It is a bit difficult to single out one memorable moment as the whole day was made up of many special moments. The 6th of May 2018 was a BEAUTIFUL, BLESSED, HAPPY Day, and one thing me and my husband did not forget to do was to have FUN. We enjoyed our wedding day, so did our guests!.
My highlight was walking through the chapel doors towards my husband-to-be (still don't know why he didn't cry though) with my QUEENS by my side (my mom & aunt) , while our son played "Here Comes The Bride" on the piano. I was so caught up in the moment and filled with so much joy that I even forgot my "walking down the aisle" step and kept tripping on my wedding dress. OMG the way I cried, thank God non of the ugly crying was caught on camera...LOL
What a memorable moment!
No we have not been on honeymoon as yet.
MAKE UP:
One thing I was sure of when planning my wedding look was to keep it simple, elegant, classy and ME, no transformation vibes here please. I am not a make up person at all, it took lots of convincing to actually put on make up on the wedding day, my bridesmaids can attest to this.
I did not want something heavy on the eye, I just wanted to enhance my natural beauty.
Thank God we found a very good make up artist who brought my vision to life. She made me look like a dream!
Make up artist: Lungile Thabethe (@LungileThabetheBeauty on Instagram)
HAIR:
I have an afro and love it, so I knew that whatever hairstyle I will do will be around my natural hair. God sent me Tlholo of Mabu Tribe. She did magic to my afro, using a bit of extensions for volume. I bought my hair accessory at Lovisa.
Hairstylist: Mabu Tribe (@mabu_tribe on Instagram)
WEDDING DRESSES:
I decided on 2 dresses (ceremony dress & reception dress), and wanted to feel and look beautiful in both of them... I mean you only get married once right, so make the most of it!
The search for the dresses was not an easy one, but after a couple of dress fittings, I finally found them at one shop, and boy was it a happy day when we found them. I'm sure my sister and bridesmaids were very close to telling me they were DONE with attending dress fittings with me.
For the church ceremony I went for an off-white ballgown look, and for the reception I went for a blush mermaid look. I LOVED both my wedding gowns.
DRESSING ROBES:
This is one of the things I almost didn't get (last minute shopping and wanting quality at the same time). I came across Robe Room South Africa on Facebook, but was skeptical to use them as they were based in Cape Town, and I would have no time to return the robes should I not like them. I decided to take a chance and use them, and they DELIVERED...
My Bride Tribe loved the quality robes we got, the engraving on them was so neat, we just loved the robes!
Dresses and veil: Eurobride Bryanston
Dressing gowns: Robe Room South Africa
SHOES:
I had 2 pairs of shoes complementing each wedding gown.
Shoe 1: Dune of London (for the chapel dress)
Shoe 2: Aldo (for the reception dress)
Jewellery: White pearl stud earrings (for the chapel dress) and chandelier earrings (for the reception dress) both from Lovisa.
Perfume: Gucci Guilty
We got married at one of the most beautiful wedding venues in Muldersdrift.
Not only is it beautiful, it has the most friendly and professional staff.
Oh and their food was amazing... from the canapes to the main reception buffet.
Venue: The Moon and Sixpence
We used a service provider recommended by the venue as we thought it's best, as they know the venue very well, and her profile looked beautiful.
We met with Monette, the owner of the decor company to discuss what we wanted for the day, and I must say she was very patient with us. The confusion you get with these small but important details of your wedding is beyond imagination I tell you. I thought I had it all under control until she started explaining flowers in- and-out-of-season, colours, scents, etc...At some point these details got me thinking if it was even worth having flowers at the wedding. I mean there'll be food...that should be enough right?
The brief we gave her was clean, classy and romantic, and oh my, she did the things... She went over and above what we asked for!
