Wow, what a perfect day we had. To me, the most memorable moment of our special day, was the moment when the chapel's door opened, and I saw my very emotional husband-to-be waiting for me at end of the aisle. In that moment, I could see no one else except him. And that first kiss... Unforgettable! Our first dance as Mr and Mrs was just as special, it felt like it was just the two of us, dancing to the beautiful song "Take my hand" by Emily Hackett.
The flowers and decor were another BIG highlight, thanks to the very talented Zavion Kotze and his team. They truly captured the essence of the fairytale wedding we wanted. It was magical!
Taking photos after the ceremony were just as special. We laughed so much while taking photos with our bridal party, what fun we had! Summertown Pictures did a fantastic job capturing all these special moments.
What an unforgettable way to start our story as Mr and Mrs!
We were so blessed that we had two amazing honeymoons. (My husband is amazing!!!)
Our first honeymoon was at Port St Johns. We spent a week at Umngazi River Bungalows and Spa. Here we just spent quality time together, celebrating us as newly married couple. We could just unwind and relax after all the excitement of the wedding.
For our second honeymoon we went to Europe. We started off in the city of love, Paris, ventured off to Venice and ended our amazing honeymoon off in Rome. We went sightseeing everyday, tasted different foods, and just made most of every moment we were there.
What an amazing start to our marriage!
There is something so magical about a wedding gown... I went for a very classic and romantic look. I wanted a pure white dress with lots off lace. A perfect reflection of the woman I am!
Dress: My dress was imported.
Hair: I went for a elegant,curled side bun. Done by Kiss the Bride
Make-up: I wanted a very natural look, with a little more emphasis on my eye make-up. Done by Kiss the Bride
Shoes: My wedding shoes were from Queue shoes. Super comfy and stylish!
Lingerie: My lingerie was from Woolworths. My "something blue" was added to it by my granny.
Accessories: My accessories also had to be very classic, complementing my dress and look.
Earrings were from Outrageous
"Something borrowed" was my sister's bracelet from Isabella in Pavilion.
My diamante hair comb was from Lovisa. (A gift from my mom)
To keep me warm during our winter wedding was my white bolero from Woolworths.
We went to look at so many venues... But when we saw this venue, we both looked at each other and we just knew that this was it! We got married in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, at a beautiful venue called "Orchards". It is an elegant and romantic wedding venue, exactly what we wanted.
The Bridal party stayed the night, most of the guest stayed in B&B's which were nearby.
This venue provided a personalized wedding experience, creating memories for years to come.
It was important to me to not only look healthy but to feel healthy as well, so that I could look and feel beautiful from the inside out. I exercised regularly, drank lots of water to keep my skin glowing and healthy. I often had pamper sessions at home, doing things like face mask, hair masks and keeping my brows in shape.
I also went for hair, make-up and nail trials to perfect the look I wanted for our special day.
Hair and make-up: Kiss the Bride
Hair treatments: Linda from Linda Schutte Studio
Nails: Vizage Spa
Zavion Kotze and his team did the flowers, decor and coordination of the wedding day. They did an incredible job! We wanted lots of greenery, shades of white and a touch of blush pink.
We had 4 round hanging arrangements in the reception area and 1 in the chapel (Eucalyptus, white roses, soft pink and white hydrangeas, veronicas, soft pink snap dragons and proteas). We had lots of candles and fairy lights to give us a romantic and intimate setting.
We made use of lots of crystal and natural elements on the tables. Naked light bulbs finished off this romantic and elegant look we wanted. We had banquet tables and white tiffany chairs, which were provided by the venue.
On the main table we had a big floral runner across the table. Behind the main table, we had our initials "L & J" hanging on the wall made by Hout Blessings.
Hout Blessings also made our cake topper, wooden guest names for the tables, sweets table stand, labola box, bunting, brooches, reception and road signs and the photo booth frame.
Hired elements: A few elements were hired in from Labola decor hire in Kloof, such as the clear glass beaded charger plates, crystal menu holders, candy buffet vases, script table numbers, lawn games, glass vases.
Flowers used:
Bridal bouquet: Eucalyptus, white roses, soft pink lisianthus, veronicas.
Confetti: White rose petals mixed with eucalyptus
Button holes: Blushing bride
My husband looked dashing in his dark navy suit, hired from Suit Yourself. His white button-up shirt was bought from Woolworths.
We imported his blush pink tie from Canada, after looking almost EVERYWHERE for the perfect colour.
His brown leather belt was from Markhams.
He wore brown leather shoes with Happy Socks to add a fun element!
The tie-bar was a gift from his groomsmen.
The brown leather watch bought from Woolworths finished the look.
The groomsmen wore dark navy suits, hired from Suit Yourself. Their white button-up shirts were bought from Woolworths.
Their navy blue ties were bought from Woolworths. They had the same belt as the groom, bought from Markhams.
They also wore brown leather shoes with Happy Socks.
The groomsmen also wore the same brown leather watches, which was a gift from the groom. He had their watched specially engraved with their names to make it special.
My husband and I were wedding shopping at Gateway Mall. While walking past YDE something caught our eye. We looked at each other in excitement and walked towards the exact same dress for our two beautiful bridesmaids.
It was the perfect blush pink colour we had in mind and we bought them right away!
