Off weekend + mini roadtrip to Onrus with friends = (:

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When Emilly (Emily Elizabeth photography) and David (Thetwopointeight cinematographer) contacted me to shoot their wedding in Denver Colorado, I didn’t want to get too excited, until I knew the trip was definitely going to happen. But…i did start dreaming of traveling again, meeting new people and what a bonus if it was to Denver, since I have so many dear friends living there!

This dream came true!!! Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-thank-you David and Emily! I thoroughly enjoyed shooting your wedding and seeing places I never would if it wasn’t for you.) Thank you also for trusting me with the photo’s and “letting me do my thing”, even though you have all the knowledge yourself. You made me feel so comfortable right from the start.

It was great getting to know the 2 of you, as well as your awesome families and friends.

And…thank you for being willing to do the mini session again the next day. (View shoot HERE)

ENJOY!!!!

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Last time i saw Daniel and Kristen in Denver, they were engaged. This time ’round they are mr and mrs and even have a little addition to the family! We started the shoot with Kristen and their son, Jaxon. Daniel joined us a bit later, after a long workday. Like ladies do, Kristen and I talked about life, fun things and less fun things. What stood out for me , was with how much love and respect she talks about Daniel. #loooooooovit#

Thank you Daniel + Kristen that i could be the fortunate one to take your family photo’s. Blessings and hope to see you again!!! xxx

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Caitlin is so much fun to be around! She is an amazing artist, the person behind Bright July Blog and can be found on Etsy . She was born in South Africa but grew up in Colorado and I met her the first time i want to Denver back in 2009. In 2011 we did an awesome road trip, together with some other friends —> Denver, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and back. It was soooo much fun!

Thank you for begin so awesome Caitlin! Hope to see you again soooooon:

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What a privilege to photograph this beautiful family! Elmarie and I grew up together in Caledon, South Africa. While she was working in Denver (USA), she met her husband, Jordan. I photographed their USA wedding back  in 2008.

When I got  the enquiry for Emily and David’s wedding in Denver, (still to be blogged) Elmarie and Jordan immediately offered for me to stay at their place. I had SUCH a good time.  Thank you thank you thank you Jordan and Elmarie! And little Jett…he stole my heart.

Enjoy your family photo’s and thank you for being so much fun!

PREVIOUS SHOOTS WITH ELMARIE:

Portrait shoot

Elmarie, Jordan and the Bendinelli family

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Monday morning was my “Saturday.” I took time off and went to Kamersvol Geskenke with 2 friends and loved every moment of it! People are so creative! I loved seeing old friends exhibiting like Annehette from Patatie, Justin  Southey, Charlotte from Krummels Kuns Koekies, Okasie, Leipzig, the ladies of “The Pretty Blog” and Vanessa with her “Out of the ordinary frames“!

I also bought a few new things for my room and love it so much, i just HAD to share them.

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(To see part one of this beautiful wedding…HERE is the link…)

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I honestly don’t know where to start with this wedding. I can talk about the awesome road trip Nadine and myself had to Crissiesmeer.

Or about how the families went out of their way to make us feel at home. Or I can talk about the awesome venue. Or the fact that Danelle’s dress was made from her grandmothers table cloths. Or that I adore Danelle’s art and her and her cousin’s photography business, Splendid Productions.

I can tell you how i absolutely FREAKED out when i saw their detail in the reception.

Or how much fun the bridal party was.

Or that Nico and Danelle were close friends with my late cousin, Vernessa.

….or and how much Nico and Danelle love each other. They honestly are such gentle, fun people. Their love for each other can be seen from a mile away. Even though there was detail EVERYWHERE, they just seemed to to care about each other on the day.

So baie baie baie geluk julle 2. Mag julle elke dag net nader aan mekaar en God groei. BAAAAIE blessings en liefde. xxx

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Whenever i spend time with this family, I feel revived. Their outlook on life is positive, you can see the love and respect between Rudi and Karen and they are always laughing. It’s contagious! No wonder that so many people said “KolKol Mountain Lodge” on Facebook when i asked where is a good place to go away for a weekend. KolKol is Rudi and Karen’s other baby…

Dankie Rudi en Karen. Net blessings vir julle as gesin!

(Click here to view their pregnancy shoot)

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Ek het so ‘n lekker middag met die Hertzog familie gehad! Dit was so ‘n mooi dag en die laaste rukkie by die see was die lig sag, die kinders lus vir speel en hulle kon net hulself wees en geniet – my favourite deel van enige shoot!

