The decor by Aleit yesterday was awesome. Flowers by ( Flowers in the foyer).

 

I have started to split up my posts into parts to make my website load quicker so weddings will be in parts from now on:) Vanessa and Philip married at Nooitgedacht Wine Estate yesterday. The weather was perfect, and for pictures too. The Aleit Group coordinated the wedding. Here are a few of my favourites.

 

 

 

I captured some amazing images of the beautiful One & Only hotel at Sharlene & Harry's wedding yesterday. It's a great location for some incredible wedding images. Have a chat with Caren, the events manager at the hotel if you are interested for your wedding.

 

My Saturday Greek wedding at the One & Only Hotel in Cape Town was for Sharlene & Harry. I must say I'm feeling very sore today after twelve hours with a big camera in hand. All the guests flew in from Johannesburg for the wedding. Here are some of my favorites. Nick Nickoloau coordinated the wedding.

 

Just a nice of collage of Kate & Duncan's wedding I photographed at The Table Bay Hotel in Camps Bay, Cape Town earlier this year.

 

I must say it's quite a procedure for me to get ready for a wedding. Many people don't realize what goes into being a reputable wedding photographer, the responsibility is enormous. Before any wedding I must charge 3 Nikon batteries for my camera bodies, 2 for my main body which is a Nikon D3 and 1 for my back up body which is a Nikon D2xs. All my lens glass is cleaned from  front to back and I make sure all info leads are cleaned and working perfectly. The camera bodies are checked for correct camera settings and memory cards are formatted. All my various lighting is also checked. The correct info for traveling to different venues must be checked and confirmed and printed for use on the wedding day, the location of the bride getting ready, church venue, reception venue and timing of events. My car is also checked a day before, fuel, tires, battery etc. Luckily I own a BMW so it's all pretty much done for me by my on board computer system but you still can't be so sure as it's vital that nothing goes wrong with my vehicle on the day.

Safety of digital memory cards are most important, if you loose one or something goes wrong with the files in transfer I have a big problem on my hands. Luckily with the Nikon D3 it has 2 memory cards slots in the camera for dual image reading of the same images taken at the same time so if something goes wrong with the one I still have the other card as backup.

Mainly though is my health, especially when you are booking weddings a year in advance so no sand boarding, mountain biking or anything where I can injure myself. To tell a wedding couple 4 days before their wedding that I have sprained my ankle and I can't walk is not an option they can or will accept, so nothing dangerous in terms of extra mural activities is a must. I am human though.

11 hours later and once I have finished the wedding all images are downloaded and double backed up for safety. Then the whole process of editing begins a few days later.

So there you go, a small insight into my very rewarding career that I love so much:)

I'm photographing a wedding at the One and Only Hotel at the V&A waterfront on Saturday. I was there on tuesday for a site inspection and I'm really looking forward to it, it's got a lot of great opportunities for great pictures, not only at the hotel but at the docks of the V&A waterfront. Caren is the events manager at the One & Only and she has been very helpful to me. I should have some pics on my website by Sunday or Monday.

Ryan

Bina & David got married on the 12th of January 2009. This is the one wedding that lingers in the back of my mind because it was so simply organized and sometimes simple weddings is all you need, it was great and not stiff. I am getting married in December this year and we have gone for the same simple route because we are paying for most of it. I have seen over 700 weddings and it's this experience I have used in planning my own wedding with my fiance. We are going for a far less informal occasion with hardly any formalities. This might not be for everybody but it works for us. What many couples don't realize when planning their wedding is that many of your guests have been to many weddings before and have seen the same things over and over.

Most of our venues we have selected in Kalk Bay, Cape Town and are not charging us venue hire because they don't specialize in weddings. We are using an art gallery for our service with a Jamaican steel drum band to compliment the beach view and feel. Guests will drink Mohito's with doughnuts, ice cream and biltong. All our guests will travel to the reception venue which is close to the beach and is naturally painted in all colors of the spectrum so it is easy to decor without having to blow the budget on flowers. We are not big on flowers but have chosen to use huge candleabras and hire inn extra lighting instead. We have spent most of our money on a good photographer, the best music in Cape Town and Lee's dress which cost R 20 000 rand from San Patrick at De La Vida which is being made in Spain.

Our wedding with the total budget will only be R 120 000 for 65 guests with no expenses spared mainly because the venues we have chosen are not charging us venue hire. The list includes my suit from London, Lee's dress from Spain and shoes from Benjamin Adams in London, the best make up artist and hair stylist in Cape Town, a very good photographer ( of course), bedouin tent for outside 8m by 6m, various ottomans and wing back chairs, lighting and 10 huge candleabras, 2 nights 4 star  accomodation, champagne and wine, a R 5000 bar tab, both bands, lanterns, wedding coordinator ( Karla Oettler- Absolute Weddings ), style hire ( white carpet, glasses, tables etc ), minister, 24 platters of seafood and various desserts, cigars for the men and 5 top class robes for bridesmaids.

Weddings don't have to cost big money, you just need to know where to spend it. Most of your guests will only remember the food and the party, it is a celebration after all. Make your guests at ease by using different music, set the tone for your wedding, do something different. If you need some help with organizing your wedding and need some tips send me an email or give me a call in Cape Town on 021 790 6430.

 

Maggie and Josh chose Tokara Estate in Stellenbosch for their intimate wedding. Josh is American and Maggie Chinese and they currently live in London. Beautiful light after the cold front made for amazing crisp clean air and fresh color. Here are a few of my favorites.

This is my new advert that's going into the new My Wedding Day magazine. I photographed again this years fashion spreads for the magazine. The magazine goes on sale in November this year. Ill post some images as soon as it is on the shelves as I'm not allowed to publish any before release.

 

Some nice moments from Caitlynne & Sean's wedding I designed. The wedding was held at Allee Bleue in Franschhoek late in 2008.

 

Here is a nice collage image of pre reception drinks at Paul and Denese's wedding. I used an old darkroom border that I scanned inn from my darkroom days.

 

I missed these 2 amazing portraits of Michelle and Duane's wedding while I was in Johannesburg.

 

 

 

 

 

I have just returned to Cape Town from Johannesburg. Yesterday I covered a wedding for Nicci and Carlo at Summerplace in Sandton. It was a battle between the Italians and the Greeks for dance floor space. Nick Nicolaou coordinated and decorated this amazing wedding and my video team covered the videography.