What a wonderful day... Woken up with tea in bed by my best friends and dearest sister in law. I enjoyed the calmness that came over me as we lounged on the bed and chatted and laughed and just prepared ourselves for the day. This was followed by a delicious mommy-made smoothie. My mom packed in the blender just to fix me up something filling, and I must say what a sweet start to my day. By midday the clouds burst open and heavy rains started to fall down, the thunder rumbled and the lighting was so scary but yet so captivating. In all honesty it is my favorite weather, BUT not ideal for my dream outdoor wedding though! But it is incredible that everything works out as it is supposed to. Our wedding inside of the chapel was in reality more intimate and beautiful, even more than I could have imagined. The steam was rising from the ground and the raindrops falling from the leaves. The sky was the most beautiful blue and grey with bursts of sunshine here and there. Breathtaking. Throughout our sweetheart shoot I remember that the whole time I was just thinking - I’m the luckiest girl in the world. This is the picture-perfect day. At the reception we had such a party! I loved our 1st dance. We had been training for a few months and I can honestly say that it was so much fun... It was the kind of 1st dance that we repeat in our living room every so often. I will never forget all the wishes and blessings from our guests. All the laughter and hugs and tears. I will never forget the way I felt when I walked down the aisle, trying to smile at every face I saw, trying to take a mental picture of all these people I love. The way that my husband held my hand while we listened to the most beautiful sermon. I will never forget these memories...
We went to breathtaking Thailand on Honeymoon. In the days coming up to the wedding, I was even more excited for our honeymoon than for the wedding. We visited Phuket, Phi Phi Islands as well as Krabi. We had so much fun exploring the temples and the jungles, eating new and interesting food, bathing with the elephants and feeding them their medicine. We went snorkeling in and around the picturesque islands and caves and tried to outrun a rainstorm on a speed boat (was quite exciting, but cold...). We voyaged around on the tuk-tuks and our red scooter just taking in the stunning scenery, the fascinating people and the wonderful surroundings. We met such incredible new people and made so many memories. Being able to enjoy this incredible journey as Husband and Wifey was just amazing - BEST HOLIDAY EVER!!
I wanted to go for a plain and simple, vintage bohemian look. I had my dress made by Marguerite le Roux, Bridal Design Studio. I really struggled to find exactly what I was looking for in a dress. I knew what I didn’t want, and Marguerite just absolutely understood me and she made my dream dress. It was an A-line dress with an open back. It had heavy lace detail at the back, but the front was minimalistic and soft. It was flowy and fun. We added a belt to perfect it. I did not want to take off my dress that evening, I am so in love with it...
I knew I wanted to wear my hair in a messy bun, with a wild and crazy flower crown. Dina from Venue Nouveau’s Faded Grace made the perfect flower crown. My make-up was fairly natural with a lovely nude lip. Jeanri from Jeanri Bolleurs Make-Up Artistry made me look gorgeous. She knew exactly what I was looking for and has a remarkable talent.
I wanted to wear flats for the wedding so I let Michelle from Baruch Styles make me a beautiful pair of pumps with soft lace touches. But, when I went to LilyBlue Boutique in Tiger Valley to look for a dress for my mother, I fell in love with these soft pink and floral heels. I just had to have them. They were like Cinderella’s glass slippers – perfect for me.
I wanted to wear rose gold jewelry to match with my engagement and wedding rings. I must have gone to Lovisa more than 15 times, trying to find the perfect bracelets and earrings. I eventually went with a bunch of different arm bracelets and teardrop earrings. I had to add that little bit of sparkle as my wedding dress did not have much bling on.
To round it all off I bought a distressed denim jacket with floral detail on, for in case it got cold - and boy did it get cold! With all the rain and storms, this jacket was a life saver. I also got a sparkly rose gold clutch to store all the important goodies.
