Wedding Photographers in South Africa

Wedding photography is one of the most rewarding jobs that we do as photographers. Every wedding is unique and that’s what makes it such fun for us. We usually meet the bride and groom beforehand, which helps us get a feel for each other but by the end of their wedding day, we usually feel like family friends….

We have photographed at so many wedding venues in South Africa but even wedddings at the same venue are never the same. We tend to connect with the couple and get a feel for what they want and how they are on the day and then we just go with the flow. As result, all our wedding photographs are emotional, natural and unique.

As professional wedding photographers in South Africa, we often get to photograph people from all over the world, who choose beautiful SA for their destination wedding. This is always fun and we have photographed brides in the bush, with lion cubs, with a giraffe and even a rhino!

As female wedding photographers, we also understand exactly how special this big day is for the bride and groom so we ensure that no special moments are lost. After all, your wedding photographs are all you have left once the big day has come and gone. You want to be able to look back at your wedding album or coffee table book and relive each moment of that special day!

We offer a variety of wedding photography packages and will tailor a package to suit your requirements. So if you are interested in choosing us as your wedding photographers, please contact us at: info@louisedieselphotography.co.za

We look forward to being a part of your special day and giving you the most stunning wedding photographs that you will most certainly treasure forever…..

South Africa is truly a beautiful place for your wedding. Make sure to bring home some lasting memories in the shape of professional quality, beautiful wedding photographs.

It doesn’t matter if you get married at The Michelangelo Hotel in the heart of Sandton (which is very well designed architecturally) or if you get married at a small country venue called Sha-Mani country lodge and wedding venue close to Alberton, or even if you get married at a peaceful venue 20 mins drive from Glenvista called Thornebirds wedding venue and conference venue.  The thing which makes a wedding special is the bride and groom, two people who have found love and who is going to make a promise to each other in front of their friends and families, and in front of God to spend the rest of their lives together looking after each other.On your wedding day you become accountable for your actions to someone else.  Weddings takes months to organise and prepare for (not to mention a lot of money) it is therefor crucial that you take the time and look for a wedding photographer wtih whom you feel comfortable with and will be able to capture your precious memories in a way that is appealing to you.Make sure that your wedding photographer is credible, with a proper portfolio and website.  Ensure that the wedding photography contract and terms and conditions protect you as the couple as well as the photographer.  Also take the time to discuss everything with your prospective photographer and ensure that the person you are meeting with is the person who will actually be taking your photos.So all in all a wedding is about much more than the flowers, the venue and the dress.  I always say to my clients remember:” The only thing that really matters on your wedding day is that you get married” And if it rains on your wedding day, you will have a long and prosperous wedding… (and if you don’t want it to rain I’ve heard a myth that you should put a broom in the tree and a fork in the ground) 

Riani

This season there will be several blushing brides walking down the aisle to marry the man of their dreams. Wedding planning and weddings in general have become big business these days. Goneare the days where the bride and groom just had a simple reception with their family and close friends and planned the whole thing themselves as well as did many of the preparations themselves as well. Several couples hire a professional party planner to help them with all of the stepsneeded. If, however you are on a tight budget and do not want a professionalthis article will go through the stepsneeded to planning a traditional wedding with the reception following. It willdiscuss when to get your dress, how to find a location, , testing cakes and food for the reception and otherthings.

Deciding whattype of wedding you would both like is the first thing to do. Planning for a small, largebig, outside garden wedding, formal evening reception in a grand ballroom are all options to ponder. If you are a member of a church that you want to be married in then you must check with the staff to pick a date that is available for your wedding. Once the date is decided], you can then get the perfect reception site for your wedding and getting the date you want as well. A lot couples are engaged for 9 months- over a year planning their wedding. Several bigger venues that are used tohosting wedding receptions will help you to guide through all of thelogistics such as food tastings and beverage options in addition to ideas to set up the space and decorate to your taste. Finding a quality floral designer is key to a beautiful ceremony and reception. Typically it is the flowers that set thestage so find one that you love and that you can afford at a similar time as you find the reception site, up to a year ahead of time.

