Erpe-Mere, Belgium, Saturday morning 9:30AM. In less then 60 minutes I’ll be heading towards Aalst to shoot the wedding of Lieven & Leentje, but right now I’m sitting behind my keybord, waking up while enjoying a huge bowl of chocolate cereal .

Next week I’ll be shooting the wedding of the amazing Annemie & Sammy (yeah they are both amazing, not just Annemie!). I already shot their civil ceremony a few weeks ago, the results of wich I’ll show you together with the photos of their Christian ceremony & party later on.

But I can already show you their engagement photos . On the beach of Vosseslag (near De Haan), in the rain … Luckily Annemie & Sammy weren’t affraid of some water and they threw themselves at it!

Sammy & Annemie, you were amazing !

Shooting the wedding of a teacher is always something special. There’s always a huge amound of people there & a truckload of kids. The wedding of Anneleen & Tim was no different. There where a lot of people present during the ceremony at the town hall, and even more when we arrived at the church. After talking to some people there I found out that the kids that where in Anneleen’s class had prepared something special : the kids did a little dance at the end of the ceremony and each gave them a beautifull rose. You don’t hear that kind of music in a church that often .

At the end of their Christian ceremony we drove to the nearby “Heide” for their wedding shoot, after wich we said our goodbyes.

Anneleen & Tim, thanks for a very fun afternoon !

Nope, no Collin Farrel that evening, but I had 2 people with me that where even better : Amaryllis & Bart. We started our shoot in downtown Bruges after which we drove towards Damme. The weather was a major pain in the proverbial *ss (go Belgian summers go …) but once we arrived in Damme it stopped raining & we had front row seats to a very spectacular sunset (dark storm clouds mixed with the beautifull deep orange glow of the setting sun peeping through the clouds = BINGO !).

Amaryllis & Bart, I truely had an extremely fun evening, I was looking forward to shooting your engagement session for a long time & now I’m looking forward to your wedding day even harder. I hope 7-8-09 will arrive soon ! It was a pleasure getting to know you guys !

I hope you like the results !

Some people think I’m crazy (yeah mom & dad, I’m looking in your direction) because I’m having no trouble at all driving 600km in one day just to go visit something/someone. I look at it as “enjoying life”, “doing what you feel like”.
Yesterday morning I was behind the wheel of my loyal steed, driving towards are Northern neighbours. Not just across the border, but almost all the way to the top of the Netherlands, to the village of Twisk. Ellen & Marco (Sassen & Verstraaten), 2 amazing people & photographer duo, officially openend their pride & joy : Studio Twisk.

I met Ellen & Marco earlier this year in Tampa, Florida, at the DWF convention and we stayed in contact ever since. I’m a huge fan of their work and them being such fun, nice, friendly people is a great added bonus.

Where there was once an old barn they errected, in a couple of months time, a brand new studio. Guys, I’m officially jealous ! Huge amounts of space, a BIG limbo wall, make-up space, office space, they have it all and it looks incredible !!! Ellen & Marco, you have every right to be insanely proud of what you accomplished here !

After the “official” opening I was invited to enjoy a very yummie BBQ together with them, their family & neighbours. You Dutch sure now what a good time is ! (just watch out with the partytent - gas combination )

Below you’ll find a short photo impression and some more comments in between the photos.

Ellen, Marco & my are going to be doing some “projects” together in the near future so this won’t be the last of them appearing on my blog .

A first impression of their studio- & reception space

Their very stylish office space where part of the magic is done

Ofcourse there was champagne Lot’s of it !

The official Sassen & Verstraaten mascot

The male part of Studio Twisk & the Sassen & Verstraaten photography team, the only Dutch guy able to speak with an Antwerp-accent : Mister Marco

Marco and his beautifull partner, who’s also the second half of the duo : the Amazing Ellen

For those who are wondering : yup, it was de-licious !!!

Luckily for us Belgian people, Dutch beer is almost the same als Belgian Table beer, otherwise I would have never made it back home in one piece

Ellen & Marco, I had a blast & enjoyed every single minute of it ! It was SO great to see you guys again ! Thanks for the warm hug, the great afternoon & the very enjoyable BBQ afterwards ! Now, go show ‘em how it’s done & see you soon !

ps. No more traffic jams on the way home, so instead of 4hours it only took me 3 to get back home, so at 1am I was reunited with my comfortable bed

While the last weekend of August is about to start I want to present you a small appetiser from the wedding of Anneleen & Tim who got married in far away Essen.

Slideshow comming soon, enjoy ! (both the photos & the warm, sunny weekend )