Mitchell and I met about 4 years ago when Mitchell started working for the same company that I worked for. I was going through an extremely difficult time in my life and Mitchell was there to support me when I really needed it.
We started dating a while after that and ever since we have shared so much and really grown our relationship as a couple.
We have always been very compatible and really support each other in every aspect of our lives.
I decided that I wanted to adopt a baby and was really set on going through this journey. I had considered adoption even before Mitchell and I met and not knowing how he would react to my decision I decided to apply.
I decided to adopt as a single parent as I didn’t want to place unnecessary pressure on Mitchell as this was a decision that I had made before we became a couple.
Fortunately Mitchell was very supportive and became very involved in the adoption process.
From the moment our daughter came into our home Mitchell has loved her as I did and we made such a good team as first time parents.
It became very clear that we were destined to be a family and when Mitchell proposed I knew that we were moving in the right direction as we loved each other and our daughter and wanted to create a beautiful family for both us and our daughter.
We went to Cape town for our honeymoon. We’ve both been to Cape town, but this was the first time that we went together. We had such a relaxing time and enjoyed every moment.
I have always loved all things vintage and old fashioned. My dress was custom made by my mother in law. Her choice of fabric was spot on with what I had in mind and once she started making the dress I could hardly contain my excitement. I fell in love with the dress and it just suited my personality perfectly.
My shoes were from BluBetty. They are a small business based in Durban. I have previously purchased shoes from them and knew that I would wear a pair on my wedding day.
I had planned to have my makeup done professionally, but I was unable to book with the artist that I wanted to so I decided to do it myself. I had watched a lot of makeup tutorials on the internet and after practicing a bit I felt confident to do it myself.
My hair was also done by myself, with a little help from my photographer.
My mother made the garter 5min before we had to leave to go to the venue where I would get dressed.
The jewelry I wore was my own.
Our wedding ceremony was at St. Katharine’s Anglican Church in Uitenhage. The church had just celebrated its 150th year.
It is a breathtaking stone church with a pipe organ that can be heard from a great distance and hearing the wedding march played on it was a real “goosebumps” moment.
The reception was held at Lions Heart restaurant also in Uitenhage.
Most of our guests were from the area and only a few guest stayed in Uitenhage after the wedding.
When we got engaged I decided that I wanted to make everything myself as I didn’t want to spend a lot of money renting decorations.
The invites and table decor was made by myself. I had used glass jars that I had collected for the flower arrangements and made the table numbers and candle holders.
I bought flowers the day before and with the help of my mom, aunt and cousin we made beautiful arrangements the night before the wedding.
Our wedding was quite relaxed and the groom and groomsman both wore chinos and buttoned shirts. They didn’t wear ties as it seemed a little too formal for what we had in mind.
My bridesmaid is actually my manager at work and her dress was made by another colleague of ours. I told her that she could choose any style or colour that she wanted. She made an excellent choice and the colour of her dress looked beautiful on her and complimented both my dress as well as the groom and groomsman’s outfits.
We met our paster, Luwellen through mutual friends. He conducted a beautiful ceremony that really touched us and our families.
Our photos were taken by the very talented Astrid Cordier. I first saw her work about 9 years ago and there was just no doubt in my mind when it came to choosing the photographer for our special day.
She is such a vibrant and spontaneous person and she made us feel so comfortable. Astrid is so bubbly and humble and she made us enjoy every moment while taking our photos.
I would highly recommend her as wedding photographer as she puts so much effort into her work and with her husband working as her assistant for the day we really had a lot of laughs.
We decided to use Mitchell’s father’s Ford Kuga as our wedding car. We joked that we wanted to “add some sparks” to our special day.
We had our reception and Lions Heart restaurant. The food was prepared on site and was of excellent quality. We chose a spit braai menu which included roasted vegetables and potatoes and home made malva pudding.
Our wedding cake was made by Kendall van Zyl.
She made a delicious vanilla sponge with a cream cheese frosting topped with blueberries. It was simple delicious.
I am absolutely in love with paper and stationary and made our invites myself.
