Marna and Cyril’s wedding was one of those that will bring a smile to my face for a very long time. There wasn’t one pretentious thing about their day. How could their be? Marna and Cyril must be two of the most down to earth people I have ever met. Cyril has just finished his PHD in Chemistry and Marna is currently doing her internship as a Doctor. They met whilst studying at University and have been together ever since. Both of them come from Afrikaans farming families and so it was important for them to have their wedding on Marna’s Oupa’s farm in Normandien (which is somewhere nearish to NewCastle in Natal). The whole community came together to make this day magical. Everyone seemed to have a part to play. Friends and family cooked, baked, crochet, planted and flower arranged. Even all the mismatched chairs in the reception were provided by guests.

I have photographed many brides before and I can honestly say that Marna was the smiliest I have ever encounted. She beamed the whole day!!!!!! It was a happy day, it was a soulful day, it was a magical day.

Marna and Cyril thanks for picking me . We loved your wedding!

PS  Huge thanks to the Lombaard family for having us and for making us feel so at home. Thanks also to Janna for looking after us so well. You should be a wedding planer (just saying!)

And now for the credits in the brides own words ……

Time flies by when you are having fun, it is no wonder our day felt as if it disappeared in blink of an eye because we had the time of our lives. Everything turned out better than we planned and looking back now, it was as close to perfect as it could be. We are incredibly blessed with wonderful family and friends who contributed to make our wedding day the best and most beautiful day of our lives. We were privileged to get married on my grandfather’s farm, my sister did all my wedding planning and co-ordination, my mother did our flowers and my uncle and a wonderful family friend did the catering! We will always cherish the incredible moments we shared with those closest to our hearts.
Venue: Horse Shoe Guest Farm - www.horseshoevenue.wordpress.com

Wedding co-ordinator: Jana (my sister) from Horse Shoe venue (She is the best wedding co-ordinator anyone can ask for!)

Bridal B&B: Horse Shoe Guest Farm

Hair: Michelle from Salon Michelle, Newcastle – 0828331419

Make up: Claire from Marletts Beauty Salon, Newcastle – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marletts-Beauty-Salon/261381073906316

Church flowers, bouquets and button holes: My mother, Hetta, from The Flower Box, Newcastle – 0343123321

Decor/Flowers at the Venue: My wonderful and creative mother! (She planted and nursed the plants months before our wedding day!)

Brides Dress: The Bridal Mall, Durban  – http://www.bridalmall.co.za/. Thank you to my grandfather who paid for my dress on behalf of him and my grandmother – they made it possible for me to get the dress I really wanted!!!

Groom’s Suit: Black Tie – http://www.blacktie.co.za/

Wedding Decor: Wow! There are too many to mention! Draping and lights by Danielle Draping, Newcastle. My mother-in-law crocheted almost 100 placemats! Family and friends helped for days before the wedding to get everything in place.

Catering: Koot (my uncle) from Posh Nosh Cafe, Newcastle – www.facebook.com/poshnoshcafe and Lita from Ouma se Kombuis, Bloemfontein – 0514472294

DJ: The Wedding DJ – theweddingdj.co.za/

People came from near and far for this wedding and flew in from all over South Africa and the world. The sun may have hid behind a big blanket of damp mist for most of the day but the atmosphere was warm. I have never photographed a wedding at Netherwood which wasn’t a HUGE party and Martha and Sbu’s wedding was no different!

Martha and Sbu thanks so much for picking me. Besides getting stuck in the mud ….. we loved shooting your wedding! Wishing you all the best for you new life in Canada!

PS Thanks to the farm managers for rescuing us!!!

You can see their engagement shoot here …..

And now for the credits and the brides own words

A huge thank you to all the people listed below who helped our special day come together. You guys were outstanding! Your professionalism and hard work made our day so much less stressful, which allowed us to be able to enjoy ourselves and take it all in. You all went above and beyond our expectations. Thank you so much for everything.

