Cristi and Pierre live in Pretoria and came down to the coast to have a relaxed day time wedding on the beach. They kept things really simple steering away from the typical wedding traditions. Its so so dam lovely at the Salt Rock Hotel where they got married, that I personally don’t think you need anything fancy. The AMAZING coconut trees, beautiful beach, tropical vegetations and my favorite frangipani flowers set the tone beautifully. This was my first time shooting at this hotel and I was really blown away by the tropical feel to it (you may notice that in the pics …. I have a thing for tropical islands in case you haven’t gathered, but then again …. who doesn’t?) Cristi and Pierre you really are so sweet together and we wish you all the love, laughter and luck in the world.

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Here are a few images from my second shoot with the amazing young singer and musician, Holly . We took these for an article which has been written about her in the Saltwater Girl magazine, which came out today. Holly is such a delight to work with and …… I am pretty excited to let you all know that I will be doing another shoot for her new album this Sunday. I will save all the words and tell your more about her when I blog that shoot. In the mean time do check out the SWG mag!

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The other day I was was overcome with a warm fuzzy feeling of déjà vu whilst running along the promenade in Umdloti. I have since realized that my soul was basking in the same sense of peace and happiness that I have always experienced when traveling Asia.

Now either those jogging endorphins that people talk about are starting to affect me or otherwise my get healthy mission for 2011 is working!!!!

At the beginning of this year I made a promise to myself to devote 2011 to being healthy, to being good to myself as well as to working hard and becoming a better photographer. I haven’t had a cigarette or any alcohol since the 1 January, I have exercised pretty much most days, I have been taking all my vitamins, trying my best to eat regularly (I find eating a huge hassle when I am busy and often forget to eat) and I have been making my best effort to live in the now and take note of the beauty around me.

I took all of these photos in our town and in our house. This is my life, my home, my now!

(PS I also haven’t bitten my nails and can now scratch backs ….. the kitties are in heaven!)

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Raffaella is a real life Opera Diva who has a series of huge accolades trailing behind her including having sung in Carnegie Hall. Her new hubby isn’t much different being successful professional golfer. They both grew up in South Africa and left as young adults to live in the United States. By some pre destined fate they found each other as friends and then fell in love. In February 2011 they came back to South Africa to have their dream wedding at The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, and what a wedding it was! I absolutely love shooting at the Oyster Box as its just so opulent and sexy with lots of class and loads of photo ops.

Raffaella is Italian by blood (how can you not be with that delicious name), and as with with all the Italian weddings I have been to, there was a wonderful sense of fun, family and joy. The Italians definitely know how to infuse the air with the Dolce Vita!

Raf and Grant wishing you a lifetime of happiness together. Hope you aren’t too cold now that you are home!

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Group exhibitions are always great as they generally include a variety of work which makes for interesting viewing. Shooting Southern Africa is a purely photographic exhibition organised and curated by artSpace Gallery which is on Umgeni Road just next to Waste Center. It includes a number of different photographers all specializing in different fields of work. The photography on show is really varied and includes some well known Durban names in photography as well as some newcomers. The show is up until the end of the month so do go have a look see. I am going to be doing a walkabout on the 26th of this month at 11am followed by a short talk on “The digital Revolution –  Processing, Retouching and the Modern Photographer”. A huge thanks to Claus, Karin and Amy from the Gallery for organising this show. (Another reason to go have a look see, is that my brother in law Tyrone Bradley has some really fabulous work up!)

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Raffaella and Grants wedding at the fabulous Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga was my first wedding of 2011 and what a wedding it was! I will be back with a full post and report in a few weeks when we have finished editing the whole wedding …. here are a few sneak peaks for now. OOOOOW I do love shooting at the Oyster Box and I am excited to share the rest with you, this one was all about elegance!

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I stumbled across the Admired in Africa website some time back and was blown away by the standard and calibre of wedding photographers on there. If you don’t know the site, it is a wedding directory of the top wedding photographers in Africa.

On their website they say: “Admired in Africa is the only website that is exclusively dedicated to bringing together the top wedding photographers in Africa. By holding our membership up to the highest standards and ensuring that each of our members has passed a review process we have put together a group of some of the greatest wedding photographers on the continent.

This group is a unique and valuable resource to wedding coordinators, event planners and magazine editors. Our list of members have won awards at the highest levels, been published in high profile magazines and websites and have received international recognition.

Membership is by invitation only and invitations are sent out based on recommendation by industry leaders.”

I am feel so very honored to have been invited to join this and would like to thank the people who nominated and chose me to be featured! Do have a look around the site and you can have a peak at my page by clicking the link here http://admiredinafrica.co.za/wedding-photographers/jacki-bruniquel/

Whilst wondering through the world of twitter the other day I discovered Angels Weddings, a general wedding blog with a twist. Not only does Angel deal with all sorts of normal wedding stuff she also interviews photographers. I spent a good chunk of time reading and stepping into the minds of some really great photographers. Angel has interviewed some really big names in South African wedding photography including, Christine Meintjies who is a great inspiration to me, her business mind is really quite something! After commenting on her twitter page, she emailed back to ask me if she could interview me. Wow what an honor! Social Media never ceases to amaze me!

Click on the link here to read the interview ….. she asked LOADS of questions http://www.angelsweddings.co.za/2011/02/from-behind-the-lens-jax/ Oh and a big credit to Stu for taking the portrait of me!

In this engagement shoot I introduce you to my friends Candice and Dave, and take you on a little journey through their life. Just by the way, Dave also happens to be my web programmer and this blog wouldn’t exist without him! (thanks Dave)

When they announced that they had got engaged whilst on a romantic holiday in Paris (*GREEN WITH ENVY*)  I told them in no uncertain terms that I was going to be their wedding photographer! I love photographing friends weddings and I knew I would get great shots as they are a super funky, fun, creative couple. Dave and Cands not only design awesome websites (check out their site www.hautefish.com), they also play amazing music. Both of them are a part of the legendary band Hairlip which is a crazy eighties revival band. Dave also known as Dave McMillan, is well known as a wonderful guitarist, singer and songwriter is his own right. We themed their engagement shoot “A Saturday in the life of Candice and Dave” …. starting at their flat where they often hang out and play music, then onto a coffee shop (how cute is this coffee shop?) and finally a local theatre where they often play.  PS Any guesses on Candice’s celebrity look alike???

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I recently had a meeting with one of my wedding couples and it struck me that I should do a blog post on our discussion so that my other couples, photographers and future clients could also benefit.

Besides choosing a great wedding photographer there are things that you can do to get great wedding pics or at least help your photographer along the way. So today I offer you the best advice that I can possibly give. Please note that this post is about me giving you all MY advice …. I am sure other photographers have different ways of doing things. There is no wrong or right way, and these tips are based on my experience and approach.

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