I could write a book about this but I will make it as short and sweet as possible, when we got engaged, I was that girl that never really had a plan, because im so creative I was always good at dreaming with other brides and creating there dream day, but I never really knew how I was going to capture my thoughts into an event and make it work. We gave ourselves 15 months to plan our dream wedding week of celebrations… we knew that we wanted a destination wedding and a weeklong celebration with our family and friends so we decided on the Midlands Meander, the first wedding venue we went to see was Netherwood Farm in Nottingham road and the next day we paid a deposit and that was where we were going to make all our dreams come true, it was the perfect setting, open farm fields, little dams on a working Angus farm and a 20 sleeper farm house where us and our bridal party took over for a week.
Immediately we got planning on how we were going to incorporate this week celebration we wanted, about 35 of the guests arrived on the Tuesday before the wedding and we had a lovely dinner at home, Wednesday we did the setup with the entire bridal party at the venue (we did everything ourselves to keep it as fun as possible and that everyone could be involved in our dream.) Wednesday evening we had another dinner at the farm house where more guests arrived and we were about 50 that kuiered together and enjoyed a wholesome meal with a lot of singing and dancing. Thursday morning all the men went off the play golf for the day while the girls enjoyed a champagne brunch and did some last touch up at the chapel and reception. Thursday evening we planned a pre wedding drinks and dinner at the Bierfassl in Nottingham Road, where each and every guest that was invited to the wedding was there to celebrate the eve of our wedding with us. We booked out the entire restaurant, this was such a hit because so many people saw each other for the first time in a long time, and it was an evening for catch ups, laughter and lots of loved moments that we will cherish forever. Friday was our wedding day, the girls got ready upstairs and the men were downstairs, we all decided to stay in one house so we could all enjoy the day together, (never letting the bride and groom see each other) the men braaied Prego rolls and we had snacks and champagne.
The wedding started at 3 pm and it was the most beautiful day ever. I did not really have a theme as my mind was over creative so we kept it a simple as possible, olive green and white and a touch of gold were the colours we worked with. Pinterest was a huge inspiration but with janco and me being very simple people we decided on modern simplicity. We had a balloon arch in the chapel instead of a flower arch and the wedding cake was also in the chapel during the ceremony where we cut the cake straight after the ceremony. All the guests were then ushered down to the reception area where there was a live band as entertainment and 2 food trucks as the food options for the evening, we decided on food trucks because we did not want the whole formal sit down thing – we wanted people to mingle while eating out of a market style box and having a glass of wine. We also had a photo/ boomerang machine on the lawn where all the guests could go take photos and do boomerangs with immediate print outs for them to keep.
All janco and I wanted was a celebration of love and life and with all these little extras it sure did feel and look that way when we entered the celebration after taking our photos. We got such amazing compliments and feedback from all our guests, saying it was a true reflection of who we are as individuals and as a couple. Every one said it was there best wedding yet – happy hearts I guess!!!
The day after the wedding we had a Lamb on the spit as our thank you gifts to each guest, everyone joined back at the farm at around 12 noon and it was like the pause button from the night before just went back onto play and we all enjoyed another day of love and laughter. It was the best day as everyone was telling stories and sharing memories from the night before and it just closed off the week of celebrations on a high.
First things first, to have had 109 guests at a destination wedding was for us such a great outcome, after only inviting 127 guests.
As my dad passed away 18 years ago and it should be a dad’s honor to walk his daughter down the aisle, I then asked my brother to walk me down the aisle. Without knowing and only finding out when my brother did the toast on our parents, he had a pair of my dad’s shoes fixed and wore them when he walked me down the aisle, this was such a precious moment, knowing my dad still “walked” with me down the aisle.
My sister in law did a toast on their parents and with our surprise after her speech, played our favourite song and got all the guests on the dance floor and had 2 of our friends sing our song to us (this was such a big surprise as I always fish things out and this I had no idea of – and it really just kicked off the evening.
And the of course my husband’s speech, it was absolutely incredible to hear him speak about family and friends and to say a few words about me, was just beautiful and made me cry. he is not really a talker and when a man gets up to speak and blow us all away with his words – it really got us all in tears and really just showed me again why I love this man.
My husband works away from home alot, and as it would be there was a work trip planned months before our wedding for him to leave literally 5 days after our wedding, so we decided not to go on honeymoon now and we would plan a trip early next year when there is a gap in our busy work schedules, but so be it my husband did plan something small (minimoon) for us - he surprised me for 5 days at Zimbali Resort and Estate in Ballito for 5 days before he left on his work trip for 4 weeks.
