Marike de Villiers · Stellenbosch, Western Cape
About
I shoot like a guest who happens to be holding a camera.
I'm Marike. I've photographed 140-odd weddings since 2016, most of them within an hour of Stellenbosch, where I live with a bad-tempered pointer called Bliksem.
No shot lists read out loud. No 'everyone look here' except for the family formals, which I do fast and early so you can get to the bar. If you want to be posed for two hours, I'm the wrong photographer, and I'll say so on the call.
What I actually care about is the twenty minutes after the ceremony when nobody knows where to stand, your dad has gone quiet, and somebody's mother is fixing your dress. That's the part you won't remember clearly and will most want back.
- 140+
- weddings shot since 2016
- 48 hrs
- to your preview gallery
- 2
- photographers on full-day bookings
The running order
10 years of Saturdays, roughly like this.
Knowing what happens next is most of the job. It's also why I don't need to interrupt you to get the pictures.
- 11:00
Getting ready
I arrive while it's still calm. Dress on the door, rings, your gran arguing about the flowers.
- 14:30
First look
Optional. If you'd rather wait for the aisle, we skip it and I steal the light later.
- 16:00
Ceremony
I shoot from the side and the back. No stepping into the aisle, no flash in your officiant's face.
- 16:40
Family formals
Twenty minutes, list agreed beforehand, done before anyone's drink goes warm.
- 18:30
Golden hour
Fifteen minutes, just the two of you. This is where the frames you'll print come from.
- 19:15
Speeches and dancing
Back to invisible. I stay until the floor is properly full.
What couples say afterwards
“We booked Marike because of the vineyard photos and kept recommending her because of how she was on the day. Calm, invisible, never once made us stand somewhere for the sake of a picture.”
“The preview gallery landed two days later while we were still at the airport. My mother has already printed six of them.”
“Our ceremony moved indoors an hour and a half before it started. Marike had already scouted the backup room. We didn't have to think about it once.”
“I'm the person who hates being photographed. There are forty pictures of me in that gallery and I don't hate one of them.”
4 2027 Saturdays still open
Still reading? Let's talk.
I'll come back within a day with collections, availability and an honest answer about whether I'm the right fit.