MELANIE & GARTH: WEDDING

The Date:     Wednesday, 16th December 2009
The Venue:   The Duck Pond, Welmoed Wine Estate

The Duck Pond in Stellenbosch is quaint and tranquil and perfect for a small wedding like this one. For a photographer, though, it poses a few challenges!

Firstly, with the ceremony being held on a small island in the middle of the pond, it’s tricky to capture all the guests and the wedding couple together without actually taking a plunge into the water and shooting from there! I decided to risk a shot from the front and gingerly crept onto the reeds, doing my best not to make too much noise and disturb the vows being affirmed and hoping I could execute the shot I’d envisaged before sinking into the mud.

Secondly, the afternoon sun proved difficult for family poses and it was hard to capture the moments without squinted eyes and harsh shadows. The venue also didn’t give us much to work with by way of ideal locations for couple photos; but Tim (from Tim Holmes Photography) and I applied a some additional creativity and a little experimentation and despite all these challenges, managed to get some great shots of the lovely couple!

The reception was a striking black and white theme in an alfresco setting beside the pond. This was broken up by the guests’ outfits and the colourful DVDs the wedding couple had thoughtfully created for all their guests.

The mood was festive and as the light faded and the duck pond disappeared into the darkness, I left the wedding party to continue their celebrations into the night.

Links:
The Duck Pond at Welmoed Wine Estate: http://www.duckpond.co.za/
Tim Holmes Photography: http://www.timholmesphotography.co.za/

LLIZANE & NATASHA: WEDDING

THE DATE: SATURDAY, 28th NOVEMBER 2009

THE VENUE: KIRSTENBOSCH GARDENS, NEWLANDS

The photography for this wedding started at the actual ceremony, as the brides were walking down the aisle. It was a gorgeous summer’s day and the clouds hung like cotton balls in the blue sky.

The girls were kitted in custom made dress and suit and made their way down the aisle flanked by black chairs with red ribbons to the archway which was decorated with white drapes and red roses and stood out boldly from the green scenery.

The ceremony was intimate and both bride and bride were bundles of nerves and excitement and were ultimately thrilled to finally be tying the knot after a very bumpy road of wedding planning. There was a beautiful pouring of coloured sand ceremony to signify their union and we got some terrific shots of the created layered glass sandbox.

While the guests gathered on the lawns outside the restaurant having drinks, we took the brides and bridal party off around the gardens for a few photos. We took some fun action shots of the two with their son and later some intimate ones of the couple in the wake of the mountain and used a quaint footbridge as a setting for the classic couple pics.

We later found out that Kirstenbosch Gardens held particular meaning to the couple as it was where they first met and also had their first kiss and had waited a year before Kirstenbosch allowed gay weddings to take place on their grounds.


The happiness that surrounded the couple carried into the reception where it was very clear they were much loved amongst friends and we got some great pictures of them all breaking it down on the dance floor and celebrating the marriage.


Links:
http://www.sanbi.org/