My Wedding dress, Wow! I never ever thought I would go for this Cinderella style dress, but when I went with my mom to the first wedding dress shop – this was the first dress I tried on and again as they say the rest was history. I
t fitted like a glove and looked so gorgeous and definitely was my dream wedding dress.
The bodice was fitted with straps and encrusted with white beads and pearls on a ivory lace, the bottom of the dress was made up of 17 layers of net so it sure did give me that princess look. I also got an insert (something blue) enbroided into my dress for my late father – saying “we always walk together; sided by side, my angel in heaven, miss you…”
My shoes were dirty pink high heals from Steve Madson and then for later I got myself a pair of satin pink ballet shoes – just to tie in with my childhood ballet years.
i wore rose gold pearl earrings to suit the style of the dress, and a rose gold ring that my mother in law bought me as a wedding gift.
My makeup was a very natural but beautiful look, i did not want my husband not to recognize me so Candice really did a great job, Candice also did my hair for me in a up style with some curls and to finish it off i had a rose gold pearly hair piece and i wore a white plain veil to finish off the entire look
Service Providers are not in your link
Timeless Bridal - Wedding Dress + Veil + Earrings
Blush Makeup and Hair - Hair and Makeup
Wedding Shoes - Steve Madson
Ballet Shoes - Ballet Barre
Hair Piece - Lovisa
We had a Destination wedding - We come from Pretoria.
We got married at Netherwood Farm in Nottingham Road, Midlands Meander, Kwazulu Natal
There was a farm house on the farm that accommodated 20 guests - we put our entire bridal party with there partners in the house
There are 7 cottages on the farm where close family stayed.
We all stayed for the entire week from the Tuesday until the Sunday on the farm as we had a week long celebration.
the rest of the guests booked accommodation at the near by places in Nottingham Road
My husband and i both decided a year before the wedding to get back to our usual weekly gym program and get fit and healthy.
we have always been active but we really wanted to do it properly this time.
i joined a semi private ladies gym in Pretoria (MBF professional training) where i did three 8 week challenges leading up to the wedding.
We also did teeth whitening at Neil De Beer Dentist in Pretoria
We wanted a very modern but simplistic look and feel to our wedding, lots of white, olive greens and a touch of gold was used to bring the entire story together.
i love white roses and tulips so that was a must with added greenery to fill up the spaces.
we had 3 shelves above the Bridal Party table to tie us all into one frame and to make a backdrop behind us.
i also had the table numbers made out of polysterene laser cut with moss around it for that extra 3D look
We made a balloon arch in the chapel to tie us together in the front of the chapel.
We had coffee tables and lounges and umbrellas outside on the lawn for the guests to have a seat if needed when we were taking photos.
PETALS is a feast for the senses with its seasonal blooms and 'nothing ordinary' furniture.
my husband absolutely loves Kingsley Heath - so that was not even an option - he went straight to them to pick out his and the groomsman outfits.
Pants: Olive green
Shirts: Crisp white
Belts: tanned leather
All from Kingsley heath
Their leather shoes i bought online on Superbalist and the leather ties were custom made by me
My husband wore a blue blazer that we bought from Zara
i wanted them to white from the beginning so i looked around online alot and i found their dresses on Zando.
White off the shoulder knee length dresses with white embroidery on the front of the dress. Everyone was very unsure that i chose white but the end picture looks incredibly clean and crisp and i still stood out with my princess dress
We did the legal signing a week before our wedding celebration
Mike Durrent from Methodist church in Hartebeespoort Dam
But on the day of the Wedding we got my husbands Uncle to do the ceremony in front of all our guests
Meraki Photography and Videography from Pretoria came all the way to the Midlands to capture our wedding day.
They were spectacular and joined in so well in the wedding celebration, they quickly became friends and it was so easy to have them apart of our dream day.
Our wedding cake was baked by one of our family friends, Celeste from two moms cooking catering in Pretoria, it was the most delicious carrot cake with salted caramel poured over the top.
Food was all about casual but delicious
We decided to have Food Trucks at our wedding to create an informal but awesome vibe outside on the lawn in between all the wedding formalities.
Fudart by Nardia and Naked Bones by PJ - both Food trucks come from Durban and they were a sure hit, the guests absolutely loved going to choose their food and eat it out of a
market style serving. they could choose to stand or go have a seat at their tables - it created such a atmosphere among all the guests.
I am a Graphic Designer so i designed and printed all the creative elements for our wedding
My husband and i dance well together - so no dance lessons were needed.
We had a guy with the name of Pedro Bardosa tom come and sing at the reception on the lawn
PETALS is a feast for the senses with its seasonal blooms and 'nothing ordinary' furniture.
