Some weddings you photograph, and some you remember the taste of.

Jessica and Brandon were married at Laborie in Paarl, and from our very first conversation it was clear what mattered most to them. Not the flowers, not the first dance, not even the dress. The food. They booked their caterer before almost anything else, and every other decision was built around the simple idea of sitting people down together and feeding them properly.

It is a lovely thing to witness a couple be that certain about what they want. And it made for one of the most beautiful Cape Winelands weddings I have had the privilege of photographing.

Guests flew in from all corners of the world to be there, which gave the whole weekend the feeling of a reunion rather than an event. The light at Laborie was soft all afternoon. The people were kind. And the food, as promised, took centre stage.


The food came first

Jessica and Brandon booked John Joseph Food Anatomy before they had locked down most of the rest of the day. Johnny and I have worked together many times over the years, so I arrived already knowing the food would be exceptional. It still managed to surprise me.

Canapés were served as stations, which is my favourite way to start a wedding. Lobster rolls. Pasta tossed in a wheel of parmesan. A fresh mussel station that had a queue from the moment it opened.

Johnny styles his stations the way a florist styles an arch. White ceramic swans with grapes cascading over their sides, heavy and abundant, like something out of a Dutch still life. Fruit piled high. Everything arranged to be looked at as much as eaten.

It gave the whole space a sense of another time, and it is some of my favourite detail photography of the season.

Dinner was a proper sit-down affair, and then dessert turned into something close to a performance. A giant tiramisu that Jess and Brandon finished themselves in front of everyone, and an enormous meringue that they piled with toppings while their guests watched. It is a clever thing to do with a dessert course. The room came together around it in a way that a plated pudding never quite manages.

A dress with a bow, and a day that felt like another era

Jessica wore Sadie Bosworth Atelier, with a large bow at the back that caught the light every time she turned. It is the kind of detail that photographs beautifully from behind during the ceremony, and it set the tone for everything else.

Between the bow, the cascading grapes and those ceramic swans standing like Greek statues among the plates, the day had a romance to it that felt borrowed from another century. Not costume, and not themed. Just a consistency of taste running through every decision, from the stationery to the flowers to the way the tables were dressed.

Paradiso Flowers handled the decor, Marnel Toerien did hair and make-up, and Nearest and Dearest pulled the whole thing together with a calm I am still grateful for.

That is the thing about a wedding where everything has been considered. It never feels laboured. It just feels easy, and the photographs follow.

Why Laborie works so well

Laborie sits just outside Paarl, about an hour from Cape Town, and it is one of those Cape Winelands venues that does a lot of the work for you.

The estate is old enough to feel rooted, with Cape Dutch architecture, established oaks and vineyards running up toward the mountains behind. The Champagne Cellar seats up to 150 guests, which puts Laborie in a useful bracket: large enough for a proper international guest list, small enough that the day never starts to feel like a conference.

One practical note for anyone planning an autumn wedding here. This was an April wedding, and at Laborie the sun disappears behind the mountain at around 18:30, which is noticeably earlier than the sky actually goes dark. Golden hour arrives sooner than most couples expect. We built the timeline around it and were out in the vines well before dinner, but it is the kind of thing worth raising with your planner early rather than discovering on the day. If you are marrying here between March and May, pull your couple portraits forward by half an hour from whatever the first draft of your timeline suggests.

For a couple with guests flying in from overseas, Laborie also offers something a city venue cannot. People arrive early, stay a few days, and make a holiday of it. By the time the wedding day comes around, everyone already knows each other, and that shows in the photographs more than any amount of styling ever could.

The last one before maternity leave

This was my final wedding of the season before I went on maternity leave, and I could not have asked for a better note to end on.

There is something about knowing a day is the last for a while. You pay closer attention. You notice the light changing, the way a grandmother watches her granddaughter, the moment someone's shoulders drop because the speeches are over. I shot this one slowly and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you Jessica and Brandon, for letting me be there, and for a wedding that reminded me exactly why I do this.


I am now back behind the camera and booking weddings for 2027 and 2028. If you are planning a Cape Winelands wedding, I would love to hear from you.

Venue: Laborie Estate

Photography: Jenni Elizabeth

Planning & co-ordination: Nearest and Dearest

Food: John Joseph Food Anatomy

Decor: Paradiso Flowers

Hair & make-up: Marnel Toerien

Dress: Sadie Bosworth Atelier

Video: Brad Jackson Studio

Stationery: Weddings by EB