The best time to have a photoshoot in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is at sunrise! As most tourists are not out and about yet. I must admit I had moments of wondering how crazy we must be as I rode through the silent streets of Paris but once we were there and I started to see how the place started to get busy, I was happy with our choice. And there is something very special to see a sunrise over Paris! Definitely worth an early morning start.

Strangely enough, we rode past the exact same location at sunset that evening and when I saw the crowds I was extremely relieved we had chosen sunrise.

I had so much fun with this gorgeous couple and was so very excited for both of them when Heine popped the question a few months later in The Alps!

It was so very special to meet up with them again in Cape Town and to do an engagement shoot for them! Watch this space to see that special shoot! It was amazing!

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Elopement Cape Town

Charles and Marie

What a better place to escape to than Cape Town!  Even better to elope to!  I know I am biased but Cape Town has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.  I will never ever tire of taking photographs in Cape Town.

Charles wanted to bring Marie to South Africa, the place of his birth.  He had left Johannesburg when he was 2 and his family had returned to France.   They had started their trip to South Africa by visiting the wildlife at Kruger National Park.  Charles and Marie had planned that Cape Town would be the end of their trip and to have their bridal photographs shot in the surrounds of Cape Town.  Signal Hill is always great to get background photos of our famous Table Mountain.

We had a few funny moments along the way with our language barrier.  Never a dull moment.  Although to be honest, Marie was actually very good!

And what a glorious way to end our day than to watch Cape Town show off with the most sensational sunset.  Cape Town sure knows when to impress!

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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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Alisha and Emmanuel

The Cellars-Hohenort, Constantia, Cape Town

The Cellars-Hohenort was once again the beautiful backdrop to another gorgeous wedding!  Alisha and Emmanuel chose to have a destination wedding and to fly 30 of their closest friends and family from the USA to enjoy a festive celebration in the scenic Cape Town.

They were all from the USA.  Alishas’ family are from Tennessee.  Emmanuels’  family are from Kansas but this gorgeous couple met in Houston after they had moved there for work purposes.  It was definitely written in the stars!

This gorgeous bride has to be one of the easiest brides I have ever encountered.   Emails were pretty minimal.  All she asked was for a meeting when she arrived in Cape Town on the Tuesday.  Wedding was on a Friday at one of my favourite hotels, the Cellars-Hohenort.  Decor was tasteful but minimal.  Colour palette was white and green. Their delicious wedding cake and the vanilla and red velvet cupcakes were  made by  Wades’ Cakes!

Anneqah Martin was the make-up artist who added some polish to this gorgeous beauty.  Alisha is genuinely a natural beauty, with the most gorgeous dimples.  When she laughs, she lights up the whole room!

Emmanuel is quieter and a little more serious.  Alisha is a perfect catalyst for Emmanuel!  She definitely creates a chemical reaction for him!  He shows his softer and fun side in her presence.  They are without a doubt a perfect combination.  

Emmanuels’ dad married them in the gardens of The Cellars-Hohenort in Constantia.  What an absolute blessing to be able to marry your son to his soulmate.

Ryan from Cape Dj’s got the guests onto the dancefloor and kept them there for the whole evening.  He read his crowd well and we had a sure winner for the title of the “Dancing Queen.”

And then just like that, this perfect day had to come to an end!  It was time for their guests to catch their shuttles back to their hotels and it was time for this newly married couple to enjoy their first night as Mr & Mrs in the honeymoon suite at The Cellars-Hohenort.  A big thank you to the wonderful staff at the venue, who always deliver superior service with such beautiful smiles on their faces.  Once again, it was a delight to capture another wedding at your venue.

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Travel – Chanelle Wyrsch’s visit to Cape Town

I photographed Chanelle Wyrsch one cold Thursday evening while she was visiting Cape Town. This young lady is a superstar in Germany.  She is known in Germany for taking part in DSDS 2017 and from what I gather is the equivalent to our Idols!  She did quite well and came 6th in the competition.  The competition led to her part as Sandy in The Grease Musical in Germany.

The part has also led to quite a bit of travel.  They recently did a show in Namibia.  Once they were finished, Chanelle and her friend decided to fly to Cape Town afterwards and discover what our beautiful city has to offer.  She has definitely decided that she is coming back in our summer season and hitting our beautiful beaches such as Camps Bay and Clifton.

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A wonderful morning spent with Inga

London without tourists, can you imagine it?  I got to experience it when I met up with Inga for a shoot around London.

I first met Inga and her husband, Juan, when they visited Dubai for a family wedding.  We had such an awesome shoot in the desert.  When I told Inga that I would be in London, she jumped at the opportunity of having photos taken around London.  She has had photos taken at all the places she has visited but has lived in London for 12 years and had yet to have any photos taken.

