A MAGICAL WEDDING JOURNEY

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES AND EMBRACING JOY

My road with Inge and Heine’s love story began in the romantic city of Paris, where I  captured  a couple photoshoot against the backdrop of the iconic Eiffel Tower. Not long after this, they got engaged and asked me to capture their special day. Little did they know that their journey to the altar would be filled with unforeseen challenges and delays.

Inge and Heine’s journey to their magical wedding was filled with unexpected challenges, but their unwavering love and determination prevailed. From a stroke scare to a global pandemic, they faced each obstacle with grace and resilience. Their story serves as a reminder that even in the face of adversity, love can conquer all. Join us as we celebrate their extraordinary journey and the enchanting beginning of their happily ever after.

Suppliers:

Wedding venue:  The Olive Press, Boschendal

Wedding Planner:  Meagan Oosthuizen

Florist:     Fleur Le Cordier

MUA:  Evelyn Francis

Wedding Dress:  Elika.in.love

Furniture:  Baie Goeters

Cake:  Kanye Hunt

Furniture/Decor:  A Create

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Exciting news!  A local Cosmetics company unlike any other has just launched in South Africa.  Eunoia Cosmetics had their  launch at the gorgeous new venue, L’Atrium,  in Paarl.

About Eunoia Cosmetics

The word, Eunoia, means beautiful thinking which encompasses their companies philosophy. Their philosophy is that make-up should not harm people or animals and should certainly allow your inner beauty to shine through.

All their ingredients are carefully sourced and their products are certified to the highest standards.  Their products are rich in vitamins and botanical extracts, cruelty free and not tested on animals.

The majority of their products are vegan certified.  A handful of their products are not  as they contain beeswax.  Foundations, while complementing complexions, will not clog the pores (non-comedogenic) and it is safe to use on sensitive skin.

Eunoia offers an assortment of lipsticks in exciting colours, specially formulated to nourish and repair your lips.  They have eye shadows to enhance your beautiful eyes,  whether for work or play.

The Launch evening

Guests mingled with many influential instagrammers, as well the, Who’s who in the Make-up world.  Christine Meintjies and her husband, Ian, from the Pretty Blog  and The Local Edit made an appearance, as well as  the former Miss Universe, Rolene Strauss.

N Concepts treated guests to a beautifully styled walk around of the cosmetics as well as  having attentive waiters topping up the Champagne and Wine glasses throughout the evening.  Delicious canapés were supplied by Kos Kouture!

ABOUT THE CEO

The CEO of Eunoia Cosmetics is  Judy Vermeulen, who has spent the past two years researching this  range.  With Judy at the helm, we are sure that Eunoia Cosmetics will become a power player in the South African cosmetics industry.  We wish her much success.

Go give Eunoia Cosmetics a follow on Instagram!

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Mo and Ray

This Table Mountain proposal was very special.  Mo had put a lot of effort into planning this special event.  Initially, I was contacted by Ray’s sister on facebook but Mo soon took over.  He was thorough in checking details to make sure his gesture would be a total success.

Mo flew Ray down to Cape Town for a long weekend and to keep Ray in the dark, he pretended that he booked me for a couple shoot.  I met up with them at Camps Bay and continued the pretence of a couple shoot.

The plan had always been to do the proposal on top of Table Mountain and we then persuaded Ray to take the photoshoot up to the top of Mountain.  Luckily going to the top of Table Mountain had been on her bucket list.

Mo was fortunate in that the queue for Table Mountain was non existent on that evening.  He was able to buy his tickets and progress straight to the cablecar.  Kind of unheard of for a trip up Table Mountain.  I definitely think this Table Mountain proposal was written in the stars.

In spite of it being cold and windy on the mountain, Mo was eager to pop the question!  As soon as he had asked a fellow tourist to video his proposal on his phone and made sure the tourist was in position, Mo straightaway got down on his knee while Ray was enjoying the view!

Ray was quite emotional while Mo popped the question but as soon as was possible was quick to say Yes!

Furthermore, I must admit that hiding this blackboard in my camera bag was a total mission.  I actually had to change bags in order for it to fit and consequently left my ID to prove I was a local in the wrong bag.  On this occasion, luckily I had left the other bag in my boot so I was able to run back and grab it.

Previous blogpost!

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Bryce and Angelique

This perfect Cape Town proposal has been in the planning for a good few months. Bryce had bought the engagement ring while Angelique was on an overseas hockey tour in Holland. He knew exactly what he wanted to do to make his proposal special for his ladylove. He wanted to take her away for a weekend and it had to be rustic and where nature was the main drawcard.

The downside was that they both had very busy schedules and trying to organise a surprise proposal with so many elements became difficult. Firstly all the cabins were fully booked, secondly Angelique was writing exams and finishing her university course and thirdly Bryce was fully booked with hockey coaching and tournaments and lastly, my availability dates also had to be consulted.

But life has a way of working out and these two were meant to be together and so the stars aligned and the universe made a plan. Copia Eco Cabins phoned Bryce and said they had had a cancellation and would he be interested in the first weekend of 2019! Bryce knew that he and Angelique had their first free weekend before heading off to a hockey tournament up country. All he had to do was double check if I was available and luckily I was. The stars had aligned, we could go ahead a plan this surprise engagement.

