Tania & Jose

Civil Ceremony

Luanda, Angola

Part 1

(Part 2 engagement shoot can be viewed here)

(Part 3 – Religious ceremony & wedding can be viewed here)

This was my first International Destination wedding in Luanda, Angola which is a country on the West Coast of Africa and is surrounded by Namibia to the South, Zambia to the East, Democratic Republic of Congo to the North East and the Atlantic Ocean to the West.  The language is predominantly Portuguese and the religion is mainly Catholic.

I will honestly admit that Angola was a complete eye opener to myself and my second shooter, Jilda.  The disparity between wealth and poverty is huge and Luanda is frightfully expensive.  I have been led to believe that it is the most expensive city in the world. And from what I saw, I could honestly believe it.  The roads are complete chaos …if you thought Johannesburg and Cape Town traffic was bad, think again ….traffic in Luanda is chaos.  The city is a hive of activity …it just seems to pump!

Their weddings are also slightly different to the way we do things in Cape Town.  Tania & Jose had a civil ceremony and a religious ceremony two days later.  The civil ceremony was held at the 5 star HCTA Hotel in Luanda which was beautiful and the ceremony was held in the courtyard.  The quality of light in Angola is really gorgeous and we were excited to see how soft and flattering it was looking.  Unfortunately though, our beautiful bride was very late and the light faded as she entered the courtyard.  The videographer was quite prepared though and zapped on his orange video light which lent some gorgeous drama to some of the images!

Another highlight of Angolan weddings is that their guests go to town with dressing up for weddings.  There were some gorgeous outfits on display and the men looked dashing in very snazzy suits and some of the ladies looked like Hollywood Glamour Stars!  The civil ceremony is not as big as the religious ceremony and less guests are invited to this …just very close family and friends from what I gathered.

Tania looked beautiful in her dress which was purchased in Portugal.  It suited her to perfection.

I wondered how she could possibly look any better for her religious ceremony!  But she did …..I do believe she gave every Royal Bride a good run for their money.  The Religious ceremony was truly beautiful …the church was something else …and Tania gave Nicky Hilton a good run for her money with a dress that was just as beautiful and traditional.

My first International destination wedding knocked my socks off me thats for sure!  Stay Tuned!

A big thank you to my second shooter, Jilda Gildenhuys for the support and for being an awesome translator!  Wouldnt have wanted to have done this trip with anyone but you!

Part 2 can be viewed here!

Part 3 can be viewed here!