Wow, what a spirited couple Yongie and Tsoanelo are! Gustav remarked that this couple who arranged their wedding of over 800 people in Mtatha, is not scared to take on any challenge. And the best of all is that they stayed so calm and graceful through it all. They were just so excited that they were getting married to each other, the love of their lives. Now that is the beauty we like to capture as a photography studio.
The Eastern Cape is such a beautiful part of our country, full of rolling hills and expansive scenery. And getting married next to a dam in a nature reserve made it even more special. But how do you fit 800 people into a venue, well the answer is you construct a venue, a massive tent to be exact and this is what they did. Everyone fitted in and the emotions were running high from getting dressed to the sincere speeches. There were a few highlights though during the day. One of those were when Yongie’s bridesmaids congregated around her and gave her a memory gift to illustrate their special bonds or sisterhood. Not a dry eye in the house! It was beautiful. Another one was the proud expression on Tsoanelo’s face when he saw his lovely bride walking through the church doors. It’s special to see how their community lifted them up onto their hands and carried them through the process of getting married and the illustration that Yongie’s dad used with all the gifts they received to make it happen is really what can be explained as Ubuntu. It’s special. Now this rush of a crazy awesome wedding was only one half of their wedding celebrations. The next instalment is happening in Lesotho, so watch this space, as Gustav will be returning with episode 2 in this beautiful love story. The privilege of us being invited to photograph their whole story is truly something to appreciate. To be continued…