We had originally arranged to meet after Inga had finished work but my travelling timetable made it slightly difficult.   Inga asked me if I would be interested in meeting up at 5.30 am for a shoot.  Without any hesitation, I jumped at the chance.  According to locals, London doesn’t really wake up early on the weekend.  We found this to definitely be the case.  I felt for Inga as the had to get the underground to get to me.  But hopefully she feels it was worth it.

It was definitely worth it for me.  We were able to photograph some iconic locations with not a tourist in sight!  It was total bliss.  The only downside was that there wasn’t a coffee house to be found open either.  The only people around were one or two late night stragglers.  One guy, ran up to Inga and gave her a beautiful yellow rose.  It was perfect for the shoot!

We had an absolute hoot walking around London on our own.  The only unfortunate part was that there was no exciting sunrise.  It was pretty grey but I suppose thats the UK for you.

I had a blast being able to photograph this beautiful lady.

Inga & Juans Dubai photoshoot

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My beautiful niece, Sinead, came to visit me in Dubai recently.  She had recently spent two months touring around India as an IPL dancer for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Normally I encourage family and friends to visit Dubai when the temperatures are modest.  In my personal opinion, the best times are between November – April.  From May until October, temperatures become a bit unbearable.  Ramadan was also in May this year.  This is the time when it is respectful to not eat or drink in public while the local Muslims fast during the holy month.  Most restaurants close during the day at this time of day.

Beautiful Sinead – The sun lover!

Luckily, my niece is a sun lover and managed the heat quite well.  Plus, she had acclimatised to the heat during her stay in India.  Some of the cricket matches had been played in 48 degrees heat.  Needless to say, it was more me that was flaking in the harsh heat.
The first week we tried to do as much as possible as Ramadan was to start the following week.  We used the services of Citysightseeing buses and bought a 7 day pass which worked out quite well.  We hopped on the bus instead of using taxi’s to get around.We tried to cover all that Dubai had to offer.  Sinead loved the Dubai Fountains.  I have yet to have any of my guests not enjoy that amazing spectacle.

We also visited Burj Khalifa because how can you come to Dubai and not go up the tallest building.

 We popped into the Dubai Aquarium too and we got to watch the crocodiles being fed.  We spent many hours in Dubai Mall.  Sinead was in 7th heaven with the shopping.  What woman wouldn’t be?  Take a peak at other fun desert photoshoots!

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Inga & Juan

This loved up couple flew to Dubai for a family wedding and decided that they would love to have a fun Dubai Desert couple shoot.

The Desert has the power of bringing out the inner child in yourself.  Somehow, the feeling of sand between your toes and wind in your hair and the sun beating down on your head creates the feeling of freedom!

Inga and Juan live and work in London.  Juan is originally from South Africa and Inga is from Lithuania.

They met in London 12 years ago and have been together ever since.

Follow me on instagram to see where I am!

See our previous holiday couple in Dubai!

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 Honeymoon Dubai Travel

Rachael & Alex

A honeymoon in Dubai!  This gorgeous young couple travelled all the way from Trinidad in the Caribbean.  It was their suggestion to have their photos taken at the very pretty Miracle Gardens and what a pretty and romantic backdrop it was.

What would your choice of a honeymoon be?

It got me thinking, as this year, my husband and myself will reach a huge milestone.  We will be celebrating 30 years of marriage!  When we got married, of course, money was pretty short so we went locally and all things considered, I still have fond memories of it.  Lets put it this way “Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil took on a new meaning!

But what if on the other hand, money was not short and you could choose your dream honeymoon!  Where would you go?  So take a moment and let me know where you would go or where you went.  If you went overseas, let us know how it was, what would you do differently or would you keep it exactly the same!

Should the trip be romantic, exotic, adventurous or relaxing?  Furthermore, did you leave for your trip immediately after your wedding? Finally, what advice would you give to young couples who are planning their trip?

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I recently collaborated with a company who contacted me via my Instagram account.  Shoot My Travel organise local photographers in order to document your travels.  I think travel photography is without a doubt a great idea.  My first assignment was a Dubai Honeymoon.

RAFAEL & ADRIANA

Their Dubai Honeymoon adventure

My first travellers were Rafael & Adriana.  They were on their Dubai honeymoon as they had only a few days earlier, got married in Colombo.

Meanwhile it was decided to meet at the Dubai Creek and explore the area.  Without doubt this area is definitely the more authentic of the Arabic history. They enjoyed a leisurely walk around the Heritage Culture Village followed by some bartering at the local souks.  Adriana was a natural negotiator and walked away with some beautiful dresses to wear to all the upcoming weddings.

They were also quite game to try some of the local traditions.  I am not too sure whether they quite liked the Arabic tea!  It was definitely different.

I was sad to say goodbye to this cute couple.  They were heading off an adventure in the Desert and then leaving for Paris for a few days before heading back to Mexico to settle as a young married couple.

I wish them a long and happy marriage and hope they enjoyed every moment of their Dubai honeymoon!

I am excited to build a great working relationship with Shoot My Travel as they were such a professional team to work with.

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