I also call this day “The return of the cousins” – Kate, you see, is the cousin of Craig (of Jade and Craig, whose wedding I shot in January 2010), AND Cathy (of Cathy and Sean, from December 2010)! I’m just working my way through the family. I had an amazing time at both those weddings, and this one didn’t disappoint – clearly, this is one awesome family! I’m glad I nabbed them.

One of Kate’s bridesmaids made these shoes for her to wear at the reception!

Snacks for the guests to have on their way to the reception, which was a good hour’s drive in traffic.

Perfume is sooo tedious.

The perfume leap! Kate decided to spray her dress with perfume, and since it was hanging in the rafters, she just jumped.

I loved these bridesmaids!

JP’s boutonniere…

Coolest thing ever. This is so my kind of crowd. I might have squealed and clapped my hands a bit.

Through the balloons…

Look, it’s Jade & Craig! The sign they are holding reads “Thanks for the idea, Craig & Jade”, and it was in the cheese wheel cake everyone snacked on while they waited for us. Craig and Jade did the same thing at their wedding!

All my couples together! Awww.

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Lucinda and Rob were married in April, the first of three weddings I went back to South Africa to shoot. They had a lovely relaxed afternoon wedding at the ever-gorgeous Shepstone Gardens in Johannesburg, and the pretty vintage chic decor completely blew me away! Belljars and ribbons and birdcages and teacups everywhere! Plus I hardly ever get to shoot outside receptions, so this was an added treat for me. Add to this that Rob and Lucinda are just lovely, sweet people, with wonderful friends and family who made me feel like I was at the party too, and a wonderful time was had by Andre (Andre Sonnekus, who was my excellent assistant shooter for the day) and me. Shooting weddings like this makes my job not seem too much like work

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Geoff and Rachel are just the sweetest couple, and I love them to bits. Especially since they took a big chance on me and booked me to shoot their April wedding last year, while I was still in South Africa, promising valiantly that yes, I really was coming to the UK, and I really would be there on their wedding day! Once I finally met up with them one rainy morning in Islington, we got on famously, and I knew their day was going to be just lovely. And, obviously, I was right. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed during the ceremony, but I love the shots I got of Rachel high-fiving everyone as she and Geoff exited the chapel, and the light beaming down on them was AMAZING.

My second shooter for the day was Lizanne Higgs – thanks, Liz!

Onto the pics!

Aaand…the veil escapes!

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AKA What I did on my holidays.

Before I emigrated to the UK, I had two weddings booked for April in South Africa, and I managed to sneak another one in there just before I left. So I flew back and shot all three in between visiting my friends and family! And now I’m back in London. Crazy times, but awesome. Here are some sneak peeks – one from each wedding. Full posts to follow!

Kate & JP:

Lucinda & Rob:

Marlette & Warren:

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When the lovely Shell de Mar asked me if I’d like to come along and run the photobooth at a pretty tea-party-themed wedding, my answer was “heck yes!”, of course! While I didn’t attend the ceremony or couple shoot, I had plenty of time before the guests arrived to take photos of the decor, and when you see these pictures you’ll understand why I was so excited about that! Maryanne and her crew from Jam and Tea did an incredible job dressing up Orleans House’s stable reception room to within an inch of its life, with vintage teacups, bunting, and tasty treats coming together to create a tea party that would make the Mad Hatter proud. The whole event was just vintage girly chic, and when I saw Chloe in her 1950s-inspired dress with a full pink petticoat, and Emma in her elegant, Old Hollywood-inspired gown, I understood why. Two brides in wedding dresses = a doubly-excited Kat. And I get pretty excited about wedding dresses at the best of times.

So here are some pics of the swoonworthy prettiness:

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Just two shots from Rachel and Geoff’s wedding yesterday at King’s College, Cambridge.

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So, without wasting any more time, the couple who wins their wedding photography free are……

CHARLIE and SIMON!

Whoohoo! Apparently you all loved their circus rock ‘n roll theme as much as I did, and I can’t wait to shoot their wedding in October!

But wait, there’s more.

Second place went to Sarah and Carl’s humanist, super-DIY event, and I loved them so much that I’ve decided to offer them their wedding photography for free as well! Yay Sarah and Carl!

Spreading the wedding photography love, having just scoffed down the head of a Lindt Easter Bunny, and feeling all warm and cosy in my bed with my laptop…what a great long weekend.

xoxo

Kat

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So, a couple of weeks ago I had a competition through Rock ‘n Roll Bride, where one fabulous couple in the UK could win their wedding photography, as shot by me, for free. All they had to do was tell me (and show me, on a Pinterest board), how much awesome-sauce they were putting into their wedding.

