Our day started with an amazing breakfast, spa treatments and then the hype of getting ready. There was an insane thunderstorm that I will never forget. I stuffed my wedding dress into my sisters army colored coat with massive pink fur and we rushed to the car - my dad drove me to the chapel. After that, the big moments followed. Walking down the isle with my dad (unforgettable), the ceremony started and our rings were hoisted in by my brother with an RC helicopter, the look on Devan's face!! He didn't know a thing. After that we said I Do, we were covered in "birdseed" (I thought it was a good confetti idea but I bought bird food instead of seeds!), the photographs, the food, the dancing and then the party started!
Devan planned the whole trip. We road tripped through South Africa, every morning I got an envelope with a hint, the kilometers we would drive that day and the kilometers remaining of the honeymoon. I quickly realized I know very little of our own country. We drove 4500km across the country and slept in some of the smallest towns. To name a few (not in order): Graff-Reinette, Paternoster, Sutherland, Clerens, Roberston and Simonstad. We met amazing people, ate way too much and I came back with tick bite fever but man, it was worth it!
I loved the darker jewel colors for our wedding. I wanted a rich atmosphere with a naked table and long candles. I guess romantic but rustic in a way. I wore a dress by Enzoani from the Beautiful collection. The dress was made with chiffon and had a fitted A-line shape with a heavy lace bodice, illusion lace straps and a sweetheart neckline. It had a low back and my mother completed the look by adding strings of diamonds and pearls that we attached to the sleeves. I decided to wear my hair up, it was in a twisted fish-braid bun with a few loose strands. Mine and my bridesmaids hair was done by my awesome hair angel, Mishelle Glen from Carlton Hair in La Lucia Mall. For my make up, that was done by Cherie Andipatin, shes amazing, I went for a smokey brown eye and nude lips - I switched later that evening to a dark red lip. I wore a pointed toe floral heel with ankle straps and they were perfectly comfortable (I was so grateful). I took the chance of going with the Unicoo silicone adhesive bra from takealot because of my open back. The bra arrived the day before our wedding, I stuck it on the morning and it kept the girls in place until the party stopped. I was really impressed, even the birdseed stuck. I wore jewelry from Isabella in Gateway, my garter was made by my mom. I bought my bridesmaids hairclips from Clicks and mine from Lovisa.
We got married at Brahman Hills in the KZN Midlands. All our guests stayed there for the weekend and had an amazing time.
Situated in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Brahman Hills is a destination of choice for weddings, conferences and idyllic country escapes.
We worked in Madagascar for a year and a half before we got married and I bought my wedding dress when I was back in Durban on holiday about 9 months before the day. We came back 10 weeks before our wedding and the dress didn't fit... I panicked and saw a Woman's' Health Magazine with the cover "shredding for the wedding" at our local Spar. It had a 12 week training program that I started immediately and I just kept an eye on my diet. The dress fitted perfectly in the end. I went for the occasional massage and manicures before the day arrived.
We went for jewel tones as our main color scheme. Our flowers were shades of deep rich colors, they looked best with a naked wooden table with wooden chairs. We decided on a turquoise runner that really completed the look and complimented the colors of the flowers. We chose long navy candles and golden under plates - it added to the amazing atmosphere. We also had different color votives with floating tea candles on the table. Our decor was done by E by A Wedding Decor in Pietermaritzburg.
Devan, my groom, wore a deep teal colored suit with a black shirt, skinny black tie and brown leather shoes. The groomsmen wore black on black suits with dark brown shoes. Their look came from Suit Yourself in Durban North.
I decided on the colors, gave them the design options and then I sent them all their fabric. They had their dresses made by suppliers in their area as we were in 4 different provinces. I just wanted them to wear a flowing design that they would feel comfortable in. They all looked stunning.
Ds. Awie Erxleben from Umhlanga
Our day was captured by Stuart Vivier Photography. He and his second shooter Julia Wilson-Browne did such an incredible job and we have amazing photographs to always remember our day.
We did not have a planner but we worked closely with Onwaba Maholwana, the assistant general manager from Brahman Hills who helped us through everything as we were planning it all from Madagascar. She is truly amazing!
Brahman Hills did our catering and it was amazing. We had a delicious cake pop wedding cake made by my mother-in-law.
Devan designed our save the dates, invitations as well as our menus. We had digital invitations and save the dates and our menu and seating plan was printed at The Print Shop in Durban North.
We winged our dance completely!! My dad and I did practice a bit in the kitchen but Devan and I just went with the song! Our DJ was from Executive DJ's and we had Matt for our day. They provided all equipment and lighting.
Situated in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Brahman Hills is a destination of choice for weddings, conferences and idyllic country escapes.