Flowers and decor:
Exquisite Flowers & Décor Hiring
Unlike me, my husband knew exactly what he wanted for himself and his groomsmen. He opted for a different color suit (navy) from the groomsmen (grey), so he stands out. He wanted our son, who was the ring bearer, to be dressed exactly like him, so he also wore a navy suit. Luckily he found a place he could get all their suits from, and was very happy with everything.
Groom & Groomsmen suits: SmartGuy Centurion
I decided on the colour for the bridesmaids dresses, and they handled the rest. I was a very chilled & lenient bride I must say :-)... They got their dresses custom made by the same designer, bought their shoes from different places and looked stunning!!
Their hair and make up was done by the same service providers as mine. We all agreed to keep the hairstyles "All Natural", and the make up as natural as possible.
Dresses: Khathu (@k_macdesings on Instagram)
Hair: Mabu Tribe
Makeup: Lungile Thabethe (@LungileThabetheBeauty on Instagram)
We were so happy to be married by someone who knew us. Not only was he our marriage officer but he is also a family friend. He gave us such a beautiful ceremony, with a word that is still in our hearts to this day. His sense of humour also had our guests laughing and added so much fun to the day. We thank God for him!
Marriage Officer: Fr Ncedo Siwundla (St John Vianney Roman Catholic Church)
Now THIS was one of the non-negotiables for the day, and we had to get THE BEST in the market, even if it meant us bringing them in from the Eastern Cape . Like they say, "Captured moments are a gift that keeps on giving", we will be enjoying these beautifully captured moments for years to come.
After a long search for a photographer and videographer, we came across sa couple who captures moments so beautifully, and knew they had to capture our wedding moments.
Paula the photographer did a FANTASTIC job. She captured every moment as it happened, and used the autumn colours from the leaves perfectly as our "backdrop"...Oh and the lighting throughout was also amazing...Her soft, natural, not exaggerated style of photography really captured the essence of what we hoped our wedding to be.
Kevin the videographer...WOW, what a talent...He carefully captured our wedding audio images, in high definition with great sound and music. His style of cinematography is just WOW!
My sister owns a photobooth, and she offered this to us for the wedding day. We really appreciated this kind gesture as this also kept our guests occupied whilst we went for our almost-3-hour photoshoot :-)...
Photographer: Paula Adams Photography
Videographer: Big Day Symphony Wedding Films
We did not have a wedding planner, we planned our wedding, with the help of a wedding coordinator from the venue who was very helpful. The Wedding Party slept at the venue the night before the wedding, and she took very good care of us. From making sure we were up early, well-fed, not stressed and kept us updated regarding the wedding day timeline.
Wedding coordinator: Talitha from The Moon and Sixpence
We met our cake baker when we went to a local food market about 3 years ago. We bought one of the cakes she was selling at the market and that's when we knew that she will be baking our wedding cake.
She has magic baking hands!
We opted for a naked 4 tier cake just so we get more cake flavor than cake icing. The cake was so yummy it got finished.
The venue prepared the most delicious food served at the canapes area and a buffet at the main reception.
What we loved about them was that they were willing and open to a few changes on their menu. My husband was particularly happy that they agreed to add braaied meat to the buffet menu...He LOVES his braai-vleis!
Cake: Aux Petit Four
Food: The Moon and Sixpence
We used the same provider who did our flowers and decor for the stationery.
One of the most beautiful things we asked her to do was the mirror "Welcome" signs we had written in kiSwahili, so as to acknowledge my husband's East African roots.
Our guest book, thank you gifts, and groomsmen gift boxes were done by a different provider (http://www.sayitcreative.co.za/).
The wedding party entrance dance was DOPE (as my son puts it). Each couple (from the flower girl and page boy to us), chose their own entrance song and dance.
Now this was the part of the wedding hubby was more stressed about (two left feet vibes), but I told him a wedding is no wedding without "iStep Somtshato", so he was ready for it...and guess what, I did not get stepped on...We killed it!
Our DJ made sure our guests were well entertained by playing the best music in the chapel, canapes area and the reception.
Sound and lighting: DJ Kings