We got married at Venue Nouveau at Kammafrans Guesthouse. This beautiful and picturesque venue is nestled deep in the majestic Bronberg Mountains, in Pretoria East. We tried to make a weekend out of the wedding by inviting the guests to stay over the Friday as well as the Saturday evening. Those who were able to help came earlier on the Friday to assist setting up some of the decor and arrange some of the other decor items for the wedding. We then enjoyed a relaxed braai with the family and friends. It was just what we needed to ready ourselves for the exciting upcoming event. There were a couple of guests who also stayed over the night of the wedding, so the party could go on until late. We enjoyed breakfast with some of the guests on Sunday morning before we went off on our Honeymoon.
Leading up to the wedding I told myself that I am just going to try and stay healthy and fit and not stress myself up too much. I enjoyed regular exercises and I ate healthy, balanced meals. I did regular meditation and yoga for stress relief and I went to bed early to ensure that I got in enough sleep. I also maintained my daily beauty regimen, facial scrub, toner and moisturising and every so often I would steam my face and relax with a DIY homemade mask.
Faded Grace was responsible for almost all of my decor and flowers. I wanted to have a vintage, bohemian feel to the wedding decor. I spent months gathering up boxes full of empty Protea Wine as well as other wine and craft beer bottles that were to be used as part of the decor. We also folded over 1000 origami cranes. The flowers for the wedding were mainly wild and crazy bouquets of eucalyptus, wax flowers, nude chrysanthemums and coffee roses. I loved the mixture of these colors together. We would have initially been married outdoor in the mountain, with 1000's of origami cranes hanging out of the trees and the guests sitting on hay bales. Due to the thunderstorms, the wedding ceremony was then taken inside. The guests were seated on mismatched, vintage chairs. Bottles with flowers were arranged down the aisle and even though the storm destroyed most of the origami cranes, Dina from Faded Grace managed to save a few and hung them from the ceiling - it was perfect. The reception hall was breathtaking and had the perfect vintage, French look. The tables were decorated with different sized bird cages, vintage books and bottles with flowers and origami cranes in. Different colored bottles, vases and candle holders were placed all over the tables. Some of the tables had crazy and wild floral centerpieces in homemade boxes. I did not want all the tables to look exactly the same and therefore told the team at Venue Nouveau to go crazy! There was soft lighting and it created the most stunning, romantic atmosphere.
We did not want to go for the formal suit and tie ensemble for the groom and his party. We decided on khaki colored chinos for the groomsmen with white shirts. For the groom we agreed on a stone colored chino and a blue and green shirt from Old Khaki - we wanted it be garments that could be worn again in the future. I had The Groom make a leather bow tie and suspenders for the groom and for the groomsmen leather bow ties and China Mall suspenders that matched with the khaki chinos. The men were all very comfortable and seriously, who doesn’t love a suspender? Matter of fact, these suspenders were used to have some Limbo fun dancing later the evening! BONUS!!
I really struggled to find exactly what I was looking for when it came to the bridesmaids’ dresses. I had a couple ideas, but not a clear picture. I initially decided that I wanted the bridesmaids to wear mismatched dresses in the nude and natural color scheme. I was thinking of nudes like brown and stone and cream and anything that was natural. It was getting closer to the wedding and I was still indecisive. I was unconvinced with all the ideas that my bridesmaids came up with, being a real Queen about it... I was walking through the mall one day and saw these off the shoulder, dusty pink dresses at Foschini. I fell in love INSTANTLY. It was right there that I bought four of them, one for each of my bridesmaids and one for me, as I loved it so much. The dresses were loose fitting, but still sexy and fun. The floral detail matched so well with the bohemian feel that I had in mind. Gone was the boring nude and natural colors I initially had in mind! I paired the dresses with DIY flower crowns and rose gold sprayed eucalyptus bouquets.
