YOUNG & in LOVE in the Country
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There’s nothing like young love! Talented photographer, Shantelle Visser, just had to share her collection of Country Chic-inspired photos taken of a young couple in love!
Meet the Couple
Meet lovely couple Gita and Thomas. Young and in love! Brought together by the powers above, they are made for each other! With a shared love of animals and nature, especially the wide open spaces of the farm, a photo shoot with a dash of country and farm-style touches made the couple feel right at home!
Originally from the small town of Oudtshoorn, in the Karoo, South Africa, Gita is a teacher adored by her class of Grade 3’s and is loving every minute of it! As fate would have it, Gita found herself teaching at the same school that Thomas attended when he was younger. A self-confessed adventurous and fun-loving person, vivacious Gita is passionate about working with people, young and old, but says that her young pupils have stolen her heart! She loves being active, but also enjoys winding down with an interesting movie or reading novel.
From the seaside area of Strand in Cape Town, Thomas, a Quantity Surveying student, is described by his other half as “a very loving, kind, understanding and patient person”. Always seeing the best in others, and with an enviable tolerant nature, Thomas is a great lover of the outdoors, his dog, and experiencing new adventures!
Seizing every opportunity to hit the road and travel, Gita says that the pair are of the belief that, as a wise person once told her, “traveling is the only thing that you can spend money on, that makes you richer”. Their last memorable holiday was spent in Mozambique, playing soccer and snorkeling with the locals. With a mutual love for spending time with friends, cooking and just chilling with their families at home, this lovely couple balance each other out in their interests and personalities.
Learn The Story of How They Met
The story of how they met is a sweet tale! Gita says that she loves telling the story and will especially love telling it to their children one day!
The story goes that they were introduced by friends early in 2011. In a rush, the pair didn’t get a chance to really chat. Much later that year, the school that Gita teaches at, had a rowing tour to the Orange River. Specific teachers were asked to accompany the pupils on the journey. Three days before they had to depart on theirr journey, one of the teachers broke his hand, his wife fell ill and another couldn’t make the journey.
Turning to Ruan, the sport organizer that worked with Gita at the school, she asked him if he knew of anyone that could help out. As fate would have it, Thomas, Ruan’s best friend was asked to come along.
Needless to say, the spark took flame at first sight, but they were both quite shy. Gita says that the Lord really made even the little things fall into place.
On their canoeing trip along the Orange River, Ruan’s row partner had to swap with Gita due to buoyancy reasons. As a result, Gita and Thomas ended up rowing together for the entire 6 days of their trip. Gita says that everybody could see cupids circling and sparks flying, except the two of them, who were both playing the fool! In her own words, Gita says: “Everytime we were rowing towards the riverbed, all the other adults would be standing on the edge serenading! We were so embarrassed.”
At the end of the tour, some of the pupils had to dramatize their best moments during the trip. Gita and Thomas featured in some of them, but the climax was reached when the adults had to do their own play. Everyone was included and knew exactly what was going on except for Gita and Thomas. Having been blindfolded and dressed in fashioned black bags, the two were starring in their own ‘wedding’! They had bridesmaids, a pastor and a wedding band! Gita laughs as she reflects, before saying: “I went to the Orange River expecting nothing much and came back head over heels and ‘married’ “.
With a love as young and sweet as theirs, we have a feeling that cupids will be swirling and sparks will be flying for a long time to come!
Many thanks to Gita and Thomas, and lovely photographer, Shantelle Visser, for spreading her photo love with us! For more country inspiration, check out our {Real Bride Feature} A Country Chic Yellow & Green Wedding Theme!
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Thank you so much Storm, this is great!