The most memorable moment of my day was the church service. This was very special to me as our church has been in the family for years, i have grown up in that church and many of our family marriages happened there. Our priest also explained the significance of all the parts of the service and the symbolism behind all the acts and words which often gets lost and forgotten.
It was especially special as six months prior to my wedding, my grandmother passed away. I was so fortunate to have her ashes with me at the alter as I said 'I do' as she was the biggest supporter and so excited for our wedding. So in a way she did attend our wedding.
With everyone getting married outdoors; in forests, on the beach, it was really important for me to take it back to the traditional way and attend church, have a full service, receive our first communion as husband and wife, walk down the isle to the traditional wedding song being played by the traditional grand organ.
It was just so perfect and beautiful and all I dreamt of as a small girl.
This was one of the most stressful parts as I have travelled quite a bit and I am a former travel agent. I also knew that our honeymoon was one where we wanted to relax for the most part, definitely a warm beach place and have a few activities as well. My first choice was of course the Maldives but that was just way out our budget.
Beachcomber resorts in Mauritius are known as the first choice for honeymooners. We got a really good special for The Victoria beachcomber resort. We had an absolutely beautiful room on the ground floor that opened up onto beach. Waking up to the most perfect weather everyday, a view of the bay and the sail boats, it was blissful. We had beautiful soft sand and tranquil still water to have a cool dip.
The food was out of this world and with all the dieting before the wedding, I really did go wild. The variety and change of menu every evening. they had themed nights which really kept the atmosphere going. The after dinner shows around the pool and bar were amazing. We received the royal treatment being honeymooners.
We had the most perfect honeymoon; we swam with the dolphins, went scuba diving, went on many snorkelling trips, catermaran trips and much more. It was all just magical.
Acacia Bush Lodge based in Pietermaritzburg. This venue is run by my family so I had to get married at our venue. Being an event planner myself, it had a bit of a DIY feel as I knew I would be so meticulous but I promised myself that on the day I would let go and just enjoy the day. I did just that.
I did all my setting up and planning the week before and left detailed plans, drawings and instructions for on the day for my staff to carry out.
We had our out of town guests stay over for the weekend in the chalets and the rest of the guests stayed in Pietermaritzburg.
I always believed that your routine should never change at least 2 weeks before the wedding, I had a facial a month before and that was that, all else stayed the same. Facials tend to bring out unwanted guests.
I tried eating healthier at least two months before the wedding , cutting out sugar and carbs just to make sure my dress fitted perfectly. It really did help and it made me feel quite good.
