Tulbagh wedding photography
It was my first wedding in Tulbagh, and what an unbelievable experience it was. Tulbagh has this beautiful old Cape Dutch houses, with the oldest church in South Africa. And it was to this sleepy little town that Gareth & Deborah and their friends travelled all the way from the UK to start their married life.
Their wedding was at the beautiful Rijk’s Country House . Their friends from all over the world descended on Rijk’s and everybody had a big party for the whole weekend that started with a traditional South African braai on the Saturday evening before the wedding on Sunday.
Debs and Gareth picked me up from the airport, I’ve never met them before except for a Skype chat, and didn’t quite know what to expect, but WOW, what amazing people they are, before we were close to Tulbagh we were good friends already, they are just the kind of people that make everybody feel welcome.
I didn’t join the festivities on Saturday evening, I decided to rather rest and be ready for Sunday’s wedding. I decided to have supper at Gerard’s Country Grill at Manley’s wine Lodge where I was staying, can I tell you a secret? They make the absolute best Bobotie I’ve ever eaten, and you don’t get friendlier owners anywhere. The managers at Manley’s are also awesome, thanks for your friendliness girls.
Sunday was the big day, Debs and Gareth rented an old VW Beetle Cabriolet and I drove around in it to plan our photo shoot.
Debs are VERY organised, and as expected she wasn’t even a minute late. I drove Debs in the Beetle to church, a first time this honour was bestowed on me.
The service, was awesome, I’ve seen a lot of weddings in my career as a wedding photographer, but I’ve never seen so much emotion ever between the bride and groom, the were constantly looking at each others, touching each other and hugging each other, clearly they were looking forward to this moment for a very long time.
After the service we did the photo shoot while the guests went to Rijk’s where the reception would take place. Annemarie, Annemi and their team from La Promesse were the wedding planners, I’ve worked with them many times before, and let me tell you one thing, actually two. Not only are they the nicest people to know, when they organise something NOTHING goes wrong. If you are looking for a wedding planner, don’t look any further, just call Annemarie and Annemi.
I mention earlier what nice people Debs and Gareth are? It was the first time ever that I’ve heard the bride and groom in their speeches thank each and every one of the 120 people by name…and say something about them. Awesome guys!
The party: Well, well, well…these people CAN party, nobody misbehaved, and everybody was on the dance floor virtually all the time, having the time of their life! I think Debs and Gareth danced with every single one of their guests. Have a look at some of the party photos I have included, THIS is how people must enjoy a wedding party.
I left at 01:00, and at that stage their was no signs of slowing down!
The next day we had a Trash the dress shoot at Yzerfontein at Annemarie’s house on the beach (thanks for accommodating us Annemarie) The water was Icy cold, I know, I stood ankle deep in the water and got hit by a wave and was soaking wet, the water was dripping from my two Fujifilm cameras. But Gareth and Debs actually lay down in the ocean with the water splashing over them, Debs was blue from the cold, but you couldn’t get the smile off her face!
And suddenly our magical weekend was over, they drove me to the airport…and they departed on honeymoon.
Gareth and Debs, thanks for making me a part of your unbelievable wedding, I will never ever forget the great times we had together, our chats on the way to Tulbagh, on the way to Yzerfontein and back to the airport. I wish you all the luck and happiness in the world!
JC Crafford Wedding Photography
JC Crafford is a boutique wedding photographer living in Pretoria in South Africa. We travel all over to photograph the biggest day in people’s life’s….and we love ever second of doing this. You can read more about our wedding photography and prices here. We also do wedding videography
