William and I met three years ago while I was doing an 18 month work stint in the UK. It was winter, cold and grey. I missed my family and friends bitterly. Meeting William added so much warmth and colour to my life. He was offered a job promotion in California, USA. I urged him to go, knowing his love for adventure and not wanting to hold him back. I was devastated at the thought of loosing him forever. I was miserable after he left and decided to return back home to South Africa. We were able to maintain our love and connection even when separated for more than a year on opposite sides of the globe with a ten hour time difference between us. I visited him in the USA and he proposed to me at the most beautiful spot on earth, Yosemite National Park. It was the best moment of my life. It was absolutely gut retching having to say goodbye to him and travel the 33 hours back home knowing I would only see him again in six months time when we planned to have our wedding on the sands of a Californian beach.
Six months later and after barely two days of reconnecting we were to be married. I was so nervous and scared and unsure. The night before the wedding I told my fiance that we needed to practice the timing of my entrance song and my walk across the sands to his side. It was sunset and the beach was abandoned. I was holding the boom box and was positioned around the corner from where he was standing where we were concealed from each other by large dunes. The beautiful evocative lyrics of Ten Thousand Years by Christina Perri played out as I walked closer and closer to the man I was going to marry the next day. When I caught the first glimpse of him standing there all alone waiting for me the lyrics of the song so aptly played exactly how I felt when they said 'How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone, All of my doubt, suddenly goes away somehow.' We were both overcome with emotion and we were both crying, running to each other. I never felt so sure of anything in my life, I felt such love for you.
William planned every detail of our Honeymoon. It was so much fun. I took my dress and he took his suit and we took photographs to add to our wedding album at all the beautiful spots we went to - Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, the Flower Fields in San Diego and Las Vegas. We were hooted at and congratulated all the way.
William planned every detail of our Honeymoon. It was so much fun. I took my dress and he took his suit and we took photographs to add to our wedding album at all the beautiful spots we went to - Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, the Flower Fields in San Diego and Las Vegas. We were hooted at and congratulated all the way.
I got my dress at a 75 percent off sale at Bride and Co. It was perfect and the first dress I tried on. I wanted a fitted A-line dress and accentuated my figure. I went for my first ever spray tan (you have to if you having a Californian wedding!).
We got married on the Californian beach Oxnard, which is my husband's backyard beach. We had initially planned to have an elopement wedding in Las Vegas but then our families (his in the UK and mine in South Africa) decided it was an event they could not miss. My mother and sister traveled all the way from South Africa and his dad, brother, sister-in-law, nieces and best mate traveled from the UK. It was incredibly special to have them travel all that way for us.
My wonderful husband organized everything. We did it all very cheaply and simply. He came up with the brilliant idea of lining the aisle with tiki torches and filling them up with my favorite flower, Sweet William. We hired benches and a white aisle carper runner. His creative neighbor made us a beautiful arch out of bamboo and Stralitzier flowers
William looked so handsome in a Calvin Klein suit that fitted his slim frame beautifully. A couple of days before we found him a dashing waist coat at a thrift store. William knows my favorite colour is red so he chose red ties.
Our flower girls were his adorable nieces and they wore matching floral dresses.
