We met in a place that’s so special to us - the bush. We were working in the same game reserve but at different ends. The first time I met Kev, I knew that he was somebody I really wanted to get to know, and I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him (clichéd I know, but when you know, you know!). We didn’t see each other for a while, and when we did, we exchanged numbers, and it’s been amazing ever since. We ended up working at the same lodge, and between going to Kruger in our time off, trips to visit family in Johannesburg and California, watching nature happen around us, we fell in love!
We were in the Kruger with his family from the States who were out for a family wedding. We stopped at a view point, and Kev told me he was going to put down the wooden snake we carry around for the baboons to scare his sister. After he failed to scare her, she came to me, telling me he was asking for me. As I approached him, he asked me to get the snake out from under the rock where he placed it. I turned around and reached for it, shaking my head at the silliness that he couldn’t get it out himself, and then turned back to him on his knees. The rest was a blur of happy tears and everyone we were with congratulating us. He even remembered to out up the GoPro to film it all!
Planning was a lot of fun! We agreed on most things, which made it easy. I knew that I wanted to make most of the decorations, so I had enough time during our 18 month engagement. We knew we wanted a simple, casual wedding where everyone would feel relaxed and would have fun, and that also helped to things easier. The only hiccup we had was having to change venue 6 months before the wedding. We didn’t panic as much as you would think, but it was stressful as you feel like you need to make a rash decision. We took our time, and it worked out for the better - we couldn’t have imagined a better venue than Kavinga Guest House and The Venue.
We used Pinterest a lot, as well as Brides Magazine, You Weddings, Little Pink Book, SA Weddings and just seeing things in the world around us. We wanted to have a simple, rustic wedding that took a lot of elements from nature.
We had so much fun the whole day - from the getting ready to the final goodbyes. That is was we aimed for - we just wanted to make sure everyone, including us, had a fantastic time
We didn’t really have a theme, but we incorporated a lot of nature, and colours. We had a lot of natural wood coming through with not too many flowers - we definitely believe in less is more.
I just wanted a plain dress that wasn't too over the top. When I put on my dress, I knew it was the one - it was light and pretty, but not too much. I love bright colours and I wanted all my girls to wear a different colour. I chose the pastel colours, and gave the girls each their colour, but gave them the option on what dress they wanted. This made it easy on them, and all my bridesmaids chose pretty dresses that made them all look beautiful.
I just wanted very simple flowers - nothing too fancy but with enough colours that would make all the arrangements pop. The only flower I knew that I really wanted to use was Proteas. Other than that, I left the magic up to my aunt, who did a brilliant job!
Lots of the decorations were made by me. I made the confetti bags, hand wrote a lot of the signs (with the help of my sister-in-law), made the 3D sign for the bridal table, all the thank you cards, and loads more.
We chose Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. This song is so meaningful as Kev took me to the Jersey Boys stage production when we were first seeing each other, and I loved the whole soundtrack. It’s also pretty accurate on the day because that’s all you can do once you’re married.
Angie - the look on Kev’s face when he saw me coming down the aisle, and for Kev - when he saw me come down the aisle. The other amazing moment was once it was all said and done, papers signed, the feeling of going back down the aisle in a hail of confetti as husband and wife.
Some of the best advice we got was to take 15 minutes for ourselves, whenever we could during the evening, and just to look at each other, and to realize that you’re married. Also, plan the wedding YOU want, not what everybody else wants. This is your special day, and you must make sure it’s the day of your dreams.
We had a lot of family and friends that came out from all over the world so we spent time with them and put our honeymoon on hold until early 2018.
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