Where do I start! This was literally the best day of my life! My first memory and definitely a highlight was when my dad first saw me in my dress. I had all my girls and mom standing around me while they took turns to sew my dress zip that had split on the day (I know, another highlight we won't get into now LOL!). He walked in, mouthed the word "wow" and turned around to conceal his emotions. I just stood there and cried, unable to go after him. It was such a tender moment between just us which I'll cherish forever.
Walking into our beautiful ceremony was such a magical moment. The sun was peeping through the forest trees and if you looked to the horizon, you could see the ocean! Seeing our guests enjoy the environment, you could definitely feel a good energy all around.
Our speeches! oh my goodness, it was like the Roast of Kurt and Jade! We were in stitches for most of it (when I wasn't crying lol)!
Another highlight was the stolen moments my husband and I had during the day. We promised ourselves that we would not just go through the motions of the day and that we'd take time to pause and take it all in. That was special and I would encourage couples to do this on their special day.
Definitely our first dance! We did a choreographed Bachata to our favourite song, "Turn you lights down low" by Bob Marley and Lauren Hill. We owned that moment in everyway. It's also my favourite part of our wedding video!
Another special moment happened after the wedding. I did a styled boudoir shoot on the day as a surprise for my hubby. His mouth dropped to the floor when he saw the pictures!
We spent time in the beautiful romantic city of Barcelona, soaking up the sun, culture and amazing food. We also did a small trip to Palma De Mallorca, an Island off the coast of Spain. Mallorca is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen!
My dress style was elegant but modern with a touch of chic. I wore a Hanrie Lues (www.hanrielues.com) white lace mermaid style creation with a dusty pink lining. It had a deep-vee back and illusion lace neckline for a little conservative sexiness. We added a soft tulle half skirt attached to a white satin covered belt that still showed off the front portion of the dress. The skirt and dress had a medium sized train which added the drama I was after. I had a long veil attached to a concealed comb. I removed both the skirt and veil for the reception.
My hair and makeup was done by my good friends and professionals, Teri Cole (Instagram profile: teri_cole_beauty) and Kay Marilito (instagram profile: kay_marilitomua respectively. I wore nude pink block heel sandals from Aldo. The only bit of jewellery I wore was drop earrings with rose gold metal (hard to find as most are silver) also bought from Aldo.
We got married at one of the most beautiful venues in SA! The Venue Fontana is situated on the South Coast and combines both sea and forest for a magical ambiance. We had a social the night before at the venue’s local brewery (East Coast Breweries) which gave everyone the space to catch up or meet new family! Our guests booked into B&Bs and hotels around the area.
I didn't do much in this regard (partly because of time and effort lol) except up my intensity and frequency of workout sessions. I wanted a toned body that would make me feel extra confident on the day.
My theme was pulled together through touches of boho-chic, elegance, whimsical and geometry. I love straight lines and geometric shapes so we incorporated this into the backdrop feature for the isle. We used a giant rose gold structure draped with flowers and chiffon. A featured flower was actually a plant called Pampas grass that grows wildly on the side of the road. We later moved this structure to be the backdrop behind the main table in the reception venue. We rented a large maroon Persian rug for the ceremony also at the end of the isle (rug from Tegan from The Wedding Table https://theweddingtable.co.za). I wanted this to add colour to the forest and also to practically protect my dress while I stood there. Our reception venue was incredible! We specifically chose a venue that didn't need much. We had naked tables with rose gold chairs. the tables were decorated with nude coloured chiffon down the middle, with bits of pennygum. We used different pieces on the tables instead of one centrepiece. We had different size vases with roses, orchids and greenery, geometric shapes with candles and proteas, small vases with tealight candles and long grey candles with a range of different candle holders like crystal or rose gold or marble base. The lighting was gorgeous naked bulbs hanging from overhead branches with geometric shapes. Of course we had loads of candles to create the mood. Décor and flowers was done by Stacy from Sparkle Planners, a Pietermaritzburg based business.
The Groom wore a tailored tuxedo which we had made in Thailand the year before the wedding. He wore a satin diamond shaped bowtie on a classic white shirt and boy did he look amazing! After 9 years, I couldn't believe how crazy in love I still was with him! His Groomsmen wore black Hilton Weiner suits, white shirts and forest green bowties. We had all the bowties made by Dakota Baptist, a local designer and dressmaker from Durban, who also made our Bridesmaids' dresses. They also wore their groomsmen gifts, monochrome Happy Socks, for a little fun!
My Bridesmaids wore floral dresses in different styles. One wore a full floral dress, one wore a floral skirt with a nude coloured bodysuit and one wore a floral top with a nude coloured tulle skirt. I didn't want the same style on them and also wanted to give them space for personal expression. I also wanted to break up the floral material for different textures and colours.
Our marriage was officiate by our Church Pastor, Skip Collins from Grace Family Church. It was such an honour and highlight to have him there.
When looking for a photographer, II looked for a specific type of photography that looked crisp and not overly edited. I wanted to see the use of natural light as well as some creativity but not overly staged. I came across a photo on Facebook and tracked down the genius behind it. When I met Roxanne Davison, we instantly clicked. A good relationship with our photographer was important so without hesitation, we secured her.
Our videographer was an old friend, we both went to university with in PMB. We always said that we'd have him film our wedding if we ever got married. His name is Rory Crawford.
I didn't have a planner but I did ask Stacy (from Sparkle Planners) to play that role for me. It definitely took a load off and allowed us to just enjoy the day.
Due to the fact that we had the ceremony and reception both on one location and that we were far from home, wedding transport was not an important element for us. We used the luxury cars of family to take us to and from the forest to the reception.
Our food was prepared and served by Memorable Occasions. Tamara Daniels did the most on the day and was definitely a highlight for all our guests. We are still getting comments about how amazing the food was!
The cake was something special to my husband and I. Our favourite cake is carrot cake. So we spent a few weeks in search of the perfect carrot cake and found it from a coffee shop in Gateway Shopping centre called Cacao Chocolate Bar. It was decorated with naked cream cheese icing and flowers.
We went completely paperless for our wedding. Invitations were done via an app (Appy Couple). We used this app for all information and even had our programme for the wedding ceremony detailed on the app. No paper meant we did our part to save the environment AND saved some money! #winning
We had a wedding singer and guitarist for the ceremony. They also played for our guests while we took photos and they mingled. This definitely created the atmosphere we were after, relaxed and beautiful. We had a DJ for the reception (DJ Wiz from Durban). We did create a unique choreographed dance for our first dance but other than that, we just let the music do the dancing! What a celebration is was! We were never ready at midnight when the venue owner walked in and shut it down!