Several couples like to announce their engagement in the local newspaper. This may be a good time to find the best photographer for your wedding. You can try them out with engagement pictures to see if that would be a goodfit for your wedding. This also, should be booked as far in advance as possible as the good ones book up early.

Searching for a wedding dress is an excitingthing for the bride to do. This should be done at about 6 months ahead of the wedding so alterations can be done leading up to the special moment. Bridal gowns range significantly in cost and can even be rented if you choose not to buy one.

If you are inviting many out of town guests you should send them a “save the date” card several monthsahead followed by a formal invitation 6-8 weeks prior to the wedding. The more things you can do ahead of time the less stressful it will be.

What makes wedding photography so special…?  I think it is the essence of love   Deciding to get married and to commit yourself to one person for the rest of your life is truly a momentous decision.  So to celebrate this decision we have a ritual called getting married.  Every culture does it differently but the outcome is basically the same.  Carey-Ann is Louise’s cousin and I play soccer with CA at Alberton Football Club.  We always have a great time together and are perfectly in sync on the soccer field.On the day of the wedding we truly had the best weather any professional wedding photographer could ask for.  I’m not quite sure where the bride and groom ordered their weather but I’ll let you know when I find out   I’ve heard a rumour, if you don’t want it to rain on your wedding day you have to put a fork in the ground and a broom in a tree… on the other hand I’ve also heard that rain on your wedding day signifies that you will have a long and happy marriage, so you decide! CA and Shaun I hope you guys will be happy together forever until eternity…!!

Riani

Louise and I have had the privilege of being extremely busy the last few weeks, from photographing events like woman at work to taking baby photos in studio to photographing exclusive weddings at the Michelangelo.  It’s truly been loads of fun and hard work….

Let me tell you a little about the bride and groom (we photographed) who got married on the 4th of April at The Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton.  Alan is Irish and Susan is South-African, they’ve been living together in London for 5 years.    As their families are from two different continents they’re having two weddings, one in South-Africa and another one in Ireland.  Sounds like fun to me..   Susan is the most outgoing bubbly woman I have ever met.  She is easygoing and nothing really stresses her out (oh ja and she’s always giggling).  Alan on the other hand is a little bit more quiet and reserved but as the saying goes, opposites attract (and usually to tend to compliment each other well)

Susan got dressed at her mother’s house in Northcilff ( I photographed the bride getting dressed) and Alan got dressed at some family of the bride’s house in Randpark Ridge(where Louise was taking photos).  They got married at a catholic church in Morningside and the Reception was held at the Michelangelo in the heart of Sandton.  Can you imagine our dilemma with traffic…  The Groom’s party (best men and Louise) got stuck in traffic and it took them over an hour to get to the church and the bride left her house late and also got stuck in traffic (It made the whole wedding quite interesting   )If I can give you one top wedding planning tip it’s to get married at a venue or not having to travel more than 30km from your house, to the church and to the reception hall.

The wedding ceremony was so special and intimate that Louise and I had to hold back our tears.  It was like something from a movie scene.  At one point in the service the minister said:’ Take Alan’s hands, turn them face up and hold them in yours.  Now look at his hands, these are the hands who will look after you, these are the hands that will share every intimate detail of your life with you. These are the hands which will understand and help you through trying times.  These are the hands that will help you up after you’ve fallen and will share the sunshine in your life.  These are the hands which will caress your pregnant tummy in happy anticipation of your unborn child.  These are the hands which will hold your newborn baby with unbelievale tenderness…’ etc. etc. etc.  Can you get an idea of what I’m talking about…?  It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard at any wedding ceremony!

Outside the church is this narrow little path which leads to a big wooden gate, once you walk through it there is the most beautiful little secluded garden where we photographed the family, took some fun entourage photos a few wedding photos with a sunset sky in the background and then we were off to the Michelangelo.

We also didn’t let the chance to photograph the bride and groom at this Sandton five star hotel pass us by.  I even got the concierge (as Susan called them) to move the cars parked in front of the fountain for some shots.  They didn’t mind going up and down the elevators to different floors for photographs since Susan also has a passion for photography.  Louise and I had such fun shooting at this wedding and Susan a you really made us feel like family!

