Blake and I met out one night. I was out with friends after a work function and the friend I was with, said to me, “oh, let me introduce you to my friend Blake, he is single” we found Blake on the Dance floor and we introduced ourselves. We then later on that night, started chatting and I went home and thought I wouldn’t hear from him again, Until I got a Facebook friend request. About 3 months after the friend request, I got an inbox message from Blake asking if I wanted to meet him for some putt-putt or tenpin bowling, which I agreed. We met up and got on like a house on fire, needless to say I kissed him first From that day, a day didn’t pass without the two of us seeing or speaking to each other and we were now officially dating in March 2014, which made my heart jump with joy, as I have never come across someone that is such a true gentleman, so thoughtful and caring and would do anything to make sure I was happy. I loved him from the get-go. We moved into together after a year of dating and Blake proposed to me on the 28th December 2015, whilst both our families were with us (this made it extra special as he knows what it would have meant to me for him to do that, as I am extremely close to my family and my folks live in Botswana, so he took advantage of the time they were here visiting us) We then decided on our date 17 June 2017 and booked all the necessary and we knew this would give us ample time to save for the wedding we both dreamed of. I couldn’t be more blessed to have found someone like him, I am forever grateful that our paths crossed and I get to spend forever with him.
Blake proposed to me on the 28th December 2015, whilst both our families were with us (this made it extra special as he knows what it would have meant to me for him to do that, as I am extremely close to my family and my folks live in Botswana, so he took advantage of the time they were here visiting us. He took me into our house and started saying things like he loves me so much etc, he then gave me a little box and immediately I thought a ring and "OH MY GOSH...its happening" I opened the tiny box to find a Pandora charm in the shape of a heart and the heart opens, inside the little heart is a tiny ring embedded in it and as I looked up at him all confused he was on one knee and he asked me to marry him. We then went outside to our families and announced our wonderful news, to which they were both ecstatic about. We then decided on our date 17 June 2017 and booked all the necessary and we knew this would give us ample time to save for the wedding we both dreamed of. I couldn’t be more blessed to have found someone like him, I am forever grateful that our paths crossed and I get to spend forever with him.
It is hard to choose one memory from what we both thought to be THE most absolutely perfect day, we have both ever experienced in our lives! From the weather, the décor, the flowers, the food, our photographer and videographer, the DJ, the guests, and just so much love all round, it honestly could not have gone any smoother and more beautiful than in it did!
One of my most favourite things to do, when we go to weddings, is to look at the grooms face when the bride enters, I think it is one the most beautiful things to witness, you can just see the love and devotion in the grooms eyes. This time round, I was at the receiving end, that was MY handsome groom waiting for me and it was one of the most wonderful feelings that went through my whole body, I just loved it that I was walking up to someone that I love so dearly and this was the start to our forever!
We were fortunate enough to go on honeymoon. We went to Bali and stayed in both Ubud and Semanyak. It was absolutely incredible and what made it even more exciting was that this was our first overseas trip together.
The only place I looked at was Sposabella in Durban; I was blown away by the friendliness, the love and the personal attention you get when there, so I didn’t need to go anywhere else.
The dress I chose was an Enzoani BT17-22 in an ivory nude colour. It’s definitely a timeless dress, the elegance of the lace, the colour; the fit and the comfortability were second to none. This dress was one of the most beautiful I have seen, my most favourite part, as I mentioned above, was the lace detail, the elegance and beauty of it is breath-taking. I stayed in my dress the whole night with ease and this was clear evidence that I had made the right and perfect decision for me.
My wedding look was a bit of a mixture, between bohemian and elegance. My hair had a very soft natural look, I had long flowing curls and my makeup was done as natural as possible. My shoes were small wedges and I later changed into a pair of lacey Superga sneakers for that extra added comfort and fun. I had a pair of simple diamond studs and nothing else, I like simplicity and felt I did not need anything extra as my dress did the rest. My something old, something borrowed, something blue, something new was done in a very special way by my bridesmaids, they got a button from my grandpas jacket, a blue button from my little nephew's first baby grow, something new was my dress and something borrowed was a charm from my mother-in-law's bracelet that we had bought together, they put this all on a safety pin and attached it to my dress - this was absolutely special - I am very sentimental, so this meant a lot.
Sposabella's private and beautiful showroom is located in Morningside, Durban. We believe every bride should look and feel gorgeous on their wedding day and we've sourced weddi...
Sposabella's private and beautiful showroom is located in Morningside, Durban. We believe every bride should look and feel gorgeous on their wedding day and we've sourced weddi...
We got married at a place called Haycroft Farm in the Midlands in Kwazulu-Natal - (www.haycroftfarm.com) It is an absolutely beautiful and heavenly place. It was the first place we went and had a look at and decided on it, as we both fell in love with it. Some of our guests stayed in the accommodation on the premises and some stayed at neighbouring places.
I started this a year in advance - I went for skin treatments - I did facials and peels - I had the most phenomenal skin care therapist - Angelique from Skin Savvy in Umhlanga - she helped me maintain and continue a beauty regime that has been a wonderful experience and still continue with. I have always been active, but I would say I was even more so leading up to our wedding, I watched what I ate etc. I did a spray tan trial a few months before our wedding so that I could determine if i needed one and I decided to have one done for our wedding and loved it. I went and had my teeth cleaned and checked. I timed everything, I went to the hairdresser a week before to have my highlights done as I know it takes my hair about a week or so to settle in with the colour. I had my nails done two days before as well.
Everything about our wedding was incredible... We were very blessed with how it all turned out, as it had a very special meaning behind it... Our decor was done by very close family friends of ours. As seen on the pictures it was beautifully done, it was a reflection exactly of who we are as a couple. Very relaxed, yet elegant and classy.
We hand made a lot of things, with help of very special friends and family, we decorated the jars, sewed all the bunting, made the little hearts from scratch, very close attention was paid to every detail of our day.
Our flowers - we got the proteas & greenery directly from a protea Farm in the Midlands, The babies breath and penny gum came from JHB. My bouquet as well as my bridesmaids were made up by my very special and talented granny.
So everything that was done for us, to make our day so beautiful and the BEST yet, was done by very special people we hold very closely to our hearts.
My Groom wore a suit he bought and the groomsmen all wore their own black suits. We tried to do things as simply as possible without it getting too expensive or overly complicated. (this also made it easier for those that were coming from overseas)
We decided to do the buttonholes differently too - They all had wooden ones - with " Groom" , "Best Man" etc etc engraved on them.
My bridesmaids wore dresses that were made by Hoiden Bridesmaids (www.hoiden.co.za) - we ordered them off their website. My bridesmaids all chose the design that they were comfortable with that would best suit them and I chose the colour. A deep burgundy. The dresses all came out perfectly and beautifully.
In our Opinion, we had the BEST photographer and videographer.
Our photographer instantly made us feel at ease with the way she works, she has an incredibly happy and professional demeanour about her. Her brother Brendon assisted her, he was amazing too. What we loved about her was her passion for what she does, it shines from the inside out. She took the most amazing and beautiful photo's and we are forever grateful to her. Her name is Kym Burmester.(www.kymb.co.za)
Our videographer was a special lady by the name of Cara Michelle Stirton - (www.caramichellevideography.com) - she is very talented and fun, we would highly recommend her to anyone that would like a videographer.
Sposabella's private and beautiful showroom is located in Morningside, Durban. We believe every bride should look and feel gorgeous on their wedding day and we've sourced weddi...
