Some of my most memorable moments include having my matron of honour and best friend along my side from the night before.We giggled and talked right into the early morning hours. When I woke, she ran my bath and lovingly she helped me to getting ready for this day that I waited for , for most my adult life. She did my hair and mom's hair on the day and it was incredibly special to have her with me right from the time when we started our preparations 6 months earlier.
I will always remember hearing the "wedding bells ring" at the beautiful antique church in Philadelphia. The bells sounded to announce the bride's arrival before the doors to the church opened.
A lifelong dream came true for my father and I as he walked me down the isle as the wedding march played on the beautiful old organ.
Mario and I arrived at our home - the beautiful El Lions guest farm where our reception was held. He briefly kissed me on my shoulder as the car window opened and we saw our guests lined up and waiting for us. We quietly sat in the car while a special song played which we chose as a declaration to celebrate our marriage and arrival at home as a newly wed couple.
The most memorable moment for us as couple and our guests alike, would probably be that moment when the beautiful brass band sounds where interrupted by the sound of Mario's 1000 cc motorbike as he entered the white Marquee tent to fetch his bride and to whisk her away into the sunset to end the celebrations!
We spent the first day and evening of our honeymoon in the quaint little town of Tulbach before we headed into the lovely Cederberg mountains where we stayed for another 4 days. It was wonderful to break away from the hustle bustle of city life. We enjoyed the tranquility of the little honeymoon cottage at Petersfield Farm - we loved the open air bath under the star studded sky and the beautiful swimming pool in front of the cottage. The smell of orange blossoms all round completed the feeling of romance and love in the air.
I love pearls and lace. I chose a simple rouge design for a strapless dress. I asked Rene from Rene H Couture to do some special embroidery on the dress, incorporating a pearl broach that belonged to my great grandmother. I wore a beautiful and delicate lace bolero over the dress which I complimented with beautiful lace shoes from Anella.
Hayley Goodrich Bespoke Bridal Jewellery created a hair comb for me - Hayley also used a broach that belonged to my grandmother and added some pearls and swarovski crystals that was also incorporated on my dress and lace bolero. I loved my pearl bracelet and earings - simple but elegant.
My best friend and matron of honor did my hair in a classic and elegant upstyle. I kept my make up natural and simple.
I wanted a classic and elegant look which I believe I achieved on the day- a style that suited me and complimented my personality. Ester Hofmeyr from Individual Elegance designed and made our wedding bands.
Western Cape Couture designer Rene Heydon believes that every bride deserves her very own bespoke handcrafted wedding gown on her wedding day
Anella has put together a collection of the most gorgeous bridal shoes. We will help you find YOUR perfect wedding shoes to complete your journey to feeling like a Princess!
We chose the lovely town on Philadelphia with its beautiful antique church. The reception took place at our "home" - the beautiful El Lions Guest Farm. Our families and friends who travelled from all over the world to attend our celebration stayed for the long weekend to celebrate with us.
During the 6 months leading up to the wedding, I had a facial treatment monthly. I made use of a standing sunbed to get my skin color perfect and I exercised 5 times a week. I set myself a goal in terms of bodyweight and size and I achieved this with hard work and dedication. I had some massage treatments when necessary and booked enough time at my favourite beauty spa for a manicure, pedicure and all the other necessary treatments the day before the wedding.
I took care to have my hair treated and coloured well in advance too.
We were very fortunate to have our reception at our own guest farm and wedding venue, El Lions. The lawns are lushes and green and a lovely white Marquee tent graced the main lawn. The marquee was draped beautifully in white with mint green and silver ribbon. We hired beautiful silver table cloths and silver tiffany chairs from
Styled Functions. Our tables were elegant and stylish, following the same theme we set for our entire day. Crystal flowerstands and silver baroque underplates were used to create focal points on the tables. I selected white flowers for the tables - incorporating all my favourites - St Joseph Lilies, White Roses and Phyleanopsis Orchids.
