The most memorable part of our wedding day was when we walked down the aisle together as Mr and Mrs. Nico was so excited he was just about skipping down the aisle. He had this huge smile on his face (he was relieved that no one stood up and called for the wedding to be cancelled, like in the movies!)
Our first dance was also amazing. We decided to be different and did a Langarm Sokkie dance instead of a waltz. My mother had no idea that we could dance like that.
We went down the South Coast of KZN, to Port Edward, and stayed at the Port Edward Resort. We went there the year before our wedding and loved it so much that we knew we would go there for our honeymoon.
I wanted a very simple look for my wedding. I am a field biologist so I don't usually wear makeup or get dressed up, that isn't me at all. I bought my dress from Truworths, I had seen a style online that I really liked, and happened to see it in the shop while browsing the mall one day. I went home to think about it, and went back the next day with a friend, and we bought the dress. I didn't try on a single other dress! My shoes I bought from Pick n Pay, and my veil was bought from a bridal boutique in Durban. My hair and makeup was done by a lovely lady I know, Meredith, whose twin daughters were part of my Girl Guide unit. My jewellery consisted of a beautiful cross my husband had bought me a few years before, along with a pair of earrings borrowed from my mother.
We had our ceremony at St Mary's Catholic Church in Pietermaritzburg, and our reception at the stunning Old Halliwell Country Inn. As we had a morning wedding with lunch, most of our guests went home after the reception, but my parents, brother and a few of my cousins stayed at the hotel for the night.
My amazing Bridesmaids were a big part of getting the decor all ready and set up! We decided to keep things fairly simple, and on the tables we had a slice of wood, with string wrapped wine bottles, and flowers in the bottles. My maid of honour made the buttonholes for the men (after we had gone around the neighbourhood pinching flowers off of traffic islands in the middle of the night!) and our beautiful bouquets. Our church has a team of ladies who do flower arranging, and Moira did a stunning job with the flowers in the church. In the reception hall, my bridesmaids and I put together the flowers on the tables and the other arrangements in the hall. All the flowers ordered through Floral Fantasy, and Pat managed to get everything I wanted, even if it meant getting every last Strelitzia the flower markets had!
Nico and his groomsmen all wore a black suit with a grey waistcoat and tie, with a white shirt. They all looked so formal! It was not a normal look for any of them, as they are all men who work with their hands, but they felt that it was a special and important day, so they dressed up and looked really snazzy.
My bridesmaids both wore a navy blue dress with an orange pashmina shawl, as it gets quite cold in the church. I made their dresses using a pattern my maid of honour chose online.
Our lunch was delicious! We opted for a traditional carvery buffet, although we originally wanted to have picnic-style reception, my mother wanted something a bit more elegant. The food was prepared by CHC catering, all organised by Jane from Old Haliwell. We had a carrot cake, made with love by my mother, along with smaller carrot cake cupcakes for the guests to have with dessert.
I did all the stationary for our wedding, the Save-the-Dates, the invitations, the programmes and the Thank-You notes. Microsoft Powerpoint is an amazing tool if you know how to use it!
We had an awesome DJ by the name of Alex from Sound Worx. Nico and I often dance around the house, and he is a particularly gifted Sokkie dancer, so we didn't need to go for lessons. Our first dance was to Baby Tjoklates, which really got the party going! DJ Alex got a really funny request from me right at the end of the evening. Most of the guests had already left, and it was just my family and a few close friends still on the dance floor. Being a bunch of metalheads, we went and asked for Lonely Loney by the Narrow. He didn't have it on his computer, so we just plugged in my phone and headbanged :P My hairdresser did such a great job that not a single flower fell out of my hair! Needless to say, my mother had a good laugh at her strange child.
