MY JOURNAL

In the late fall of last year I traveled up north to the town of Andong, famous in Korea for its tradition. In a beautiful ballroom of Andong Grand Hotel, Byeong-yeop and Ae-ri would be married in front of their loved ones. Never have I felt so welcome and so appreciated than with this couple and their families! It was going to be a beautiful day!

While many Korean brides plan their wedding at least a season in advance, Mina contacted me about a month before her wedding. She was originally not going to have a wedding because she didn’t like the idea of having the ordinary proceedings of the typical Korean wedding however she said she came across my photos of Pete and Sanha’s traditional ceremony, and the photos convinced her otherwise.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to document a beautiful wedding in Seoul, Korea’s capital. The awful summer heat had just passed by a week ago and I was excited to get out and enjoy a lovely outdoor ceremony. Another reason I was excited about this particular wedding was because not only is the groom a fellow South African, but he is a great photographer here in Korea too.

On a magnificent fall morning, I made the trip down to the quaint county of Gochang where I was to photograph a lovely traditional wedding. Close friends and family came from all parts of the country to celebrate the marriage of Seong-cheol and In-hye. The couple have been together for years so this was really a just formality. Even so, it was a lovely celebration enjoyed by all!

On a crisp autumn morning I embarked on my journey to Jacob and April’s beautiful wedding. The wedding was held at Island CC Resort near to Ansan. On arrival at the resort I was so excited because not only was it a beautiful day, but the resort had really pretty architecture and was surrounded by mountains. It was the perfect setting!

It was a beautiful and happy day for this couple and their families. Tae-hyung was constantly telling me how beautiful Sun-a looks and how lucky he feels. I was very happy to be part this family-affair and especially around a couple with so much adoration for each other. This makes my job so much more meaningful!

On a cloudy afternoon Sungwan and Gongji celebrated their marriage with their friends and family at a beautiful wedding hall here in Gwangju. Despite the gloomy weather I will always remember this day as a beautiful one. Sungwan and Gongji are one of my favorite couples to date. Their love is simple, comfortable, happy and wonderfully unique. I caught myself a few times just watching them as they got ready for the ceremony, instead photographing everything else (oops!).

Yong-gi, a doctor from the blissfully laid-back island of Jeju and Hyeon-ji, an elementary school teacher from the busy city of Busan got married on a beautiful autumn day on Jeju Island. Friends and family from around the country flew in to partake in this elegant celebration. The entire day was filled with love and laughter from the morning when I met the couple while they were getting ready to the final Gombae [cheers in Korean] between the family members, just adding to my already amazing memories with this beautiful couple.