Roodevallei Wedding Photography

Ilze & Drikus’s big day has arrived. They chose to get married on a Sunday. At 10:00 in the morning. I asked Ilze why? Most people are getting ready late in the afternoon? Ilze said she want to feel fresh for the wedding, and she doesn’t want to stress the whole day. They also like breakfast, so, Sunday morning it was.

They chose they beautiful Roodevallei Hotel as their wedding venue. Just outside Pretoria, and right on the banks of the Pienaarsriver that flows into the Roodeplaatdam. From Ilze’s room where she is getting dressed she had a beautiful view over the river and the place where she will be getting married.

It was a rainy day when I arrived, and seeing that the ceremony was supposed to be outside everyone was stressing a bit. A big surprise for me was when I met the wedding coordinator. It was Leandra, I photographed her wedding a year ago. This lady CAN organise. i just know everything will be ok.

Ilze’s room was a beehive of activity, Jennifer from www.beautifulme.co.za was the make up artist and hairstylist and she was doing her magic. Ilze’s granny Ray was there, she has 14 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, only 3 grandchildren still has to get married, she is used to this. Ilze’s 3 sisters are also there lending a hand. (They are 4 sisters, and Drikus’s family has 3 sons) Ilze is the last one to get married, and everyone is going all out for this one. Ilze’s mom Anne and dad Herman are making sure everything is going right for their last born’s wedding.

Look at this bottle of Yardley Enigma. It is Ilze’s favourite perfume, but they don’t make it anymore. Drikus bought it for her 5 years ago. There is only a few drops left and she kept that for a very special occasion. Her wedding day. I don’t suppose you get a more special day to wear your favourite perfume.

I asked Ilze what was your inspiration behind your overall wedding décor and colour choices? “My mother and mother-in-law both had all these creative ideas and were eager to be involved. Not wasting a single minute they went shopping for supplies and doing their magic. This was definitely a part of the planning I was most grateful for because everything was made with love.”

Drikus all smiles before the wedding, but inside? Who knows? He sent Ilze a bunch of flowers and a little note. “Don’t make me wait to long” I guess he WAS stressed!

All three sisters making sure their little sister is looking awesome before she walks out to meer her groom.

Ilze’s garter. Drikus caught it three moths ago at a wedding that they attended.

Corne and Dewald is Drikus’s brothers and his two groomsmen. At this stage it was still raining lightly, and the moment that Ilze started walking towards the church…the rain stopped, and Drikus took over and started crying when he saw his beautiful bride walking towards him. Ilze later told me that for her the highlight of the wedding was: Walking down the aisle ….seeing the tears in Drikus’ eyes…holding each other’s’ hands and realizing our special day has finally arrived.”

So, what was the chosen song for Ilze to walk into the church?

Drikus is the lead singer in a melodic deaf metal band, My Columbine. The guitarist in the band played the wedding march on an electric guitar, that was a first for me.

After the signing of the register everyone went for drinks and snacks, and Ilze, Drikus and I walked up and down the beautiful river and in the gardens at Roodevallei and took some photos. They are such a lovely couple. They started going out in school already, A friend of a friend who knew a friend invited them both to a house party almost eight and a half years ago…

I asked Drikus how he proposed to Ilze:

“Well, the hardest part was to keep the proposal a secret for eight months and succeeding! For me this was not easy. Especially with all the temptations on billboards, friends were getting married, advertisements on television and Ilze watching romantic movies all the time. Thus when the time came to travel one thousand and one km’s to one of the most beautiful places in Cape Town…Gordons Bay, I couldn’t be happier. Anxious to get Ilze on the beach I was also nervous that I might drop the ring in the sand. After fabricating a story that we need to find seashells for a friend, Ilze found a shell just as we set foot on the beach which caught me a bit off guard….so I told her to go find another shell. Totally unaware of all the adrenaline pumping through me she kept searching until I found the perfect moment to go onto one knee and propose. At first Ilze thought I was joking because I kept the ring tightly closed in my hand, but as I opened my hand exposing the ring, the tears just flooded from her eyes.”

And here we are…

Dewald works at Volvo, and he organised this awesome car for the wedding

Drikus’s speech, he is obviously used to singing in front of people and talking over a microphone, so there was no nerves here.

Drikus’s dad David enjoying his sons speech with his new daughter in law.

And all the members of My Columbine enjoying a drink together.

Their first dance: Only make believe. it is an old Elvis song, sang by The Misfits.

I asked Ilze a few questions:

Describe your wedding day, anything specific that you will always remember? 

Our day was everything and more we could’ve hoped for. Whatever went wrong…we absolutely did not know about it and just lived the moment. It was an absolute pleasure spending the day with our loved ones, knowing how blessed we are to have such amazing friends and family be part of our lives.

Do you have any advice for other groom/brides to be? Make sure your groomsmen can handle the pressure. Just sit back, relax and have some fun!

and lastly

Tell us about your photographer:  Excellent!!! The Best!!! Outstanding!!! We have seen a lot of wedding photos, family shoot photos and engagement photos from various kinds of photographers…but JC Crafford is by far the crème de la crème of all photographers and not just because of the amazing photos but because of all the passion, dedication, love, warmth, friendliness, sociable, approachable and energy that JC puts in his work.

Photographer: JC Crafford