She said YES! {Justin & Gen's engagement}

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire.” Jeremy Taylor

Justin and I became very good friends after we spent a year together in 2012 traveling the world, but it was only recently that I got to know Genevieve.

Justin is a hopeless romantic! He had this amazing plan to pop the Big Question, and he carried it out meticulously! He knew that Genevieve is a clever lady, and that she would become very suspicious if he planned something big, because they had talked about getting married and about wedding rings etc. So he decided to ask her on their 1st dating anniversary, because this would raise less suspicion as they would in any case go on a lunch or dinner date. Thats the event sorted. Next, how would he get the size of her ring? Well, it was at a specific dinner one evening when he played with one of her rings, and he had made a mental note about the size of the ring on one of his fingers at a specific joint. She picked up that he played with her ring, and thought it was suspicious, but eventually forgot about it. Luckily. Incredibly he got the size of the ring just perfect by doing a calculated guess, because the ring fitted perfectly! Next, he wanted great pictures while popping the question, so we had a talk, secretly of course, at his 30th birthday party in July this year. He said to me he wanted to do a picnic (Gen's favourite thing is having a picnic) at Jan Cilliers Park, and that he would design a photo book with pictures containing special memories of them dating and knowing each other, and that the last page would have a picture of the exact spot where he would pop the question, with the words "This is where I will ask you to make me the happiest man alive and marry me!". So romantic.

Amazingly everything worked out perfectly, even the weekend before the Big Day, Genevieve mentioned to Justin that she thinks he must ask a professional photographer to take some nice pictures of them on their first anniversary....no way...so he said: "Thats a brilliant idea, I will have a talk with Wynand." Meanwhile he had this planned all along! 

Well, long story short, he had a nice picnic organised with me there to take professional pictures.  They each had a gift bag with anniversary gifts for each other, but what she didn't know was that his bag, along with the chocolates and other small gifts, had the photo book with the question. When the photo shoot started, I told them both that I will take documentary pictures of them enjoying their picnic because I want "more natural pictures", but my actual intentions were to capture the exact moment when he asks her unobtrusively. So I chose to position myself in the garden in the bushes, to get a vantage point to see the sequence of events clearly and to capture  the moment which would change their lives forever. I was however probably as nervous as he was because I knew what was going to happen! And then it happened, they were on the last page of the photo book, and she clamped her mouth in astonishment and shock, he went on his knees, popped the question and she said yes! What a privilege!

Justin has a seriousness to him, and then also a very fun side. He loves baked beans and has a very unnerving fascination with Llamas. The most memorable thing Justin has told me was that he wants a Llama to carry the rings down the isle at his wedding (What? Don't think Gen will approve?) and that the reason why people wear their wedding ring on the 4th finger on your left hand, is because he believed that that finger is the only finger with a vein directly linked to your heart! Huh? But all fingers and body parts has veins going to and from their heart...Well, that's what I thought! Funny enough, about a month ago, I found out that that was exactly what the ancient Egyptians believed was the truth about your ring finger. (giggle)

Genevieve is a little gem, which Justin kept as a secret for quite a while before he introduced her to my wife and I. We thoroughly enjoy her, and she has a sweat tenderness to her, and above all she makes Justin's knees melt and he just can't stop smiling when talks about her! They are also so much in love, and this chemistry were magical in front of the camera!

Enough stories for now. Please enjoy the pictures, and do not hesitate to leave a comment at the end!