Myself and Eugene got engaged in October 2016 last year and we got married October 2017 this year. So that saying I had a year to arrange and plan our perfect day. The people that know me knows I am a bit of an airhead and only started in January this year. I would advise girls that's getting married, START RIGHT AWAY LOL!
Planning our wedding was hard for me and very stressful but at the same time enjoyed it very much. The first thing I did was book my photographer, that was my most important thing, that was going to be the only thing I have left, oh and of course all the fantastic memories. Then the venue, and OOOOH our venue was the most amazing place close to home. The rest just fell into place. In my heart myself and Eugene had the most amazing wedding and we couldn't have done it without the support of family and friends.
Hope you enjoy our wedding story!!!
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I would say the most memorable thing for me was our ceremony, making a promise to my husband in front of our family, friends and most important the Lord! The promise I made in the presence of the Lord.
Another memorable moment that fills my heart. I carried a locket with my father's photo throughout the morning of our wedding. He passed away 5 years ago. During the ceremony, Eugene and I held it, together. The chain entangled through our fingers. After the ceremony, Eugene kept the locket safely in the pocket of his waistcoat, right by his heart - I had my father with me the whole time, in honor and remembering my father on our wedding day ❤️
<3 We had a Mother African Honeymoon <3
We decided to travel Africa for our honeymoon as Eugene and myself are more outdoor people than beach people.
We love everything about our country and continent. We spend a lot of our honeymoon in Namibia but spent some time in
Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. We loved every second we spent in Africa and we loved everything about it, the wildlife, sights, people and most of all the love Africa has to give. We will definitely go back.
I would describe our wedding in overall a warm, moody and cozy wedding. This is what we wanted for our special day and I think we managed it quite beautifully. We wanted our guests to feel welcome and at home. So we created this atmosphere with a lot of different elements. I wanted a lot of candles and the one thing our venue had to have was a fireplace with this and our color scheme, gold decor and amazing guests we had it all going for us.
My hair was done by Theresa from The Loft in Ermelo, I wanted a soft romantic loose up do and she did an amazing job at it. My makeup was done by Kylin du Preez from Healthy Halo in Secunda, I wanted something that suited me and my personality (and the fact that my favourite colors are maroons, burgundy's and oxblood) she nailed it. I felt myself and loved the look.
I designed my wedding dress and it was made by Christa Smith from Smitten, I am in love with my wedding dress. I wanted to be comfortable the day of my wedding so I went for a Green-cross shoe, and I have to say I spent the whole wedding with them on and the fact that I love the shoe style, I am happy I went for them. I wore rose-gold jewelry that complemented the dirty pink base color of my dress.
We got married on the most beautiful family farm/Venue, Perdekraal Wedding Venue in Ermelo. Most of our guests stayed the night over in Ermelo as it was a 9km drive from the venue.
I wanted myself and my bridesmaids to be comfortable and enjoy every second by just being ourselves.
To be honest I did not do all the suggested teeth whitening, fitness, spa's and so on, only because I wanted to be and look myself on my photos, I did not want to look back on my photos and think I don't actually look like that. I did go for facials every-month as it was part of my monthly treatments in general.
I wanted a moody/Italian goth type of theme but I tried sticking to the colors and decor I love.
The flowers was done by Lee-ann from Lapetite Florist, I wanted a lot of flowers and less decor.
I used gold/copper decor all over the wedding to complement my flowers.
In overall I loved the look of everything.
Eugene wore a stunning blue suite with "camel/tan" colored leather accessories, his groomsmen wore tan colored trousers and maroon shirts with "camel/tan" colored accessories.
I think the groom stood out from his men and the men complemented Eugene very well.
My bridesmaids wore I floral patterned skirt and a dark pastel green top with it, we used "camel/tan" colored accessories with, they looked sooooo pretty. I wanted something for them, I would wear and love and most importantly something they can wear again. I loved their look.
Our marriage officer was Micheal Louw from Secunda. We loved his message he gave us and made us feel so comfortable. We also went for pre-wedding classes with him and I would suggest it to everyone it just opens your eyes and makes you realize what your wedding day is actually all about.
Maryke from Maryke Albertyn Photography captured our wedding day. What can I say, I am overwhelmed by our photos. I love every single photo Maryke took, she is sooooo special and talented I would suggest her to anyone. She made us feel ourselves. I am not a fan of posed photos so I wanted natural photos where we can just be our selves and she did the best job ever!!!
I love her to bits and her work!!
I did not have a planner or coordinator as we had a strict budget, I exactly knew what I wanted and I was fully capable in planning and doing my own wedding. I had help from family and friends that I am sooooo thankful for.
My Bridesmaids and myself used the old fashioned horse cart, I loved everything about this because of my love for horses.
It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the experience together. It took the stress away for a bit before we went into the ceremony.
The Venue made the food, we had plated meals and we found it much nicer as our program just flowed better. We enjoyed our food a lot, the people from the venue really put a lot of effort into our food.
Aunt Celia a family friend made our wedding cakes. It looked gorgeous and so tasty. The presentation of the cakes was amazing.
The party went on till 04:00 the morning so I think that says it all.
We are party people and so are our family and friends. We had a great party and enjoyed every second of it.
We used Nitelife Productions from Pretoria as our DJ and they did an amazing job. They set up mood lights, lighting, fog machines and made it all look so classy and on point.
We had 3 dance lessons before the wedding just to sharpen up our dance moves LOL