The response was fantastic, and I’ve narrowed it down to three lovely couples, whose weddings sound full to the brim with awesomeness, just the way I like it. All YOU have to do now is vote for one of them to win on the poll at the bottom of this post! And share it around with everyone you know, cos I’m sure these guys will appreciate the love.

Let’s meet the finalists!

1) Becky and John

Becky owns a company called Swank jewellery, where she designs and makes seriously funky jewellery, and also works as a youth worker. John is training to be a surveyor, and on the side he makes booty bassline music and raps sleazy lyrics over the top.Ha! That’s bizarrely awesome. Here’s what Becky had to say about their wedding day:

“I’m getting hitched on the 1st of September 2012 in Rutland, the smallest county in England and the only county without a McDonalds! I am a pedigree Rutlander, both my parents families being from the county ( I prefer pedigree to inbred!). I now live in Devon with John who is from Leeds. We chose to tie the knot in Rutland as it is very special to me, being where I grew up and he also really likes it there, it’s a very beautiful place. We are doing the “proper” bit at Oakham registry office and then heading off to Ayston for the reception. Ayston is where I grew up, its a tiny village with 14 houses and a church, not even a pub or a shop. As you can imagine it was an amazing place to grow up, many dens to be made! I was lucky that there was a girl who lived next door who was the same age and totally brilliant, otherwise it could have been a bit lonely. She is my best mate now and we are having the reception in a marquee in her family’s field. It’s going to be a relaxed affair with a festival feel. In the afternoon there will be a pork pie wedding cake, buffet and speeches then later the rabble will turn up, we will have a hog roast and my brothers rave rap ska band, China Shop Bull, will play, there will be hip hop karaoke and djs into the night.

The wedding is going to be real fun, and very individual to us. We are going to get Louisa (my best mate) and Rob’s bad ass vintage car collection out to rev around in on the day which make ace props for photos. The location will be great, we are considering dressing the marquee in an under the sea theme (not decided as yet but I’m into the idea). My mum’s mate is going to make my wedding dress which will have a 50s vibe. I want a mahoosive petticoat! The most important thing to me is that our friends and family are all outside partying together. I’m not bothered about the ceremony as much as the party. I just think it’s going to be great to get friends that I have met from all different times in my life all together in one place to celebrate that I’ve found someone I want to stay with forever. Which is pretty impressive and I feel very lucky to have him, even if he does rap sleazy lyrics to me over breakfast!”

2) Charlie & Simon

Charlie and Simon are having a circusy Rock ‘n Roll themed wedding in a circus traiming school that used to be a church! Um, yes please! Here’s Charlie’s take on their wedding:

“We’re getting married on the 13th of October in Bristol. Our reception venue is a church that’s been converted into a circus training school, and it’s an amazing space. We’re having dramatic lighting up the beautiful pillars and planning a low key and relaxed rock and roll / circus theme. We’re getting married in Bristol Registry office at 3pm, which is a lovely place and then we’re planning on having photos done around St Nic’s market which is a covered market and food hall just next door. We’re going to have tea and cakes after the wedding for the family and then heading onwards to Circomedia to meet all our marvellous friends at 6pm. We’ll then be having a small show of some kind (big secret!) and serving international style canapes (mini boerewors rolls as a nod to my South Africaness, filo cones with goats cheese to look like ice creams, empanadas – as we both love Brazil), and then moving onto some excitingly presented dinner. And then there will be a rock band and 100% ridiculous dancing.  We’re really keen that it’s really relaxed and untraditional affair – no big white dress, no hired suits for everyone, no ridiculous traditions that we aren’t keen on and basically lots of fun and happiness for everyone.”

3) Sarah and Carl

Sarah and her lovely boy ( her words) are having a super-DIY wedding in a tent in a small village, with loads of bunting, vintagey goodies, and a turquoise wedding dress! Ooooh. Just up my alley.

“Our wedding is going to be held in Long Sutton, a small village in Somerset, on July the 14th 2012. We are having a humanist ceremony, so it is all taking place in a big tent. The ceremony will be followed by (weather permitting) drinks on the village green, a tasty meal, and then a barn dance. My mum and sister are v. v. clever, and between us we are DIYing everything. My mum’s making my dress (which is going to be amazing and bright turquoise), my sister is making, among other things, all the stationery, the flower girl dresses, felt button holes for all the ushers and best ‘people’ (of whom there are 4), headdresses for me, the bridesmaids and flower girls, and a fascinator for my mum. We are all making yards of bunting and collecting unusual and wonderful objects from flea markets and charity shops with which to decorate the marquee. We are aiming for a non-traditional, eclectic, colourful, relaxed, fun and smiley day, full of love, imagination and laughter. We can’t wait to say our vows in front of everyone we love. Oh, and there is going to be lots of cake. “

They all sound awesome, right? So get your vote on below, and help one of them win!

