My husband's face as I walked towards him was everything I hoped for. Our Pastor (George Georgiou) calls it the ugly cry, well I thought it was the most beautiful face. And as I got to him he started giggling and said "You look so beautiful". The garter was definitely a highlight. He was taking forever to find it, meanwhile, he was digging up his own sleeve and pulled out the world's biggest cream colored granny panty! The hall burst into laughter and my laugh was the loudest. But the biggest highlight that day was becoming a wife. His wife.
We had just been to Thailand not long before and so decided to keep it coastal. We spent our first night at Thunzi bush lodge in Port Elizabeth which was just perfect and peaceful. Next we went to our favourite spot Tsitsikamma lodge & spa, which is where we got engaged and also where we got our forest theme from. Lastly we went to Whalesong hotel and spa in Plett where we ended our last night watching a movie under blankets and it was perfect.
Our wedding was simple but elegant. Our main priority was to have a practical wedding. We made a point of only doing what we wanted and what was necessary and not what other people expected. Our venue (Manas, Port Elizabeth) was just one hall and we had the ceremony on the grass outside, under a small tent with multi-colored petals down the isle. I'm quite a plain Jane so I almost went for a simple bun but to make it more special, after my 5th or 6th trial, I decided on a braided bun and added a white orchid on the side (Images Hair Salon). My make up was done by the best in town, Theano Zenios, and it was a light smokey eye look with natural lips. I had my dress and veil designed by Kelly Mae Bespoke and made a point of making sure I'd be able to dance comfortably. I had bought my Zellie shoes before I even got engaged because I just needed to have those shoes. I found a sexy white nightie at Temptations which my husband loved. Pearl earings because nothing says "elegant" more than pearls and that was the only jewelery because the emphasis had to be on the dress. I got a French manicure done as it never goes out of style and I wore "Elie Saab - in white" perfume which I now only wear for very special occasions, to remind my husband of that special day.
We got married at "Manas" in Lorraine, Port Elizabeth, which is also where the reception was and photos were done just down the road. That way, guests didn't have to struggle with transport or wait too long for us to return from our photos. As the venue was quite central, the guests were able to go home afterwards.
I made sure to use Nuskin's AP24 toothpaste every morning and night, months before the wedding, and it showed. I used body and face scrubs in the week leading up to the wedding and I had a custom face mask done at Rare Beauti the day before the wedding with no problems.
Our flowers inside the hall were all greens and whites. I had a bouquet of white Orchids with some greenery and my bridesmaids had baby breath bouquets. We had a chocolate fountain which was a huge hit and our guest "book" was a huge hand-painted canvas of a tree with leaves for names to be written on.
My husband hired his suit from Heinz In Style which was a duck-egg blue colour and the amazing part was seeing him in a suit at all. He wore stylish, brown Dune shoes.His groomsmen bought their own outfits at various stores which were tan colored chinos with white shirts and brown shoes. All the groomsmen wore the famous Grumpy Monkey socks of course.
I wanted my bridesmaids to get something that they could wear again, so I had flowy skirts made, instead of dresses, from Hoiden Bridesmaids. The colour was coral and the girls bought matching white lace shirts from Pick n Pay Clothing and each wore their own choice of shoes.
Paul Raper was our marriage officer and got everything done quite smoothly.
Donna Van Der Watt was our photographer and we could not have chosen better. She made sure to scout out the perfect location for our couples shoot and got permission from neighbors to use their property. She was fun, funny and made all our guests feel super comfortable. We went with a basic package of 5 hours, which meant that she could only capture the ceremony and the family and couples photos, which suited us and our budget perfectly, as the guests took pictures inside the hall. Instead of a photo booth, we bought photo booth crops and laid them on the tables.
Valerie Strydom is not only the owner of the venue but also coordinates EVERYTHING, from the flowers to the dj to the decor, table settings, canape's, tents and the food. She takes all the stress off your shoulders!
Luckily we had a family member who transported me in his smurf blue BMW M4. It was just me in the vehicle and my bridesmaids made their way to the venue in their own vehicles. My husband took our car to the venue so that it was ready for us to leave in.
Valerie prepared a 3 course buffet, with the starters being crackers and cheeses etc outside before going into the hall. The main course was a perfect home-cooked meal (roast chicken, potatoes, pumkin, rice etc) and instead of a cake going to waste, we had cupcakes with green icing made to look like moss, along with the chocolate fountain and strawberries.
Our invites were digital and we used the site "The Knot" which is highly recommended and so easy to use and keep track of.
We did not take dance lessons as our song was quite slow and was just a side to side dance. Our dj also did our lighting and we used Colin in Port Elizabeth.
