It is sometimes interesting how I get to photograph a wedding. Louisa-Mari’s mom are friends with Esther, I photographed Esther’s son’s wedding a few years ago, and that is how it happened that I got to spend the day with Louisa-Mari, Naas, and their awesome family and friends. Esther is very good friends with my mother in law, so obviously I must make sure I have a good day at the office! LOL
Louisa-Mari and Naas’s professional life’s are worlds apart, she is a structural engineer, and he is a software developer. But in their personal life’s they are a PERFECT match. It’s been a long time since I have seen two people as much in love as these two. After Louisa-Mari walked into the church they took their time first looking at each other and chatted softly to each other before the ceremony started. And why not, it is THEIR day. You could just see from the way that they interact with each other that this is a very special relationship. They were constantly smiling at each other and giving each other little hugs in church. I hope you guys will always stay this way Naas and Louisa-Mari.
They decided on yellow as the colour for their wedding, I don’t think i have ever seen this at a wedding before, but it worked very well and everything looked awesome. Lucia (Louisa-Mari’s mom) are somebody that doesn’t miss anything, she made sure that everything looked perfect for her daughters big day.
While the woman were getting their make-up and hair done, Naas and his groomsmen Jacques and Kruger were taking it easy, having a few drinks and chatting with Jan (Louisa-Mari’s) dad giving moral support. I had a good laugh when a button broke off when Jacques’s got dressed. I asked him: “Do you know how to fix it?” He said: “How difficult can it be” LOL
Lujancia (Louisa-Mari’s twin sister) and Rone (a friend from university) were her bridesmaids. They made sure that Louisa-Mari doesn’t need anything and stay calm.
Their wedding cake was something very special. It had a little angel on the cake. This little angel was already on 4 generation’s wedding cakes. From Louisa-Mari’s great grandmother Miemie, to her grandmother Emmie, her mother Lucia’s wedding cake, and now Louisa-Mari’s wedding cake. And Louisa-Mari will keep it safe to put it on her and Lala’s daughter’s wedding cakes one day.
The rest of the day was spent the way it should be at a wedding. Everybody was having an awesome time with friends and family.
Naas, Joey, Jan and Lucia you brought up two awesome young people, they are a living testimony of the kind of people that you all are.
Louisa-Mari and Naas. You are SO awesome together, it is so refreshing to see people that is so head over heels in love and that is showing it to the world. May your wedding be truly blessed.
I asked Louisa-Mari a few questions about themselves, how they met, got engaged and about their wedding
How we met:
We attended the same primary and high schools. During our primary school days our mothers picked us up at the same school gate. Therefore, it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact moment that we met. The memory of who the other person is has been embedded as common knowledge from the time when proper memories start.
After school Naas moved to Potchefstroom for his studies, while I followed the Pretoria route. After completing his initial studies Naas also moved to Pretoria. It didn’t take him long to contact me for coffee. That coffee quickly turned into a first date. The second, third and fourth date followed in quick concession and there was no denying that we have found our soul mates.
About the proposal:
My friend Roné invited me to join her for a day at the spa in Dinokeng that her “mother bought her” for Christmas. Not knowing that Naas was behind this lie, I enthusiastically joined her for a day of pampering.
After a lovely full body massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, lunch and good company we headed back to meet the guys for a braai. On our way back Roné insisted to show me a venue her dad has told her about.
When we arrived we asked the receptionist to show us the venue. She responded by handing me a big black box and a key to one of their chalets. She told us to go have a look at the room and return to reception when we are done.
In the room we opened the box. Inside, I found a lovely blue cocktail dress, black heels and earrings. Suspiciously everything was my exact size. We returned to reception, me in my new outfit. My palms were sweating and my heart was racing all the way there. We were then sent to a deck that overlooked their dam.
On the deck, Naas was waiting for me. He stood in a circle of lanterns, suited up and holding a bunch of red roses. Almost immediately he went down on one knee and asked me my favourite question! What followed was a candlelight dinner and a beautiful wedding exactly eight months later.
Honeymoon:
My husband surprised me with a trip to Mauritius for our honeymoon. We stayed in a stunning hotel, Recif Attitude, on the North-West coast of the island. We had such a nice relaxing time on the beach and in the hotel, with the most amazing food all through the day. At every dinner we enjoyed live entertainment and service only meant for kings. We had so much fun driving around the island on a scooter. On this adventure we got to see many different beaches, the most beautiful landscapes & some local villages.
The flowers:
I met with Dania from Wedding Décor Design with requirements such as colour, style and preferences. She was very helpful and accommodating. She created stunning centre pieces, big flower arrangements for the chapel and many detail arrangements for a complete look. She spoiled me with a lovely teardrop bouquet in which she also included the very special Blushing Bride.
Who did the make-up:
My mother, my sister, Roné and myself had our hair and make-up done by Anna Pepper from The Refinery Creative Co. Her email address is as follows:anna/pepper@rocketmail.com
The dress:
I knew exactly what I wanted. After an elaborate hunt, I printed out a number of pictures for explanation purposes and took these to Elsie from Elsware Designs. Elsie enthusiastically took on the job to create my perfect dress. After quite a number of fittings and 7 layers of material, Elsie created the most beautiful dress exactly how I envisioned it. This dress wascomfortable, flattering, soft and received a million compliments.
The wedding day:
The morning seemed to have disappeared and before we knew it. The time had passed and it was time to meet Naas at the Altar. Naas and the groomsmen were caught by the guests who arrived surprisingly early.
Was there any drama:
My mother had the planning and preparations done in the finest detail. Lucky for us most of the planning paid off and there were no serious surprises or drama on the day. The only real drama is the fact that we completely missed dessert. We hear the Crème Brule was amazing…
Highlight of the wedding:
When the pastor declared us man and wife. The entire sermon was beautiful and will always remain special for us. But the memory of the first kiss as a married couple will never fade.
Tell us about your photographer:
We had the privilege of being photographed by JC himself.
We insisted that he should look neat and wear a tie. He obliged by pairing a beautiful purple shirt with an equally beautiful yellow tie. Unfortunately the combination of the two was not all that pretty.
(Here is a photo of me with my tie and shirt. To my credit, I only heard about the tie I had to wear the evening before the wedding. I really had to go and dig deep in boxes in the garage to find a tie in time…LOL. At least I got the tie colour to match your wedding colours…by accident)
On a more serious note. JC did a phenomenal job. He instantly made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. He pointed us in specific directions but allowed us to interact naturally. This resulted in beautiful photos. He even managed to hide the fact that Naas is balding
Photographer: JC Crafford