Voting closes at midnight this Saturday the 7th of April. The winner will be announced on Monday the 9th of April.

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“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.”

~ Henry Van Dyke

This is, without question, the hardest post I’ve ever had to write. When I did this Post-Wedding shoot, I’d even started planning what I would say when I blogged it; how I met Cristelle and Jacques years ago at separate times, in separate places, and only realised when I found Cristelle on Facebook about four or five years ago that these two nice people I’d known in the early 2000s were actually a couple. They got engaged, and eventually planned a lovely DIY wedding in August 2011. As a friend, I desperately wanted to attend their wedding as a guest, and not as a photographer, so I gave them a post-wedding shoot as my wedding gift to them.

One European honeymoon later, and one crazy Christmastime later, we finally got to do the shoot together.

Three weeks later I got the call from one of our mutual friends: Jacques had died of an unexpected heart attack. I was dazed, shocked and numbed.

“But I just saw him,” was all I could keep saying to myself. To make a horrible situation ridiculously sadder, I had, just a few days earlier, emailed Jacques a photo I’d taken of him alone, specifically for him to send to his publisher to use on his first novel, which was due for publication the following month. It felt so completely stupid and wrong that this lovely, philosophical guy who made my friend so happy, and who was on the eve of being a published author, should just pass away without any warning. So, so wrong.

I still don’t get it. Honestly, I don’t think I  ever will. But I’m happier than I ever would be under normal circumstances, that I took these photos. And that photo above, of Jacques holding the pocket watch he wore on his wedding jacket? Unbelievably poignant and full of a meaning it didn’t have before.

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Jane and Dexter are completely adorable. Jane contacted me a few weeks ago, wanting a couple shoot done while she and Dexter were on holiday in London at the beginning of March. They got married nine months ago in The Phillipines, and actually honeymooned in London, but didn’t get any photos done then – so now that they were coming again, Jane made sure they’d get some this time! Of course they wanted some great London landmarks in the background, so they chose Southbank for its views of Westminster, Big Ben, and the London Eye, and I was more than thrilled to shoot there, because it was my first time doing so!

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Willem and Karen’s wedding was ridiculously fun, full of awesomeness, overflowing with love, and incredibly pretty. Because that’s what Karen and Willem are! (Ok, maybe not pretty for Willem (sorry, dude), but Karen looked pretty enough for both of them on their wedding day, with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen). Juanette, who assisted me as she so often does, and I had an absolute blast shooting these two and their friends, and so narrowing down the images for this blog post was quite the epic task!

Every little detail of the day, from the signs directing guests to the chapel, to the fingerprint tree guestbook and the adorable little ringboxes, was so beautifully planned out, and detail-crazy me went nuts shooting them. I love it when my couples give me gorgeous things to photograph!

Also, there was a DANCE-OFF. Between Willem and his sister, though after that I think quite a few people needed to show off their skills too! See the last few photos of this post for proof!

This was also my last wedding before I left for the UK, and though I’ll be back to shoot more in April and September, it’s not quite the same. So this was a fantastic one to end off with!

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You might remember Taryn and Marc’s gorgeous wedding at Shepstone Gardens last year, which was also featured in the UK magazine, “Wedding“. I met up with them again in Pretoria a few weeks ago to take some fun day-after photos. We started off in a playground, because we’re all three cool like that, and ended up in some lovely fields in a game reserve. Awesomeness all round.

No wedding dresses were harmed in the making of these photos.

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So…you might have noticed a few changes around here over the past eight months or so. The word “London” has been turning up quite a lot, for instance. And that’s because (in case you didn’t already know)  Kat Forsyth Photography (aka me) will be moving to London at the end of this month!

It’s a huge adventure, and I can’t wait to get there and start photographing weddings over there! I will still be coming back periodically (this year in April and September) for weddings, so you can still enquire about weddings here if you love my work, and we might be able to sort something out!

And now here’s a quick one from Taryn & Marc’s TTD – full post to follow!

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How gorgeous is Marlette’s engagement ring?

