I always wanted a fairy-tale wedding and despite the weather turning into the coldest and wettest days of the year, I wouldn't change anything about my special day, which had so many memorable moments. Here are some of them below.
HEAVY RAIN
It's every couple's nightmare to have cold, wet weather on their wedding day and by looking at the sunny skies we had on the eve of our wedding, we didn't want to believe the reports that we were going to have a rainy wedding day.
Looking back at it now, I wouldn't have had it any different - the rain brought everyone closer, our wedding felt so much more intimate and everyone had an amazing time despite the miserable, wet weather outside. It was truly showers of blessings.
MOTHER OF THE BRIDE LOST HER WEDDING SHOES
She actually never lost them, they were hidden under a plethora of boxes in the boot of my dad's car. However, with the usual wedding rush, there wasn't any time to look for them and my mom had to wear her 'Mother of the Bride' morning slippers during our photoshoot and in the church!
We eventually arranged that some guests who were on their way to the wedding stop and buy her a brand new pair of heels.
READING MY WEDDING DAY LETTER
My husband and I decided to write each other letters, which could only be read once we woke up on the morning of our wedding. His words were so sweet and was the perfect start to our special day.
WEDDING VOWS
It's the moment I was looking forward to for quite some time - and one I'll never forget, as my husband and I stared into each others eyes and declared our love for one another.
OUR FIRST DANCE
We decided a week before getting married that we should go for wedding dance classes, because both my husband and I aren't the dancing type as I should say. We danced to a shortened version of Ed Sheeran's 'Perfect' and after 5 lessons, we managed to nail down the entire routine.
When the time came to eventually dance, we started off quite well, remembering our steps, until my husband lost his way and decided to do his own thing. Luckily, I managed to keep up and I don't think anyone else noticed the error, until someone else reads this.
Just before our wedding, we bought our very first house, so we weren't able to go on an exotic honeymoon (for now). We decided to plan a small getaway to the West Coast town of Paternoster, which resembles the Greek town of Santorini with its white-washed homesteads.
We spent 3 relaxing days in Paternoster, recovering from the hustle and bustle of the wedding before we made our way to Elgin, where we spent another three days. We managed to go on the Cape Canopy Tour through the towering Hottentots Holland mountain range and spent some time enjoying the local dishes at the Elgin Railway Market, a must-see for anyone planning on staying in this beautiful part of the Western Cape.
My wedding look was vintage.
My hair and make-up done by Monique Du Toit from Monique Makeup Artistry - I went for a half up and half down wedding style to compliment my dress and make up.
For my make-up, I tried to go as natural as possible since I don't usually wear any and my husband kindly requested that he can still recognise me when I came down the aisle.
After several wedding dress fittings at various bridal boutiques, I couldn't find the dress I imagined myself walking down the aisle in. My fairytale dress became a reality when my mom designed and made my beautiful vintage, mermaid styled wedding gown, which made me feel like a princess.
The shoes I finally ended up wearing was a pair of pointy court shoes bought at Shoe HQ in Observatory. To add a more personal touch to it, my mom made a bow and glued them to my shoes.
Earrings, necklace and flower head band was bought at Lovisa in Canal Walk. The earrings were glitzy, because my make up was more natural. The necklace was very dainty because my wedding dress had lots of detail. I wore the flower head band to match the floral theme of our wedding. The veil and garter were designed and made by my mom.
We got married at Vondeling Wine Estate in Paarl. It's such a beautiful, cosy wedding venue, boasting one of the most stunning chapels in the Cape Winelands.
Our wedding party stayed before and after the wedding at Oude Denneboom situated about 5km from our wedding venue. This quiet farm accommodation has stunning chalets, perfect for wedding photos and there is even game such as wildebeest, springbok and eland in a separate area on the farm.
The groom and groomsmen all wore navy two-piece suits hired at Eurosuit in Canal Walk, with accessories purchased at Markham. Their shoes were purchased at Woolworths.
The groom wore a champagne-coloured tie, whilst the groomsmen wore floral ties, matching the dresses worn by the bridesmaids. All the ties were made by my mother.
The super-friendly and fun Truné Todd of Truné Todd Photography captured the photographs of our special day. She also used the services of a second photographer, Hannelize Gravel of Gravel Road Photography.
My husband and I planned the entire wedding by ourselves, but used the on-the-day wedding coordination services of Marilise Summers of Polkadot Weddings & Design to make sure that our wedding ran seamlessly.
We never used any wedding transport.
All the food for our pre-drinks to our wedding reception was made by Exclusivo Catering.
Our wedding cake and favours was made by the Sugar Studio. It was a 3-tier, floral design white chocolate wedding cake, which included the exact same floral pattern which was used on our wedding invites. The cake was adorned with edible flowers as well as a personalized golden cake topper.
The wedding favours were navy and white heart-shaped biscuits, which had our initials iced on them.
My husband and I designed and printed our stationery at CopyExpress in Blue Route Mall, Tokai.
Our wedding reception was so much fun! So fun that we didn't want to leave for our honeymoon!
Our reception was hosted by Lance Kenned of Mister MC - who made sure that our guests were entertained throughout the evening, despite the cold, rainy weather outside.
Our sound was managed by a DJ sent by the Party Technician, the music was so good that my husband's uncle decided to grab a mic and serenade us!
Our wedding dance was choreographed by Brandon at Enerchi Dance Studio in Claremont - he provided us with a showstopper of a wedding dance routine, which from the cheers we got on the night sounded like an absolute winner!