Second Shooter: Tash Schoeman

Venue: Netherwood – Liza Kleinloog – Email: info@netherwood.co.za, Website: www.netherwood.co.za

Bridal Accommodations: Lidgett’s Grant (Netherwood) - Email: info@netherwood.co.za, Website:  www.netherwood.co.za

Hair: Drew Christie and Norm O’Brien – Email: nea.obrien@gmail.com, Contact: 082-335-4625 / 071-328-7363

Make Up: Carmen 084 437 1765

Flowers and bouquets: Functions For Africa – York Lawrence – Email: york@functionsforafrica.co.za, Website: www.functionsforafrica.co.za

Decor and furniture: Functions For Africa - York Lawrence – Email: york@functionsforafrica.co.za, Website: www.functionsforafrica.co.za

Brides Dress: Sottero & Midgley - Website: www.sotteroandmidgley.com

Brides Veil: Teri Huang (Etsy) - Website: www.etsy.com/shop/terihuang

Brides shoes: Christian Louboutin  - Website: www.christianlouboutin.com

Brides Earrings: Tejani Jewelry – Email: info@tejani.com, Website: www.tejani.com

Brides wedding band: Dave Batchelor – Email: dbdesign@mweb.co.za, Website: www.davidbatchelor.co.za

Groom’s and groomsmen’s cufflinks: Dave Batchelor -  Email: dbdesign@mweb.co.za, Website: www.davidbatchelor.co.za

Bride’s and bridesmaids’ robes: Love Ophelia – Email: letters@loveophelia.com, Website: www.loveophelia.com

Bridesmaids Dresses: Dessy Collection – Website: www.dessy.com

Groom’s Suit: custom made by Henry’s Collection (Thailand) – Website: www.henryscollection.com

Groom’s wedding band: Cherry Design Jewelry - Website: www.cherrydesign.co.za

Cake and cupcakes: Sugar Coated Cakes – Sasha Naidoo – Email: thecakebaker@mweb.co.za, Website: www.sugarcoatedcakes.co.za

DJ: SilverBack Production – Jason Lawrie-Ross - Email: jason@samcopumps.com, Website: www.silverbackpro.co.za

Videographer: Beyond Measure – Mark and Carin Thompson & Cameron Smith – Email: info@bmwf@gmail.com, Website: www.beyondmeasure.co.za

Traditional Zulu Dancers: Status Productions – Email: info@status-productions.com, Website: www.status-productions.com

Caterer: CHC Catering – John Kleu and Wade Coetzer – Email: djkleu@mweb.co.za or  c.h.c.@mweb.co.za, Website: www.chccatering.co.za

Ceremony Officiant: Bruce Hughes – Olive Tree Church - Website: www.olivetreechurch.org

It seems like just the other day that I was baby-sitting Simon and Peter Nicholson in Seal Point! Our families used to go down to the Eastern Cape on an annual summer pilgrimage and these holidays produced some of my happiest memories. We have all grown up now and it was so wonderful to see Simon enjoying Seals with his lovely wife Jess and two gorgeous kids.

Life felt sweet and perfect.

A few weeks later I found myself in the UK.

As I was casually looking through my Facebook feed I noticed that Jess was in the hospital. I went onto their pages and here’s where my tears started. These are Simon’s words.

In my lifetime I have been challenged with a few frightening situations. Like being caught inside at 15 foot Pipeline, like being hijacked with shots fired,  armed robbers breaking into my house, being held up at knife point in the street.

Nothing comes close to the terrifying sight I saw on Saturday the 9th of February 2013 when my wife and soul mate, Jessica, suffered a massive seizure out of the blue. The timeline of events that followed has left me here … Sitting next a hospital bed in neuro ICU eight days later, while Jess recovers from brain surgery.

Turns out she had a brain tumor… And because it was on the dominant left hand side of the brain, it ruptured, causing the seizure, causing us to rush her to hospital and have a CT scan. That seizure it turns out, saved her life. The tumor, a grade 4 glioblastoma, would have quadrupled in the following months, and left me without my best friend, and a mother for our most beautiful special kids.

I thought I had life all figured out, had the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted.

I didn’t.

My first mistake was that I have taken this incredibly special family for granted. I can do better, I want to do better.

My second is that I underestimated the value of having complete health security for my family. I have medical aid, but it’s not comprehensive, and as it so happens there is a shortfall.