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My internet has been down since Sunday, so I’m uploading these pics at gym (ah, free wifi, that’s why I joined). So text is pending for now!

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It all started with the shoes. Somewhere in the middle of last year – no wait, 2010, holy crap! – my friend Cat sent me a cellphone photo of some shoes she’d just seen in a shop. Red-sequinned they were, with black stripey heels, and knowing my obsession with The Wizard of Oz and ruby slippers (I even wore a pair of red shoes on my wedding day), she knew I’d love them.

She was right. After she told me the price-tag, I knew they had to be imported, so I went and Googled, and found them almost immediately. And that was my introduction to the kickass-ness that is Iron First Shoes. I’m not even a shoe girl, and I hardly ever wear heels, but hot damn, I wanted everything on that website. I couldn’t get the ruby slippers out of my head, so a few weeks later I popped into the shop Cat had been in to see them in person.

Well. The only pair left was the display pair, and they were one size too small for me. But they were On Sale. ON SALE. For one fifth of the original price! So in order to justify the purchase,  I decided I would buy them to use in a shoot one day. Photographing them’s just as good as wearing them, right? In fact, better, because it’d be more comfy.

So I bought the shoes – and another pair which actually do fit me, and were also on sale (score!) [see them in the couple shoot I did last year] – and left the store resolving to do a shoot based around them. Which I planned in the back of my head for ages, trying to get past the craziness that was last year and the first portion of this year, and then trying to find a dress, and a venue, and props, and a male model…

Finally we put it all together; I shot it last month, and here it is. My models were Cat and Louis, who are both in bands – Cat is the lead singer in a Rock ‘n Roll Band, and Louis is the drummer for TWO bands! They even brought along a few props to play with. The dress was made by Carla from Estienne Carla Photography, who is not only a crazy talented photographer, but an epic dress designer (Carla, you ROCK!!), and the makeup was done by the most fabulous makeup artist, Sam Scaife of Lashline, whom I love and adore! The coke can bouquet was made by an awesome guy named Christopher, who sits on the pavement outside the Woolworth’s on First Avenue Linden, selling his crafts, and the shoes were MINE. All mine.

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Aaand…onto Part 2! Which includes some pics from my last two weddings of the year, which are as yet unblogged.

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Here’s to a prosperous and fantastic 2012! I hope mine and yours are both filled with as much gorgeousness as this!

These are some of my favourites I’ve taken this year…enjoy!

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Christmas came and went in a blur (is it only slow for children, perhaps?) and new year is about to be upon us. So I thought I’d take some time and say thank you to everyone who featured some of my work this year!

English Wedding featured Bianca & Michael’s gorgeous sunny wedding:

The Boho Wedding Blog featured Lauren & Ross‘ homemade, nature-filled wedding:

The Wedding Community selected one of Marina and Jan-Hendrik’s wedding photos as their picture of the day:

Comely Day featured Chiara and David’s kick-ass engagement session:

Cap Classique featured Karen and Tom’s vintage engagement pics:

Moment Junkie featured TWO of my photos, which is a huge honour:

The Yum:

And The Ring Check:

And finally, the biggest feature of the year – Taryn & Marc’s vintage protea wedding in top UK bridal magazine, Wedding Magazine. Read all about it here!

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Angie and Maurice have a great love story – they were together years ago, and it didn’t work out. But lo and behold, they met up again, and they just KNEW. This time it was right. I’m a firm believer in timing being right for things to happen, and this year I’ve had that proved to me by not only Angie and Maurice, but also by Silja and Rob, whose wedding story you can read here. Sometimes the best part of being a wedding and couple photographer is being inspired by your clients!

Angie and Maurice were so sweet together, and so full of fun! We really lucked out with the weather, too – I was worried it would storm in the afternoon as it has done so often lately, but though the stormclouds did in fact roll up, they stayed nicely on one side of the sky for us to get some dark, cloudy photos,  while the other direction was bathed in soft golden light. Yum.

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This is probably the most overdue photoshoot in the history of ever. It’s certainly the most belated one I’ve ever done! Leandre and Erich are the cute couple in my blog header with their reflection in the giant puddle of water, with Leandre wearing my cute black and white gumboots. Their wedding was in April 2010, which is when that picture was taken. Prior to that, they were supposed to have an engagement shoot done. Well…we tried. That late March/early April period was one of the rainiest times I can remember as a photographer, and we had to postpone their shoot not once, not twice, but three times. Eventually it got too close to the wedding, and they decided to do a “day-after” shoot instead. Great, no problem. Except then it rained again, and then it was winter, and then real life took over and we couldn’t find a weekend we could all manage…finally we set a date for May this year, and when I left my house the weather was fine, and as I arrived at Leandre and Erich’s, BAM! – torrential downpour. The rain just loves these two. So eventually we got around to reorganising, and we shot on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. The stormclouds threatened, but we prevailed and got the shots. Half an hour after I got home, the storm hit. Craziness.

