Our story begins when we met just before I went to Au pair in America for a year. Little did I know that his support and love would help me through hard times away from family and friends. Skype and facetime was our best friend, and we would talk for hours each day. We planned a trip for my two week vacation half way through my au pair year. I was so excited to see him and for our amazing trip we planned, I never expected him to propose. I organized a couple shoot in Washington DC at the National Mall that he changed into an engagement shoot without me knowing. He proposed at the Jefferson memorial under the cherry blossom trees. For the next two weeks we had a amazing trip to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Houston Texas.

When I returned from America, we immediately started planning our special day. We found the perfect wedding venue at Vondeling Wine Farm, with the cutest chapel surrounded by vineyards and mountains. Our wedding was beautiful thanks to friends and family that helped with the personal touches. We wrote a personal letter to each of our guests on their place mats. We wanted our wedding to represent us and we made sure that everyone would know this is Etienne and Hanelke's wedding. I wanted to be different, I tried on lots of wedding dresses but could not find the right one. So my mother and I got my beautiful wedding dress made by a family friend / wedding dress designer. I loved my black and white dress with my red shoes that I brought from America.

Both my husband and I love dark colors so the decor of the wedding was wine reds and deep purples. Our bridal car was unique just like our wedding, it was a red vintage VW Kombie converted into a working firetruck. We could not have asked for a better day and way to start the rest of our lives together.

You can experience our special day in 8 minutes, see our video here: