There are some places that stay with you long after you leave them. For us, Noordhoek Beach was one of those places.
Our engagement shoot in South Africa was never just about having photographs taken. It happened during a trip that already felt deeply significant: we were in the Cape Winelands scouting our destination wedding venue for November 2026, meeting suppliers, tasting food, and slowly watching the vision for our wedding begin to take shape. In the middle of all of that planning, Noordhoek gave us something quieter — a chance to step away from the logistics and simply be together.
The shoot was photographed by our wedding photographer, Hanri Human of @hanrihumanweddings, whose work had already made us feel completely confident in our choice for the wedding itself. It also came together with support from Weddings by Marius — @weddingsbymarius — who is planning our November wedding and has been such an important part of shaping the world around it.
The day itself was far from polished in the traditional sense, and we loved it all the more for that. Before driving to the beach, we had been at a food tasting for our wedding catering. Somewhere between tasting menus and heading towards the coast, we changed into our suits in a bathroom at a restaurant in Cape Town. It was not glamorous. It was not especially calm. But somehow, it felt completely us.
For the styling, we wore traditional black suits, but kept them relaxed to suit the coastal setting. Open shirts, loose movement and a slightly undone feel helped soften the formality, giving the whole shoot a romantic but editorial edge. We wanted the images to feel elevated without becoming stiff — something cinematic, intimate and full of movement.
Noordhoek Beach gave us exactly that.
It was cold, ethereal and playful. The beach felt vast, open and almost dreamlike, with the kind of pale coastal light that makes everything feel suspended for a moment. There was wind, there was water, and there was a quiet wildness to the landscape that immediately changed how we moved. We were not just standing in front of a camera. We were walking, laughing, holding each other, trying not to freeze, and slowly letting ourselves relax into the experience.
One of the standout moments was being in the ocean. Hanri encouraged us into the water for a lot of the shots, and although it was freezing, it brought something honest and alive to the images. There is something about standing barefoot in cold waves, dressed in suits, holding onto the person you are about to marry, that strips away any performance. You cannot overthink it. You just have to be present.
Another moment we will always remember was opening champagne on the beach. It felt celebratory but simple — no big audience, no formal setup, just the two of us, the sea, and the feeling that something had shifted. This was not only an engagement shoot; it was the beginning of seeing ourselves differently.
When we saw the previews, we were completely taken aback. They felt romantic, but not predictable. Editorial, but still personal. They captured something we recognised in ourselves, but had never quite seen reflected back to us in that way before.
Looking back, Noordhoek was the first time we truly stepped into what would later become The Seths. It was our first shoot together, and it filled us with so much love and creative energy that we knew we wanted to do more. More editorials, more workshops, more destination stories, more chances to bring our real connection into beautiful visual worlds.
This shoot became the start of an archive — not just of images, but of moments that shaped us. It taught us that modelling together could be more than posing. It could be storytelling. It could be presence. It could be a way of celebrating modern romance, two-groom visibility and the quiet power of being seen exactly as we are.
Noordhoek will always be more than a location to us. It was where the idea began.
