Laurel Jane Mitchinson – Part I – About Celeste and I.

Firstly, Thank you to Frank Nash for creating these images that Celeste and I will Cherish for Life.

Laurel Jane Mitchinson and Our Story.


This is our story. Part I – The How and The Why.

Without getting too deep in to why I am a wedding photographer and why I continue to engage my full self in to what I do, I have again realized why photography that celebrates two that make one is actually one of the most important aspects of life.  It sounds bold, however I fully believe it to be true.  Through this medium I crossed paths and met Celeste and through this meeting there is new life – in the form of Laurel Jane.

Some of you who follow my work and know about me will know that I met Celeste through a great tragedy.  Celeste was to be married in March of 2010, and tragically her fiance was killed two weeks before their wedding day.  Celeste was destroyed.  She felt that a form of closure would be through one of her inspirations of imagery, and have her photos taken in her wedding dress.  Any girl who has had a wedding or is assembling one will know that besides the reason of having a wedding, to create the day is a process of emitting ones self fully to the purpose….and to have it taken away in every aspect is pure tragedy.

Celeste came to me only two weeks after the accident and told me that she loved my work and even though at the time I was booked on her day to shoot another wedding, she wanted to hire me to take these photos of her in her dress.
It was a momentous moment in my life while she was telling me what she was “telling me”, I felt ashamed (that at the exact second I met her and knowing of her tragedy and the purpose of her coming to me) – I felt connected to her.  I cant explain it, other than saying I felt that I already knew her, maybe in a previous life or whatever it was.  I was taken back with the task she set out for me, but I decided to take it on.  I felt terrible about this, but I really liked her and I think I just wanted to take the photos -  because I wanted to get to know her and even at that time, I wanted her.  I have never wanted to disrespect what had happened to her and her fiance Francois, but it was what it was.

Celeste and I planned out for weeks what the shoot would be and what it would entail and I wanted to do all kinds of stuff, and most of my ideas were shut down as being too dark or too deep, but as a photographer I wanted to create the most impact-ful images.  We decided to shoot simply with the bride and her groom.  Although her groom was gone we were able to have him there.  You can see for yourself here. (Celeste De Kock – Portraits of The Bravest Girl I have ever Met).

It actually was a rough beginning, filled with confusion and angst, but from that time on Celeste and I became Friends.  We would visit each other a lot (her in Worcestor and me in Cape Town) and basically we became a couple without admitting it.  At one point she told me that she loved me, and loved me truly and it was so hard to accept that, and I lost contact with her over it.  I didn’t decide on it specifically.  I just thought that through this whole thing – it was wrong or maybe I had even taken advantage of her -  or whatever it was….I just kind of disappeared from her life, out of a form of guilt and an unexpected responsibility.

It was about 6 months that we didn’t have contact and every one of those days I thought of her and wondered what she was doing….then one night I was at my good friends (Dale Ontong) house and he asked me.  “Ian, why are you no longer with Celeste?, you guys seemed to fit perfectly”.  I couldn’t answer that question, and the next day I called her and said we had to meet.

Within a week were living with each other, and just a few months later we had to choose a name.

Coming Soon – Part II