Elton Willenburgh Photography

James & Glynnis ~ Saturday, 14th July 2012

There’s something so amazing about weddings! It’s always fascinating to watch the day unfold.

Doing my last minute checks, I’ve packed and checked by bag at least 10 times. Equipment’s all there. Batteries are charged. All good to go.

Yet, somehow I always feel like I’m unprepared. Missing something. And, I can never quite put my finger on it. Arriving at the brides house, I tell myself, “you’ve done this before, nothing to it”. Yet somehow my heart starts to beat just a little faster. My hands feel uncoordinated, palms a little sweaty. And then I feel it, that nervous tingly sensation. Wedding butterflies!

Something truly wonderful is about to take place!

A fleeting thought runs through my head… “I’ve been here before”.

Taking hold of my camera, I pull myself together. The familiar feel of the camera calms me. I check the settings, look through the lens, and realize that someone I know is about to take a leap of faith.

And there she is, The Bride!

Apprehensive, maybe a little nervous, yet quietly content…happy. Glynnis looks far too relaxed. Surrounded by her family, they say a quick prayer. She’s absolutely glowing with excitement. Blessed.

As we prepare to leave, I wonder what she’s thinking. I quietly go about snapping away.

Arriving at the church, everyone’s excited. People are smiling. And time feels like its standing still, yet flying by all at once.

As the bride enters the church hall, all eyes turn toward her. At that moment, I look towards James to see his expression. He looks so calm. Peaceful. I don’t remember feeling calm. I try to recall what I felt like at my wedding, but can’t quite remember…

And then it hits me. All I remember was seeing my wife, and pretty much nothing else . And as I grin to myself, I see a huge beaming smile break out across James’ face as he sees his Bride. As the couple take hands, James leads his bride-to-be down the aisle.

As the ceremony proceeds, I look at the friends and family in the crowd, who haven’t stopped smiling. I wonder if their cheeks are going to be sore?

Within a few minutes they’re married! The Pastor announces them as Husband and Wife, and everyone celebrates!

My friends, James and Glynnis, the two of you truly make a beautiful couple. You need only sit and listen to your testimony to know that you are loved by God.I sincerely enjoyed taking these photos, and I hope that these memories bring you as much joy as I had capturing them.

May the Lord continue to bless you, and keep you.

Loving the Light…

Wedding of Gabriel & Barbara Cornelius – 24th Sept 2011

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. ~ 1 Cor 13:7 NLT

Finding true love in the 21st century is quite a daunting task… In South Africa alone there are over 49 million people (hmmm…scary thought), and yet isn’t it amazing how two people can find one another, and know that ‘this is the right one for me…’. So how exactly can one know for sure who that special person is, and how does one go about finding them; and why would anyone want to anyway?

Thankfully, I’m not planning on answering any of those questions , as I surely am no expert on love; nor do I hold any special knowledge on the subject, but yet I find myself writing on this topic having been inspired by this lovely couple…

In one of my all time favorite movies ‘Dan in real life’, there’s a quote that’s always stood out for me that helps me put it into perspective… “Love is not an emotion, it’s an ability”. I’ve found that saying to be so true in my own life, as it simply implies that love is an action, an act of serving, honoring, protecting, cherishing, loving…

And like any ability, it requires practice, and if any of you have ever had to practice for anything it usually means that there are some obstacles ahead that require a certain amount of sweat and tears to overcome, so make sure you’re in it for the right reasons.

I believe that you can choose to love someone everyday (preferably the same person in the context of marriage) no matter what the circumstances… Note, I didn’t say you have a choice in who you love, and from my humble personal experience being married to my lovely wife, I just kinda knew that I knew the first time I met her…

So what exactly is the point I’m trying to make… heck, I don’t know, I got lost trying to read this paragraph over again in any case… but all I do know is that I just know that I know that I know I love my wife and my son with a love that is so fierce it sometimes scares me… makes you wonder where this love came from … (1 John 4, hint hint)

So yes, I acknowledge that there are many views and opinions on this topic, but the one’s that matter most to me are the ones that matter most to me… so that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it…good luck ‘finding nemo’…

Love will find a way…

Despite literally being knocked over by a train and surviving (for real, I kid you not….kinda reminds me of a song by Bruno Mars, hehe), Gabriel a.k.a ‘Ironman’ Cornelius stepped up to the plate on the 24th of September 2011 and made Barbara Olsen his beloved wife.

It gives me great comfort and hope to know that even after this young couple have both scored their half century’s, that love can still cause a man to go week in the knees and act like a nervous teen, and a woman to well, I wouldn’t know…have butterflies and fluttering eyebrows I guess…

The pastor mentioned a song from Elvis, ‘She wears my ring’, and it reminded me so much of a song my mom & pops in law always sing . I went and found the lyrics, and here’s an extract from the song which goes like this…

She wears my ring to show the world that she belongs to me
She wears my ring to show the world she’s mine eternally
With loving care I placed it on her finger
To show my love for all the world to see

Gaby & Barb, your love for each other inspires us all… continue to keep the flame of love burning bright… you know, thank you verrry verrry much (Clive, you know mos ).

PS. Although I wasn’t the official photographer on the day, here are some of the photo’s I managed to take with limited equipment I had (it’s so lucky how I always seem to have my camera handy for such occasions…heehee…, just wish I had my flash with me at the time, aahhh, oh well).

Enjoy…