Riani

I photographed my cousin’s CA’s kitchen tea yesterday (or should I say bridal shower??) Bridal shower just sounds so much better than kitchen tea! Especially since I don’t like the kitchen and neither does my cousin Carey-Ann. It was so funny, one her friends gave her Olive Oil bath lotion – beautiful stuff – but CA at first thought she had to cook with it and was not too impressed. She said she would have given it to Shawn if it was for cooking…

She was really spoilt by all her friends and family and since they already have all the household and kitchen goodies (and she doesn’t really care much for those kinds of things) she was showered with pampering gists such as lingerie, bath and body lotions anda few naughty things too!!!

It was a really fun afternoon, spent with friends and family (and what made it even better was that Liverpool beat Man United 4 – 1!!!) Poor CA and Shawn: they are Man United supporters…. The ladies were in a real party mood and CA’s mom Mary and her bridesmaid Stacey were wonderful hosts. We played Bridal Bingo and then a sppinging game where everyone got a chance to spin and CA either got to open presents or have a drink or two!! Shame she really got nailed a few times!!!

The afternoon was ended off with 3 fine looking men dancing and entertaining the ladies and perhaps giving CA a little more attention than Shawn might approve of!!! But it was all good, clean fun in honour of the bride-to-be!!!

The wedding is in 2 weeks time. I am really excited as Riani and and are photographing the wedding. it is at Sha-Mani in Alberton and I’ve heard that it is a beautiful wedding venue. As the wedding photographer, I guess I will have to behave myself at least until after the wedding ceremony……

After that, I think I’ll let Riani work her magic (she really is a good wedding photographer) and maybe I can be in one or two photos for a change!!! I will have to have a few glasses of champagne with my cuz and the rest of the family to celebrate this special occasion!

Watch out for the McGinley waddle – even my Uncle Tom is going to be there and he is not getting out of it…..

It’s going to be a party of note – one thing I can say about the bride and groom is that they know how to party!! And party we will…. Enjoy the day my cuz, it’s one of the most special days of your life….. And may the two of you continue to be best friends forever because that’s the glue that keeps a marriage together!!! All my love Weez

Belamie & Alain are getting married in Mozambique  (how romantic?!) and unfortunately their mozambiquan wedding venue can only accomodate a select few wedding guests like moms, dads and other close family. 

They decided on having a spiritual ceremony for extended family and friends and their chosen wedding venue was St Andrew’s school for girls situated in Edenvale Johannesburg.  The school is built in a traditional Victorian style and features older buildings (very well maintained) and well established gardens with rolling lawns and  enormous oak trees.

On arrival I was told that the start of the ceremony included each and every guest choosing a hat from a table covered in a array of  hats including a circus hat, pirate hat, cowboy hat and too many others to remember.

Belamie is a free-spirited woman, not necessarily like a hippie but just very spiritual and in tune with the earth and other people.  They really make a great pair, Alain is so in love and it’s always great being able to capture this kind of connection between a couple.

The ceremony consisted of dancing, not like race but just basically moving your body gently on the rythm of the music with a spiritual leader telling everyone how they should be moving….

like everybody slowly lift your arms up into the air, keep it there for a few seconds and then slowly bring them back down and this symbolises utilising the power of the earth to strengthen the bond between the couple and guide them in their upcoming marriage.

The ‘bridal couple’ stood in the middle of this big circle of friends in order to receive all these blessings.  In the middle of this ceremony Belamie and Alain had the chance to make a small speech to one another, about how much the other person means to them, how they met, what they’re expecting from the marriage and how much they cherish each other… you know the rest

After the ceremony they had a lovely picnic lunch and everyone enjoyed just socialising in paradise under umbrellas on soft picnic blankets.

It’s a real pleasure to photograph such a laid back bride and groom, it makes my job as a professional wedding photographer in Johannesburg so much easier and fun.  Having a relaxed couple really helps inspire me to create more beautiful and creative wedding imagery.

This unconventional wedding ceremony ended up giving me Goosebumps,  it was such a spiritual experience and will remain with me forever…

Riani