The moment that is engraved into my memory forever, is seeing my husband's tear stained face as I walked down the isle...
I was emotional before walking into the chapel, and nervous of having such an intense focus on me (hoping I wouldn't fall flat on my face!).
But the moment I set foot in the chapel, and I saw Danie (my husband), everything went blank and all I could see was him.It was like we were the only two people in the world, and all I wanted to do was to get to him and share this incredible moment together...!
Not yet unfortunately...
We are trying to save up and go on a honeymoon in 2018.
I am a bit of a tomboy, and since I was little, I spent my days in horse riding clothes and a fair amount of dirt! Haha!
The whole dressing up thing is an unusual area for me, and I easily feel quite self aware... So I wanted to be comfortable, but also feel like a bride! I am a romantic at heart (what girl isn't...?), and that was my inspiration.
The Dress:
The Cottage Designs & Blissfully Bridal
I saw a photo of this dress on The Cottage Designs FB page, and immediately knew this was the one! I contacted their JHB agent, and made an appointment. From the moment I set foot in Blissfully Bridal, it felt like I walked into a great old friend's home! Elmari is so extremely warm and inviting, and understands your needs (even when you might not even understand them yourself...). The first time I put on my dress, the tears flowed freely! I was in love!
It was light and airy, which is important when getting married in a Bloemfontein summer! It had the lace, which added that fine detail and the diamante belt added that little bit of bling and tied it all together.
Make-up:
Ronel le Roux - Image Consultant
I knew from the start that I wanted my make-up to be airbrushed, as I know it lasts longer and looks fantastic on photographs. I then started looking for Make-up artists in Bloemfontein who can do airbrush, and I came across Ronel. I had my trail make-up done for my kitchen tea, and people couldn't stop raving about how her work!
I asked her to do my bridesmaids make up as well, and I loved the fact that they couldn't stop looking at themselves in the mirror and gushing over how amazing her work made them feel! And I shared their sentiment... I could not, and looking at my photos now, still can't believe that the person staring back at me, is ME!
Hair:
Linda Borman
Linda is a close friend of my mother, and our family has been going to her salon for years! It was the most relaxed aspect of my wedding prep as I knew that Linda was as much as a perfectionist as I am, and I trusted her judgement 100%. She knew what style I was going for, and I left the rest up to her... I partied like a rock star all night, and not one hair was out of place when I got back to my guesthouse!
Shoes:
Green Cross & Edgars
I chose my wedding shoes for comfort and the fact that I can wear them again in future. Later that night, I slipped on a pair of white sneakers I got at Edgars.
Jewellery:
Something Borrowed, Something New, Something Old & Blue.
My mother lent me her beautiful tennis bracelet and bought me stunning drop Halo earrings which complimented my engagement ring perfectly!
And my garter was made by my aunt, with a blue tie that belonged to my late father... To make sure he was walking down the isle with me that day.
We got married in Bloemfontein, at the gorgeous Pepper Tree Venue.
When we went to have a look at the venue, I noticed that the address was "de Wet Laan". I learnt that the family who owns the property was "de Wet", and my new surname would be "de Wet"... The universe spoke, and I listened!!
They recently added guest rooms on the property, and my aunts and cousins spent the night there. The feedback of their stay is great!
I used the Annique skin products religiously! I made sure to wash, cleanse, tone and moisturize my skin, and ALWAYS wore sunscreen!
Health wise we tried to:
Cut down on sugar (my bad habit!)
Drink a lot of water
Watch my portion sizes
Lean protein and lots of veggies
We did this for about 5 months leading up to the wedding, as we don't believe in crash dieting. We also allowed ourselves cheat days (Weekends), for our sanity! LOL!
And took our four legged kids for a lot of walks!
My mother-in-law offered to help us with with the flowers, which I am extremely grateful for!
We went back and forth, exchanging ideas and images until we knew exactly what we wanted to create for the day.
The day before the wedding, my husband and I together with my mother-in-law, aunt and cousins, spent the day putting together the wedding flowers. My aunt and cousins did all of the beautiful table flowers, and my mother-in-law created an amazing ring of flowers which was the focal point in the chapel, as well as the reception. She also made all of the boutonnières and bouquets for the wedding party. With the help of friends and family, we were able to harvest and cut all of the greenery we needed to the flowers. We completed the look with different types of (affordable and robust) white flowers.
The decor was included as part of the package at our venue (Pepper Tree), and with and enormous amount of help from the wedding coordinator (Charne - Pepper Tree) we were able to create the uncomplicated, yet romantic look we envisioned.
Groom:
Suit & Shoes - Edgars
Tailoring - Tailor on Broadway (TOBS Linden)
Barber - Hines and Harley Men's Grooming Lounge
Groomsmen:
Waistcoat & Trousers - Woolworths
Shoes - Edgars
I wanted them to wear something that makes them feel comfortable, one style does not match every personality or taste.
So Elmari at Blissfully Bridal made them each an Infinity Wrap Dress, with lace detail. This meant each of my bridesmaids could tailor their dress to suit their own taste and needs.
They can also wear the dresses again in future, which is an added bonus!
My husband went to an Anglican school (Saint Andrews - Bloemfontein), and we had been to a few weddings where the school's pastor had officiated the wedding.
We loved his sermons, and his peaceful personality and knew that we wanted Deon Lombard to marry us as well! We spent some time with him, getting to know each other better and helping us prepare for this big step in our relationship.
I love photography, and spent a lot of time researching photographers before deciding on the brilliant Maryke Venter Photography.
She is based in Bloemfontein, which made my choice even easier! I loved her uncomplicated style, and her eye for capturing some interesting and different images. Her photo's are natural and so pleasing to look at, which drew me to her work from the get go.
“If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given. It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.”
This is 110% Maryke!! Her warm and inviting personality, and her natural ability to coax even the most shy person in the room to stand in front of the camera, makes for the most honest, natural and beautiful pictures.
The amount of people she's made cry (happy tears of course!) and the vast array of reactions and comments with regards to our wedding pictures is a testament to her talent.
Can't thank her enough for freezing time on our wedding day and taking me back to that exact moment and feeling every time that I look at the pictures, on a day which blew past us in what felt like seconds
No,but Pepper Tree provided me with a coordinator for the day of the wedding, which put my mind totally at ease and allowed me to relax and enjoy the day!
My brother-in-law has the coolest Landrover Defender (called Slomo, as it can't go too fast! Haha!), which my husband and I are totally in love with!
We jokingly said (in the planning stages) that we wanted to use Slomo as our wedding car... The boys were picked up at their guesthouse and arrived at the venue in Slomo, and we took some of our wedding pictures with Slomo in a beautiful field.
The girls were picked up in a gorgeously restored, Ivory colored, big old Mercedes Benz with wood trimming and red leather seats... Loved it!!
The mouthwatering food and dessert was created by the talented chef's at our venue.
My cousin made us a beautiful wedding cake!
And of course, we had to incorporate our four legged kids somehow. So our cake topper featured a Dachshund :)
I am lucky to have super talented friends, which helped me out so much with the "Save the Dates", Menu's and seating cards.
I used "The Knot" to create a free wedding website, which meant everything was electronic and allowed us to save a lot of money on invitations and postage.
We wanted to get to the party as soon as possible. All we wanted to do was listen to great music and dance the night away with our loved ones!
We did not go for dance lessons, and needles to say, the evening saw some hilarious dance moves!!
Our sound and DJ was done by a close friend of ours who owns Echo Sounds in Bloemfontein.
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