There are so many highlights that its really really tough to single them out one by one.
One of the definite highlights was making a grand entrance to the ceremony with a helicopter flight and seeing all the guests from above!
Collectively it was such highlight to have such an amazing team of vendors that all contributed over and above their part - if I could redo anything, I'd have it pan out exactly the same.
I'm a Wedding Photographer, so there wasn't much time to go on honeymoon as the weekend after our wedding I had so many beautiful brides to photograph.
We managed to decide on a date within a very crazy busy but blessed wedding season to go on honeymoon to Mozambique at the end of February - excited!
My wedding dress was custom made by Besters Bridal Studios in Knysna, Western Cape by Venessa van der Velde. She's an absolute genius that brought this beautiful 3D-flower dress to life. The sheer lace bodice was covered strategically by 3D lace flowers and complimented by a few layers of tulle on the skirt of the dress. The 3D flowers "vined" down the dress and it was just perfect.
I'm a big fan of dramatic eyes, and we opted for a brown-gold eye with metallic shimmers, beautifully crafted by Donique Leonard from Flawless Professional Makeup by Donique. We also went for a barely-there lip, to ensure that the attention stays all at the eyes.
I opted for a messy undone curl hairstyle, which complimented the overall look beautifully, styled by not only an incredible hairstylist but also a dear friend of mine, Nanette Kotzé from Illa Salon, in George, Western Cape.
I went for absolute comfort and bought the Nude block heel found at Cotton On nationwide.
My earrings were a pair beautiful pearshaped pink Swarovski crystals which can be found at Lovisa, this matched my new wedding ring which is a Morganite stone set in Rose Gold complimented by smaller diamonds.
My husband gifted me with a beautiful Pandora bracelet and two charms for our wedding day, which I also wore.
An absolute must-have for me was the new Elie Saab "In White"-perfume, a classic floral scent which lasted the whole day and night!
We decided that the perfect venue for us would be Oppie Plaas, and we were so lucky to have booked the venue at an incredible Black Friday special in November 2017. We based our wedding date on the seasonal changes of the Garden Route as October is normally a great month, and the view was just perfect.
We were lucky to have had no stress about the recent fires in the Garden Route as the area of our venue was untouched by the fires and we were still lucky enough to have a great sunny day (even if it was 40+ degrees Celcius).
Situated conveniently in Waboomskraal in the Garden Route, Oppieplaas is a serene venue only 20 minutes from George, and 35 minutes from Oudtshoorn.
Leading up to the wedding I took up Pilates, approximately 6 weeks before the wedding, trained by the previous SA Weddings winner Monique Moolman. She's phenomenal and pushed me beyond limits and I'm so glad I stuck to regular exercising. It was the perfect fitness regime to ensure that the dress I had made fitted me like a glove. I upped my water intake, and it flushed out everything which helped to have a clear skin on my wedding day.
One tip that I received and stuck to was: Don't change your regime or use any products just before the wedding, as you never know how your skin might react to it. Water Water Water, and less carbon drinks (which was really hard for me).
There was only one option when it came to flowers in my mind and I'm so glad that I got the chance to meet DP from EcoZest in 2017 whilst shooting an elopement in Knynsa, and my heart is even happier when I was fortunate enough to book Ecozest to style my wedding decor and create floral arrangements.
DP executed the exact idea I had in mind, by creating a minimalist look on the wedding tables - he styled the tables with grey linen tablecloths, black matte plates complimented by gold cutlery. Each set of plates was rounded off with a navy napkin and each guest received a beautiful menu designed by Fleur Design Studio.
DP created simplistic, but oh so elegantly curated flower arrangements for each table as well as the main bridal table, rounded off with white pillar candles in golden frames.
Through our venue we rented beautiful naked bulbs which hanged over each row of tables to create an incredible ambient feeling during reception.
We also had a beautiful Manhattan couch we rented through Oppie Plaas Venue which we used for laid back portraits with friends and family - a la Friends-vibes!