Furthermore Jess is an incredibly driven, motivated, self employed fashion designer. Unfortunately the tumor was highly malignant, which means she is heading into a few years worth of Chemo and radiation starting immediately. That means life must change for us. Jess needs to focus all her strength into fighting this cancer, and that means we need help, and despite my pride and being brought up to stand on my own two feet, I want my wife to be around more than any of that.

So this is me asking for help, to cover the shortfall , to build a support structure, so Jess can get the care she needs, and keep our family together.

One never ever knows what is around the corner. I know there is not much I can do to take away their pain but I do know love, support and positive energy can go a long way. Jess is a fighter and I am sure this special family will get through this.

I have decided to auction off a portrait shoot and give the Nicholson family the proceeds. I will also be donating some of my own cash.

My standard portrait package costs ZAR 2500 for a 90 minute shoot at a destination of the client’s choice. This also includes a number of prints and a DVD of retouched images.

If you are interested in having a portrait shoot with me and would like your money to go to a really worthy cause please get in touch. Pierre from Brand Iron has very kindly offered to donate an A2 canvas to the shoot too.

I am going to open bidding for a 90 minute portrait shoot with me along with a DVD of retouched images and a canvas by Brand Iron at R1000. The person with the highest bid will get the shoot and all proceeds will go to the Nicholson’s. Bidding closes on Friday the 1^st of March. Please contact me via my email jacki{@}jackibruniquel.com to participate.

Please can you repost this post and pass on to anyone who may be interested. Your support will greatly be appreciated.

If you would like to donate money to the Nicholson’s directly you can do so here

http://www.gofundme.com/jessgetwellsoon

P.S. Please note that terms and conditions do apply

Here are some examples of my portrait work. Please note I am fully booked until June this year so I wont be able to shoot in the next few weeks.

Pippa and Paul live in London now and so it was really important that their wedding be a family affair. They wanted their wedding to be a wedding and not a photoshoot. Instead of going off for ages to take pictures they opted to do a styled shoot with me a few days after the wedding which you can see if you click here. Their main priority when wedding planning was to create an intimate celebration with the people most important to them. They wanted good food, good wine and good music. They ticked all of these boxes. The AMAZING food by Bellevue Cafe was accompanied by absolutely gorgeous wines and was washed down with some refreshingly non weddingy music! If you are after an alternative wedding DJ who wont play Greased Lightening, It’s going to be a good night tonight and Gangnam Style then Jason is your man (check out the credits at the end)

Pippa and Paul it’s been such a pleasure working with you. You really made our job so easy and fun! Thanks for picking me!!

Second Shooter: Natasha Schoeman

Venue: Bellevue Cafe – big thanks to Guy and Chris for the most amazing food and service!

Bridal B&B: Ammazulu African Palace (http://www.ammazulupalace.com) (Tel: 031 717 2780)

Hair & Make Up: The lovely, calm and super punctual Alana from Make Up Your Mind (http://www.makeupyourmind.co.za)

All Flowers & Decor: Glynnis from Talloula

Brides Dress: Pronovias

Bridesmaids Dress: French Connection UK

Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss

Cake: Cheese Tower supplied by Tracey’s Deli (http://traceysdeli.blogspot.co.uk)

DJ: Jason Cramer and Ryan Renaud – big thanks to them, the music was perfect!  jasonscissorhands@yahoo.co.uk

Now can all of my brides please wear flower crowns from now on. Thanks!

PS If you are looking for a garden venue wedding venue that produces outstanding food definitely check out the Whitehouse!

Assistant: Tash Schoeman

Hair and Styling: Drew from Evolve 082 335 4625

Table Styling: Carlyn from I Adore Weddings 083 446 58 iadoreweddings@gmail.com

Flowers: Floey 082 7822 318 floeyvanderplank@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Floey/457123997673614?fref=ts

Makeup: Charelle 079 8888 777 charelle.mcallister@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Make-up-by-Charelle/159305587429735?fref=ts

Venue: The Whitehouse http://www.whitehousehillcrest.co.za/

Kelly and Dylan should be used to extreme heat though as they have both immigrated to Australia which is known for some crazy temperatures. They came back to their home town to be married with family and friends at The Oyster Box Hotel. Dylan’s parents were married at the Oyster Box 30 years ago and Dylan’s late Grandpa used to swim near the Umhlanga Lighthouse most days, so it has great significance to them.