Anyway…here is the long overdue engagement AKA 18-month-anniversary shoot of Mr and Mrs Ehlers.

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Rae and Tota were married in late September at St John’s school (one of the most beautiful schools I’ve ever seen in this country!), and held their reception at the always awesome Turbine Hall in Newtown. Unfortunately we ran out of time (and light) to do the couple shoot part of the day, so Part 2 will be coming up as soon as that happens! Rae & Tota are such an incredibly photogenic couple, so I know for a fact that we are going to get some gorgeous pics and have a blast doing it!

I had such a ball on their wedding day. Rae & Tota spent the whole day alternating between fits of laughter, smiles of happiness and tears of joy, and that, of course, is perfection for photos! The bridal party were incredibly fun, having a blast at every moment, from the getting ready to the choreographed entry dance into the reception. The stunning decor was done by Jonathan from Lovely on Loveday, and I was in detail photo heaven, as I usually am with gorgeous flowers and candlebras and pretty stationery!

On with the photos (Part 1):

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Jan-Hendrik and Marina only booked me a few weeks ago to shoot their wedding, as a result of some unforeseen photographer circumstances, but I am so, so glad they did! As soon as Jan-Hendrik showed me the invitation he’d designed himself, I was sold. Creative, sweet, and so in love – that’s my kind of couple.

When I arrived on the day I was thrilled somewhat out of proportion to see that Marina had the same lilies in her bouquet that I’d had at my wedding three years ago – that’s the first time that’s happened! And she also wore cute ballet pumps, just as I did. So it was all pretty much meant to be.

Leopard Lodge was fantastic as usual, the light was phenomenal, and though we didn’t get to see any giraffe (or leopards, come to think), we did have an awesome time on the couple shoot, along with the very fun bridal party. Marina looked amazing in her champagne-coloured dress and birdcage veil (swoon), so I went a little crazy with photos of her. You’ll see.

 Gastronomical pro-portions? Jan-Hendrik, you rock. That is so my sense of humour.

Silly string? Well, that’s a first for me. Usually the guys just yell stuff at the groom!

 Awesome! Guys, thank you so much for letting me and Anabela (my second shooter) be part of your fabulous day!

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These two lovelies were married at Leopard Lodge last Saturday. How much do we love Marina’s dress? So Much.

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I do.

RIP Steve Jobs.

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Mischa and Patricia were married last week Friday at Maryvale Catholic church, with the reception held at the always gorgeous Shepstone Gardens. Their stylish, unique green and purple decor had me excited from the first moment, because I guessed it was just the start of a stylish and unique day – and I wasn’t wrong! From the amazing candybar (seriously, the best I’ve ever seen) to the chefs cooking post-ceremony snacks on the lawns in the late-afternoon sunlight, to the breathtaking purple and white cake, right down to Patricia and Mischa themselves, everything was lovely, simple, elegant and relaxed. Just the way I like it

My fab assistant for the day was Andre Sonnekus – thanks so much, Andre! It’s always fun with you.

Patricia had three pairs of shoes, but these Vivienne Westwoods – THE wedding shoes of the moment – made me shriek with excitement!

Something about this photo is awesome – it looks like Patricia is walking along in her own person confetti bubble.

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One from Shepstone Gardens on Friday:

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I was sooo excited when Christina from Wedding Magazine contacted me a few months ago about featuring Taryn and Marc’s wedding in one of their summer editions! I was even hopeful that I could pick up a copy while I was in the UK on my Eurotrip. However, my good friend Murphy, of Murphy’s Law fame, ensured that the magazine found its way onto shelves in London three days after I left to come home to SA, and of course, it only turned up here over a month later!

Anyway, here it finally is! I could not be more excited, eeeek!

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I’ve been incredibly slow at blogging more of my trip to Europe, but here’s the next installment, Prague. You can see my photos from Venice here.

Prague is a-freakin-mazing, and has the best skyline of all the cities we went to. Also the best building, which is the cathedral inside the castle. It’s unbelievable.

All the underground stations in Prague look like this, in different colours. So awesome.

So this is that cathedral I was on about….

