Gosh where to start.... In a nutshell, the entire day was the highlight. All I wanted, as does every other bride, was for everything to go as planned and in my opinion, it did. From arriving at the guesthouse, getting hair and make-up done, to getting into the wedding car and arriving at the venue to finally walking down the aisle and witnessing the most precious moment as my father walked me down, my husband brought to tears which in turn made me shed a few tears.
We decided to go on a little break and kept it local. We went to Sun City and Monte Casino. All we wanted to do was relax and de-stress and do absolutely nothing after the wedding and just enjoy being married. Even though we just wanted to relax, we ended up doing quite a few activities which included going to Gold Reef city to do the theme park rides, we went to a Happy Island which is a water park that recently opened in Joburg and also went on a 3 hour game drive in Pilanesburg (which started at 06:30, I mean who gets up that early while on holiday).
So a Summer wedding was always going to be had :) I decided to go with a soft but sophisticated look for my wedding and because it was a Summer wedding, naturally I wanted soft, pastel colours. So I went with Blush Pink, Rose Gold and a touch of Greenery. I came across my dream wedding dress when I first started looking for a wedding dress and saw this dress online and looked if there are any stores in Cape Town that stocked it. I was happy to find out that there was a boutique that sold that dress but unfortunately the quote of the dress was out of budget and that was that. I thought that was it and I will have to look for another dress (even though my heart was set on that one). I gave it one last hope and searched for the style of my dress online and a website popped up that specialises in selling 2nd hand dresses (Still White) and I saw the dress there. Just my luck, I found my dream wedding dress but was located it Joburg. Long story short... I contacted the owner and arranged to collect the dress to be brought back to Cape Town :D My dress (which I absolutely love!) was ivory in colour with lots of lace and handmade beading. My veil was also ivory in colour, as I wanted them to complement each other. At first I didn't want a necklace as I thought it might clash with the high neck style of my wedding dress but I ended up getting a Rose Gold diamante chocker and matching bracelet (Lovisa). My earrings (Lovisa) were a double teardrop style with diamante on the edges and pearls in the centre to complete the elegant, sophisticated look. Naturally, I had 2 pairs of shoes. For the ceremony I wore a strap style stiletto (Superbalist) as my wedding shoe but for the dance floor, I had a Rose Gold 'converse' style sneaker (Levi's).
My make-up was also soft and natural as I personally do not like wearing a lot of make-up and wanted a more natural look. My hair was in an up do because it was Summer and I didn't want to have my hair down in my neck (done by Alicia Spammer from Blush Hair and Makeup).
We decided to do a non-traditional wedding (not in church) and we went with Hudson's Restaurant and Venue on Vredenheim Wine Estate in Stellenbosch as our wedding venue. I always wanted to get married on a wine farm and when I came across Hudson's, I immediately knew that it was the one I wanted. They have this beautiful Rose Garden next to the lake where the wedding ceremony takes place, with an amazing mountain backdrop. Some of our 'after party' guests did stay over in the surrounds of Stellenbosch.
I didn't really have one. I went on as per normal which generally includes exercising regularly (not necessarily eating properly all the time) and all I hoped for is that I still fit into my dress on wedding day :D
Our venue has their own in-house décor service so we decided to use them to do the decor for our wedding. We went with Blush Pink, Rose Gold, some White and a touch of Greenery as our theme colours. Pinterest played a very big part in my choices (not always realistic hehe but it definitely gave me tons of ideas to work off). We had Two different styles for the tables so half of the tables were decorated one way and the other half a different way but together they worked.The flowers were white and pink roses with greenery. The venue supplied all the stationery that was used in the décor. The venue has a beautiful crystal chandelier in the middle of the hall so that lighting alone is breath taking.
Marc and groomsmen wore a navy blue suit and white shirt with tan shoes. The groomsmen wore dusty pink bowties while Marc wore a dusty pink tie and a light grey waistcoat to be slightly different from the groomsmen.
The tie was bought from Marks and Spencers and the bowties from Amazon.co.uk.
The suits were bought from Edgars and the shoes from Superbalist.
The waistcoat was bought from Woolworths.
The bridesmaids wore the same dress. In keeping with my theme colours, their dresses were long and blush pink in colour, which was ruched at the top. The top part of the dress has gold sequins on it. They wore a rose gold sandal that complemented the dress and a hair band which had flowers on the top in the themed colours.
The dresses were bought from YDE.
The shoes, jewellery and hair accessories were bought from Edgars.
Our MC recommended the marriage officer we used who was also a close friend of his. Our Marriage Officer was Glenn Robertson from Kaleidescope Church in Claremont.
Our wedding photographer was Zandri Du Preez. They are a husband and wife team and they were so great! They made us both feel like models. They were professional at all times and sometimes it felt as if they were not there because they were so discreet and focussed on their task. I couldn't have asked for a better photographer.
Zandri du Preez Photography is an award-winning husband and wife team based in Cape Town and specializing in wedding and engagement photography.
I did not have a wedding planner per se but our venue had an on-site floor manager who ensured that everything ran smoothly. From guests arriving at the ceremony, to ensuring that the food was ready to be served right up until the end of the reception.
I hired a wedding car for myself (Bride) and bridesmaids to be transported from the guesthouse where we got ready to the wedding venue. The car was hired from Classic Rides Cape Town (https://www.classic-rides.co.za/). In keeping with the classic sophisticated feel, the car I hired was a 1964 Jaguar Mk.2
Your wedding is the most special day of your life, it should be accompanied by a very special ride.
Our venue included catering so we used Hudson's Restaurant and Venue. The food was absolutely delicious and everyone enjoyed it so much. To this day I still get told how great the food was.
My wedding cake was made by Sweetest Perfection - Novelty Cakes & Cake Toppers.
The theme of our cake was Paris which is dear to us as this is where, my now husband, proposed.
So we decided to make our save the dates, wedding invitations as well as the table seating and menus ourselves. We found an online platform and did the design and got them printed #savingoncosts
My reception was held at Hudson's Restaurant and Venue on Vredeinheim Wine Estate, where our ceremony took place. This was ideal as we didn't want people to travel far from the ceremony to the reception. The mountain backdrop alone is absolutely breathtaking. The hall has a stunning crystal chandelier right in the centre and this set the tone for the theme we planned along with the décor.
We did not take any dancing lessons but we both LOVE to break it down on the dancefloor (I even had a pair of sneakers just for dancing).
We hired a DJ from DJ Dean SA and they provided all the sound and lighting during the ceremony, while canapés were being served and the reception as well.
Zandri du Preez Photography is an award-winning husband and wife team based in Cape Town and specializing in wedding and engagement photography.
Cathrine’s Bridal Couture is a sophisticated retailer that strives to bring a high-end product to our clients
Your wedding is the most special day of your life, it should be accompanied by a very special ride.
