I have three addictions in life: dancing, coffee and kissing. Needless to say, on the 22 of September 2018, the most memorable moment of my wedding day, was the opening of the dance floor with my newlywed husband. I have done ballet as a young girl, and on my fairy tale day, I wore ballet shoes. I felt like a true princess in the arms of my own prince. We opened on a song from Blue October, titled "Home". This moment had such a symbolic meaning to me: My husband and I attended the same High School, in our small home town called Piet Retief in Mpumalanga. During our school years, we never dated, but I remembered him as the "King" of our High School's dance floor. My own Fairytale moment.
"Forever seems like a long time, but nothing seems like a long time - when I'm with you. Take my heart, take my hand - again and again - I want to spend my life with you."
My husband arranged the most memorable honeymoon for us. We went to Mauritius to the Northern to a town called Trou Aux Biches. There we stayed in a lodge with the theme "Barefoot Mauritius". In stead of having walkways, the pathways were made of sand. We soaked up the sun and the island atmosphere. The holiday was made of sunset dinners on the beach, snorkeling, fishing out on the sea, playing table tennis, swimming and exotic. I will forever cherish our Honeymoon as a capsule of special memories between just the two of us. I often daydream back to those special moments.
Since every little girl dreams about her wedding day as a fairy tale day, a day to be a princess, I incorporated the theme into my wedding.
SNOW WHITE
Skin - white as snow
Lips - red as wine
Hair - black as ebony.
As a girl, I loved the fairy tale of Snow White. Being a natural brunette and wearing red lipstick often , it was a theme that reflected me in a natural way. I wore a beautiful tiara to complete the princess-look.
My dress was a gift from my father. It was purchased from *Pronovias in Sandton. I absolutely never wanted to take it off whenever I had a fitting. The dress accentuated my back. I loved the mermaid shape and the delicate lace and stone detail. My white orchid bouquet rounded it off perfectly.
My make-up was done by *Chris Williams - a make up artist from *Estée Lauder, whom previously worked at *MAC as well.
Having a passion for dancing and having done ballet when I was younger, I decided to wear white silk ballet shoes. My Lingerie I purchased from *Bra's and Things in Sandton.
For jewellery I wore my heirloom: a diamond bracelet from my grandmother (also named Elizabeth). My grandfather gave it to her as a 60 year wedding anniversary gift and thus had special meaning to me. It was from *Browns Jewelers. My earrings were a gift from my mother-in-law, teardrop *Swarovsky Crystal earrings.
We got married amongst the trees. It was a forest wedding with a harpist playing as I walked down the isle. Everything was absolutely perfect.
We had a forest wedding. The wedding was held at a new wedding venue called *"The Family Tree of Dusk to Dawn". The Forest "church" was built specifically for our wedding. The harpist, *Jude Harpstar (From Sandton), set the romantic fairy tale atmosphere. The guests could stay over at the venue's guest house called "Dusk to Dawn" farm guest house.
South African musician. International Award Winning & trained,
SA's Got Talent TOP 18,Multigenrist Collaborator/ Performer/ Composer/ Arranger/ Improvisor
As a Pharmacist, I am very passionate about health. I normally eat a balanced diet including food from all food groups in balanced amounts. I tried to exercise twice a week and sleep eight hours each night.
Between all the arrangements, I made rest and relaxation a priority, since stress can wreak havoc on your skin and body. I took long candle lit baths with eucalyptus oil. I didn't use harsh products on my hair and tried to avoid heat styling to prevent damage before the wedding. I used minimal make-up before the wedding to give my skin chance to "breathe". I drunk a lot of water, tea and decaffeinated coffee. I took a multivitamin, folic acid and zinc supplement.
Wherever I could, I accepted help from loved ones who were more than willing to lend a helping hand, in order to lessen the load of the arrangements. My husband was very supportive.
I believe that happiness shows on your skin and since I am so in love with my husband, that showed naturally.
The church forest had two wooden doors where guests received a booklet containing a poem written to the groom by myself. We got married under a wooden pergola, beautifully decorated with green foliage and purple roses by *Petal and twig. The harpist, *Jude Harpstar from Sandton, didn't only provide music, her beautiful harp also contributed to the romantic forest décor.
I believe that less is more and I have a modern minimalistic style. I have always loved shades of purple and thus our table runners were dusty purple made from a luxurious fabric. My husband is in construction, which inspired the rose gold geometric shapes hand-made by my father in law. The table numbers were printed on perspex with an LED light shining upwards creating beautiful lighting in the reception hall. We embraced the beauty of the natural wooden tables. We finished off the look with rose gold under plates and glass vases with purple roses and arum lilies submerged in water and topped with a floating candle.
The bridal table was decorated all in white with white orchids and fairy lights. The trees outside were also lit up with fairy lights to complete the look.
The groomsmen's attire were blue suits with white shirts, camel brown shoes and brown leather belts. *From Markham. My groom's suit was a slightly lighter shade of blue, with the same shoes and shirt. *From Edgars. His watch was a gift from me from a previous anniversary form *Fossil. Their boutonnieres were made from white orchid flowers.
My two bridesmaids were my sisters. They wore dusty pink long fitted dresses from *Sissy Boy. Their accessories were a rose gold leaf-design ring and crystal necklace from *Forever 21. I introduced them to the look after seeing the dresses in and *Edgars store in Sandton City. While getting dressed, they wore dusty pink robes with the words "Bridesmaid" embroidered on the back *From Bra's and Things.
Since my father *Hancke van Blerk is a reverend, we asked him to be our marriage officer. It was special since he could walk me down the isle as father but also lead the wedding as a whole. It made the occasion extra special for us as family.
Our Photographer *Dune Kahlau, was absolutely amazing! I knew her as a friend from varsity, and thus right from the start, the atmosphere was relaxed. She is extremely talented and captures all the unique moments to tell a beautiful story. We had a family friend as videographer. We had a frame made where guests could take their own "photo booth" pictures and upload it onto instagram.
I did not have a planner. Gareth(my husband) and I made quite a mean team in arranging the wedding. We had plenty of help from our wonderful families as well and managed our time to do as much as possible early.
The bride was transported in a beautiful white *Range Rover and the bridal party in a *Mercedes SUV.
The food was prepared by *Jeanet Koch from J's Catering. Plenty of guests said that the food was the highlight of the wedding reception and the best food they've ever had at a wedding. The wedding cake was made by a family friend
Our "Save the Date's" and invitations were designed by a graphic designer and friend of the groom *Derek Blignaut. Our printing on the perspex signs were done by *Madhi at Sign Art in Piet Retief.
Our reception had the best spirit ever! After all the formalities and dinner, all the guests were on the dance floor having a good time! The DJ *Jacques Momberg provided excellent music to create the perfect atmosphere. He also provided his own lighting. Gareth an I have a natural compatibility on the dance floor - it was just magical.
South African musician. International Award Winning & trained,
SA's Got Talent TOP 18,Multigenrist Collaborator/ Performer/ Composer/ Arranger/ Improvisor
