, felt, she was on it in a flash. Love her to the moon and back.

 

Anneri & Abri | De Uijlenes Gaansbaai | Wedding

Anneri & Abri beautiful bush & beach wedding was held at the gorgeous De Uijlenes wedding venue. Anneri is a natural soul; she loves the ocean, the forest and the two share a love of the outdoors. What a lovely couple...your wedding was just beautiful guys. Thank you for allowing me to capture it for you.

"Dit was soos 'n sprokiesverhaal in 'n pragtige omgewing met 'n bietjie woud, 'n bietjie plaas, 'n bietjie see en baie elemente van die beeldskone natuur. Ons was die prins en prinses vir die dag wat ons met al ons geliefdes gedeel het. Dit was 'n dag vol liefde, geluk (insluitend trane van geluk) en baie genade. Ons troudag was die perfekte dag om voor God ons trou aan mekaar te beloof.”

- Planner/Coordinator: Polkadot Weddings & Design
- Venue: De Uijlenes
- Make-up artist: Yolande Du Toit
- Hair Stylist: Yolande Du Toit
- Decor: Polkadot Weddings & Design
- Florist: Polkadot Weddings & Design
- Hiring: Polkadot Weddings & Design
- Dress designer: Ilse Roux Bridal Wear
- Suite: Old Khaki

Charlene & Bosman | Stellenbosch Wedding

I'm sucker for a love story, and Charlene & Bosman's beautiful story really pulled at my heart strings. They met in primary school, reconnected briefly in high school and eventually found each other again on social media. There romance blossomed over 3 continent via skype, texts and letters, while he lived in Scotland, and she lived in Atlanta. Bosman surprised Charlene with a beautiful proposal at Heathrow airport during her layover there.

" It has been an amazing couple of months since that moment. Although we were living on two different continents we decided to come back "home" for our big day."

"It is still the biggest revelation how we just "fit". We are meant to be together and made for one another.  We have a sacred respect and admiration for each other – We are soulmates."

"The ceiling was decorated with 400 white origami cranes in different sizes. This symbolized our love’s journey by flying across oceans to see each other and the peace within our hearts knowing that this love is forever. "

It was a privilege for me to photograph this gorgeous wedding...Bosman & Charlene, your love story inspires me and reminds me why I do what I do...to capture the joy of these celebrations of peoples love for one another and give them those frozen moments to cherish. Thank you. Enjoy.

Service Providers:

- Planner/Coordinator: Mother of the Bride, Annelie Gunter and Bride
- Venue: Getting ready and Honeymoon Suite: Li Belle Guesthouse, Somerset West, Wedding Ceremony: Erinvale Golf Estate and Spa Chapel and Wedding Reception: Croydon Vineyard Estate in Somerset West
- Make-up artist: Nadia Prinsloo from Beau-Ternity and Health, Pretoria
- Hair Stylist: Bride herself and Bride’s sister/maid of honour, RozanneSteyn
- Decor: Origami Birds from Lena
Suzuki Kanauchi in Canada via Origami Mill @ Etsy.com
- Florist: Chapel: The Rose Room. Reception:Mother of the Bride, Annelie Gunter and Maid of Honour/ Bride’s sister, RozanneSteyn and friends, Corne and Tanya Fourie.
- Hiring:Hire 4 U, Downings Hire and Exclusive Hire, Western Cape
- Dress designer: Bride: Elizabeth Stockenstr
öm, Western Cape and Maid of Honour dress: Forever New
- Suit: Groom and Best Man, Cornel du Plessis:Euro Suit, Canal Walk and Father of the Bride, Etlon Gunter: Mr Suit Hire, Somerset West

-        On-site chef: Craig Cormack – The Goose Roaster

-        Entertainment: Bagpipe player at Chapel: Piper James and Reception: The Hungarian Trio

Magical Woodlands | Styled Wedding Inspiration

Oh, I have been a woodland child,
And walked alone in places wild

I'm so pleased to share this shoot. Thank you so much to all the wonderful and talented suppliers who made it all possible.

Photography & concept: Ronél Kruger Photography & Art | www.ronelkrugerphotography.co.za
Flowers, decor & styling: Green Goddess flower studio |
www.greengoddess.co.za           Cake Toppers: Ladies & Gentlemen Cake Toppers | www.weddingtoppers.co.za             Cakes & Styling: La Petite Patisserie | www.lapetitepatisserie.co.za
Hair & Make Up: Clarita Smit Eye lash Extensions and Make-up | www.claritasmit.co.za
Wedding gowns: Ann Green | www.anngreen.co.za
Stationary & Signage: Grapevine Design | www.grapevinedesign.co.za
Venue: Solms-Delta Wine Estate | www.solms-delta.co.za
Models: Listelle & Salome, Riz & Resh

Special thanks to Zalta & Sammy for bringing their gorgeous husky Lara.

 

Candicee & Andrew | Morgenhof Estate Wedding

I treasure clients like Candice & Andrew. So in love, so easy going.  I loved capturing their day.
Thank you guys for being so awesome!

Where did you meet:

Andrew and I met on our first year orientation camp in Simon's Town. I got his attention by shouting out loud in the eating hall that 'Somerset West sucks' (Andrew was from Somerset West). He got a bit offended by this and asked me to take this back, which I refused. He then proceeded to pick me up and throw me into the pool fully clothed! We were inseparable ever since ;)

How would we describe ourselves as a couple:

C:We love spending quality time with friends and family and are real homebodies. We absolutely love to have fun, act silly & have a good laugh! We are simply best friends who fell in love.

