5th – 6th February 2013

We had been in touch with Kristina and Annemieke of Blink Photography for quite some time arranging our South African wedding. Kristina seemed to get the idea at once and we talked excitedly about how we could hold two very different ceremonies both in line with local cultures and traditions.

Between us and help from amazing stylist Annika we planned to build a very rigid Afrikaner shoot based around the early 1900’s and to go completely opposite and hold a ceremony in Khayelitsha in the township styled again around the early 1900’s and with local traditions explained and included in and around the actual wedding.

We were all so excited to post these two very different cultures side by side, one very uptight, rigid, plain and simple and the other filled with fun, attitude and colour.

We met with Kristina and Annika to collect our wardrobe for the 3 days and we loved the whole experience. Although we have worked with 30+ professional photographers we had never worked with a fashion photographer or a wardrobe stylist!

The girls were such great fun and we loved picking out all of the wild costumes and puling together the story for each shoot.

Day one of the Afrikaner shoot was in the beautiful Bot Rivier at the Beaumont Winery. The owner, Jayne had kindly allowed us use of her own personal home for the shoot and it was just perfect.

Debbie Jean came and got to work straight away on our hair and make up. It was going to be a big job as we both had fake hair to apply! My hairstyle was just too modern for the shoot so Debbie had sourced a clip in fringe which matched my natural hair colour perfectly and Alex had a rather large handlebar moustache to sport for the day! We laughed at our transformations and at Alex’s disgust at having some else’s hair in his mouth all day long! I had to hold up his moustache with a pen while he drank his tea!! Ever the drama queen!

Before long we were dressed and ready to go. The shots looked amazing, the layout of the rooms with the addition of a few things here and there or with a little rearranging just brought the whole look to life.
Attention to detail was paramount and as far as we are concerned made the pictures all the more incredible. Kristina and Annika were just amazing, having never worked with stylists or on a set shoot we were just amazed at their ability to visualise what they can get from the space. Everything is planned and styled to perfection!

My favourite part of the day was the shoot on the stoop. We got into position and then Jaynes dog, Mango came and sat right at our feet! He looked right at the camera and just completed the whole image perfectly, he was a real star! And the chickens, trying to get the chickens into the shed was so funny, they are very disobedient!

We chased the poor things around and tried to coax them into the coop but they just were not co-operating. We gave up in the end but we did get a great shot of the cockerel stood in the doorway of the coop so that made Kristina’s day!

At the end of day one we were all so happy with everyone’s work. The pictures are just incredible and reflect the era to a tee!

We grabbed another amazing bottle of wine or two from Jayne and headed back to a camp site in Stellenbosch for the night after popping in to see Alex’s Mum and joining her for a well eared Pizza.

We chatted excitedly about our day and listened all about Janets day painting! She had had an amazing day and agreed to come along the next day with us to watch the shoot.

The next day we had our hair re-applied and spent the day at Langverwacht to complete the Afrikaner shoot.

Janet just couldn’t keep a straight face at our additional hair but you would never tell to see the pictures. We stood with our backs straight and our faces equally stiff for the pictures and broke out into laughter each time the camera stopped clicking.
We took family portrait pictures and even mocked up an old masters painting complete with pitchforks and animal barn. It was a great fun day and we were all made so welcome.

None of us could really keep a straight face behind the camera but managed to pull it off for the shots. The moustache was just too funny to remain so serious.

Carin and her family made us an amazing lunch sat under the grape vines for shade. We ate the most amazing cheese and broccoli pie with home-made ginger ale and lemonade and a fabulous salad and even lemon drizzle cake…it was so gooooood!

After we had restored our energy levels we had another go with the chickens! The maids stood holding the chickens and threw down some seed, we got into position and the chickens were let loose.

It was mayhem but we got what Kristina was looking for…we almost even had a shoot with the peacocks but thought we may be pushing our luck after such a successful day!

We packed up and said our farewells, Janet ran off to a painting class and we stopped at the store for some coal and some meat to cook ourselves a Braai! A ‘Braai’ is South African for a BBQ, we spent the evening with Myrtle in our peaceful campsite watching the birds in the trees and drinking a great bottle of wonderful Beaumont wine and eating grilled meat! A perfect way to finish a busy day.

We looked forward to the next day, finally it was time to smile on camera, day 3 was the day of our wedding in Khayelitsha.
We were excited to wear some colour and to relax our spines once again and of course we were eager to learn about the Khayelitsha wedding traditions…I was also a little nervous about visiting the sprawling township.

We had driven past a few times and I was moved by the living conditions. Tiny tin huts piled on top of each other with rusting roofs, dirt paths and children with bare feet. I was worried that we would not be welcomed and seen as typical ‘rich’ tourists…I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Huge thanks to everyone who made this possible!

HALO (Annika Olah) | Clothing, accessories and shoes

ANNIES ANGELS | Hats

COSTUME HIRE | Clothes and accessories

SECOND TIME AROUND | Dress

LOCATIONS | www.beaumont.co.za and www.langverwagt.co.za

PHOTOGRAPHY | www.blink-photography.co.za

STYLING | Annika Olah olah.styles@im-www.de

MAKE UP | Debbie Jean www.realwomenmakeup.com

VEIL | Robyn Roberts