South African Winter Engagement Session

At this point, it’s hardly a secret that South Africa is one of my favorite destinations. When I heard Adene Photography and Anli Wahl were collaborating on a styled shoot based around the South African snow, I knew it would be something else. We’re oh-so-glad the models and vendors braved through the chilling winds to deliver this beauty to our pages!

From the florist and stylist, Anli Wahl: Wow, where do we begin telling the story about this amazing shoot? It has always been my dream to do a styled shoot in the snow, and Adene agreed to it on one condition – only if there were ground level snow, as she is petrified of heights!

We ended up doing the shoot on Friday the 16th of August, after we moved the date about 2/3 times. Driving towards Matroosberg Mountain we saw absolutely NO snow… panic-stations! Arriving at Matroosberg Private Nature Reserve’s reception, we could barely open the car’s doors, the freezing wind was howling so viciously! We were however met by the friendliest faces and Waldo explained that he’d be happy to take us up the mountain to the snow if we were game… Adene wanted out SO badly, and thought out so many other options for us to rather do, haha! We weighed our options. In the end we decided that were sooo close, everyone was dressed, make-up done, flowers in the back, furniture on the roof – we just HAD to bite the bullet!

We 4×4’d for at least 45 minutes (me in the boot, with all the flowers on my lap!) to a spot with enough snow. Here we unpacked and started setting up and shooting. The wind was pumping and it was freezing to say the least! At times it really felt as if my brains stopped working properly, my cheeks got so frozen that I could barely speak properly! Poor Tamar and Jared were absolute troopers! They were really very scantily dressed compared to us wearing thick jackets and scarves! We had to send them to the car every now and then just to defrost a bit! It was an incredible experience to say the least – one that I probably would not have done if I knew how hard it would be beforehand! But as with all creative projects, there is nothing more rewarding than to see all your efforts and hard work pay off and to see how everything finally comes together!

Shoot Location: Matroosberg Reserve, South Africa / Photographer: Adene Photography / Flowers and Stylist: Anli Wahl / Venue: Matroosberg / Tulle Skirt and Lace Dress: Alana – Made With Love / Hair and Makeup: Adri Walters / Queen Anne Couch Rental: Goeters / Crochet Bowl Designer: Elsje Burger / Crochet Bowl: Little Honeypot / The Secret Shoot Logo: Sugarbird Creative