Kelly and Dylan we loved working with you and your wonderful families. May the warmth of your wedding day continue through your marriage. Thanks for picking me.

The weather report lied … it was way hotter and there were no clouds!

Venue: The Oyster Box Hotel

Second Shooter: Tash Schoeman

Dylan and the groomsmen got ready at Teremok in Marine Drive, www.teremok.co.za

Hair: Alana from Make Up Your Mind, www.makeupyourmind.co.za

Make Up: Juliette from Make Up Your Mind

Bride’s shoes: Tony Bianco, www.tonybianco.com.au

All flowers: Glynnis from Talloula, www.talloula.co.za. This lady is amazing! She gave us exactly what we wanted along with such valuable advice. I can’t thank her enough.

Bride’s dress: Ordered online from www.jasminesbridalshop.com. If you’re thinking of buying online I would definitely recommend Jasmine’s, they were extremely efficient and easy to communicate with even though they are based in China. However their prices aren’t the lowest out there, I ended up spending as much as I would have in boutique in Durban as I upgraded the fabric and beading to their highest quality which pushed the price up. They post a lot of photos of the dresses they have actually made which was very comforting! And they updated me through out the process, sending photos of the dress in various stages of production to check that I was happy.

Bridesmaids’ dresses: Mogie in Durban North, 031 5639716

Groom’s suit: Lord Louis, www.lordlouissuithire.co.za

Cake: Cythia Frost

Wedding Decor: Glynnis kindly set up our room for us on the day

DJ: Dave Botes, www.silverbackpro.co.za or djsincdave@gmail.com. Dave was great, so accommodating and my bridesmaids will vouch for the fact that he created a fantastic party atmosphere. He’s very experienced and it shows.

Videographer: Heartistic Productions, www.heartisticproductions.co.za. Stabby is the easiest person to deal with, nothing is too much trouble for her! She and her husband are passionate about weddings and we were blown away by their service and our beautiful video. They went as far to drop our DVDs off at 6am on the morning we left so that we would have the copies to take back to Australia with us! Their videos have a cool movie like feel to them and really capture all the special moments.

No one could have ever imagined that when Liam made those vows to his bride Tammy, that he would be sitting by her hospital bed just a few weeks later!

Tammy and Liam flew out from the UK in December last year and got married at Netherwood in the Natal Midlands with their best friends and family. It was a small wedding and a joyous one! When I think back to their big day, the things that immediately spring to mind are their crazy bridal party, the grooms-lady, the gorgeous ginger flower girl and page boy, Liam’s tears as Tammy walked down the aisle, Tam’s humble beauty, and the kid who stole the dance floor with his moves!

Even though Tam and Liam organised the whole wedding from London …. everything turned out just as Tam dreamt it would …..

Weddings are about more than just cupcakes, flowers and nice weather though, they are about love and commitment. It’s therefore no surprise to me that Liam has been a pillar of strength to Tam over the past few traumatic weeks. Tam was involved in a scooter accident whilst on their honeymoon in Thailand and was injured very badly. Liam has been the rock that he is, and I am happy to say they seem to be through the worst of it all! Tam is finally home and recovering well.

Tam and Liam you guys are so strong together …. This awful experience has definitely proved that. But here’s wishing you a few more cupcakes and flowers for the next while. No more hectic stuff!

Thanks so much for picking me. We loved your wedding and we loved working with you all!

Everyone dreams of their perfect wedding and what it would look like. Who would have thought that we would be blessed to experience everything we had dreamed of on a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

From the Hindu blessing that involved sticking a knife in the ground to ask the weather Gods to drown us in sunshine, the bridesmaids slaving for 8 hours to ensure the reception venue looked like a scene out of a fairy tale, the tears of joy shed by many (including the Groom), to Tash walking head on into the glass panel and to some amazing (and not so amazing) dancing.

A very big thank you to Tamlynne for the hours of hard work and dedication to making our day complete, to Mark and Cameron for helping capture our special day (and for putting up with a hung-overgroomsman), to Charlie our MC, she did an outstanding job at taking care of our guests and kept us roaring with laughter.

