17 March 2012

Main Photographer: Danita Marais

This was an exciting wedding combined with lions and tigers! I was able to go into some of the cages and take photos from the inside, you can imagine the thrill! Unfortunately the bigger lions are not as manageable (and friendly), but the small cubs were adorable and very playful. My husband, Philip, and I even went back the day after the wedding and spent some time in the cages playing with 3 week old cubs up until 5 -7 month old cubs. (I couldn’t resist, there is some photos in this gallery of the cubs as well) What an experience! The guests all took photos, like the paparazzi, in between the ceremony and reception of the feeding and playing of the “posing” lions My heart nearly skipped a beat when I was taking photos with the bridal couple, suddenly everybody around us fell silent, the tension in the air was tangible, Philip whispered very discreetly close to my ear: “Don’t make sudden movements, stand still, don’t worry… one of the Caracal’s (Rooikat) came out of it’s cage” . When I took my eyes away from the camera I saw that the Caracal jumped into the tree closest to the bride, sitting in a high branch looking down at the bride. I bet it was smiling, thinking: How good would my paw look on that white dress?? Needless to say I tried my best to get the bride away from that setting a.s.a.p! I remember all weddings as clear as day, but this adventure will be one of the special ones