Dankie dat ek die tyd met julle kon deel!!!

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What a privilege to start a wedding season with a couple such as Fransu and Shantelle.

It rained so much in the Karoo, that they had

to find a whole new location to have their wedding reception, 2 days before the actual wedding.

The couple? They just loved the day, marked with many smiles, happy tears, lots of fun and BEAUTIFUL light.

Soooo baie dankie Fransu en Shantelle! Laat weet seblief as julle ooit julle beloftes aan mekaar en God hernu!

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I loooooooove destination weddings! (So be warned, there are lots of photos!)

Noah and Michaela (Micky) had me excited ever since the first email I received from them. They told me about the Namibian farm wedding (where Micky grew up) and that they would get married under a huge tree…in the middle of “nowhere.” Sounded like my kind of wedding! They forgot to tell me about Micky’s yellow flowers, her blood-red lips, her pink nails and grass green shoes…and the fact that Maré and myself would have breakfast on the stoep with a beautiful view and all kinds of cheeses, cold meats and creamed honey (like only the Namibia people can!)…that we could watch the porcupines feed…that we would be treated like friends…that they love Jesus so much that they are thining…that the evening of their wedding it’s going to be “supermoon“…that the couple is crazy in love…and crazy…that they treasure their friends and family in a special way…that they laugh from their tummies…that they have endless energy and ideas…that some of Noah’s USA friends came all the way to Namibia for just the weekend to share in the special day…

I was so glad that Maré, a friend and photographer could go with me. She helped me soooo much! Our time after the ceremony was a bit on the tight side, so she photographed the bridal party while I was shooting Micky and Noah’s couple photos. Maré also took a lot of the decor shots, while I was shooting the service and got some killer images on the dance floor later the evening. So…this wedding really is a combined effort between myself and the super talented Maré Rootman. Thanks Rei!

And then thank you thank you thank you Micky and Noah… It’s only with fond memories I think of your wedding. ENJOY your images!!!!

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Wat ‘n lekkerrrrr manier om die nuwe seisoen se shoots mee te begin! Dit was bibberkoud die week rondom die shoot, so Nico en Elke was so oulik om Middedorp Manor te reël as plan B. Elle was vol smiles vir die foto’s, veral nadat sy ‘n kort “power nap” gehad het. Dankie Nico en Elke vir ‘n heerlike oggend saam met julle. Baie blessings vir julle as gesin!!!

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Dewet and the rest of the Mandelbrot team is working hard on a new and very exciting TV show, all about weddings, called cheapest cialisref=”http://www.facebook.com/bruilof” target=”_blank”>Bruilof. It is starting 7 Aug on KykNet! (Tuesday Nights, 21:30pm) Make sure to join them on Facebook for updates, or get a sneak peek of the show HERE.

A couple of days ago, they did filmed an interview with me and we took some “behind the scene” photos.

C0ngratualtions Dewet and the rest of the team!!!!

(And thanks for the images you took of me during the day.)

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Sainkie en Pasch se troue was ‘n Black Tie Event van begin tot einde. Ek het hulle leer ken met die lank”>verlowingsfoto’s en net so lekker dit was om hulle toe af te neem, so lekker was dit op hulle troudag!!! Toe ek by die kerk aankom lyk al die manne so netjies, ekt almal verdink daarvan om Pasch se best man te wees! (:

Dankie Pasch en Sainkie dat ek die dag so saam met julle kon geniet. Ek hoop julle is MAL oor julle kiekies en dat dit net goeie memories terugbring. Net blessings vir julle huwelik vorentoe. (En so ook julle awesome restaurant Dutch East!!!)

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So now you have met MG, Tj

aart and Annelle. Today is Alésha’s turn.

We did this engagement session for her and her fiancé. (who can imagine my “baby” sister is getting married already!?) And….today is her BIRTHDAY!

Alésha het sooo diep in my hart ingekruip. Dis skoon moeilik om die gevoel te beskryf. Dankie vir al jou omgee BB’s en al die kere wat jy sulke weise woorde kwyt kan raak. Divan, dankie dat jy mens altyd so tuis laat voel in jou geselskap. Jyt sowaar ‘n gift! Baie baie geluk aan julle met die verlowing…en Alésha met jou verjaarsdag! Mag die jare wat kom vir julle baie groei inhou. En baie kuiers met Lizelle. Tonne liefde!