Styled Functions is a Cape Town based hiring company that offers a wide range of products for hiring such as: Tiffany chairs, Wimbledon chairs, tables, decor, glassware, tablew...
Mario chose a unique double breasted charcoal and grey waistcoat which he had made by a tailor together with tailored pants. He ordered ties from the USA and he made sterling silver tie pins by hand as gifts for his groomsmen. The groomsmen wore white shirt, charcoal pants with their imported silk ties and tie pins.
I had 4 bridesmaids . They all felt that they wanted to compliment the stylish elegant look we created for the wedding day. Each bridesmaid received a silver, satin handmade dressing gown which my mother made for them and which they wore as we all spent time getting ready together. My best friend and matron of honour designed beautiful , feminine "flowy" dresses after the ladies all shared some ideas on a pinterest board. It proved quite a task to find the right shade of grey fabric, chiffon and lace to make the dresses and I am really grateful that by bestie took 2 weeks out of her busy schedule to find the fabric and to make the dresses. She also had special chokers made for the ladies to wear on the day. Their nude shoes and pearl earring compliments their natural make up and beach curls - they looked beautiful !
We chose the pastor from our church, Pastor Rob Lucas as our marriage officer.
We obtained a number of quotes from photographers after spending a lot of time doing research in this area. We opted of a very generous package offered by the team from Shooting from the Heart - Mandi Ireland and Kim van Zyl. Mandi and Kim took time to meet with us well ahead of the wedding to discuss our expectations and requirements. Kim and Mandi also took time beforehand to visit the venues to ensure that they were familiar with the photo opportunities it presented.
A friend of ours, Dirk du Plooy offered to capture our special memories on video. It was wonderful to see how the photographers and videographer teamed up on the day. They were "invisible" for most of the time and most importantly, they made us laugh, we had fun and truly enjoyed being photographed on our wedding day.
We had the privilege of working with a close friend of both bride and groom. Karen Dreyer from Blessed Events is a season wedding planner & co-ordinator and we loved working with her. Her years of experience in the industry was invaluable and it was re-assuring to have her alongside of us every step of the way and especially on our Wedding Day.
We hired a beautiful new Silver Mercedes C Class vehicle - it fitted with the elegant and stylish wedding look we wanted to create. My brother was our chauffeur for the day.
We asked my mother in love (not in law) to bake our wedding cake. She did a sterling job with a beautiful 3 tier wedding cake, covered in white chocolate ganache and expertly stencilled in silver.
A school friend of mine who does catering for weddings did a marvellous job with preparing wonderfully delicious canapés and lunch for our guests - everyone loved the food. We had a barista who served the most delicious coffee with the wedding cake.
We decided to make use of online wedding invitations and we used paperlesspost.com for our Save the Date cards, Wedding Invitations as well as Thank you Cards. A very talented friend of ours from Melkbos Decor Rental and Party Supplies recently started a business that we chose to support. She printed our stationary for the reception venue and she assisted with draping the Marquee Tent - a stunning job
Our wedding was a lunch affair so we opted for a live brass band. Major7SA came highly recommended through a work colleague who has many years experience and involvement with running the Cape Town Jazz Festival. Major7SA band consist of UCT Music Students. They are a delightful group of talented young musicians and the guests thoroughly enjoyed their music - we selected Big Band and Swing Music primarily and it was most romantic to hear Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong tunes float across the lushes lawns - it inspired people to dance and celebrate with us!
Western Cape Couture designer Rene Heydon believes that every bride deserves her very own bespoke handcrafted wedding gown on her wedding day
Anella has put together a collection of the most gorgeous bridal shoes. We will help you find YOUR perfect wedding shoes to complete your journey to feeling like a Princess!
Styled Functions is a Cape Town based hiring company that offers a wide range of products for hiring such as: Tiffany chairs, Wimbledon chairs, tables, decor, glassware, tablew...