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Bianca and Michael’s wedding was held at Avianto last week Sunday.  Every little thing about this wedding was lovely -  the bird theme carried throughout from the groomsmen boutonnieres to the cake toppers, Bianca’s showstopping dress, the family getting involved and doing the decor, the cute little signs for the bridal party, and of course, the loveliness of Bianca and Michael themselves. Bianca chopped off her hair the day before the wedding as a surprise for Michael, who prefers shorter hair, and it looked incredible! I think he was suitably impressed

Firstly, a BLACK wedding ring? Wow. And secondly, I was having some fun with these ring shots! I thought they looked totally cute on these cheese wedges.

Bianca, you’re a stunner.

How cute!

So, these two can DANCE.

And, there was a line-dance!

Now that’s my kind of bride. Bits come off your dress? Whatever! Throw them aside and keep dancing!

I just love this last one…for a second it’s just a big puffy white cloud until you see what’s happening.

Bianca and Michael, thank you so much for such an incredible day! And thanks to my second shooter for the day, Juanette from Deanna Photography.

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Lyndall and Brook. What a sweet, genuinely loving couple. Lyndall’s family are originally from South Africa, but they moved to the UK years ago. And it was on a trip to Australia that Lyndall’s brother met Brook, on a cruise around Sydney Harbour. Since Lyndall had already told him to find a good-looking Australian guy for her, it was fate. They became Facebook friends, and that was the beginning of, well, the beginning.

This was also the first LDS wedding I’ve ever photographed – or, in this case, NOT photographed, since I wasn’t allowed inside the temple. So perhaps I should say it was the first wedding I’ve photographed where I wasn’t actually at the wedding itself However, Lyndall and Brook had a ring ceremony at the Westcliff after we left the temple, so that the rest of their guests could witness that…and the first kiss. They then had a lunchtime reception, finally ending off the day with the couple photos! Never let it be said that weddings are all the same. This one certainly wasn’t. Also, as it turns out, Lyndall and her sister Camilla and I all went to the same Primary School, so I had a good old chat with their mother about that! Small world indeed.

My second shooter for the day was Corinna Tannian.

Brook’s first look at his bride, as she arrives at the gate of the temple:

And back to the Westcliff:

I’m really enjoying this ray of sun shining down on Lyndall…as if she didn’t look ethereal enough! Le sigh.

Since they were already married, Lyndall and Brook were pelted with confetti as they arrived AND as they left! Which I totally loved…it’s awesome fun, and you get double use out of your petals!

Each table at the reception was named after a place or something else that had personal meaning to Lyndall and Brook as a couple. There was even a table called “skype”, which played a big part in their relationship when they were living in different places.

Lyndall’s 95-year-old grandfather made a heartfelt speech.

And Brook’s brother made a very emotional one:

And the bouquet toss…of which there were two. The first one fell short, and the second one, well…here it comes:

And there it goes!

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Lyndall & Brook were married yesterday and held their reception at the Westcliff. Just one pic for now!

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Robert and Silja were married the weekend before last. Because of some last minute emergencies, they booked me only ten days before their wedding, but I was thrilled to be there and be a part of their incredibly special union. Rob and Silja have a very special love story, which Silja explained to me when she booked me, and which made it even more emotional for them…and for me.

In Silja’s words:
“Robert and I have known each other for almost 20 years, were never married. We have a daughter together who was born in 1995. When Anaïs was 3 we separated (our gap years as we now call them) and through a true miracle found back to each other 10 years later. I believe if we had stayed together then we would not be together today. We both needed to grow and mature; we never stopped loving each other, though, and it is a blessing to have our family reunited.

We have been through challenging times since getting back together in late 2007. Robert had a horrendous car accident (fell asleep behind the wheel and drove into the back of a bus), which he survived only because of his guardian angel’s protection. He broke almost every bone in his face, lost teeth and a part of his lip and underwent 3 operations. But he was brave and strong and has made a remarkable recovery.”

Isn’t that wonderful? I love the idea of finding your way back to your love after many years apart.

Now onto the photos…

The next two are just priceless, to me anyway:  Silja’s reaction on realising that her 16-year-old daughter Anais just caught the bouquet!

Thank you for a great day, Rob & Silja. You are wonderful, and your family and friends are fantastic. I wish you a lifetime of happiness, now that you’re finally together for always.

-Kat

PS – my second shooter was the wonderful Juanatte Van Schalkwyk of Deanna Photography.

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Just working on my first wedding of the season, and I thought I’d stick up a preview before I finish the full blog post.

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