Luckily they fit the bridesmaids beautifully. The only alteration we made to the dresses was to have the skirts detachable so they could dance the night away! Thanks to our excellent dressmaker, Jinx.
Their blush pink shoes, which we searched EVERYWHERE to find the perfect pair was bought from Queue.
Accesories: Earrings - Forever New
Bracelets - Isabella
Diamante hair clip - Lovisa (This was a gift from my mom)
We had two little flower girls, from either side of the family and something special was that they have the same name.
They wore long white, lace and tulle dresses with a blush pink satin ribbon belt. We also imported these dresses, which arrived two days before the wedding...!!
We decided to ask our pastor from our church, Pastor Trevor Downham to officiate the ceremony.
He gave us a very beautiful message from the heart. We got to know each other better during our marriage counselling sessions and he really made us feel special
Pastor Trevor is a very kind-hearted and generous person, with a very calm manner. He drove a very long way, to make our special day perfect.
We were truly blessed to have him officiate our marriage and we can highly recommend him.
We made use of a photographer and videographer to make sure we captured ALL the special moments of our wedding day. We felt that it was very important to have photos and videos done, as it is the only memories you have left of your special day.
The very talented Katie Wisdom and her husband, David from Summertown Pictures, captured all our special moments on camera. They were so much fun to work with and made us feel at ease. They made sure to capture every little detail of the day. Even our Yorkie, Coco featured in the photos and video.
Graeme from Wedding Frames Film Company did an excellent job capturing our entire wedding day on video. He was also so much fun to work with and our video looks absolutely stunning.
We wanted something different for our Photo Booth and decided to make use of an Instax camera.
Guests had so much fun taking photos with our props.
We also provided a beautiful guest book, ordered from Must Love Party, where the pictures got paste in togehter with a message.
We created our own photobooth in the reception using two wooden pallets, made by Shabby Shed, as our backdrop.
We decorated it with eucalyptus and fairy lights.
My husband and I loved planning the wedding to the very last detail. As we are both perfectionists and organised we wanted to be involved in the planning ourselves to make sure everything was as we always dreamed of.
I completed a Wedding & Events Planning Course after school and this was the perfect opportunity to implement my skills. We loved being very hands-on in the whole planning process. We spent lots of time making some of the wedding elements ourselves.
Although we planned the wedding ourselves, we wanted to spend as much time with our family and friends on the day without any worries. Therefore we decided on the very talented Zavion Kotze and his dream team to do the coordination on they day as well as the beautiful reception decor & flowers and the hanging arrangement in the chapel. They make an amazing team and they were very professional.
We were very lucky that our wedding venue had our accommodation, chapel, canape area and reception within walking distance of each other. Therefore we did not need wedding transport.
We had a shortlist of service providers close to the venue to do the catering.
Our first tasting was with Laura Cole, from Chefs n Thyme in the Midlands. We compiled a menu for the tasting and after sampling her delicious food, there was no need to look further as we were sold on her as our caterer for the day.
Her food is not only delicious, but presented superbly.
Her canape spread was marvelous and presented creatively with wooden crates, boards and different heights. We had waitrons taking canapes around to guests on trays.
Our Gin Bar was a real hit with our guests.
We felt very strongly that we did not want a buffet and have people queuing for food. Therefore we had a plated starter and main. For dessert we had a dessert station where guests could help themselves to a selection of yummy puds, jars filled with sweets as well as wedding cake.
Well done Laura and your team!
Our Naked Rustic Wedding Cake was made by a family friend, Lana Kruger from Lana Layne's Cakes and Bakes.
We had a delicious three tier cake. Every layer consisted of a different flavour cake, bottom being carrot (My husband and my choice), the middle vanilla (My choice) and topped it off with chocolate (My husbands choice). She decorated the cake beautifully with our wedding flowers choice.
The cake was spectacular, well done Lana!
My husband and I decided that this was something we could master ourselves. We made use of an online app to design our stationary and printed it at our local Postnet.
This was so much fun to be able to create what we wanted.
We had a perspex welcome sign and seating chart, made by Screens & Signs. We had stickers made for some of the decor items, Gin Jars and tissues. This was made by Celia Comins.
We had a live acoustic band, "Catlike Thieves", entertaining our guests while our wedding and group photos were taken, which created a nice and relaxed atmosphere.
Before entering the reception hall, Zavion had a big reveal for me and my husband to view the reception venue for the first time. It looked absolutely magical with the naked light bulbs and candles that were lit.
We had a DJ from, "Sound Mechanix", who did an excellent job and kept the party going with sound and lighting.
We opted not to take dance lessons, as we wanted our first dance to be natural and special. We did not want our dance to look or feel rehearsed. We chose The Wedding Song, "Take my hand" by Emily Hackett as our first dance song.
When all our guests were seated, the bridal party entered with, "Deep of the Night - by Goldfish" after which my husband and I made our grand entrance as MR & MRS.
Something unique and special at our wedding was that both his and my parents had the exact same song, "Love is a beautiful song - Dave Mills" as their first dance song at their wedding! We decided to have a surprise parents dance for them to dance on their first dance song again at our wedding. The rest of the bridal party also had a surprise for them where we joined in half-way with the Harlem Shake with ALL sorts of funny props.. Everybody had a GOOD laugh!!
It was the most PERFECT day from start to finish....xxx
