E-Shoot

♥ ♥ ♥

Francois and Karin are a sweet couple from the lovely, quiet and laid back town of Middelburg in Mpumalanga. As lovers of the great outdoors, the newly engaged pair wanted their pre-wedding love shoot to take place outside in nature, somewhere soft and pretty like this Whimsical Outdoors Engagement Shoot.

You would never say that they were in a busy city, as an open field in Pretoria, South Africa, where heavenly rays of sunshine were aplenty and love was in the air set the scene for their e-shoot. With such a relaxed, natural and romantic setting for their colourful outdoor engagement shoot, the couple could let loose and photo snappers, Carolien and Ben could capture them at their best.

Francois and Karin's Love Story

How it all began: We both lived in Middelburg for most of our lives, and we even attended the same high school, but we only knew about each other because my younger brother and his sister are friends. Truthfully, I did not even know how Francois looked! After school we attended the same University, but never met. We were on holiday in Port Elizabeth in December 2008 when Francois sent me a message on Facebook telling me that if we were in Jeffrey's Bay by chance we should do something - but I ignored him because I didn't know the guy... And as fate would have it our parents surprised us by taking us to Jeffrey's Bay for the last week of our holiday. My brother told Francois' sister that we were there so I had no choice but to go on a "date" with this guy - of course I took my brother along - what if we had absolutely nothing in common... I still remember the first time I saw him - he was wearing a blue polo shirt with a pair of shorts and was barefoot - my legs just went numb and my heart was beating a million times a minute because he was stunning! We went for a very, very looooooooong walk on the beach - my brother and his sister decided that it was too far for them and decided to head back...but I did not want the day to end. The Tale of Their Proposal: This is something you only see in movies - but this is the way he did it! Francois' parents live on a Game Farm just outside Marble Hall. In the week before Saturday the 2nd of March he told me that his dad was having aerial photographs taken of the farm that Saturday and he said we should take the opportunity to see the farm from above. I wasn't very "up" with the idea but could see he was very excited about it so I agreed. The flight almost did not take place due to the weather that Saturday morning, but in the end it cleared up and we were ready to go. We left from Middelburg's airstrip and when we were above the farm he showed me something outside the window. I couldn't believe my eyes because cut out in one of the fields below were the words "TROU MET MY KARIN". I just remember that I was completely caught by surprise and he had to ask me 3 or 4 times if I would marry him before I could respond with a YES!!!!! I didn't cry on the day, but only thinking about it now do I get tears in my eyes.... I love this man more than any words can describe.

South African Fields of Love Outdoor E-Shoot Inspiration

Outdoor E-Shoot Photo Props: "It wasn't about the props, but about us," says Karin. However, they knew they wanted to use Francois' mom's cute little turquoise Morris Minor as part of their couple's shoot. They also used a beautiful bunch of flowers and polystyrene letters of each of their initials.

What a picture-perfect engagement session created easily using the nature's beauty and the love of a soon-to-be wed couple. For more e-shoot inspiration, take a peek at this sweet and colourful {Engagement Shoot} A Whimsical Balloon-Themed Photo Shoot that is a cinch to recreate for your own shoot.

Vendors

Photographer: Carolien and Ben Photography

Founding Editor: Storm Buckingham