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Baby and maternity, family photography Wynand van der Merwe Baby and maternity, family photography Wynand van der Merwe

Werner and Elsa | Gender Reveal | Northcliff, Jhb

Congrats! Hadassah is going to be loved! Maternity shoot for Werner and Elsa was super special!

What do you get when you mix your own best friends Werner and Elsa, with a smoke grenade, Jacaranda tree flowers, the location where they got engaged, and lots and lots of wind? Really awesome memories!

Werner and Elsa is personally very good friends, they have been with us through the good and tough times…so they mean a lot to us! Elsa obviously wanted me to capture some really cool maternity and gender reveal photos of them and the baba that’s on the way, so it’s really special for me to be able to share in this special time of their lives. (I obviously knew they are getting a girl even before their parents knew, becuase I had to bring a pink smoke grenade! hehehe)

Elsa wanted to do a baby reveal shoot in September at around 16 weeks of her pregnancy, but baba didn’t want to reveal the gender, so the shoot was postponed by a month to 25 October 2019, and wow…we had such a special time.

We almost missed the Jacaranda tree flowers season, but we got some really cool spots close to Northcliff Koppie in Randburg. We also did most of the photos at the Watertower or Koppie because the place is special to them…that’s where Werner asked Elsa to marry him, and it’s special also because the views of the city and the sunsets are next level up there! We weren’t so lucky with the sunset, and on top of that we were greeted with crazy winds, so that’s why Elsa had a rather crazy hair-do in the photos…we had to stand with her face down-wind otherwise we wouldn’t have seen her face…hehehe!

We eventually revealed that they are going to have a little girl, Hadassah, and what a beautiful God-given name! Congrats you two! You are going to be such great parents, and she is going to be loved to the Moon and back! You guys are like Godparents to our kids, and if you are half the parents you are as with our kids, then you are going to be briliant!

Enough said, enjoy the photos and please leave a comment at the end!

Click on the image to enlarge!


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Chrisjan and Juanita | Wedding | Lace on Timber

What a special and memorable wedding at Lace on Timber! Chrisjan and Juanita absoluted shined for Jesus during their beautiful and special day!

Chrisjan and Juanita | Wedding | Lace on Timber

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. “ Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Chrisjan and Juanita had a very beautiful and intimate wedding at the beautiful Lace on Timber venue.

I have been to many weddings and I have not seen two people so much in love like these two souls….Wow. I always tell my clients that they should forget about me while I am taking photos because they should create memories together, and they should chat and interact with each other to etch the memory in their brain. And I know its difficult to achieve this because I am obviously walking with them and I am in their face but they actually had moments where they completely forgot about me (I could have slipped away and they wouldn’t have noticed), and I could see in the emotion in Juanita’s face that she is completely smitten about her prince, Chrisjan.

Chrisjan and Juanita is also completely sold out to Jesus, and their whole wedding was drenched in His goodness and provision. Juanita testified many times during the day how they were blessed by so many amazing people in her life and how God had provided for them to have their fairytale wedding.

Many things stood out for me about their wedding, but one thing that I will never forget was during the speeches. Every person who had a turn to speak were so encouraging and uplifting about the person they were addressing, almost like speaking life into and over that person they are talking about. I felt truly inspired and lifted up by the amazing words everyone had to say. It really gave me HOPE that if there are more people like these people in SA, then I can have a restored hope in SA at the moment. #trulyinspired #imstaying #Jesusistheanswer

Oh how I also loved Juanita’s dress. It’s a Lady Dianah dress from the Bridal House and OH MY WORD…Juanita looked amazing…and the look on Chrisjan’s face when he say her for the first time….wow!

I am truly honoured that you guys chose me to capture your wedding day, and thank you for allowing me to be as creative as possible! Such a privilege to have shared the day with you! Lots of love and blessings!

Here’s a list of the suppliers who were involved.

Hair: Captivating Mobile Hair and Makeup | Makeup: Beautiful Change | Dress: the Bridal House | Juanita’s shoes: Daniel Hector | Rings: NWJ | CJ’s suit: Woolworths | DJ: EMC Productions | Food and Venue: Lace on Timber | Flowers and decor: Living Touch | Cake: Johlenne Volschenk

Enjoy the photos and please leave a comment at the end!

(for the photographers: I used a Godox AD200 with Magmod grid and 1/2 CTO gel in most of the shots. #godoxsa #magnetmod)

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Teaser! Chrisjan and Juanita | Wedding | Lace on Timber

What a special and memorable wedding at Lace on Timber!

Teaser! Chrisjan and Juanita | Wedding | Lace on Timber

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. “ Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Oh wow, I dont have words. Yesterday’s wedding was so so special.

Wynandvandermerwe chrisjan juanita wedding laceontimber gauteng-38.jpg

Chrisjan and Juanita had a very beautiful and intimate wedding at the beautiful Lace on Timber venue.

I have been to many weddings and I have not seen two people so much in love like these two souls….Wow. I always tell my clients that they should forget about me while I am taking photos because they should create memories together, and they should chat and interact with each other to etch the memory in their brain. And I know its difficult to achieve because I am obviously walking with them and I am taking photos of them but they actually had moments where they completely forgot about me (I could have slipped away and they wouldn’t have noticed), and I could see in the emotion in Juanita’s face that she is completely smitten about her prince, Chrisjan.

