The happiest day of our lives was blessed with a thunder shower the morning of our wedding. To us, this meant the world as the Free Staye was experiencing an extremely dry season. We counted the hours from early in the morning until the time would come for us to get married. Walking down the aisle with my father toward my husband was a moment I will never forget. My husband surprised me with a wedding band. We said that I would keep my engagement ring as wedding ring until our first anniversary. When we exchanged rings, he slipped on my wedding band and winked at me. This was indeed a moment that I will always treasure. Seeing our family and friends all together (some travelling from Australia and Nigeria) to celebrate our love left both of our hearts feeling so happy and touched. Our wedding day made us aware of how blessed we are to not only have each other forever, but also true friends and family that we share our lives with.
We went to Bali, Indonesia on honeymoon. Two weeks before our wedding, Mt Agung (an active volcano on the island) was threatening to erupt. We decided that we will still go, even though warnings were issued. Luckily for us, there was no eruption. We trekked up a junior summit (also an active volcano) called Mt Batur in the early hours of 15 October. We watched the sunrise from the summit. It was the toughest physical exercise we both ever did, but the result was exquisite. We also enjoyed the beautiful beaches, amazing food and rich culture of Bali when we were on honeymoon. We are extremely fortunate to have been able to see it all.
I wanted only one thing for my wedding look: to be true to my own personal style (it is so easy to lose yourself in the world of wedding magazines and websites).
My hair and make-up was done by the amazingly talented Amy Olden.
I had very long hair on my wedding day. I have thick and straight hair in general, so curls that are loose do not work for me. I opted for a textured side bun that was held together with pins. I also added a hair pin that I purchased from Claire's. This rounded off my hair beautifully.
I wanted my face to look natural. My foundation was applied by an air brush, which gave a soft and elegant finish. Different shades of brown was used on my eyelids, a light champagne blush and a beautiful natural lipstick was applied to give me the look I wanted. I had lash extensions done by a friend the Monday before the wedding. I didn't want huge lashes, so we trimmed them to be the desired length.
My wedding dress was hired from Leehra Bridal in Bloemfontein. This lady is an angel. She helped me to choose my dress according to my body type and listened to what I wanted. This included also respecting my budget. My dress was a fit and flare shape that was initially strapless. I opted for lace straps as I liked the look more. Leehra did my alterations perfectly and the dress looked amazing. The dress had beautiful lace bead work on the bodice that touched the net at the bottom part of the dress. The dress buttoned up at the back. That was one of my most important things on my dress wish list! Buttons look so classic and elegant!
The shoes I wore was my mother's when she got married in 1985. It was actual ballet flats that had embroidery and pearls on the front. We altered the shoes by adding a strap over the bridge part of the shoes which consisted of elestic that was covered by lace and adding new ribbons to the shoes. This was so special to me and my mom on our big day.
My garter was made by Loryn from Loryn Designs. This lady made the bridesmaid dresses and she didn't hesitate to help me with designing my own garter. The garter was made out of an elastic lace that was covered with pearls that made up a flower, small ribbon and small diamante appliques. My underwear was navy blue lace and bought from The Hub.
I only opted to only wear earrings on the day of my wedding. The earrings I wore, I borrowed from my mother and was gifted to her for her 21st birthday by my grandparents. It is pearl earrings that was imported from the East. Since I was a little girl I loved those earrings. It was such an honour to borrow them from my mom.
I took two photo pendant necklaces and had them altered to be put in my bouquet. I put in pictures of my grandparents who I loved dearly. They all unfortunately passed away and it was a way to still feel that they were part of my big day.
We got married at Pepermossie in Bloemfontein.
Pepermossie has a guest house where some of our guests spent the night.
The rest of the guests slept over at family and friends and other guest houses in Bloemfontein.
I am a very firm believer in natural beauty. I did not excersize for the wedding. I also did not diet. I did watch myself to not over indulge in unhealthy foods, but I didn't want to alter myself because of one day. My husband loves me for me, and I was perfectly happy with what I looked like on the day.
I used my normal skin routine products - Epi Wash for my face and E45 cream as a moisturiser.
I didn't change anything to my teeth cleaning regime either. I kept on just brushing it twice a day.
I also didn't fo for spa treatments. I only had my eye brows shaped and tinted. I also had my nails and toe nails did with BioSculpture Gel at Salon Lindie K.
The groomsmen wore plain white shirts and Chinos from Woolworths. I had ties made for them (the supplier is not reliable and therefore I will not mention). They also had superhero cufflinks, socks and personalized flasks. Cufflinks and socks were ordered from Bridezilla. Flasks were made by Dragon Designs.
