I loved our wedding day and I loved even more being a bride and wearing my beautiful dress! Unfortunately the weather did not play its part but I have been told that it's good luck to have rain on your big day. The overwhelming sense of love from all our family and friends and everyone coming together for us was just so special. Getting ready in the morning with my mom and bridesmaids at my side was also very special and I loved this time with them. The moment we were pronounced husband and wife was definitely a highlight and I loved all the speeches.
We spent a magical week in Zanzibar and stayed at the beautiful Melia Hotel.
The whole wedding had a very classic look. My dress was the beautiful Vicenta gown from Pronovia's. It was the very first dress I tried on and it was love at first sight! It was honestly my dream dress and I felt absolutely beautiful and confident in it. I opted for a short veil and nude wedges from Saint & Summer. My hair and make up was done by Kendyl Mc Phearson from the Nixon Make Up team. She was phenomenal. My jewellery was a rose gold eternity bracelet and earrings by Georgini which was a gift from mother-in-law. Matteo bought me my wedding perfume which was Black Opium by Yve Saint Laurent.
Bridal Manor is an exclusive bridal shop that specialises in selling imported couture designer wedding dresses.
We got married at Fordoun in Nottingham Road in the KZN Midlands. We could not have asked for a better venue than this! Almost half our wedding guests were able to stay on the venue in either the hotel or self catering chalets and the rest were close by in other accommodation in Nottingham Road.
Fordoun Wedding Village is an exclusive wedding venue in the Midlands, and boasts the most exquisite venue and facilities with absolutely picturesque views to make your special day
I have always valued healthy living and being fit but I decided a few months before the wedding that I wanted to look and feel my absolute best on our special day, so I increased my exercise routine and adopted a cleaner way of eating. One of my friends gave me a gym vest that said "Sweating for the wedding!" I loved wearing this and it was a great motivator in me achieving my goal weight. I went for regular facials building up to the wedding and then the day before the wedding myself and my bridesmaids were treated to a morning at the Fordoun Hotel Spa where we had massages, manicures and pedicures.
From the start I always knew that I wanted an elegant wedding and that there would be lots of white flowers and a natural colour scheme. Kerry Dinkelman from Kerry’s Flowers and Décor turned this vision into a reality for me and, once I had decided on using rose gold throughout, the rest was easy! Fordoun is a new and beautiful venue so it didn't need much work. In the chapel we used white wimbledon chairs, rose gold lanterns and had big flower arrangements on rose gold stands. We also draped the entrance of the chapel, as well as the chandeliers inside the chapel, with flowers and foliage. We hired a big stretch tent where the canapes and drinks were served after the ceremony. In this area we had outdoor furniture and cocktail tables with rose gold sequins table clothes on them and flower arrangements. We also hired a mobile bar at which we had a Gin bar set up for our guests. For the reception we opted for round tables and clear tiffany chairs. We continued the rose gold theme on the tables and our flower arrangements were placed on tall rose gold stands which we designed and had had made. These worked so well and looked stunning! The main table had a rose gold sequins table cloth with the flower arrangement cascading over the front of the table. We also hired strings of fairy lights to create a feature wall.
My groom looked so handsome and his groomsmen so dapper! In keeping with the classic look, the guys all wore tuxedo's, white shirts and bow ties. We found an awesome online shop called "Mrs Bow Tie" , which is based in the UK, who we ordered the most stunning and unique bow ties and pocket squares through. Matteo went for plain black and the groomsmen black with rose gold spots. Each groomsman also got a gift box which had their socks from "Happy Socks" and a black belt.
My 4 gorgeous bridesmaids were 3 of my best friends and my sister. They all wore a rose gold full sequins dress which we had had made. I found a style online that I liked and then once I had laid my eyes on the rose gold sequins fabric there was no turning back! I bought each of them nude wedge heels from Saint & Summer, rose gold earrings and bracelets from Lovisa and a rose gold head band from Woolworths which was worked into their hairstyles. They looked beautiful!!!
We were privileged to have Mark van Straaten, senior Pastor at Grace Family Church and family friend, as well as Father Jabulani, marry and bless us.
We had Bron Veale from Vanilla Photography capturing all the special moments of our day and the team from Beyond Measure doing the videography.
The story of your wedding day deserves to be a beautiful signature of who you are and your journey together.
Being organised and a bit of a control freak, I opted not to use a wedding planner and did pretty much everything myself with the help of my mom and amazing suppliers. Fordoun provided the service of a venue coordinator who was unbelievable in the build up to the wedding and on the day making sure that everything ran smoothly. We also hired a wedding coordinator, who was my right had lady on the day, and she helped with all the running around and final touches. This really allowed me to completely relax and enjoy the day.
Fordoun provided a shuttle bus and golf cart to transport all our guests who were staying at the hotel to and from the venue. Most of the other guests were staying very close by and drove themselves.
Margie Harel from Aubergine did all our catering and the food was totally delicious and raved about by our guests! Our beautiful 4 tiered rose gold cake was made by Sharyn's Cakes. Each tier was was a different flavour and this was served as dessert along with cheese boards. Something special was that my father-in-law made and bottled us our own red wine for the wedding. This was a hit with our guests!
Kim from Ruby and Swallow designed and printed all our gorgeous rose gold stationery. I loved everything about our stationery, especially the rose gold foiling! I also loved our personalized logo with our initials that Kim designed and this was printed onto all our stationery. We even had it printed onto stickers for the water and wine bottles. Kim was so helpful and divine to work with!
We had James Freedom, a former contestant on The Voice, sing for us in the chapel as well as during canapes. He was great! Our DJ was the infamous David Yapp from Top Jocks. He provided top quality sound, lighting and a party to remember. We danced the night away and had such fun on the dance floor with our friends and family. Matteo and I didn't take dance classes as we had decided to just go with the flow during our first dance and embrace the moment.
The story of your wedding day deserves to be a beautiful signature of who you are and your journey together.
Fordoun Wedding Village is an exclusive wedding venue in the Midlands, and boasts the most exquisite venue and facilities with absolutely picturesque views to make your special day
Bridal Manor is an exclusive bridal shop that specialises in selling imported couture designer wedding dresses.
