Olivia + Christian
The Wedding I Will never forget...
I never write personal content on my clients albums because I would like to show you their biggest and happiest of days, Well...
This post will be somewhat different, as I was at my lowest point ever in my life when I needed to capture someone else's highest.
Olivia and Christian's wedding was on Wednesday the 16th of December 2015, odd to begin with, because I almost never do Weekday weddings...
Monday the 14th of December 2015, my father passed away.
I haven't told many people how, why and where it all happened, because it was such a big shock to me and my Brother as we didn't even know my dad was ill to begin with.
My dad moved to Portugal about a year ago, no.. Kinda think about it, it was exactly a year ago in December 2015.
He sold everything in Durbanville, his business, his house, etc...
He was so excited to start a new life in a country he so adored! He used to give me a call every week to ask how I was doing, and If i was coping with all the weddings hehe,
he used to brag about how awesome and friendly all the people in Podentes (the little village he lived in - North of Lisbon ) was and how they would share all of their crops and produce with everyone.
He quickly settled in and became part of the community in Podentes.. coached some Rugby, help fix people's cars, teached some English and renovated the house he bought.
Everything sounded so amazing, he sounded so Happy...
In June Last year when I did my first international wedding in Serbia, Dietmar and I (we've been dating for 12 years) got engaged!!!
My dad was so excited to hear the news and we immediately started planning an elopement in Portugal YAAAY my OWN wedding...
The plan was to get Married in South-Africa for all our friends and family here at home and then fly over and have a little ceremony at a river in Portugal with my dad in 2017 which would've been his 60th Birthday.
But all our big plans ended when I received a call 8pm on Monday evening the 14th December...
My dad passed away from lung cancer, three heart attacks and a stroke.
The lung cancer was already so aggressive that it has already spread to his liver and kidneys.
The cancer was only diagnosed after the doctors sent him in for ex-rays because of the heart attacks.
He was so brave, he never complained of any pain, he never told us about his suffering... he spared us the worry...he rided it out.
After he passed away, I was somewhat in a haze... denial actually.
Because he was so far away and I never saw him being ill, I did not want to believe that his death is true.
I played a video on my phone over and over and over, where we were sitting at the airport waitng for their plain to arrive, not knowing that that moment will be the last time I will see him
and the last words he said was "Ek is lief vir jou Ouma" yes haha he used to call me Ouma :D
Long story short, I never knew how strong i really am...
Don't know about you, but would you be stable enough to take pictures at a wedding when your Dad passed away two days earlier?
I did... and it was an experience I will never forget. All for the right reasons though
I phoned Olivia the evening that I found out my Father passed away, and she immediately asked If everything is still okay for their wedding,
I said Yes, I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world and she calmed me down on the Telephone, cried with me and said
"Celesté, we won't pressure you with anything on the day, if you want to cry, cry... If you want to take a break, take a break,
If you need anything, we will be there for you, and help you through the day"
Those words meant the world to me!!!
I cried only once on their wedding day. The moment when Olivia and her Dad walked down the Isle, tears just poured down my face, I was so raw inside, shaking and feeling so weak.
I cried behind my camera, and just went on with my work, nobody knowing what I was going through and how heart broken I was.
I documented this wedding with so many emotions. so when you look at any of these pictures, keep in mind that its through my eyes you are seeing this.
With all this said, I want to thank Tertius (my second shooter), Christian, Olivia and all of their friends and family for being so caring about me on the day! you will never know how much it means to me.
Wow... Long post, but I really never open up so this was my chance to share with you the most saddest but biggest test to my ability and commitment to my work with all of you.
Enjoy the pictures :)
Celesté
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