In this post, you will also notice photographs by the award winning photographer, DuWayne Denton. I have permission to include a selection of his photographs in this post, as we covered the wedding together. DuWayne is also a close friend of the family. He will post more photos on his blog at a later stage. Du Wayne’s wife, Zani (082 777 0428) from Lace Blossom, also had a share in this wedding, because she made Charis beautiful wedding dress!

Ever wondered about doing most of your couple portraits beforehand? For their wedding we did. This was to save time and allow more time for the couple to mingle with their guests during pre-drinks. I think it worked brilliantly and here is why: 1) It made the day feel longer as weddings go by so quickly. 2) It created a very special intimate moment with just family and close friends when they saw each other the first time. Johan came walking towards Charis and the whole family cheered and cried. Although not intentional, it felt very similar to the Jewish tradition (the bedekken) which are always very memorable moments. 3) The couple felt more relaxed and were able to enjoy the ceremony more. 4) The obvious: it created more photo opportunities.

I was approached by the agents of Hasselblad (Sunshine Company) to try out their latest H4D camera, so it was a treat for me to shoot some photos with this 40 megapixel monster! The blog size photos don’t do justice to the quality of the images. I’ve marked the Hasselblad photos by making my watermark smaller on them. Very little editing was done on these shots. The colour and skintones are rendered beautifully by this camera.

Hair and makeup by Helga Bridal (084 706 9190), wedding video by Derrick (071 085 7449) and the tastiest wedding cake/cupcakes by “Die Louw oond” (082 921 8380). I have to mention the brilliant people from Something Different, who did the lighting. They have turned weddings upside down since they entered the industry and they make receptions such a joy to photograph! It’s unbelievable what they can do and a big must for your wedding budget.

When we did the last few couple shots at sunset, we caught the most amazing light and the autumn leaves were so different compared to the normal summer vines. There is one photo where DuWayne captured me in action and it summarizes me at a wedding.

The last word belongs to the couple – Charis, I know you well, but you looked breathtaking and it was very special for me to photograph your wedding. I caught myself many times at your wedding thinking wow, it’s Charis’ wedding. Johan, I wish more grooms shared your excitement for the photographs, as it definitely helps to inspire any photographer. I think you got that from your mom, as she was my biggest competition that day! Tannie Hasie, die berugte sluipfotograaf!

My fine art books are all printed on Hahnemühle paper. I have been invited by them on my next visit to Germany to get a mill tour and see hoe the paper is made. Cant wait!

If you love beautiful things… you will love your photos printed on their paper!

Read the newsletter here: Hahnemühle International Newsletter

Make-up by Yolande du Toit.

The guys were super fun and the following words come to mind… running like their on Jackass….James bond seems to be part of the whole family…and excuse the pun…posing them under the Nikon sign…

Ruth created all the wedding stationery! It was really beautiful very inspirational. Ruth made sure that the countries that have played a part in her and Gary’s life together had a feature in the stationery.

An amazing thing happened with their vows. They wrote their vows separately and when they read it to each other during the ceremony they said the same things…even their picture of what their future together would be like was the same! Ruth and Gary, when you go through difficult times, don’t ever forget that moment…you two were meant to be!!

Make-up was done by Joleta Keane.

It was great to shoot a family wedding, but also tricky because at one point two camera’s around my neck and my eldest in my arms…my back!

I have experienced so many weddings and witnessed all the fun at the reception and it was great to get some time to enjoy myself on the dance floor! (I could relax a bit and my very awesome assistant Jacqueline covered allot of the reception with me.) See the pic of me dancing with my wife and her other sister Charís who’s wedding I will blog very soon…yes that is right we had two family weddings in one month!

Jeanmarí it was my absolute pleasure to shoot your wedding and I still cant get over how incredibly beautiful you looked on the day! I couldn’t keep my lens off you! Hair and make-up beautifully done by Helga!Highly recommended! Gorgeous dress by the very talented Zani. (There is a lot of photos including reception, it might load a while or you need to refresh your page if everything doesn’t load.)