Edward and I attended one of our very good friend's wedding a couple of years ago and their pastor delivered the most remarkable sermon we had ever heard. It was Pastor Van Wyk Fischer from NG Silvertonkruin. He combined some humor and laughs into his unforgettable sermon and just drew your attention from beginning to end. When we decided to get married we knew that he had to be the one to marry us. I emailed the church over a year in advance to book our wedding date. We went to Pastor Fischer’s house for a few premarital counselling sessions. He taught us so much about ourselves and each other in these sessions and how to grow stronger together. We were very grateful to have Pastor Fischer marry us and he truly delivered the most amazing sermon. It was only till after our ceremony and the tears were being wiped away and hugs being given that Pastor Fischer told us that his secretary at the church must have forgotten to inform him of the bible verse that we chose for our wedding ceremony. Thus he prepared a whole other reading. When he got to the chapel he saw that we had created a wooden board with the bible verse of Ecclesiastes 4:12. He managed to quickly prepare a whole new sermon. When he told us we could not believe it as his sermon had us in tears and the message was so wonderful. Pastor Fischer truly has a gift with words.
I fell in love with Chantelle Loots's Photography while I was looking for wedding photographers. Chantelle’s work really stands out from the usual wedding photography. She truly captures the special moments in the most unique ways. She is the most fun and energetic photographer that I have ever met. You can’t help falling in love with her personality. She really has a passion for her work. One can see that she loves what she does as she really does go all out to get the picture-perfect photographs. She is frequently hanging from ceilings, climbing tables, lying on the dirt or making her daughter run around throwing baby powder to create the ideal effect. She is an amazing artist.
For our Photobooth I asked a work friend to assist. She is also an amazing photographer. She captured all the fun and laughter of the guests while we off on our sweetheart shoot.
I planned the wedding on my own. I had quite a few help from friends and family, and a lot of help from Pinterest. The venue staff made sure that everything ran smooth on the day of the wedding.
Due to the fact that Venue Nouveau is an all-in-one wedding venue it was not necessary to arrange for wedding transportation. However, Edward was lucky enough to have a friend from work whose family owns a 1940 Ford Woody in mint condition. The car still has its original wood work and leather seats. It had the most beautiful emerald green paintwork and was just perfect for the vintage feel that our wedding had. We were planning on taking some pictures with the car after the ceremony. We prepared ourselves that if it was going to rain that we would not be able to use the car. What a surprise when we were informed that the friend still drove the car to the venue for us and we were able to take some breathtaking pictures in and around the car before it started to rain again.
Our food was prepared and served by the staff of Venue Nouveau at Kammafrans Guesthouse. The food was just delicious. After the ceremony a harvest table was laid out for the guests. The guests could treat themselves to some biltong and dry wors, breads, jams and other spreads, fruits, biscuits and nuts. We had a main meal consisting of chicken pie and lamb stew, which was ideal for the cold and rainy weather! What is a wedding without some yummy pumpkin fritters and caramel sauce? There was potato bake, rice and veggies and some mouthwatering salads. For desert the guests could enjoy some malva pudding and ice cream.
We prepared a sweets table for the guests stacked with all kinds of confections. The guests could fill up their bags with chocolates and toffees and jellies and any candy imaginable. Needless to say – the table was not stacked for long...
Melissa from Lay-Licious baked our wedding cake. It was a 3 tier wedding cake consisting of a Lemon Yogurt, White Chocolate Expresso and a Vanilla Nougat layer. IT WAS TO DIE FOR. Our cake was stunningly decorated in our wedding color scheme and flowers. With our beautiful wedding cake we also received an engraved cake knife with our names and wedding date on - to remember this special day by.
We did all our own printing and stationary. We sent out digital wedding invitations. We printed some #Laidlawbruilof notes and a few notes on which the guests could write us a short message for our marriage. It was quite a laugh reading through these messages. Some quite funny, others very special and tear jerking.
Looking for wedding DJ's I had one important thing in mind - FUN FUN FUN. The wedding reception must be a party! Lezelle truly accomplished that. Lezelle from Modern Jive Dance Club & DJ created the perfect atmosphere for the evening. She played the right tracks and created the ideal mood with her lighting to keep the party going. She did line dancing with the crowd and really read the crowd perfectly. We also went for a few dance lessons with Lezelle. We were so sad when they were over as we got to know Lezelle and her daughter so much, we felt like old friends! She gave us some pointers to Sokkie like professionals and to just enjoy our first dance. We did not want our dance to be too choreographed, as it was supposed to be a relaxed and fun dance. And that was exactly what is was - just fun and laughs and some great memories.
