In the middle of the winter, on the 11th of August 2018, God gave us the most perfect day to get married on. It was sunny, wind still and gorgeous - to say the least.
Everything about this wedding was a step of faith:
I went overseas for 7 months - only to return 6 weeks before the wedding day. I only got my dress 3 days before the wedding, my flower girl got sick 5 days before the wedding, I didn't know how my hair will look on the day, we didn't have a fancy car to take me to the ceremony etc...
But after a lot of prayer, faith and knowing who God is and what He can do - I knew everything will work out perfectly and that the wedding will be a success... And it was!
My dress was perfect, my hair didn't even take 30 minutes and it was gorgeous and my brother and sister-in-law suprised me and everyone else with a beautiful horse carriage and 2 white horses - it has always been a dream of mine! Everyone loved the horses and it was amazing to see their reactions!
The day was perfect, the rest of the evening was perfect and I wouldn't do anything different on that day...
Two families became one, two people became one, and at the end only one person can get all the glory - Thank you Jesus!!
Edward planned the whole honeymoon on his own and everything was a suprize for me. We went on honeymoon for 1 week and we had a lot of fun.
We went to one of the most beautiful parts of South Africa called the Garden Route - Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, Wilderness, George and Tsitsikamma. The first 3 nights we slept in "Trogon House and Forest Spa" just outside Plettenberg Bay. Just a few meters away from Monkey Land, we could hear the monkeys play, see a lot of bird species and one or two times also saw a monkey just outside our room. The food, the amazing people, stunning bushes setting and the peace and quiet at Trogon House were an amazing experience!
While we were there we drove out to a few wildlife parks, restaurants, etc. We visited the Elephant Park, the Wolf Sanctuary, Jukani, we did the Tsitsikamma zipline experience and a whole lot more.
The second part of the honeymoon Edward took me to the 5-star hotel "Beach Villa Wilderness" in Wilderness. The hotel is situated on the beach with the most amazing view. We had our own little patio and we sat outside, looking at the stunning view for hours. When we arrived we were spoiled with Champagne and strawberries, a lot of wine and off course - the beautiful view!
We had so much fun on our honeymoon and I am so glad we spent time in our own beautiful country!
Wedding look:
We went for the farm, rustic and wooden look. The colours for our wedding was burgundy, green white and brown. I didn't really had a fancy theme, but at the end that was how everything looked like. Rustic, naked tables, Proteas and other wild flowers on the tables, rustic doors and window frames as a part of the extra decor and we got married outside - not in a church.
Hair & Make-up:
My hair were all up and were decorated with a beautiful hair piece. My make-up were very natural, not too dark and too many colours involved. My lipstick was done by myself - I love my usual lipstick, so I used it for my wedding as well. My hair and make-up was done by Karmen Verwey.
Wedding Dress:
I had a dress made for me, because I have a very short upper body and normal dresses don't look very good on me. My dress was Ivory in colour and it had a boat neck with lace sleeves. I felt very comfortable in my dress and it was stunning! My dress was made by Anri Ham.
Shoes:
I had a burgundy colour shoe and it was a perfect match with my bridesmaid's dresses and the wedding colours. The shoes were very comfortable and I kept it on the whole evening. I bought my shoes from Edgars.
Jewellery & Accessories:
I only wore earrings which goes with the pearl effect on my dress. No bracelet, ring or necklace.
We got married at a beautiful venue called Laatson Onthale. It is situated against the mountain just outside of Porterville, Western Cape. There is chalets on the venue, where 80% of our guests slept. The rest of the guest slept in Porterville in guesthouses, hotels or B&B's.
The groomsmen hired their suits and shoes at Suit Hire in Paarl. The groom wore a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. The groomsmen wore the same black suits, white shirts, but they had the burgundy ties. The groom wore black shoes and the groomsmen brown shoes.
My bridesmaids wore long burgundy dresses made out of satin and lace. The had long lace sleeves which were perfect for a winter wedding. Their shoes were also burgundy and both wore the same shoe. One bridesmaid's hair were plain loose and the other one had her's curled. They both looked beautiful and I couldn't imagine anything else. Talitha de Jong from Paarl made their dresses.
The pastor who married us came all the way with his BMW motorcycle and we couldn't ask for a better person to do the job! His name is Christo Pretorius and he is the leading pastor at Every Nation Paarl.
Our photographer "Jané Ulla Photography" is an amazing, friendly and very patient person. She is the perfect person to photograph a wedding, because she has a lot of patience, she makes you feel very pretty and she tells you exactly how to pose for the pictures. She made us feel very calm and at ease on our wedding day.
The videographers "Popped red balloon Productions" were also a great team to work with. They were working backstage, no one knew about them, they didn't tell us how to stand or posed us and that I liked about them. They got footage of what really happened at the wedding and not the posed part of it.
We didn't plan to make use of a fancy car or any type of fancy transprt to the venue. The plan was that my dad picks us up with his SUV and he drops us at the wedding venue - nothing fancy.
BUT when we got closer to the venue I suddenly saw 2 white horses with the most beautiful carriage behind them. We got out of the car, climbed in to the carriage and made a spectacular entrance at the wedding reception.
The horse carriage is now a big part of my photos, memories and it also plays a huge role on the successful day we had on our wedding day!
My brother and his wife planned everything and suprized me with the horses and carriage.
Laatson Onthale made the three-coarse buffet on our wedding.
We didn't have a cake.
My best friend and also one of my bridesmaids helped me with the stationary. She is a graphic designer and she has all these wonderful ideas I couldn't come up with.
We had a DJ - Mike Engelbreght and the people from the venue did their own lighting. We had naked bulbs and fairy lights, so the setting didn't need any extra's!