I loved sooo many of these images in black and white, that i decided to do a “black and white” post. (Don’t worry Alysi, ek gaan vir jou die kleur kiekies ook gee.)

GENIET!!!

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Sjoewee Tandjie eks lief vir jou!

En Gideon…vir jou ook! (toemaar Tanya, nie op daai manier nie)

Geniet julle kiekies!!! (:

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Ok it’s final; I have the best clients EVER. Heathyr and Simon loves laughing, wispering jokes in each others ears…and taking their dog to their wedding. (:

I met Heathyr a while ag

o when she assisted me at few weddings. She herself is a wedding photographer so make sure to go to her blog to see her beautiful work!!!!!

Thank you Simon and Heathyr for trusting me so much to shoot your wedding photos. It truly was a very special day. I pray for maaaaany blessing for your future together. Keep laughing!

xxx

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When i think of Bulembu and my 2 day experience there, i kind of have to take a deep breath and make a conscience decision on where I am allowing my thoughts to go, because otherwises it’s like most woman’s handbags… (:

After shooting my last wedding for this season, i traveled to Swaziland. This was a first and such a huge privilege. I’ve read up on Bulembu a bit beforehand, but didn’t really know what to expect. I slept over in Nelspruit and from there its about 90 minutes drive to get to the Swazi border, that opens at 8am. (Imagine mountains and more mountains.) There i was greeted by Nerine and Bianca with THE biggest smiles. I “know” Nerine since we’ve attended the same Shofar Church in Stellenbosch, before she started working at Bulembu.

Our 2 days were jam packed with places to shoot e.g. businesses, a hospital, schools etc. All of them designed so that this project, with 300 orphans in it’s care, can (or will later be) self sustainable. What struck me most was how these people that work at Bulembu, so selflessly give their lives to build up these children. I’ve been there only 2 days, but yet i came back changed. I think differently about all my many privileges, how i was raised, what i can be thankful for and the difference I can make in others lives.

Ive asked Bianca to tell as more about this town Bulembu, that was a ghost town as some stage… I am still stunned by this project/vision:

In 2001, the mining company that had built and operated Bulembu for more than 60 years, closed its doors and walked away. With no jobs the town was soon abandoned, even as Swaziland continues to be ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the resulting orphan crisis.

Today, Bulembu has a clear vision to become a vibrant, self-sustaining community. This vision for sustainability includes fostering the development of a new generation of emerging leaders through orphan care, education, health services and commerce.

Central to the Bulembu vision is providing total care for some of Swaziland’s 120,000 orphaned and vulnerable children. The Bulembu Child Care Programme is not focused on emergency response or simply providing basics needs, but rather the Bulembu Child Care Programme is working to raise a generation of leaders, providing the children in the programme with the love and resources they need to thrive. In this way Bulembu is working to equip young people who will make a positive contribution to society, and emerge as leaders in their homes, their community and their nation.

The Bulembu Child Care Programme is currently providing over 300 children with total care. One of the biggest ongoing challenges for the programme is transitioning a child from a life of destitute and neglect to a life of hope and care. For well over a year, the Bulembu Welcome Centre has been operating as place of transition for children entering the programme. Most of the children who come to Bulembu are unable to distinguish between colours and shapes and are often unable to write their names, even though they have been attending school. Many things which we take for granted are novelties for these children including flushing a toilet, sleeping on a bed and using something as simple as a knife and fork. The Welcome Centre has proved to be an essential component in our programme, successfully helping children make this transition.

Over the last year, Bulembu has designed an extensive training programme for our care givers or “aunties”. The aunties currently working in the programme have taken this training and have been equipped and educated in best practices of care-giving. Investing in these women has meant that their lives have also been transformed as they find employment and are empowered and encouraged in their work.

A number of enterprises have been launched which will not only contribute financially in the future to the Bulembu vision, but will provide fundamental services to the community, specifically in the area of food security. Current Bulembu Enterprises: Bulembu Bakery, Bulembu Carpentry, Bulembu Dairy, Bulembu Honey, Bulembu Country Lodge, Bulembu Mills, Bulembu Timber, Bulembu Water, Bulembu Store and Bulembu Transport.

Come and experience our unique town and witness transformation in action. Whether by visiting, partnering with us in spreading Bulembu’s vision, sponsoring a child or even working for us, you will not leave Bulembu untouched, but rather changed forever.

For more details, go to www.bulembu.org

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(See part one of this gorgeous wedding HERE)

Enjoy!

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