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Laura and Nathi’s Wedding Day
There’s a particular kind of ease when two people are completely at home with each other. That was Laura and Nathi from the start. Grounded, playful, and deeply connected humans who happened to be getting married. They didn’t want a wedding day that felt like a production. They wanted it to feel like them. Warm, close, a bit quirky, full of energy, and rooted in the city they love.
Who They Are, Together and Apart
You can feel their dynamic instantly. Nathi is soft snow falling at midnight, attentive, contemplative, a family man, proud of his deep cultural heritage. Laura is a hurricane of electric energy, a perfectionist, decisive and strong, but soft in the moments where she and Nathi block out the noise and focus on each other. Together, they’re genuinely affectionate and funny, and completely at ease together.
Starting at Home
Like most couples, there were nerves, but they rolled with the day. They got ready separately at their home in the 18th district, the place they return to every day, the place they’ll raise a family. Both wore sneakers. No pretence. Just love, raw emotion, and the quiet hum of something important about to begin.
The first look was important to them and took place on their rooftop terrace overlooking the city. It was carefully planned in the practical sense, timing and communication, making sure they didn’t see each other beforehand, but otherwise left completely unscripted.
The Tram
Then came the move that made the wedding unmistakably theirs: the tram. This is where more precise planning was required. We needed to catch the tram at a specific time. While timing was key, the experience itself was anything but rigid.
Leaving their home, laughter spilled into the streets as the bridal couple made their way to the tram station. Vienna is a city of nostalgia, architecture, and charm, and the tram became both transport and part of the unfolding celebration. It felt less like a procession and more like a shared moment with the city, waltzing towards the historic tram, with strangers waving and offering congratulations as they passed.
The route ran through the city toward Prater Park, one of Vienna’s landmarks. The journey took around 45-60 minutes. At one point Nathi’s brother Mabuso stood quietly at the window, looking out at the city in wonder as it passed. I remember thinking, this is why they chose the tram. At Prater Park, they met family and friends for a relaxed welcome before exchanging vows.
Planning for the unknown
The ceremony took place at Prater Park. The tram, however, presented its own challenges. Tight space. Difficult angles. Changing light. The kind of situation where precision planning matters. I had scouted the locations, walking the flow through with Laura and Nathi beforehand, and considered weather, light, and the available angles.
The week leading up to the wedding was tense. Vienna had been cold and stormy, and it rained again early on Saturday morning, so a Plan B was essential. In the end, we didn’t need it, but being prepared meant that Laura and Nathi didn’t need to think about it on the day.
Back home
Afterwards, everyone boarded the tram and returned to Laura and Nathi’s home for the reception. Before anything else happened, Nathi carried Laura over the threshold. A simple gesture that said everything about what mattered to them. Cake, first dance, celebration, all at home, where they intend to build their life together.
Before the wedding day, I spent time with the inner circle at the pre-dinner ice-breaker. Parents, siblings, best men and bridesmaids - especially important with Nathi’s family flying in from South Africa. That early connection makes a difference. When people recognise you on the day, they relax. The camera stops feeling intrusive.
From behind the camera
What stood out to me was how everyone let go. They forgot I was there. They trusted me. They trusted each other. That’s where the real photographs live.
While I often lean towards black and white, for this wedding I delivered the gallery mostly in colour. It suited the people, the city, and the energy of the day. Home. Rooftop. Streets. Tram. Ceremony. Then home again. Multiple locations kept things moving and fresh, but what stayed constant was how close everything felt, planned carefully, and then allowed to unfold naturally.
