God gave me my best friend on the day I least expected it... My one true love, Stefan.
From when I can remember I dreamed of getting married to the one man God prepared and created for me, but I needed to go through a few bumps along the way.. sadly, with someone who verbally abused me, one who never had the right 'time' to accept me and love me... that made me forget the feeling of love. But... on one hot summer's day, November 2014 my life completely changed when I met the one man who changed my life and the thought of Love for ever.
He made me believe that love exists, the feeling of butterflies in the stomach is real and that a woman can be appreciated and respected for just being ... me. This is me, a lady from the East Rand with a Master's Degree in Communication Management, the one without words, the one in love with her one true love.
I now believe in LOVE!!
Our story feels like is just a dream..
We, Stefan and I, met during November 2014 at a mutual friend's house, this is the day we will never forget. We both were invited to the friend's house for a truly South African 'braai' and watch the rugby. When I arrived he was already there and like he would say, he stared at me from across the room with the thought of 'wow' :-) (his words). That night, the mutual enjoyment of a hubbly bubbly actually 'helped' us to talk to each other and forgetting about everybody else. We shared our first magical kiss that night of me wanting to see him again but we never exchanged our numbers... Luckily for the mutual friend we share Stefan asked for my surname and invited me on Facebook to make contact with me. The 'nerd' that I was and the 'i don't believe in love phase' was busy with my Master's degree and I never had an interest to look at Facebook. So, I thought he forgot about me and I just went on with my life (but he was in my mind all the time). He tried to make contact via the phone and we finally met up for our first date <3 This was the day I saw he is truly different than any other guy I've ever met. We went on dates for a while and get to know each other better, on Friday the 13th of March was the day he asked me to be his girlfriend... that day was one of the best days of our lives...
So we have been dating for 21 months on the time we got engaged..
Stefan knew I was the one, before I could even notice that he is already planning the amazing and perfect proposal, with a personally perfect designed ring, he wanted to make the proposal perfect for both of us. So, as the months went on and we continued to grow in our relationship, we decided to go to Jefferey's Bay for a holiday. On the day of our 21st month anniversary he said he planned that we should go on a hike at the Tsitsikamma National Park Storms River Mouth to see the stunning view and celebrate our anniversary. I did not know what he planned as he wanted to let me think there is nothing going to happen as he did not asked my parents any important questions yet. So, I went on this hike with no expectations of a big event happening. On our way up to the stunning view, Stefan's pants ripped straight through the middle (luckily he had spare shorts with him)... I suggested that he can just take of the shorts that had a torn and put them in the backpack , but of course I did not know about the ring in his pocket. Quickly he changed the subject so that we talk about something other than the pants. When we arrived on the top of the mountain at the deck we took a few photo's and enjoyed the view. At one stage, Stefan said I should look at the ocean so that he can take a photo from me from behind looking at the ocean. At that moment he took out the ring and wanted to make sure that he is ready to ask the big question. He asked me to turn around, and when I turned he was on one knee and the ring sparkling like the tears in his eyes. He looked at me with tears of joy while I was screaming with excitement, not believing that this moment was real. I actually asked him if this is real and not a joke :-) at that moment with elation and love in my heart I just kept on smiling while he asked the best question I never believed I would hear before I met him, will I be his life partner, his best friend forever? Magical moment, I just prayed to God and thanked Him for that perfect moment and the best life partner He blessed me with. The moment I realized what just happened, tears of joy rolled down my cheeks, the answer was obvious ... a BIG Yes.
After we got back to the car, he planned a spa experience in the forest and a romantic dinner afterwards. The most amazing feeling you can ever experience when you know you found the One!
Our wedding was the perfect day for us...
For me: Firstly, getting ready with my mom, she helping me to get dressed. Her face that lighted up when she saw me again in the most beautiful dress we chose together. Secondly, my dad's face when he saw me for the first time in my dress and knowing it's his little girl's big day. We both had tears in our eyes, the best moment to share. Thirdly, the fact that my bridesmaids and my best friend could experience the day with us and helped me to be relaxed and made it a stress free day for me. Lastly, the father and daughter dance, which was so special for us.
The best moment was when I walked down the isle with my first love, my dad, to my one true love, Stefan, and to see the love in his eyes the first moment he saw me in my dress and the feeling of I am getting married to my best friend, my person, my everything. The feeling of my dad trusting Stefan so much that he gives me away on that day with a relaxed and proud feeling.
For him: Firstly, that he can have his brother on his side as best man and his friend from America and friend from Austria at our big day and my brother as a groomsmen and masters of ceremony to keep him calm and to make everybody laugh and stress free. Secondly, to have his dad be the minister to marry us in the presence of God and in front of all our loved ones.
The best moment was to see me for the first time with tears in his eyes, with the best feeling of assurance and love.
