The highlight of our wedding day was having all our family and friends together in the same place for the first time since we met. I am from Joburg and my husband is from Durban, so it was just magical bliss to share this special day with all our loved ones from both provinces as well as those from overseas.
Getting ready in the morning with my beautiful bridesmaids was the most special way to start the most memorable day of my life! They all looked so breathtakingly beautiful.
I rode up in a red vintage car with my dad and my mini bridesmaid and overlooked the most spectacular view, my almost-husband standing waiting for me. My dad helped me out of the car and the song "Take my Hand" started to play as I walked down the aisle. We got married outdoors, with the most spectacular view at the top of a cliff, overlooking Shongweni Dam.
Everything was perfectly imperfect. Walking down the aisle, I immediately noticed that the groomsmen did not have their buttonholes on their waistcoats. I later found out that they had been left at the house where the guys got ready, and my groom stole his dad's buttonhole so I wouldn't be upset. Had a few giggles about that! We also forgot about our unity sand for our ceremony, so luckily our pastor happened to have some salt on hand. We both realised we had forgotten the sand once the pastor pulled the salt out.
After the wonderful ceremony, our mothers signed as our witnesses and our guests enjoyed a lovely harvest table of snacks and drinks while we went off for our creative shoot in the sugar cane fields. It was a perfect, windy chilly afternoon and our feet were sore, but we did not care. Everything was perfect.
We got back for our reception and were blown away by the wonderful speeches people had prepared for us. My younger sister, petrified of public speaking said the most beautiful words to honour my late sister who I so desperately wanted to be there. My husband had the most beautiful speech and apologised for not being Zac Efron or Ian Somerhalder, but that he promised to be the best version of himself. He has not let me down.
The guests danced all night long and partied well into the early hours of Sunday morning. People had headaches, bruises and scrapes from the night before, which is proof that a good time was had by all.
Our wedding DJ, Dale Venter, was absolutely incredible. Although he played the complete wrong song for the father-daughter dance (which I was looking forward to for the longest time), he kept the guests entertained for hours and the dance floor was packed all night long. I would love to honour Dale here as he is no longer with us. He passed away in December but we will always cherish the wonderful time we had with him.
Our wedding day was far from what other people would consider perfect. It did not run as smoothly as I would have liked it to, but for us it was the most perfect day of our lives.
Yes, we spent a wonderful week in Mauritius at Rui Creole Resort. It was absolute bliss!
The look I went for on my wedding day was romantic and elegant.
My hair and make-up were done by the very talented Volenti Duke from Nixon Make-Up. I had my hair pinned to the side, with soft curls. My make-up was soft and romantic. I felt so beautiful.
My wedding dress was a full-lace rouge bodice with a sweetheart neckline with one lace shoulder strap. The detail on the lace was just beautiful. The dress had a rounded lace train. It was purchased from Bride and Tuxedo in Fourways, Johannesburg.
I wore red shoes, to match my bridesmaid's red dresses. Shoes were purchased from Foschini.
Jewellery worn was purchased from Bridal and Tuxedo. I wore droopy tear drop pearl earrings and a bracelet. I wore my mom's ring for my 'something old', my garter was my 'something blue' and my hair accessory was my 'something borrowed'.
The ceremony and reception were held at Ollivander's Estate in Shongweni, KZN.
The bridal party and direct family stayed at the venue and other friends and family stayed in accommodation in Shongweni and Hillcrest, nearby.
