Book your fun maternity photoshoot with me today!!!  Book here!

Simone and Jens wedding can be viewed here!

Thank you to Simone and Jens for always bringing their playfulness to our shoots!  And after being in lockdown for months it was a breath of “cold” air!

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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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Engagement shoot

I am so excited for this beautiful young couple who have recently got engaged and set the date! I have no doubt that this will be a beautiful wedding as Heine and Inge are perfect together. You can feel the love, support and respect between them.

Where have you seen them before

If they look familiar, then its probably because you recently saw them on my blog or instagram account. They were the gorgeous couple who met me in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris during my recent trip to France. Check out the Paris photoshoot here!

A jewel fit for a queen!

It was very exciting to see on social media when Heine dropped his knee and popped the question about a month later in the Italian Alps. Heine had her gorgeous ring made by a talented, local Cape Town jeweller, Gerhard Moolman who has apparently been their family jeweller for many years.

The post Theewaterskloof Dam engagement shoot appeared first on Jo Ann Stokes.

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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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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