Thank you to all my loyal clients!

To all my wonderful clients

What can I say! I appreciate your support throughout the years.

Thank you SO MUCH for your loyalty, and for all the “thank you”s!

2013 was an awesome year, and it would not have been possible without

each and everyone of you.

May you have a wonderful holiday and Christmas. May you experience God’s peace,

love and provision in this time in a very special manner.

Each one of you are special to me!

Looking forward to be of service to you in 2014!

God bless!

Laurika van Straaten

Wedding Storybook - Rikus en Reanda (click here & scroll down to view more storybook pages)

My Wedding Storybooks are really of the highest quality that you can get! Each page opens flat in the middle, and is protected with a UV and water-resistant layer. The pages are thick and album covers can be personalised, or just a cover with the names and wedding date.

Storybooks are offered in the following sizes:  20 x 20 cm, 20 x 30 cm and 30 x 30 cm.

Jeanine & Elmo's Wedding Storybook (click here & scroll down for more pages)

 My Wedding Storybooks are really of the highest quality that you can get! Each page opens flat in the middle, and is protected with a UV and water-resistant layer. The pages are thick and album covers can be personalised, or just a cover with the names and wedding date.

Storybooks are offered in the following sizes:  20 x 20 cm, 20 x 30 cm and 30 x 30 cm.

Etienne & Yolandi - 2013.04-20 - Zuikerkop (Click here & scroll down for more photos)

20 April 2013 + Zuikerkop + Etienne & Yolandi = PERFECT WEDDING!

Wow! What can I say? Etienne and Yolandi, you are two very special people. Your love for one another is tangible, and it is evident that you have made a lifetime commitment.  From the first time we spoke about your photos, I've had this excitement in my heart that this is going to be an awesome wedding to photograph - and I wasn't one bit disappointed!  Yolandi's feminine, romantic touch was visible in EVERYTHING - her dress, shoes, jewellery, flowers, table settings, the venue they chose, the beautiful chapel, Etienne's suit and tie, the bridesmaids' dresses - absolutely everything!  I walked into the bridal room, and the dresses and accessories were already on "display" against the wall, with five pairs of shoes (1 x bride, 4 x bridesmaids) neatly packed below the dress.  The flood gates of heaven was opened the day before the wedding, with something like 85 mm of rain falling on Friday evening alone!  Yet, the couple reamined cool and calm.  Apart from the cold, there was absolutely no rain on the wedding day - I believe the result of many prayers (including mine!!) However, I know that, even if it did rain streams of water on their wedding day, it would have been no less perfect!

Etienne and Yolandi, I trust that your photos will always bring you GREAT memories of your most beautiful day!  It was such an honour and pleasure for me to photograph your wedding!  Look well after one another, and please bring your babies one day - I would love to capture those memories for you too!

God bless!

Mortons, De Aar (click here & scroll down for more photos)

Morton boeties in die Namakwaland daisies - De Aar, Karoo, Suid-Afrika

Elmo & Jeanine's wedding (click here & scroll down for more photos)

Elmo & Jeanine got married on the 9th of February 2013 at Oranje Guest Farm near Clarens - one of the most beautiful wedding venues I know! Their day was perfect in every sense, and not even the rough thunderstorms of the afternoon could temper their excitement in any way. Having photographed perhaps more than a 100 weddings with rain in my life as a wedding photographer thus far, I wasn't too worried, and the fact that Jeanine is a farm girl that doesn't mind walking in water and mud with a wedding dress, and climbing over gates and all kinds of things to get the photo made my work very easy! I enjoyed their humour, visible love for one another, their humbleness, the manner in which their closeness as a family was tangible, the carefully planned wedding - everything was as near to perfect as one could get. I really, really had so much fun with them as we were taking photos! Elmo and Jeanine, may God bless your marriage in every aspect, and may you have a very happy and fulfilled marriage!

