Linri & Deon Mouton | Elim Ceres Wedding

“A hundred hearts would be too few to carry all my love for you.”

Some weddings stay with me for a very long time and Linri and Deon’s Elim Ceres wedding is without a doubt one of them. In fact this wedding sits in my personal top five weddings I have photographed. There are a few reasons for that but mostly it comes down to the couple themselves. Linri and Deon have a chemistry that is something else. They just fit together so naturally and watching them together made the entire day feel like one of those real-life fairytale weddings.

Everything about their day felt picture perfect. From the beautiful countryside setting to the rustic elegance of the Elim Ceres Wedding venue and the little personal details that made the wedding theirs there was something special around every corner.

Getting Ready at Rhodene Farm Cottages

The wedding morning started at Rhodene Farm Cottages where the bridal preparations took place. I always love photographing the getting-ready part of a wedding because it gives me the opportunity to slow down before the ceremony and capture all those little details that can easily be forgotten once the day gets busy.

Linri looked absolutely beautiful in her wedding dress from Elizabeth Stockenstrom. The top had soft patterned detailing which gave the dress a delicate texture while the bottom fell into a soft silky fabric. It was elegant without being overly complicated and suited her perfectly.

Her green bridesmaid dresses added a beautiful touch of colour to the bridal party. The green also worked so naturally with the greenery used throughout the reception decor and the white flowers in Linri’s bouquet.

Deon wore a dark grey almost black suit with a grey tie. His groomsmen kept the look a little lighter with light grey trousers and white shirts. The combination worked beautifully together and gave the bridal party that classic countryside wedding feel without becoming too formal.

And then there was the car.

Linri arrived at the church in a beautiful vintage black Ford sedan. It was such a gorgeous old-fashioned car and it fitted the entire feeling of the wedding perfectly. Of course I couldn’t resist using it for some photographs later in the day. It became another little piece of the story rather than simply being the wedding transport.

A Picture-Perfect Wedding

One of the things I remember most about photographing Linri and Deon at Elim Ceres Wedding venue is that we didn’t have to stay in one place to create their photographs.

After the church ceremony we stopped along the road to Elim Ceres Wedding venue and took some photographs of the couple and their wedding party. There was something so beautiful about taking a moment away from everything and using the surrounding landscape as part of their story.

We did the same again when we arrived at the Elim Ceres Wedding venue.

I love doing this when the opportunity presents itself because it keeps wedding photography from feeling like a checklist. Instead of simply moving from church to Elim Ceres Wedding venue and rushing through photographs we could stop and enjoy the scenery and create something different in each location.

And Linri and Deon made it easy as a Ceres wedding photographer.

Their chemistry was incredible. They were comfortable with each other and naturally affectionate which meant I could capture the connection between them rather than constantly having to pose them. Some couples need a little more direction and some simply fall into their own rhythm. Linri and Deon definitely had their own rhythm.

Rustic Elegance at Elim Ceres Wedding venue as a Western Cape wedding photographer

The Elim Ceres wedding reception had the most beautiful combination of rustic charm and elegance. The venue had that wonderful barn feeling where you can still feel the farm and countryside around you but there is also something refined about the way everything has been put together.

It was rustic Ceres wedding without feeling rough and elegant without feeling overly formal.

The tables were a beautiful example of that balance. Large bronze candle holders held six candles in the centre of each table with greenery and plants surrounding them. The combination of bronze, candlelight and natural greenery worked incredibly well in the setting at the Elim Ceres Wedding venue.

There was a softness to the decor that made the reception at the Elim Ceres Wedding venue feel warm and welcoming. Rather than filling every available space with decorations the styling allowed the natural textures and greenery to do much of the work.

It was exactly the kind of setting that photographs beautifully.

The Flowers

Linri’s bouquet was another detail I absolutely loved. It had that beautiful waterfall-style shape with lilies, roses and other white flowers flowing down through layers of greenery.

There was also a very special personal detail attached to her bouquet. Linri had memorial photographs of her mother incorporated into her flowers.

That was one of those details that immediately made the bouquet more than just something beautiful she carried down the aisle. It was a way of having someone incredibly important to her close on one of the biggest days of her life.