And finally to our extraordinary pair of photographers - Jax and Tash … your creativity, vision and enthusiasm are out of this world, we were blessed to have you capture our special day. THANK YOU!

Venue: Netherwood – Thank you to Lisa … you were a SUPERSTAR! www.netherwood.co.za Email: info@netherwood.co.zaContact: 033 266 7132

Hair: The unbelievably talented Drew Christie – Evolve Hair SA. 0823354625 Thank you for the transformations and advice!

Brides Dress: Charlotte Balbier

Brides shoes: Fillipa Scott

Groom’s Suit: Moss

Wedding Decor/Flowers: Settings Function Hire www.settingsfunctionhire.co.za Email: settings@iafrica.com Contact: 031 701 6391

Videographer: Beyond Measure – The wonderful Mark, Carin and Cameron. Website: www.beyondmeasure.co.za Email: info@beyondmeasure.co.za Contact: 083 243 1712 / 031 708 6965

Cater: CHC Catering – Jon Kleu Web: www.chccatering.co.za Email: djkleu@mweb.co.za Contact: 033 394 3924

DJ: DJ Worx – Allan McCabe Web: www.djworx.co.za E-mail: allan@djworx.co.za Contact: +27 (0) 72 557 5339

My plan for New Years Eve was to party with all of my good friends from school days. We had all gone up to the Drakensberg for the weekend and had planned a big feast followed by champagne, dancing and fun. New Years eve morning rolled in and I woke up with a horrible tummy bug and proceeded to spend the next 24 hours in bed!

My plan didn’t work out but waking up on New Years day hangover free and feeling a lot better gave me the chance to quietly give thanks for the blessings of 2012.

2012 was very good to Jacki Bruniquel Art and Photography. She took us from the Karoo to the Caribbean. Clients ranged from a Stay at home Mom to a Springbok rugby player, from an Accountant to an Architect to an Actress. We photographed a wedding in India. We photographed weddings on farmyards, in gardens, in fancy hotels and in the bush. Some weddings were grand, some were humble.

Every one of them was different and in every one of them there is a common thread.

That common thread is the thread of Love.

I love making pictures about love. I love making photos of the human narrative. I love finding that little thing that makes everyone unique in his or her own way and making pictures about that.

Here is my personal best wedding work of 2012.

Huge thanks to all of my clients for believing in me, for picking me and for becoming part of what was a hugely special year for me.

Thanks also my amazing assistant Tash. She is the hardest-working, loveliest human ever and I owe her more than words could ever express.

As the last days of 2012 pass us by I would like to give thanks to everyone who has supported me through this year. Thanks to all my wonderful clients. Thanks to my family, my friends and my fiance. 2012 has been an amazing year. Wishing you all a wonderful 2013.

Here are some of my favorite non weddingy pics of 2012 ……

Charmin and Russell are a wonderful pair. They are very different in many ways but this seems to be what makes their relationship work so well. The one thing that they definitely have in common is their dedicated to their two boys and each other.We loved shooting this wedding! Thanks so much for picking me guys … wishing you a wonderful marriage ahead!!!

Venue: Straven Court. Website is www. Stravencourt.co.za

Hair: Angie from Lyndales. Cell: 0722048143

Make up: Sam Nightingale : 0822951362. Such a great girl.

Church flowers, bouquets and button holes:

Donna Walker did my bouquets and I LOVED them. Exactly what I had envisioned, if not better. Donna’s number: 0333472074

My bridesmaids mom, Lynn Adams arranged the flowers in the little vases.

Buttonholes: Myself

Decor/Flowers at the Venue: My mom, Mrs Biggs and I. My mom need a huge mention for sewing 400 metres (that’s not a typo) of bunting and for just putting up with months of wedding talk. She’s the best mom in the world and I’m so lucky to have her.

Wedding Stationery: Russell and I

Brides Dress: Bride and co.

Bridesmaids dresses. Mrs Airton and Lauren Barbour : 0820810302

Groom’s Suit: Edgars

Cake: My amazing bridesmaid Natalie made it for us. She did two years of practice runs and trying out recipes to find the perfect carrot cake. And it was perfect. Absolutely delicious! Cake Topper was made by Lasercore in Durban.