I waited 8 years to marry the love of my life and 10 June 2017 was finally the day that I got to promise forever to him and start each and every morning of our lives together. There are so many happy, emotional and incredible memories I have of our big day: From walking down the aisle with my dad by my side (my hero) and seeing my future husband waiting for me; to walking out the chapel knowing that our lives together were about to start; to having our first dance as a married couple (as well as a surprise father-daughter/brother/sister dance); to the incredibly heartfelt speeches and special intimate moments I shared with my husband during our couples photo shoot.
But the absolute BEST memory of that day was the moment my husband surprised me with a special prayer he wrote for me before we said our 'I Do's'!
Henry (my husband) isn't someone who usually shares his feelings in public, but he chose to do so in the most incredible way and on the most wonderful day. No words can describe the love and admiration I felt for him in that moment. His words confirmed what my heart already knew for so many years - He is my soulmate, love of my life and the one God had chosen for me to love and cherish always.
Henry surprised me with a Honeymoon to Maldives.
We stayed in the breathtaking Ocean Villas of Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi.
When I first realised that we were staying in the Ocean Villas, I started to cry from excitement.
Our honeymoon was truly a dream come true and every moment spent there with my new husband was absolutely magical.
My wedding dress was handmade by Wendy and Liora (my dear friend) from Dimity Eco Bride. I had a very specific design in mind and they brought that dream to life! My dress was made of an ivory satin and had illusion mesh lace sleeves, a long lace train which started to flare around the hips and ended in a point. The dress was finished off with guipure flowers and leaves. Dimity also customised my Aldo heels by adding the same lace used on my dress to the front and back of the shoes. The garter was also done with the same lace and finished off with Swarovski crystals.
I kept my jewelry simple and only wore gold drop down earrings from Colette and a sapphire ring (the inspiration behind our wedding colours) that Henry gave me years before, as a promise that he would one day ask me to marry him. During our 'I Do's' Henry put my beautiful engagement ring on my finger together with a marquee styled wedding band to symbolise the final step to our union (this was the first time I saw the wedding band that Henry had made).
My hair was done by my long-time hairdresser Azanda van Rooyen and was kept natural and loose (my husband's favorite way of wearing my hear). My makeup was done by the talented Carmen Crous - she kept the makeup soft and used Rose gold tones to match the gold in my wedding colours.
We got married at the beautiful Chez Charlene. Both Henry and I are perfectionists and Chez Charlene provided us with perfection right from the start! We immediately knew that we had found our venue from our first visit and could not have asked for a more beautiful and organised place to get married at.
My mom, sister (Maid of Honour) and I spent the night before at the venue, relaxing and sharing memories and hopes for the future. The next day and morning of the wedding, we had the most scrumptious breakfast and later my Mother in law, Father and Bridesmaids also joined us.
After the wedding, Henry and I stayed in their gorgeous honeymoon suite.Our closest family members also stayed at the venue for the night and we had a lovely breakfast together the following morning.
Chez Charlene boasts the grandeur of its flawless architecture coupled with picturesque gardens and lavish fields where horses graze and gallop, all the ingredients to create l...
Our Wedding colour scheme was Ivory, gold and Navy (inspired by the sapphire promise ring Henry gave me).
We wanted to create a classic, elegant and romantic winter atmosphere/theme.
The venue already provided us with an elegant backdrop with detail like chandeliers, crystal decor and manicured gardens. The chapel was decorated with big bouquets of white flowers in the front and the aisle had a white carpet and lit candles on either side with navy suede ribbon tied around them.
The cake cutting was done right after the ceremony under a big dome decorated with crystals and fairy lights which lit up during the night.
The staircase to the Reception hall had candles on either side and guests could find their seats on a Lightbox seating plan (made by Henry) that featured one of our sunset engagement photos as background.
The reception had round tables with ivory table linen. The tables were decorated with different crystal candles and crystal flower stands with big white and gold sprayed bouquets.The Dinner plates were decorated with navy silk napkins in gold and pearl napkin rings that looked similar to a snowflake.
Our main table was also decorated with different candles and beautifully draped white flowers on each side of the table. We also had a candy buffet which featured a paper flower background, a special thank you message to our guests and glittery gold boxes to take the sweets home in.