I bought my husband's entire attire from Woolworths; pants, jacket, shirt, belt and shoes.
Woolworths has a great variety available and really does cater for the men which are more "buff" - we easily found pants which fit as well as jacket which complimented his physique but left him comfortable during the day.
He wore a dark leather brown belt and brown leather shoes with his dark navy blue suit.
We didn't have a bridal party, but our little one got dressed with his dad and his shirt and leather shoes were also bought from Woolworths as he specifically wanted to look like his dad on the day.
I gifted Nico, my husband, with a Fossil watch - he had his eye on this watch since forever, which can be found at any major jewelry retailer .
Our officiant was Deon van Zyl and he was great and so real.
His blessing was so fitting and he just spoke directly to the guests, which very few officiants do - and that really struck a chord with some of the guests.
My photographer was one of the very first three service providers I booked when we decided to get married.
I had the 20th & 27th of October 2018 in mind and asked the venue, Makeup Artist and Photographer which dates are available and I tied down all three the very same day.
Ruan was my very first option and I was elated when I heard he was available!
There simply is no comprising when it comes to your wedding photos, and Ruan is just in an absolute league of his own - nothing else compares!
Eon Media was the first option videographer as well and it was all just meant to be when I could tie them down as well to join creative forces with Ruan Redelinghuys.
We recently received our Wedding Video for social media and it was INCREDIBLE - I'd definitely recommend having a videographer to relive your incredible wedding day in less than 5-10 minutes. It really does put a smile to your face.
We didn't have a wedding planner, but Oppie Plaas' in-house Wedding Planner was of such great help when we needed more information, help and advice as she's an absolute rockstar in the industry!
As I photograph weddings, I had an idea of more or less what was needed and I booked the major service providers before focusing on the smaller things and I'll easily do it all over again!
Situated conveniently in Waboomskraal in the Garden Route, Oppieplaas is a serene venue only 20 minutes from George, and 35 minutes from Oudtshoorn.
As a wedding gift from my new sister-in-law, she arranged that I be flown from the George airport via Helicopter to the venue, Oppie Plaas.
This was an absolute suprise to our guests, as the flight was completely weather dependent and with the fires in the Garden Route, we were unsure if we'd have any clearance to fly.
Savannah Helicopters made this such a memorable event and the entrance was grand - I cannot wait for the video footage our Videographer captured!
Oppie Plaas offers in-house catering which was great as we didn't need to source any caterers and the food was incredible!
Our guests kept complimenting us on how great the canapés and mains were a few days after the wedding!
Milandre Braaff from Mila Cakes created a beautiful black cake with swatches of gold, topped with black and gold macaroons and two roses (spray painted gold and black for that extra touch).
She also made the Cake Popsicles we treated our guest to as a thank you gift - which was devine!
I first saw the incredible work of Melané from Fleur Design Studios when I attended a wedding workshop in 2017 hosted by an incredible photographer in Cape Town, and I just knew that I had to contact her.
Melané was an absolute rockstar, designing stationary which was out of this world - and we did it all on email!
We opted for digital save the dates & formal invites and printed a set for the photographer to photograph on the day of the wedding. She also designed our gorgeous Menu, Welcome sign as well as Seating chart. It was just incredible to see how seamlessly the designs fitted our decor, without the two creatives ever meeting each other!
She's simply amazing and I'll recommend her to any bride!
We took dance lessons from a great local company in George, Absolute Dance. Our instructor, Lizette, was incredible and learned us to two-step in three lessons. It was such a great feeling when we got a photo from our first dance to send to her to show her that it was all worth it - we'll definitely be going back after all has settled to jive some more!
Disco & Sound was our DJ for the evening and also attended to the music for the ceremony, signing of register, confetti and Predrinks.
Situated conveniently in Waboomskraal in the Garden Route, Oppieplaas is a serene venue only 20 minutes from George, and 35 minutes from Oudtshoorn.