A: I think we are fun and really crazy at times. We enjoy doing silly things. Candice likes to sing in funny accents and I enjoy making fun in another accent. We also value friendship and family and we make a lot of effort with them. Showing them that they are important to us.

When did we know that he/she was the one:

C: We didn't have a defining moment when we knew that each other was "the one", but our relationship as a whole progressed naturally into something deep and meaningful. Sticking it out through the bad stuff, the good stuff, and each other's weird quirks, showed us both that we could conquer anything together and that this relationship was meant to be. 

A: There was no specific moment that let me know Candice was the one, but it was us falling in love and being so close that we wanted to make the relationship sealed forever in marriage. We had planned from early on that we wanted to get married so it was inevitable.

Idea/theme/inspiration behind decor:

A colour scheme was easy for us because Andrew's favourite colour is soft green and my color-obsession at the time was coral. Luckily the two go so well together. We also love a slight vintage theme which is where the hessian and lace elements came into play. The origami birds made out of old books, the stacks of books on the table, and the chalkboard written table numbers were alluding to both our careers as teachers.   

Coordinator: Elritha from Morgenhof | Venue: Morgenhof Wine Estate, Stellenbosch | Make-up artist: Kiss and Tell | Hair Stylist: Hayley's Hair | Florist: Blloming Wondeful (Green Goddess for brides bouquet) | Hiring& Decor : Blooming Wonderful

Yolandie & Renier | Surprise Proposal

I was excited when Yolandie shared all her ideas for her and Renier's couple photoshoot shoot with me.

We met at 6 am to catch the sunrise in Longbeach. While Yolandie was fixing her hair quickly, Renier sneaked me a peek of the ring, but didn't say when and where he would pop the question.

 She had no idea! I really struggled to keep my excitement at bay, but I kept it together and she didn't expect a thing.

Finally when we reached Bolders beach, I noticed Renier reaching for his pocket. 

Boom!

It was so beautiful and I felt truly privileged to capture the moment.
I hope I get to photograph surprise proposals more often.

After some tears and lots of laughter we continued our shoot in False Bay.

Thank you so much for allowing me capture this amazing moment for you guys!

Enjoy.

Elmarie & Ivan | Kaleo Farm Wedding Western Cape

I can honestly say this was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever photographed.

Elmarie & Ivan are so in-love and it showed. 

"I always joke and say that Ivan and I took the long way round to finally meeting each other – he had to travel via Boston & I came via London, but eventually (after we both transferred to the Jhb office of our previous employer) fate placed our desks a few metres from each other’s (and gave us access to instant messaging for when we didn’t have the guts to take those first steps!). It was during the 2010 World Cup festivities that I knew for sure I liked him..and the liking just grew stronger as he kept leaving little trinkets (including DVD’s with hours of my favourite TV series on them) on my desk for me  to find in the mornings when I got to the office (my heart still melts!). Quite cliché, but Ivan’s sense of humour (and his gorgeous smile) was what tugged at my heart-strings hardest – and I can honestly say that no one makes me laugh as hard or as often as Ivan does."   

 Elmarie & Ivan's stunning country wedding took place at the breathtakingly beautiful Kaleo Farm in the Koue Bokkeveld.  "Kaleo was the last venue we viewed and both Ivan and I loved it the moment we drove through the gate! The hospitality we were met with sealed the deal and it didn’t take us long to decide that Kaleo was the venue for us! "

The wedding was planned to perfection by the lovely Celeste from Celeste Styled Events. "Celeste was an absolute God-send and interpreted my vision for the day so beautifully. We were able to enjoy every moment of the weekend at Kaleo with our friends and family – people could not believe how calm I was, and I completely attribute that “calmness” to Celeste and her amazing coordination-skills!"

Elmarie wanted a simple, understated, modern yet elegant feel to wedding. The decor was just stunning with tons of flowers done by the super talented Anli Wahl, fairy lights & candles. Make up & Hair done by Amore.

"I loved every single minute of our day, but if I had to pick one favourite thing it would be our first dance – for a few moments it was just the two of us, outside under the stars, and we were able to really soak in the beauty of the day and our surroundings.  If I could have the day over again I would not change a thing!!                                         

Zoey turns One

How time has past... has it been a full year...

I count it in laughter. In tears. In moments gone in an instant, but treasured forever. 

I try to remember everything.

To live in every moment and never let it go.

Everyone warns you.."Your life will be over", You'll never be the same". 

This used to offend me, but now I understand. 

I don't want my my old life. I don't want to be the same. I just want now. With you.

With you life is more beautiful, more alive, vibrant, tangible, terrifying, real.

I didn't know I could love my husband more...
Being her father, seeing how she adores him and how he light up everytime he sees her,
has made me love him in a way I did not think possible.
Thank you to my husband for taking the photos of me & her.

Flower Crown by Green Goddess Flower Studio.
Cake by Pinch of Love.
Wardrobe, all gifts, babies own.
(Thank you to my mother in law for hand knitting jerseys)
(Thank you to Yvette for the tutu, Adri for the baby-grow and Nicky for the stockings)

Bam Family | Touwsrivier

The road to Touwsrivier is beautiful.

I arrived on the Bam's Family farm early afternoon. 

It's warm and dry and there is so much space.

Ah, farm life. Stray cats, chickens, peacocks, cows, vineyards. So beautiful.

I'm greeted warmly, and then we set of on the families vast space and play.

The kids are super excited and chatter away endlessly as they don't get that many visitors.

So cute. The twins and their brother play and run and tell stories.

It's wonderland. Farm life.

Enjoy.