Henry (my Groom) wore a navy suit and waistcoat from Palzini Menlyn with a white shirt and classic bow tie. To add some fun, he wore blue polka dot socks and cufflinks to match. For his accessories, he wore a Mechanical, see-through watch with a leather band from Fossil that I gave him as a wedding gift. After exchanging vows I put a Titanium brushed wedding band with groove detail on the side on his finger with the engraving: "I will always love you deeply".
Henry's Bestman was his brother and his Groomsman was my brother and my sister's finacé, which was really special. They wore suits in a darker shade of navy with white shirts and bow ties. They too wore the blue polka dot socks that Henry gave them as gifts.
I had the privilege to have grown up with all 4 of my bridesmaids - My sister was my Maid of Honour and 3 of my cousins my bridesmaids. They were the most beautiful bridesmaids!
They wore elegant long sleeved, floor length, navy velvet dresses with a boat-neck neckline, slit and lower back. To complete their look, their wore sleek high buns and pear-shaped earrings I gave them as gifts. To make my sister (MOH) stand out, we added some lace to the back of her dress as well as a sparkly hair-piece.
Pastor Antonie Nortje married us. It was extra special for us to have gotten married by him, because he baptised both of us before we got married and played a big role in the preparing of our marriage.
Trompie van der Berg was our wonderful Photographer. Not only did he make us feel very comfortable and relaxed, but he made the whole process so fun! He went the extra mile to capture the smallest of details, best moments and catch the sunlight/sunset at just the right time. We also got amazing service after our wedding with regards to our albums and it was absolutely beautifully done!
Marius Els, a dear friend and client of my dad's was our Videographer and did a wonderful job of capturing every moment and ALL of the emotions (and there was plenty) on film. We will forever be grateful for the gift of memories that he gave us.
Chez Charlene's Chef made our delicious meals. We had mouthwatering canopés with a selection of juices and cocktails, as well as a scrumptious 3-course set dinner. The dessert, however, was the highlight - Chez Charlene surprised our guests by switching off all the lights and playing 'Girl on Fire' while the waiters brought out Flaming Ferrero Rocher Creme Brules. It was truly spectacular!
We had a plain Ivory, 3 tier Cake from Cakes with Love. The bottom tier was vanilla (Henry's favourite), the middle tier was chocolate (my favourite) and the top tier was a marbled mix between the two to symbolise our union. Chez Charlene then decorated the cake with my wedding flowers and gold sprayed leaves. The Cake was then topped off with a Gold Cake topper made by my dad - he took one of our engagement photos and used the silhouette to laser engrave the topper.
We didn't have a paper invitation. Instead, we had our own website designed by Lilly Young with an invite, details of the day and engagement photos on it. Guests could also RSVP through the website.
Henry, my dad and I designed our wedding programs, table numbers and menus.
Our Wedding programs were printed on scented paper and had an engagement photo as cover, followed by a timeline of the day and photos of our Bridal Party.
Instead of using paper for our menus and table numbers, Henry and my dad made perspex Roman letters as table numbers as well as perspex stands with our date engraved on the foot and the menu engraved in navy blue marble.
We had an absolute blast at our Reception. We used Chez Charlene recommended DJ (DJ Steven) who kept us partying until late night and created a romantic atmosphere with a mix of blue and gold lights and smoke.
Before Henry and I entered the Reception there was a slide-show of photos showing 8 years of memories with each other, we then walked in on Bryan Adam's 'Here I am' - it faded into the classic 'Time of my Life' by Eric Carmen to which we danced our first dance to on a cloud of smoke. Later I had my Father Daughter Dance on 'I loved her first'. My brother then interrupted our dance at the end and we continued to dance on 'You'll be in my Heart' by Phil Collins. Then my sister interrupted our dance and we did a fun dance on Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face'. We ended our surprise dance with a group dance on Michael Jackson's 'The way you make me feel'.
The rest of the night was filled with heartwarming speeches, laughter, some happy crying and lots of dancing!
Chez Charlene boasts the grandeur of its flawless architecture coupled with picturesque gardens and lavish fields where horses graze and gallop, all the ingredients to create l...
