My absolute favorite moment of all was seeing my husband's face while I was walking down the isle. I was very excited and at the same time nervous to do our dance, that was one very special moment. Dancing with my father on my wedding day is every young girl's dream. We had two seperate games to catch the garter and the bouquet. This was a fun activity and enjoyed very much by the guests. It caused a lot of laughter and funny moments. The guys showed off their dance moves with bags over their heads with the groom picking them out one by one. The last man standing won the garter. The ladies played musical chairs and had to sit on a guy's knee using them as chairs when the music stopped. You can imagine the girls running them over as the music stopped. My husband's speech brought me to tears. It was the most memorable evening that we will never forget.
Our honeymoon was the most memorable holiday ever. We went to Phuket, Thailand for an adventure and romantic honeymoon. Phi-Phi and Bond islands were amazing visits like we never imagined. We ticked it off our bucket list .
I wanted an elegant, romantic look. My hair was in a curly, messy up style. It was done by a local hairdresser, Liz Jankowitz from George. My makeup was done by Bianca de Ridder, a professional makeup artist from Knysna. I have always known what my wedding dress would look like. The fabric was ivory lace with lots of beading in a tight fitted mermaid shape. Ivory stardust netting, was used for the flair of the bottom part. My back was completely open with a flesh colour mesh with lace around the edges. My choice of shoes was really interesting and not really "me", but because we got married on a farm I decided to wear ivory Zellies. It fitted like a glove and looked very elegant. Jewellery was a real challenge. I had specific earrings in mind. It had to be a pearl drop with a specific colour. Finally I bought my perfect pearl drops with swirovski crystals in Cape Town to finish off the look. I wore my Mom's three string pearl bracelet (something borrowed) , my grandmother's wedding ring (something old), my earrings (something new) and a blue cross was sewed to my garter (something blue).
We got married at the beautiful venue in Waboomskraal near George. The venue is called Oppie Plaas Venue. Our guests stayed 2 km from our venue at Highlands Lodge, a beautiful lodge in the Outeniqua mountains.
My top priority was to be in good shape and to have a flawless skin. I exercised daily with my trainer, my hubby to be. I followed a strict eating plan to look my utmost best. To keep my skin flawless I regularly went for facials.
We got married outside in nature in the "Klipkerk" where guests sat on tree stumps with white satin cushions. The "Klipkerk" is part of the OppiePlaas Venue. The theme was rustic vintage with lots and lots of fairy lights and hearts to give a romantic atmosphere. At the reception we used pallet tables with white Tiffany chairs. The flowers arrangements were mostly burnt orange Barberton Daisies and "woestyn rosies". All decorations were handmade with a personal touch. In the middle of the reception hall hanged a 2 metre 3 dimension heart filled with fairy lights that picked up the fairy lights in the flower arrangements on the tables as well as the fairy lights behind the bridal table.
The groom wore a suit and Polo brand shirt from Amigos. The cuff links were hand made. The leather belt and leather shoes were from Der Lederhandler. The groomsmen had a rusty look with genuine leather bow ties, leather braces and leather shoes thanks to Der Lederhandler. The colour scheme for the groomsmen was deep burnt orange trousers and white shirts.
The bridesmaids' dresses had different styles, though the colour of the dresses were the same deep burnt orange with lace. Each one of them chose their own style. The look of their dresses were rustic to match the groomsmen. A deep orange high wasted long skirt and a lace top of their own choice. I decided on this outfit because I wanted something different and unique and I also wanted them to feel comfortable and special.
Reverend Pieter van Santen was our marriage officer.
Melanie Maré was our photographer. She is really the best and she will always go the extra mile. We knew that we would be happy with the results even before we got married. We had a photo booth with lots of funny props to entertain the guests.
No, I did not have a planner. I dreamed of my wedding day since I was young so planning my own wedding was a memorable experience.
The wedding car was a cream 1955 Borgward Isabella with burnt orange number plates with our names on. It took us quite a while to travel to the wedding venue on the gravel road.
Oppie Plaas Venue prepared our food. They are well known in our area for their delicious and generous portion meals. Of course their famous pumpkin fritters was my favourite!
The wedding cake was made by Lilly's Cake Corner. This was not your normal white fondant wedding cake. It consists of three layers, the top layer was Chocolate Delight cake with a chocolate ganache icing. The middle layer was a Red Velvet cake with a white chocolate ganache icing. The bottom layer was a Chocolate Mud cake also with a chocolate ganache icing. Around each layer was Lindt Chocolate Balls. Absolutely to die for!
We designed our own stationary for our special day and gave it to a local printer, Blitsdruk, to do the printing.
Our first dance was " I had the time of my life" from the movie Dirty Dancing. We did not go for external dance lessons because I am a qualified dance teacher. We practiced for an hour twice a week for 5 months prior to the wedding.
Situated conveniently in Waboomskraal in the Garden Route, Oppieplaas is a serene venue only 20 minutes from George, and 35 minutes from Oudtshoorn.
