Having the privilege to marry the man God chose for me was enough to give me goosebumps. But sharing it on my horse's back with my dad leading us in to where my cowboy in his brand new jeans, was anxiously awaiting our arrival was....absolutely breathtaking!
Galloping through the yellow Kalahari meadows with my dress flapping in the wind. We had practiced this before with a white sheet wrapped around my waist so Dixie wouldn't get spooked on the bid day. She was such a good girl!
Sharing my love for my new husband with family and friends. Dancing the night away not having a care in the world.
But I think the most special moment was when the first call I received that morning was from him...he isn't particularly shy, but he never prays out loud...EVER! Once I picked up the phone, he started praying...for us, for our future children, for our lives together, to love and to grow in the pages of the Bible together...my heart melted.
Not a day goes by that I wish I could repeat that day, and I wouldn't change one thing!
We did!
We were blessed to see the beauty of the Knysna woods just before the disastrous fires scattered through them.
We explored somewhere new each day. We zip-lined in the tree tops, we went horse back riding in the woods, I even had the guts to master the 216m bungy off the Bloukrans Bridge. Shame, the horse back riding was one huge compromise for him...he likes horses, but from a short distance ON THE GROUND!
Mosselbaai, Gansbaai, Bloubergstrand and then the long ride home back to Upington.
Coming back home, settling into our new lives, and sliding through our fairly large album of memories.
A few years back, I scrolled across a picture of a dress' back. It was an open back with ribbon that crosses over your shoulders and ties behind your waist. I fell in love with it even though I had no idea what the front of the dress looked like. I had to have it. I never even entered a bridal shop to fit a dress. I wanted one like that and was going to have it!
My cousin and I would literally hold the material against my body and cut as we saw fit until it was perfect. (Don't worry, she manufactures clothing for my aunt's boutique, so she had more that 2 clues about what she was doing!) The 4 most valuable women (my mom, aunt, cousin and granny) in my life all spent nights to make my wedding dress. Sew it together, attached the lace at the bottom and attached like a 1000 beads all over... I can't describe how special it was. And it was more perfect than I expected. It was like nothing I've ever seen before.
That same cousin is also a professional make-up artist! Besides me actually hating make-up, she knows me so well, I knew I was in her competent hands.
As for my hair, which is usually (always) in a messy bun; loose curls hanging from under my cowboy hat was all I needed. I wrapped a rosemary crown around the head of the hat and pulled my veil through.
Of course I wore my Western Cowboy boots with that (those are about the highest pair of heels that I own!). My husband got me those for my birthday 2 years ago. I almost died when I first saw them....that was also the day I decided I wanted to marry him some day... JUST KIDDING!! I love him for a million other reasons!
Lastly, I topped everything off with a beautiful pair of small tear drop diamond earrings and a piece of lace ribbon wrapped around my wrist.
A little different that my usual jeans and top with always muddy and covered in horse-pooh boots. But still the same old me!
We got married in Upington, in the Northern Cape. We visited a venue called "Die Ou Huis" a few months earlier and we both agreed it was the venue. I have quite a bunch of family living in Upington, so most of the guests spent the weekend on Christmas beds in one of our homes! My aunt has a Lodge (Belihante Lodge) just outside of town (I also got dressed here), so most of my husband's family stayed there.
Not a fan of exercise....Also LOVE food (I grew up in the kitchen).
I play netball after hours, so I guess it helped for something!
Just a little side note...I have gained some serious weight since getting married! Blame it on being happy!
As for the rest, all was natural. I believe in being me...no matter how different that may be. Yellow teeth and zits and all. And boy did I have one huge zit on my chin when I woke up that morning!!
My cousin, being a beautician...she treated me to a back massage and a facial 2 days before. It was amazing though!
So I should've been born in Texas somewhere on a farm already wearing my cowboy boots, but I wasn't. But at least I could pretend that I got married there!
I fell in love with the farm-like venue, Die Ou Huis, in Upington. It has a lovely ceremony area, with a neat, green patch of grass with stepping stones all the way to the white dome overlooking a vineyard. White roses neatly arranged in a bed and pebbles packed around it. I walked straight past that to the other side of the venue (there where the guests are supposed to park in the gravel) and saw two big trees, and an old and broken tractor overlooking the farm dam and said: "I'll have my ceremony here. We'll arrange a bunch of hay blocks in a circle right under the trees, place a wine drum in the middle as a podium and Bob's your uncle!"
It took some convincing of family and the venue owner that I actually did NOT want the neat, green garden effect!
Simple greens (Lavender and Rosemary- what a lovely smell it gave the hall!) in glass vases, willow branches and fairy lights dangling everywhere. Old cowboy boots stuffed with gyp. Painted pallets, used saddles and rusted horse shoes.
I come from a VERY creative family. Sewing, painting, flower arrangements, decor setups, even beauty treatments! My family and I did the decor and flower setup ourselves. And it couldn't have been any more special and beautiful!
My father in-law brought Hugo this dark brown leather jacket. Paired with jeans, a leather belt and leather shoes. I just had to get this mint green floral bow tie for him! The things he does for me!
Groomsmen had jeans, white shirts and some mint green suspenders!
And of course ALL of them had to have cowboys hats and belt buckles!
My cousin had this mink brown lace material and we decided to make plain straight down dresses with a leather belt around the waist and some flowery embroidery on the chest. And yes...cowboy boots!
Pastor Willem Bronkhorst from Upington Familie Gemeente married us. We've been in his congregation for a few years now and he really inspired us to try and grow together in Christ.
So I had so many options for photographers. It is quite a competing profession in Upington I had like a billion quotes on different packages, but nothing stuck. Actually, the owner of our venue showed me some images of what the hall looked like all made up and I loved the soft, gloomy look of the photos. He referred me to Jonelda van Heerden Photography. At the engagement shoot, we just clicked! I just knew I had made the right choice. And as it turned out, I actually started working with her at a wedding planner a few months back. What a lovely person with such a deep heart and a very contagious laugh!
My family and I planned everything together. My husband and I made the invites. My cousin (also my maid of honor) made the dress, did my make-up, beauty treatments and all the other odds and ends! My aunt did all the floral arrangements. My parents did the catering (they own Honey Blue Catering), it was amazing! My brother was in charge of bathing and transporting Dixie and her then foul to the venue and back. We had so many friends who came earlier that week to help with the decor setup and food preparations! Everyone just jumped in and finished the job. We were so blessed!
