Our wedding day was just magical, from the moment we arrived at the venue to the moment I laid my head on my pillow that night, if I could have it all over again I would, no doubt about it.
It is difficult to pin point just a few highlights or memorable moments as the entire day was a highlight for me but if I have to choose I would say the following moments really stood out for me:
1. Walking into the Chapel with my dad and seeing my husband waiting at the front for me while all the guests look on and my dad handing me over to my husband.
2. Our photo session with my sister and brother-in-law, Detoi Photography, who willingly agreed to take our wedding photos! This may sound a bit bias but I really think they are the best in the business and we would not have wanted any other photographers capturing our day as beautifully as only they could. It was just so special spending this time with them as well.
3. When we walked into our reception hall after the photo session and everything just looked perfect and magical, with candles and fairy lights everywhere, everything I always imagined my wedding day to be.
4. My husband's beautiful speech and our first dance, my heart was, and still is, very happy!
We went to Ballito on the KZN North Coast for a week getaway but we are planning on going for a proper Honeymoon to Mauritius or maybe even the Maldives next year.
My wedding look was elegant and romantic, my dress was a Bridal Wardrobe, Enzoani subtle mermaid flare full lace bodice dress with bead embellishments around the sweetheart neckline. The back of my dress was amazing, it had a lace illusion back which came together with a few buttons and ended in a very long train, which I absolutely love. I felt so beautiful and comfortable in my dress on the day, it was amazing.
My shoes were very comfortable, I wore nude coloured Zellie shoes. My jewellery was very simple yet elegant, I wore small diamante earrings and a pearl bracelet.
My hair and make up was done by Mari Bridal Hair and Make-up and looked so natural and beautifully done. I have extremely long and thick hair so Mari curled my hair and then pinned parts of my hair up at the back finishing it off with a pretty braid and some gyp and bridal brush flowers.
Bridal Wardrobe is the leading stockist of all Enzoani Collections in South Africa and caters for the modern bride who wants to be at the forefront of the latest designer trends.
In 2005, a new bridal collection emerged and quickly rose to compete with top brands by merging traditional and modern European styles into exquisitely hand crafted gowns.
We got married at the most beautiful venue, Harmonie Proteas. It is a Protea and Fynbos farm situated between Rayton and Cullinan in Gauteng and made for the most beautiful photos and moments that even our guests enjoyed and captured while waiting for us during our photo session.
The owners of the venue, Neels and Elsje van Zyl really went out of their way to make the day as perfect as possible, they are really wonderful and the venue is amazing.
Many of our guests did stay the night in beautiful accommodation at the venue itself and the rest of the guests either returned back to Pretoria and Johannesburg and the rest stayed in accommodation in Cullinan.
I kept to more or less my same lifestyle, I just ate a lot healthier in the weeks leading up to our wedding, had lots of salads, cut out softdrinks and sweets, drank lots and lots of water with lemon and cucumber and of course went for a few tan can sessions to get a little colour on my pale skin after the winter months :)
Because we got married on a Protea farm we of course had to make use of the stunning Proteas as well as Fynbos on offer at the farm. We used the King Proteas and Sylvias together with fynbos and lots of greenery and splashes of white. My mom was in charge of our decor and flowers, she did such a wonderful job and our tables and decor looked absolutely stunning. Our venue offered an extensive decor list and we used a lot of what we had at home in the form of glass bottles and vases etc so there was no need for us to rent or bring in any additional decor.
My heart was set on having origmani cranes at our wedding so we had some made and strung them ourselves. They were hung up in our Chapel, they looked breathtakingly beautiful and just added that extra special effect. Our Chapel was open on the sides and there was a breeze on the day so the origami cranes looked as though they were flying gently through the Chapel, definitely a highlight for me.
My husband wore a navy blue David Jones suit from Woolworths with a light blue David Jones button up shirt, a leather bow tie, navy suspender belts, a leather belt and brown leather shoes. The leather bow tie was from a local company in Gauteng called Brother's and Son and everyone loved his bow tie.
The groomsmen wore the same suit pants as my husband however, they just wore white shirts, leather bow ties and navy suspender belts with leather belts and brown leather shoes. Their bow ties were from Freedom of Movement and fit in perfectly with the look of the day.
My bridesmaid wore a stunning long maroon dress with lace detail at the top and pearl earrings and bracelet to compliment the dress.
Our marriage officer was Abel Pienaar, he was fantastic and delivered a beautiful message which we will keep with us forever.
Our awesome photographers were Detoi Photography, my brother-in-law and sister who are really fantastic. We are forever grateful to them that they agreed to capture our special day as we felt so comfortable and really enjoyed capturing all our special moments with them.
We also had a photobooth in the form of a Photobus, an old red and white combi bus, operated by JC Crafford Photography. This was really a hit at our wedding and the guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we have awesome memories of the evening now.
Our food was prepared by our venue. The food was delicious and many of the guests went back for seconds and really complimented the venue as well as the chef on an amazing job.
Our wedding cake was made by an old school friend who has her own baking company called Luna Berry. The small piece of cake that we had after cutting the cake was absolutely delicious. Our cake was a small one tier chocolate cake iced semi-nude with a vanilla buttercream icing and a caramel drip and decorated with fresh flowers that complimented the rest of our wedding flowers and decor beautifully.
We had a DJ, Erich from Core Music. He did a fantasic job, the dancefloor was always full and our guests really enjoyed the party.
Bridal Wardrobe is the leading stockist of all Enzoani Collections in South Africa and caters for the modern bride who wants to be at the forefront of the latest designer trends.
In 2005, a new bridal collection emerged and quickly rose to compete with top brands by merging traditional and modern European styles into exquisitely hand crafted gowns.