Chrisjan and Juanita is also completely sold out to Jesus, and their whole wedding was drenched in His goodness and provision. Juanita testified many times during the day how they were blessed by so many amazing people in her life and how God had provided for them to have their fairytale wedding. Many things stood out for me about their wedding, but one thing that I will never forget was during the speeches. Every person who had a turn to speak were so encouraging and uplifting about the person they were addressing, almost like speaking life into and over that person they are talking about. I felt truly inspired and lifted up by the amazing words everyone had to say. It really gave me HOPE that if there are more people like these people in SA, then I can have a restored hope in SA at the moment. #trulyinspired #Jesusistheanswer

Oh how I also loved Juanita’s dress. Its a Lady Dianah dress from the Bridal House and OH MY WORD…Juanita looked amazing…and the look on Chrisjan’s face when he say her for the first time….wow!

Enough said for now. Here’s a list of the suppliers who were involved.

Hair: Captivating Mobile Hair and Makeup | Makeup: Beautiful Change | Dress: Bridal House | Juanita’s shoes: Daniel Hector | Rings: NWJ | CJ’s suit: Woolrworths | DJ: EMC Productions | Food and Venue: Lace on Timber | Flowers and decor: Living Touch | Cake: Johlenne Volschenk

Enjoy the photos and please leave a comment at the end!

(for the photographers: I used a Godox AD200 with Magmod grid and 1.2 CTO gel in most of the shots. #godoxsa #magnetmod)

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Zander & Mariska | Wedding | Memoire Wedding Venue

What an emotional and special wedding at MEMOIRE. Zander and Mariska, thank you for allowing me to capture your wedding love story. I enjoyed every second! and you had me to tears many times!

Zander & Mariska | Wedding | Memoire Wedding Venue

“Words are not enough to express the unconditional love that exists between a mother and a daughter.” – Caitlin Houston

What an emotional and special wedding at MEMOIRE. Zander and Mariska, thank you for allowing me to capture your wedding love story, to be cherished forever! Wow, Mariska, you looked absolutely gorgeous in your wedding dress made by Mubarak from the Goodluck Bridal. Fafa from FDK Styling made sure all the girls’ makeup looks amazing and Armon from Bridal by Armon did magic with their hair! Thank you for getting the girls done on time, and also the laughs and for keeping Mariska sane! Mariska really appreciated you guys!

There were many highlights for me during the day. First one, they didn’t have a wedding cake but instead a Pinata, made by Pinata Africa. I love the photos from when they “murdered” the pinata, and I also love their reactions afterwards…it almost looked like they got to let off some steam from the wedding! 

The biggest highlight for me was Mariska’s mom. She has dementia, which means she doesn’t really understand what is going on around her. So a few minutes before Mariska needed to get in the wedding car (a supercool Chevrolet called Johanna) to go meet her prince-charming, she greeted her mom and due to her mom’s illness, she didn’t understood what was playing off in front of her...her daughter is almost getting married. Mariska told me that her mom thinks she got invited to a birthday party. I could see what it meant for Mariska to have her mom there and how it touched her heart to be able to share this with her mom, but also it broke her heart because her mom doesn’t understand. I captured a moment when her bridesmaids took a moment to pray with her alone to give her the strength to enjoy the day with her loved ones but also with her mom. There was another moment right after they said their “I-do”s when they spoke with her mom and for a glimpse it seemed she understood and that she was proud of her daughter and new son-in-law. The amazing thing about a photo is that it’s eternal, a moment captured to be cherished forever!

WOW! THIS IS WHY I DO WHAT I DO!

I love REAL moments at weddings! I really pray Mariska that you will remember your mom as the woman she once was and that you will believe your mom understood in that moment what was going on when you spoke to her at the wedding (even if she didn’t).

Great, now less words more photos. The day was truly amazing, and we had loads of fun. Enjoy the photos. 

Thank you Lechien for second shooting for me! Was lovely having you with me!

 Please leave a comment at the end, a little love goes a long way!

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Crystal & Yannick | Engagement shoot | 12 Decades Art Hotel, Maboneng

Wow, I wanted to create a dreamy and romantic picnic themed engagement shoot at a rooftop location in Gauteng, and I just love the results! Yannick and Crystal…wow, you guys looked amazing! 12 Decades Art Hotel in Johannesburg in Maboneng Precinct.

Crystal & Yannick | Engagement shoot | 12 Decades Art Hotel, Maboneng

"As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen" Winnie the Pooh

Wow, I really wanted to create a dreamy, elegant and romantic engagement shoot for Yannick & Crystal, and they wanted a super beautiful sunset shoot in an urban setting...and there were no other option but to do the shoot at a rooftop in the Innercity of Johannesburg. 

Yannick rented an Airbnb apartment in the 12 Decades Johannesburg Art Hotel in The Maboneng Precinct, and Extravaganza Weddings created the most romantic setting for them up on the roof! Wow, what a view of Johannesburg! I really can't wait for their wedding later this year, it's going to be epic! 

Crystal's makeup was flawless, thank you Precious Puseletso Xaba Makeup Artist!

Enjoy the photos and please leave a comment at the end!

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