Meet Christiaan and Marine, all round good guys. I love shooting family portraits, I love the solitary feeling one gets when shooting a landscape at 5.00am in the morning, but nothing quite floats my boat like a day amongst good family and friends at a wedding. Everyone smiles, the groom pretends to be cool and calm (ja right buddy), the girls are all made-up magnificently, and the bride is at her brilliant best. After I’d shot Christiaan and Marine’s engagement shoot, I knew their wedding would be a winner. And it was. Marine had made no secret of her excitement in the months leading up to their wedding day and it rubbed off of me because man, I was about as excited as they were. They were married in the Strooidak Church in Paarl and then off we went to De Kleinevalleij in Wellington for the reception. As is customary at Afrikaans weddings, I swung between English and Afrikaans as I directed the shoot afterwards, which always delivers a few clangers and blank stares from the families. As they entered the reception, the guests all lit sparklers which set up the mood perfectly. I’m sad their wedding is over, but I’m helluva happy they choose me to be part of their day. Oh, and by the way at this wedding I had a bunch of men that were pretty keen on giving me that ‘blue steel-Clint Eastwood-ice cool’ stare. Mooi manne!