It all started in a land far far away, hahaha. We met in Beijing China, through mutual friends; it was a sparks-flying, soul-mate, first-sight kinda love. Cheesy but true.
Amber: I proposed, with the help of photographer Duane Smith. I had arranged a couple's photo-shoot as a “Valentines Day gift” or so Marina thought. Duane & I coordinated the perfect moment for the proposal in Deer Park. Again a little cheesy, but the couple's shoot turned engagement shoot, I say rather clever….
The planning process was a little stressy. We chose to do everything ourselves and, being very busy at work, we struggled a little to find the time to get everything done. We definitely used SA Weddings, soooo helpful.
Everywhere!! Pinterest, wedding blogs such at yours etc but with all the ideas out there, it’s easy to get carried away - we just focused on the things that were important to us and chose the things we both liked.
The confetti throwing - The Alphen has a stone pathway surrounded by flowering shrubs where all our guests lined up. Walking together hand in hand surrounded by all our friends and family, the excitement, the joy, the love, it was so super special.
We really wanted to just be surrounded by nature and greenery. We went with wood green and a touch of blue. The Alphen is such a beautiful venue and we had the most beautiful weather - the transparent marquee was the perfect pick to showcase the beauty of the garden, trees and blue skies.
Honestly we both didn’t fuss too much about the dress. We both wanted something, flattering, elegant, but comfortable.
Amber: The first designer I went to was Elbeth Gills, and the first dress I tried on was the dress I chose.
Marina: I had a one-piece made, to show I wear the pants in the relationship, heheh, only jokes. All our bridesmaids were from overseas and coordinating dresses sounded like a nightmare, so we picked a few shades of blue and let everyone just rock out their own personality and style.
We just went with what we love, we were a little nervous that things wouldn’t match and apprehensive on how it would all come together, but my mom always said to choose the things that you love, and you will see that it always ends up fitting together.
Yes a few small things: we did our own edible flower confetti packs, string table seating with guests’ names, which were replaced with a Polaroid picture, also CD cookie sleeves with the most delicious gooey chocolate chip cookie as wedding favors.
Dancing by Elisa. Marina is Italian and Elisa is her favorite artist, it’s a beautiful song, it reminds us of a lot of special moments we shared.
All the friends and family that traveled from all around the world to share the day with us, like China, Canada, Italy, the UK, USA and all around SA. So special, so much fun, so much happiness.
Just enjoy it, it’s sooo much planning and detail and it goes by too fast. Enjoy the day, have no regrets, don’t sweat the small stuff, oh and plan to double your original budget, hahah.
We went to the Maldives, we were on a small yacht for a few days of sailing, and then a few days in a resort, Vilamendhoo
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