Bryce and I came up with the plan that I would contact Angelique and ask her if they could help me out as a couple had just dropped me for a photoshoot that I was doing at the Cabins in order to give them some content for their instagram page. If she had really done her homework, she would have realised that Copia Eco Cabins have plenty of content for their instagram page but hey it worked and she fell for it hook, line and sinker!

The cutest moments was when she got to the cabin and was so excited about the shoot and said the container cabins were awesome and she thought that this would be a perfect proposal spot. I was slightly worried that she had cottoned on but luckily she hadn’t.

Bryce definitely scored brownie points for his choice of the location. It was romantic, peaceful with no internet connection! Bryce had also got his mom to purchase all the supplies for the weekend! And when Angelique realised that this was the spot for her surprise proposal she was beyond elated.

Like most ladies, she couldn’t wait to tell the world that Bryce had put a ring on “it”. The most important people knew and were able to be phoned but social media had to wait! We all promised that we wouldn’t post until she was back in the land of the “internet” and could make the big announcement herself!

We all had a celebratory glass of champagne with the happy couple and then we all left them to enjoy this special time.

Congratulations Bryce and Angelique! You are absolutely perfect for one another!

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Hidden Valley Wines – Caitlin

Matric Dance – Stellenberg High School

I did this Hidden Valley matric dance shoot the night before I flew out to Europe.  Once I had done the shoot, I raced home and started to edit in order to deliver the next day before I left.  Which I did and felt happier about as I would hate to keep a beautiful lady desperately waiting for her photos while I was swanning around Europe!  But I have realised that I never had the opportunity to blog this gorgeous girls special evening!  And her special day and her amazing dress deserves some blogging love!  Caitlin is a matric student at Stellenberg High School!  I wish her well as she writes her matric finals!

Caitlin knew exactly what dress she wanted for her matric dance at Stellenberg High School.  She was also very lucky that her loving mom, Diane, spent hours upon hours sewing each and every rosebud onto her skirt.  But it was all worth the effort as Caitlin looked absolutely gorgeous.

Jessica Truter was her talented make-up artist.  A lovely young lady who is making quite a name for herself in the industry.

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London

Iwan and Leandri

London Town was calling!  I did a quick pit stop to London before my trip to France and I caught up with past brides and future brides!

I was looking forward to having this lovely couple in front of my lens in the full swing of Autumn!  What a joke!  England was having one of their best summers and who would have believed that the sun was out and the flowers were still blooming!  All my winter clothes stayed at the bottom of the suitcase!

Leandri was one of my past brides and it was awesome to meet up with her and Iwan.  Four years ago, when I captured their wedding, I thought they were pretty perfect for one another.

  Iwan and Leandri are now living and working in London.  Living abroad will test most relationships but this one had strong foundations from the very beginning and they have become a very strong and united partnership.  Their love and respect for one another is obvious to anyone who meets them.

Leandri was absolutely gorgeous on her wedding day but I have to admit, she has matured into an amazing beauty.  She is one of those ladies whose beauty shines from within!  I truly felt as if I had a supermodel in front of my lens!

As anyone who has been to London knows, there are always tourists around and St Pauls Cathedral is probably one of the busiest tourist attraction due to the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer all those years ago. Luckily though, if you walk around St Pauls you will find spots that are not as busy and its easier to do a photoshoot.

I have always had an amazing time in London.  I can’t believe it was only a year ago that I was last here with my husband and had toured the  Cotswold and Oxford.  Its amazing how much changes in a year.  Last year we were living in Dubai.  We travelled to London and ended up meeting up with Suzanne, my friend from Dubai ….and a year later, we are back in Cape Town and Suzanne is now living in London and graciously hosted my sister and myself during our stay in London.  How small the world has become, and how fortunate I am to have friends around the world!  I count myself very blessed!

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Table Mountain maternity shoot

Sophie and Yonathan

Table Mountain was a gorgeous backdrop for Sophie and Yonathans maternity shoot.  This beautiful couple are from Ethiopia but met each other in California, USA, where Sophie was studying and Yonathan was working in IT.  They plan on heading back to the States for the birth of their little boy.

Luckily, we had no rain on the day of the shoot although the wind pumped and was freezing!  Not too bad on the side of Table Mountain but the wind on Signal Hill was gale force!  In fact it was pretty scary!  It was a case of take a few pics and run back to the car, warm up a bit and then brave the elements for another few minutes.  I am pretty glad that we persevered as when Table Mountain lit up with the setting sun, it was pretty awesome.

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Couple shoot – Tracey and Leonard

Cuteness overload!!!

This cute couple are getting married in November at Bakenhof in Wellington!  I can’t wait as I know there will be lots of cute moments and without a doubt lots of laughter.  

Tracey and Leonard have been a couple for quite a few years but it shows because they are totally in sync with one another.  They are cute, playful and fun to be around!  Just absolutely perfect for one another!  

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Jo Stokes Photography Coffee Table Books

We are firm believers in having your wedding photographs printed into a beautiful photobook but we understand that as you are starting to plan your wedding and budgets have to be considered, it can be overwhelming to commit to financially.

But at this stage of the planning, you do not have to commit to the book.  We at Jo Stokes Photography offer the option of choosing a book after your wedding.  We give clients the opportunity of ordering the book up until one year after the wedding.

Your wedding photographs deserve to printed!

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