A wedding of 2 trail runners on top of the hill in our backyard we call the Outeniquas. It is even more clear for me now sitting behind my screen that it was a great celebration of both life and love. The quirkinesses, the smiles, the stunning backdrop and the bitter cold in the middle of summer all came together in a rather unexpected absolutely beautiful way.
The Hike up the Mountain
When I got asked by Clare Labuschagne and Jacques Mouton to shoot their wedding, my immediate response was NO. It’s way too much pressure and I’m no wedding photographer never mind a half descent shooter. But they were to get married on top of #CradockPeak the highest peak in our #OuteniquaMountainRange
The weather prediction was horrendous for the day. Late evening calls and WhatsApp chats resulted into; There is no plan B.
Into the mountains we shall go...
The experience for me was one of true inspiration. We are a group of mountain people and people that tend to spend time in mountains are, just somewhat different. We form different genres, there are the #RocknRoll types with #tatoos and #hairstyles there are the #pollyshorts type and the #strava hunters but in the end we all dance to the music of the #mountain.
We gathered in the parking lot as if we were about to just do another social run on Sunday morning. The #cowboys pulled together to shift weight between carrying the #WeddingDress, Suits, Rope and sails to build a dressing shelter, the make up artist soldiered up the mountain and a good amount of bubbly and a few flasks of wiskey and #Obies.
The wind howled and it was freezing but Clare continued to climb the mountain with the biggest smile, it was her #weddingday💪
On top of the #Peak people continued to join, talking about their climb to the top taking different routes and there was the odd compulsory huddle to harvest body heat.
And so a small group of mountain people gathered in their trail running gear on top of Cradock Peak to witness the marriage of Clare and Jacques, a couple that have dedicated their lives to running and bringing the joy of running to our community.
The end result: A MOUNTAIN TOP KISS.
Congratulations Clare and Jacques Mouton. You inspired all of us 💪
(PS. The party did continue with epic portions last night where all pretenses were left behind and real people got together to celebrate. )
