How do you decide which part of your wedding is the most memorable? The entire day feels like a dream... Here are a few of mine:
- As the door opened to my dressing room and I saw my dad. We embraced each other and shared a moment and a few tears together.
-Hearing the gasps of surprise as a horse drawn carriage with myself and my dad drove past the open chapel. What a feeling!
- Seeing my fiance at the end of the aisle (as cheesy as it is). It's the one face you seek in the crowd. I had told him that if didn't shed a tear, I was turning around and walking in again, because obviously he didn't see me the first time.
- Our photo shoot - A moment of time that was only ours. We shared some laughs, some tears and let the day sink in.
- Our first dance to Ed Sheeran's Perfect. This song sums us up. "watching movies, dancing barefoot on the grass.." It was perfect (Excuse the pun haha)
- And the last bit - dancing the night away (barefoot and all). My feet hurt so bad, but I never quit. And it was great to share that moment with all the guests. Giggles and all
I tried very hard to have a unique look to my wedding day. Simple with striking aspects. I was inspired by pictures of old Spanish queens. I loved how timeless their looks were but beautiful and utterly breathtaking.
- My hair was a simple French Twist (Chignon) with my gorgeous crown tucked in quite far back. My hairstylist is my hair magician - Daniella Baptista
- I opted for a smokey eye - I stayed true to who I was. During the day I had a nude lip, but as night fell, I changed into a dark red/Burgundy lipstick. Matched my wedding colours perfectly and gave me the vavavoom I needed. Michele Mustoe
- My dress was called Venice (appropriate I think) and was from Eurobride. It is absolutely stunning and covered in every kind of stone you can think of - from pearls to rhinestones to Swarovski crystals. It was a dream!
- My shoes... Oh my shoes.... they were a pair of blush Steve Madden's with crystal ankle straps and a thin crystal band over the toes. Simple but totally gorgeous. 4.5 inches of pure magic.
- As far as jewellery went, I kept it very simple - a pair of Swarovski tear drop earrings and a simple ear cuff that tucked into my ear. Every stone and crystal shone and caught the light.
My big day took place at Oakfield farm wedding and function venue in Muldersdrift. Our immediate family stayed at the venue with us.
This acclaimed, multi award winning venue is where romance, beauty, old fashioned hospitality and excellence come together a mere 30 minutes from Sandton and Centurion.
I was going to stay true to who I am. I am a curvy woman and I wasn't going to transform myself into something else for my wedding day. I eat clean and do a few gym workouts per week. I am a chiropractor and that in itself requires me to be healthy and strong. I go for regular skin peels to make sure I have healthy looking skin with a natural glow. I did make use of sunbed sessions as I have olive skin complexion. It makes it easy to tan. I was always aware of how much exposure I had as I didn't want to burn or look over tanned. It was all about looking natural. I didn't have a kitchen tea and opted rather to have a spa day with my family - mom, dad and my sister (also my maid of honor). We had facials and pedicures and full body massages with Indian head massages. Was pure bliss.
My colour theme was shades of deep reds/burgundy/masala mixed with deep purples/eggplant/lilac. It sounds a bit weird granted, but the colours worked beautifully together. It made for a romantic look.
-The flowers and decor were done by Cafe Fleur in Sandton. Their work was amazing. From the flowing flower runner on the main table, to the glass candle holders of all different shapes and sizes.
- The draping in the venue was done by Magnifique floral art. The draping was in white with fairy lights in them. It made it look like you were dancing under the stars.
- My DJ was a music magician - Paul from SG Productions. He made sure that he kept evryone on the dance floor. Difficult when you are Portuguese and Afrikaans merging into one family.
- The cake was utterly delicious - Ana Da Silva knew how to make our tastebuds dance in happiness.
The men's attire was clean and classic. Nothing too edgy. The point is to look back at the photos and not know when the wedding was. For it to be timeless. Al suits were bought from EuroSuit in Rivonia.
- Owen (the groom) wore a black 3 piece tuxedo with a black tie and white shirt. His pocket square was white which offset the white lily that he wore as a boutonniere.
- The groomsmen suits were black 3 piece suits with white shirts and black ties. Their boutonnieres were burgundy roses and later on, batches with their appropriate titles were worn e.g Best man etc
- My dad wore a black 2 piece tuxedo.
I had 3 bridesmaids. All of them wore a blush colored dress. I saw a picture which I used as inspiration about 6 months before my engagement. I saved the picture and hoped that one day I would get the dress made. When it was time to plan my wedding, I knew that the design would finally get used. All the dresses were inspired by the same picture, but each dress came out slightly different - being true to the person wearing the dress. The dresses were made by the best dressmaker in town - Ahmed 072 151 6971
My priest served as my marriage officer
OH MY WORD!! I could not have asked for more. ESTILO was amazing. I fell in love with their work about a year before my engagement. I had even told Owen about them. I knew the moment we got engaged that they were the photographers I wanted - No if's, and's or but's. We met the amazing and talented Amanda at our engagement shoot. Owen and I were so nervous. We not the type to be infront of the camera. Amanda put us at ease and we had fun!!! When we saw the photos - we were blown away... They are not known as the best in SA for nothing!
Here is a funny story - we didnt make use of wedding transport. The important people drove in convoy to the venue. And what did this bride do???? I drove myself to the wedding. Best 30 minutes ever. I listened to some of my favourite tunes, rolled down my windows and hit the highway singing loudly and crying at appropriate times!!! I highly recommend brides take this time to themselves. And besides, its a great story...
Oakfield farm organises all the food and drinks of the day. Lets just get this out of the way, their food is AMAZING!!!!! I had and still have guests raving about it. It was absolutely delicious.
Ana Da Silva made my wedding cake. It was exactly what I wanted - A naked chocolate cake! It was moist and delicious and evryone was stuffing their faces. Couldnt ask for more.
I opted for a wedding website. I used WIX website generator to design the website. Its easy and you get to have everything exactly the way you want it. I just emailed everyone the websites URL and done... Was as easy as that. Fuss free which made me a very happy bride. Its so easy, it even links up to Google and you can click on the site so that it can navigate to the venue..
The party was out of this world!! DJ Paul from SG Productions kept the party vibe going until people just couldn't dance anymore from pure exhaustion. Owen and I are a mixed culture couple - I am Portuguese and he is Afrikaans. We were so worried about everyone being happy with the music choice. As it turns out, we didn't have to be worried about anything. We literally danced till we dropped. And every single guest got to their feet. The portuguese learnt to sokkie and the Afrikaans learnt how to do the bailinho. Of course there was new age music too - saamsara got us all to our feet with the dance moves too!!
For our first dance - we opted for a learnt and choreographed dance to Ed Sheeran's Perfect. This song sums us up completely -especially since halfway through the night I was dancing barefoot on the grass. Learning this dance together was so much fun and we loved it. Especially in those final weeks when everything is so difficult. We made the time to be together and have a laugh or three at the same time. Carina Fernandes was great!
Café Fleur & Cor de Rosa is no ordinary flower shop – it is a hub of bridal activity & event planning.
This acclaimed, multi award winning venue is where romance, beauty, old fashioned hospitality and excellence come together a mere 30 minutes from Sandton and Centurion.