Those are the details I love discovering as a photographer. The things that may not be obvious to everyone looking at the wedding but mean everything to the people involved.

The rest of the floral styling carried the same natural feeling through the venue with greenery and plants incorporated into the table arrangements.

A Cake With Three Different Layers

The wedding cake was a beautiful three-tier cake with each tier having its own look. The bottom was white while the middle had a chocolate-inspired appearance and the top was red velvet.

The cake was decorated with white lilies, daisy-like white flowers and greenery which tied it beautifully into Linri’s bouquet and the rest of the wedding flowers at Elim Ceres Wedding venue.

I loved how the cake didn’t feel separate from the rest of the wedding styling at Elim Ceres Wedding venue. The colours and flowers made it feel like another part of the same story.

And of course the cake wasn’t the only dessert.

Dinner was a proper comforting wedding meal with chicken, mixed vegetables, beetroot and feta salad, potatoes, pumpkin fritters and rice. For dessert there was the wedding cake along with chocolate mousse and a selection of other baked treats including brownies.

It sounds like exactly the kind of meal that makes you want to stay at the reception a little longer!

The Little Details That Made It Theirs

What made this Elim Ceres wedding so memorable for me wasn’t one single detail. It was how everything worked together.

The vintage black Ford. Linri’s elegant white dress. The green bridesmaid dresses. Deon’s dark suit. The soft greenery. The bronze candle holders. The white flowers. The rustic barn setting. The personal memorial photographs on the bouquet.

Every element felt like it belonged.

And then you had Linri and Deon themselves in the middle of it all at Elim Ceres Wedding venue.

They were genuinely one of those couples where you can see the connection without them having to do anything. Their chemistry was natural and their personalities complemented each other beautifully. They were both wonderful people to spend a wedding day with and that made my job incredibly enjoyable.

I think that is also why this Elim Ceres Wedding remains one of my top five.

Years later I can still remember how it felt.

One of My Favourite Weddings

As a photographer I have been lucky enough to photograph so many weddings over the years and every couple gives me something different to remember. Sometimes it is a funny moment. Sometimes it is a family connection. Sometimes it is a venue or a beautiful piece of decor.

And sometimes it is simply the couple.

For me Linri and Deon’s wedding was one of those weddings where everything came together. The location, the styling, the vintage car, the flowers, the food and the photographs all created this beautiful rustic fairytale feeling.

But the photographs that I love most are still the ones where they are simply together.

That is always what I want to remember when I photograph a wedding. The things that made the day beautiful are wonderful but ultimately the wedding is about two people choosing each other.

And Linri and Deon made that look very easy.

Experience Their Elim Ceres Wedding Through the Gallery

Now you can browse through Linri and Deon’s wedding gallery and experience their day through the photographs.

Look out for the details as you move through the gallery. Linri’s dress. The green bridesmaid dresses. Deon’s dark suit. The vintage Ford. Their photographs along the road. The beautiful barn reception. The bronze candle holders. The greenery. The flowers and that incredible three-tier cake.

But most of all look at Linri and Deon on thier farm wedding Ceres.

Their connection is one of the things that made this wedding so special to photograph and I think it comes through in their images. These aren’t just photographs of a beautiful wedding. They are photographs of two people who genuinely fit together.

This will always be one of those weddings I am grateful to have been part of.

Wedding Suppliers

Bride Dress: Elizabeth Stockenstrom
Bridesmaids Dresses: Anene Cronje
Jewellery: Lilly Blue
Suits: Suit Hire Paarl & Woolworths
Cake: Chrismare du Plessis
Flowers: Elim Dekor & Reza from Mountain Mill Mall
Decor: Elim Dekor
Makeup: Jeane du Plessis
Hair: Bianca Roos & Valerie Naude
DJ & Video: The Party Technician
Getting Ready Venue: Rhodene Farm Cottages
Wedding Car: Jan du Plessis & Andre Wessels
Catering & Venue: Elim Ceres
Photographer: Poplap Photography

Evelene | Poplap Photography & Design
Celebrating Love in Every Click