Feast your eyes on their stunning Real Wedding
I moved to Cape Town and mutual friends were insistent that I had to meet Steve. I find setups awkward so I brushed it off but every time we were both invited to an event we would conveniently be seated together. They were clearly right and we’ve been inseparable since.
It was completely unplanned and in the moment (which I love!). We were away for the weekend at La Chataigne, in Franschoek, and one night over dinner Steve worked in the question. It was so unplanned that Steve flew to Durban the next day to ask for my parents’ blessing.
At first it was exciting, especially going to look at venues. As the year went on it started to become overwhelming. Event planning is a full time job. At that point we reached out to Dayna from Strawberry Weddings and Events to help take over. SA Weddings was also a big help, I loved going through real weddings for ideas and advice.
Pinterest, SA Weddings, Instagram and Rock n Roll Bride. We wanted a relaxed day with those close to us, with as few formalities as possible.
Our ceremony. The emotion is incredible and I’ve never seen Steve fighting back tears. Our marriage officer, Lara, made it so uniquely us and we did a handfasting ceremony where you literally tie the knot!
We didn’t have a clear theme and just hoped that all the elements that we liked would work together. Our venue, Le Jardin, was very quirky and so beautiful that it didn’t need a lot of décor. If I had to sum it up I would call it gothic Hollywood glamour. For the flowers we gave “dark romance” as a theme and Bouwer flowers nailed it.
My wedding dress was made by my mother, Victoria. It is a work of art and is so special to me. I’ve always loved art deco style and she found the perfect fabric. Fabric shopping was very stressful as suppliers were not importing event fabrics at the time, due to Covid. We chose not to have a wedding party as we were having a micro wedding and wanted to keep things as simple and relaxed where we could. My niece led me down the aisle and as a big Harry Potter fan she wanted to dress as a dementor! My mom made her a maroon cape and she was a hit!
We had seen pictures of the glasshouse at Le Jardin full of chandeliers and fell in love with the large French chandelier. We wanted minimal flowers on the tables as we did family style sharing and Johnny’s food (Slippery Spoon) was enough decoration on its own! We gave Bouwer Flowers our colour ideas and she came up with the rest.
Other than the wedding dress, no! The thought of having to make anything was too stressful. I admire brides and grooms that take this on.
“Pug” by Smashing Pumpkins. It’s a favourite song for both of us.
Walking down the aisle through our friends and family towards Steve. It was a surreal experience. For Steve it was moment we were married!
Arrange a day that you are really going to enjoy. If you don’t like certain traditions, drop them. Don’t do things or go through the motions just to appease others. A coordinator on the day is a must so that you only have to focus on having fun. Hire vendors that you enjoy being around. We had so much fun with our photography team, who are with you for the entire day. If you have the budget, hire a videographer.
Immediately after the wedding we had a mini-moon at Lanzerac and then Melozhori. Later in the year we had our honeymoon in the south of Spain.
Happinest™ Hire is here to help you conceptualise, create and style your big day so you can focus on the big “I DO”
Goeters specialises in the utmost imaginative creations of beautiful décor and lights for weddings and events.
Hello! Thank you for viewing my listing and congratulations on your engagement. Pretty in Stains is a special events stationery design company which specialises in wedding stat...
Strawberry Weddings and Events wedding planners are run by a team of highly talented, passionate and professional wedding planners based in Stellenbosch.
Our hope is to be a part of celebrating life’s large and little events with you, lending natural beauty to mark occasions and brighten spaces. Where more than a bouquet is needed,
