After every wedding I get home and whoever in my family is within earshot gets the whole run-down from start to finish. This is not a short exercise, as I tend to get quite excited and animated about the whole thing. Helen ALWAYS listens intently. As for the kids, well, they just think its all boring so to combat this I’ll often throw in a word like ‘fart’ as a sort of teaser campaign. The next thing, they’re all ears wanting to know who at the wedding ‘let one go’ so to speak! Of course I then just lie a bit to spice things up so that I can keep their attention for the rest of the story. As luck would have it, I didn’t need to throw in any distracting words when describing Ally and Campbell’s wedding because there was more than enough ammo to use. There was the fact that this was a Bishops versus SACS derby – a SACS photographer and groomsman against a Bishops groom and groomsmen. We were outgunned, but the stats of last year’s rugby games (SACS 21 Bishops 8 and then SACS 34 Bishops 3) kept us in the game (very nicely sneaked in there Warren). Then there was the fact that we shot the bridal party photos before the service, which set up a wonderful mood for the rest of the day. Then there was Tanya and Tigue who I bumped into at the door to the Bishops Chapel. Ah, my wonderful Tanya and Tigue, whose wedding I photographed at Mofam. ‘Oh coooool,’ said Gillian (my kids know ALL of my brides and grooms). ‘She’s the girl who skipped and danced down the aisle!’ Quite correct, she was indeed. Then there was the baby owl outside Catharina’s Restaurant at Steenberg, being carefully watched from above by mom and dad. Then there were the groomsmen – quality men – well-educated, articulate, intelligent – the kind of chaps you want your daughters to bring home (well, most of them fell into that category although there may well have been a dodgy one or two in the mix). And the bridesmaids – class, looks, elegance, you name it, it was there. And the mothers of the bride and groom. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. And the guests. Outstanding and understanding as they stood for their photos under a very hot sun. And what about the 44000 children at the wedding (fertile lot this Bishops mob) – cute, fun, huggable, beautifully dressed to the last one. And so it went. I left Ally and Campbell’s wedding so much richer for the experience. It was wonderful to the end. Right now, Ally and Campbell are back in New York City where they live and work. I’m jealous – it’s my biggest dream ever to visit the Big Apple. Maybe one day when I do eventually get there they’ll have a family. In fact, I know they will. And we’ll haul out the camera and get down to an NYC family photo shoot. But that’s a story for another day…
Warren, the album is brilliant, every photo is perfect and you’ve made the day a memorable one! Thank you!
Thank you Corne – it was a lovely wedding and everyone truly went out of their way to make my job as easy and relaxed as possible.