Mick & Lana's wedding, 22 Sept 2012 (click here & scroll down for more photos)

Mick & Lana got married in the Karoo town of Middelburg on the 22nd of September 2012. Lana's father was my maths teacher at school. Hopefully these photos could prove to him that I'm a much better photographer than I ever was a maths student, ha ha ha!  Enough of maths.....Lana is just sooo beautiful, she really has an inner beauty that shines through.  I was in my element taking their photos. It was a cold spring afternoon, but nothing could kill the flame of their love and enthusiasm....  The photos were taken in and around Middelburg at the Grootfontein Agricultural College.  Being a farmer's daughter (and can you believe it, my dad was also a student at this agricultural college!), I always include a veldt photo session in my wedding photos, if and where possible. I just love the open skyes, the "nothingness" of the Karoo and veldt, the smell of all the bush species - the ideal setting for a romantic photo session! Thanks for a wonderful wedding, Mick and Lana, we all celebrate with you and wish you only the best for your life together!

Aneetha & bump (click here & scroll down for more photos)

Aneetha's pregnancy was a tremendous joy! She only carried a "little soccer ball", with her tiny frame not looking pregnant otherwise at all! The wonder of life always makes me want to cry....it remains SUCH a miracle!

Wedding of Jurie & Nicola (click here & scroll down for more photos)

 Jurie & Nicola are from Wepener in the Free State, South Africa.  These two have both grown up on a farm and will be farmers themselves.  They share a love for nature and the simple, yet enjoyable things in life.
Their wedding took place in the winter at Monte Bello Estate.  I've known their extended family for a couple of years now, having also photographed her brothers wedding, and recently family and pregnance pictures of her brother Jossie and his wife Anneke.  I love the "winter" atmosphere of their photos - enjoy!

Milan & Liandi (click here & scroll down for more photos)

 
Milan & Liandi are two of the most beautiful people I've ever met (this is, inside and out!) Liandi has such a bubbling personality - she overflows with joy and a zest for life! Her beauty is mature, yet innocent - she is an absolute angel! Milan is a genuine person, and his love for his beautiful bride was tangible. Milan & Liandi are a perfect match. I loved every moment of capturing their precious memories of their Bloemfontein wedding   .....

Charl & Adri, 20 October 2012 (click here & scroll down for more photos)

Charl & Adri's wedding day was on the 20th of October 2012 at Oranje Guest Farm, Eastern Free State.  It was a beautiful day, and a dream come true for this couple who have carefully planned their wedding a year ahead!  I enjoyed every moment of taking their photos. Stunning couple, stunning venue - any photographer's dream!

Ntsiki & Lebo, 13 October 2012 (click here & scroll down for more photos)

Ntsiki & Lebo got married on the 13th of October 2013 at the stunning Moolmanshoek venue near Ficksburg.  Their promise of a lifetime love was shared with family and friends amongst the beautiful scenery in the so-called "Boskerk". This Christian couple is an example to family and friends of what it is to love God with your heart, soal and everything that is within you!

The Moolmanshoek Private Game Reserve is absolutely amazing! Surrounded by picturesque mountains and hundreds of wild horses and game, this venue is as near to heaven as you will get on earth......

Rainier & Doreen, 15 December 2013 (click here & scroll down for more photos)

Rainier & Doreen got married in the beautiful Eastern Free State at Oranje Guest Farm on the 15th of December 2012.  Oranje Guest Farm is an absolutely STUNNING wedding venue with heavenly scenery, and their service and food is also out of this world!

The couple has been together FOREVER, and decided to take the big step of getting married.  The day was perfect, although thunderstorms continued for the whole morning up until 3 hours before their wedding! However, Rainier and Doreen were ready for any type of weather, and even brought their gumboots along for the photos, which, of course, made beatiful photos! Both were in high spirit and prepared to do whatever I asked them to do - any photographer's DREAM!  Enjoy their precious memories with them!