For us: Firstly, to have promised our love to each other in front of God and our loved ones, to exchange the perfect symbol of love, the rings and to seal it with a kiss. Secondly, to have our friends and family spending the day with us and making memories. Lastly, our first dance together which was perfect.
Before our wedding I caught the bouquets 13 times, now I could give it to someone else and pray that they would also find love.
Stefan said his taking me to a dam for our honeymoon, Witbank dam to be exact. So I thought oky his just taking me somewhere in South Africa which will still be perfect. But, the day after our wedding we went to the airport where he said I must look at the tickets to see where we should go. At first I did not know where Doha (our first stop) is, or Denpasar (our final destination), but he quickly told me and when I found out Denpasar is the capital city of BALI, I screamed of excitement. We went to Kuta beach and Ubud in Bali. The most amazing honeymoon destination!!
Theme: Vintage and Rustic - Our table decorations like the overlay, my mom and I glued the beads on the lace material to give it the vintage look and feeling, my center pieces were crowns with proteas inside them. We had lots of candles and light to create the rustic, warm and romantic feeling we wanted.
Hair: My hair were done in a up style, so that you could see all the detail on my dress.
Make -up: It gave me a soft look and a tan look as I am usually very pale
Shoes: I had plain white shoes which I still can wear afterwards
Wedding dress: The name of the dress is Shine from Timeless Bridal Couture, which fitted perfectly with the vintage look as it had lots of lace and beads.
Jewellery: My aunt who came all the way from New Zealand gave me the most beautiful pearl earrings with a necklace that matched. I also wore a bracelet which my mom gave me for my matric farewell which fitted perfectly.
We got married at the most beautiful venue, Cradle Valley Guesthouse and wedding venue in Muldersdrift.
The venue have rooms were the guests can stay over for the night and there are places nearby.
Our attention to detail has taken comfort, convenience and personal service to new heights. No effort will be spared to make your wedding day a memorable one.
I used the Annique Rooibos Health and Beauty products which my mom provided for me as she is an independent consultant.
I had Annique facials every five weeks closer to the wedding day, and I started to play around with nail colors to see which color I would like to have on our wedding day, which at the end I decided on the ombre french. I have IBS so I had to cut out certain foods and just ate healthy which was good for my body and skin. You need to drink 8 glasses of water a day, so I tried to drink enough. My mom and I love to get pampered so we had a few body massages and a few reflexology sessions where I in turn also did my feet.
Our decor was vintage and rustic, we had 3 crowns on our tables each with flowers inside. Our centerpieces, which were bigger crowns, had the king Protea flower inside and the smaller crowns on each side of the table had purple Hydrangeas inside. I had lots of candles on the tables. Stefan designed hanging lights which were over each 5th table and the other 5 tables had branches with crystals hanging above them. Fairylights were all over the roof and the pillars to create a warm and romantic feeling. In the chapel area were flower settings hanging from the roof and small Proteas on the chairs. Outside on the porch area we made a wooden frame with our surname and date engraved on it as part of a photo prop. We also had a photobooth to keep the guests entertained.
Stefan wore a Carducci sleight grey suit from Khaliques and the groomsmen wore light grey suits from Euro suit.
The groomsmen each wore funky socks and bow ties.
As our colours for the day were pastel (blue, pink and mint), each bridesmaid wore their own unique pastel color. The dresses were infinity type of dresses so the maid of honour had her own design which were different from the other two bridesmaids.
The bought the dresses which were made according to their body shapes at The Maiden.
We were so privileged to be married by Stefan's father as he is a minister. This was also a special moment shared between Stefan and his father.
Our photographer was Jamie and Yolandie Jonk from Jamie Jonk Photography. We also used Bonkers photobooth to entertain our guests.
The food were prepared by the venue but our starters and wedding cake were prepared by Stefan's family. His mom and sister baked the bread/biltong wedding cake and decorated it accordingly. Stefan's father prepared the canape's which were also the starters.
Stefan's dad, his sister and her boyfriend designed our programs we used during the ceremony. They also designed and created a monogram specially for Stefan and me, which are now our family emblem.
A dance instructor from The Beat dance studio choreographed our first dance on John Legend's song, All of me, and we practiced it for about 4 months to make sure its perfect, which it definitely was.
Our DJ was Tony from Perfect Tone Music.
Brides & Grooms use Photo Booths as a way of keeping their guests entertained for hours and also as thank you gift to everyone for attending their special day.
Voted Johannesburgs Top Wedding Music Business! We also cater for Parties, Corporate Events and Silent Disco SA. With over 12 DJ's we travel all over SA.
Our attention to detail has taken comfort, convenience and personal service to new heights. No effort will be spared to make your wedding day a memorable one.
