Let's take a look at Kendall and Daniel's real wedding captured so beautifully by Duane Smith Photography
We met at the Knysna Oyster Festival - the year the marathon got rained out. I was there for the marathon, and Daniel was there for the festival part. We probably wouldn’t have met if the marathon hadn’t been cancelled, but luckily it was, and we ended up at a mutual friend’s braai.
If Daniel tells the story, he always says coming up with the concept is easy, it’s the execution that is probably unlikely to go to plan. We were in Hermanus at a B&B. I went for a run that morning and Daniel went to the beach to hide a “message in a bottle”. That afternoon he organized a picnic for the beach…this is where execution veers off from plan. Firstly, I didn’t want to sit where he hid the bottle, secondly when we eventually sat close to where it was hidden, he couldn’t get me to find it and lastly once we had the bottle, I didn’t want to open it. It all ended well when he gave the letter to me to read because his “hands were full of sand”.
I think we took a very relaxed approach. We kept on thinking "when is the stressful part going to hit?" We only went to see 3 venues, we knew we wanted to do something different from the cookie cutter wine farm wedding, and we also didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg. We were lucky enough to find Elandskloof Farm Cottages quite early on in our search, and from there we took advice from the venue on the service providers they generally use.
We had a May wedding, so we knew it would be winter colours. The venue is so beautiful that we didn’t need much in flowers, but we wanted to stick to those rich winter colours. Most of my inspiration came from Pintrest - I spent hours in bed looking over different ideas.
I think the ceremony was very special! We decided not to go the traditional religious wedding route. We didn’t want a pastor, who probably doesn’t really know us, do the ceremony. Daniel’s theory is that he loses concentration halfway through the pastor’s message and wanted something more personal that would capture his attention. So, we decided to ask two friends to do the ceremony, and they were brilliant!
We had our ceremony in the forest and as we were saying our vows, the leaves started falling slowly from the trees. We wrote our own vows for one another, which added a personal special touch to the ceremony.
Our overarching theme was “community and friendship”. The venue was the catalyst to this, as all our guests were able to stay at the venue for the whole weekend.
I knew I wanted something that was simple and classic, a kind of understated beauty and that’s exactly what Robyn Roberts did. She made the most beautiful dress - it was perfect. The majority of my bridesmaids all live overseas so trying to find a dress that everyone was comfortable in and loved was difficult. So I just decided to let everyone get their own dress that they felt their best in as long as it was black. They all looked amazing; everyone had their own style but it all came together so nicely.
We didn’t need much in terms of flowers - the venue was so beautiful. I wanted to keep it very clean with white flowers, greenery and loads of candles. The overall theme was a minimalistic setting. I am lucky enough to have such creative friends and family. Together we made a whole wall of wreaths wrapped in eucalyptus leaves as a statement wall and this really tied everything together.
We did everything ourselves – It was definitely a team affair. We made eucalyptus wreaths that we hung from the ceiling. My sister in law and brother put together the most stunning Gin bar – with every garnish you could ever think of. My mom decorated our arch that we got married under; she also made mine and my bridesmaids bouquets.
Mumford & Sons ft Baaba Maal, There Will Be Time. We both like our Indie Folk type of music. We also liked the fact that it had an African touch to it, but mainly, the words are beautiful.
This is a difficult one - the ceremony was a highlight, as we were saying our vows under the beautiful oak tree, the leaves slowly started falling from the trees. It was magical.
Don't sweat the small stuff and try stay present. This is the most special day of your life, cherish every moment spent with friends of family and take some time out to spend with your partner – they day goes so fast.
We haven’t gone yet, but we are planning on going to Bali in July. Just as well we didn’t go straight after the wedding, both of us were sick with the flu and now we have something to look forward to.
“I’m so moved with how each wedding has its own heartbeat , and I get to be part of that beat”
