It is so difficult to pick just a few moments from our wedding. We had the most incredible time planning the wedding and tried to make things as stress free as possible and focused on enjoying the process. From wine tasting to choose our wines, to breakfast at the venue to family and bridesmaid cake tasting afternoons, our family and bridal party made the whole experience everything we could have ever dreamed of.
We got married at Allee Bleue in Franschoek. We decided to make a weekend of the wedding and went up to Franschhoek on the Friday morning. Myself and Aiden went for lunch at Leopards Leap Wine Farm, which was where we got engaged. It was so nice to have the afternoon to spend by ourselves before all the wedding chaos.
Ourselves, our parents, siblings and the bridal party stayed at the wine farm the night before where we braaied at the Manor House.
The day of the wedding was very windy and at one stage we were considering moving the ceremony inside. Luckily, the wind died down (slightly) and we were able to have the ceremony outside on the lawns.
The whole day felt like a fairy tale. We were truly lucky to be surrounded by our closest family and friends, some who had traveled from overseas to join us on our day.
Looking back, I don't remember seeing anyone else except Aiden, when I was walking down the aisle. The wind had been quite strong, which had resulted in me throwing my veil back into the car at the last second (much to my dad's panic), but the moment I got to the top of the aisle, none of that mattered. The ceremony was perfect and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
The couples shoot gave us some alone time together and we were able to take in the day and laugh and let the fact that we were now married sink in before going into the reception. We even practiced a part of our dance because the train of my dress was something that we hadn't considered when practicing before.
Our reception was everything that we had wanted when planning our wedding. The speeches were incredible and we are lucky to have them recorded as on the day everything went by so quickly. The father daughter dance was to the" Skye Boat Song'', which was a song my dad used to whistle to me when I was little. Our First Dance was straight after the Father daughter dance. At this stage my shoes were long gone, which was just as well as I think that had I been wearing them, I definitely would have tripped.
For us, the day was a perfect balance between sentimental and fun. We both love to laugh and love being around friends and family, which was exactly how they day turned out. We did not stop dancing the entire night and eventually went to bed at about 3am.
For some one as OCD as myself, I expected to be a big stresser, but we had so much support from both of our families, that it was easy to plan things without too much stress.
We went on an amazing honeymoon to Mauritius where we stayed at Preskil Island Resort in Mahebourg.
My wedding dress was Viola Chan, from Bride and Co. I went to Bride and Co in Canal Walk with my mom, sister, niece and future mother in law, thinking that it would just be something fun to start the wedding planning off with. Little did I know that I would find my dress. My mom and sister made the day so special and organised "say yes to the dress" boxes with some wedding planning stationery inside as well as a mini chalk boards for them to write yes or no on. I always thought that I would go for something fitted however when I tried on the fitted style, it just didn't grab me.
I asked everyone with me to choose a dress that they liked and could see me in. The sales consultant chose an A line, sparkly dress for me to try. I must admit, on the rail it just didn't seem to grab me. BUT, the moment I put the dress on, I fell in love with it and didn't want to take it off. My five year old self who wanted to be a princess got her wish.
My hair and make-up was by The Make Up Touch (Tammy Hardy). Tammy was incredible and knew exactly what I was looking for. At my trial, she did various looks and made sure that by the time we were done, I was happy with the look and that it was exactly what I wanted. I even changed my mind on the day and decided to keep my hair in an upstyle as opposed to a half-half.
My garter was hand made by my mom which added a special touch to my wedding outfit.
Wedding Dress: Viola Chan, Bride & Co
Bridesmaids Dresses: Bride & Co
Shoes: Imaani
Jewelry: Lovisa
Make-up and Hair: The Make up Touch
Nails: Tammy Taylor Sea Point
We got married at Allee Bleue in Franschhoek. Ourselves and our family stayed on the farm while the Bridal Party stayed at a B&B next door. We arranged for a shuttle into Franschhoek and many guests arranged accommodation in the town.
Eventworx organised all our decor, flowers tables and chairs.
We were wanting to have an elegant but more simplistic look and did not want too much decor on the tables. Eventworx arranged a mock set up for us and managed to bring to life exactly what we envisaged even though we had only had a few discussions with them.
The area in which the ceremony was held was basically a blank canvas. Eventworx managed to turn it into an absolute fairy tale with fairy lights and hanging garlands included, while keeping to the look we wanted.
The Groom and Groomsmen all had suits made by Tux Taylor in Blue Route Mall, Tokai. Their suits fitted perfectly, and they even managed to make one of our groomsman's suits with only his measurements as he was out of the country and arrived on the day of the wedding
Our marriage officer was Robert Steiner. We had a few meetings with him prior to the wedding where he got to know us and helped us choose our vows and readings.
Robert made our ceremony so special and noticed things about us which we had never specifically mentioned. He made sure that the ceremony was relaxed and light hearted but serious when it needed to be. Our ceremony was exactly what we imagined and he made it unique to us.
Our photographer was Jilda Geldenhuys, of Jilda G Photography. Jilda was absolutely amazing and made us feel so comfortable during the whole process.
We didn't have a planner however a family member worked at Allee Bleue and assisted us with so many of the aspects of the wedding. She made sure that everything was done correctly and that the farm organised whatever we needed. We got married in five months and really wouldn't have been able to do it without her.
Our families also helped with everything and made the whole planning process so easy and stress free.
We hired Two Chiefs as our caterers and they did not allow us to stress about anything. We had a few specific dietary requirements and they made sure that we did not alter our menu to suit , but rather that they would alter what we had chosen to cater for all our requirements.
Our wedding cake was made by my mom (with my dad's assistance). The cake tasted incredible and there was none left the next day. It was so special to have her make my cake and many an evening was spent trying different cakes and styles to come up with exactly what we wanted.
My parents decided to put the cake together at the venue on the morning of the wedding due to the heat. Needless to say, there was some panic and a whole lot of laughs while myself and my bridesmaids watched (and attempted to assist) the cake being put together.
We were lucky enough that one of my best friends is a professional dancer. She spent a few evenings with us, helping us put together a first dance that we would enjoy.
For the Father daughter dance,my dad had things under control (after a few Youtube lessons) and I had to just focus on letting him lead me. Some of my favourite memories are of us practicing our dancing in my parents dining room.
Our Dj was Wayne from Rhythm Divine who was incredible. He made sure that our dance floor was never empty and read the crowd perfectly. He also organised all the equipment for our ceremony and speeches.
