Our morning started with gifts and cards from one another we left in each other's rooms. I opened mine in anticipation and had been given the same perfume my mother always wore. My mother had passed away 8 years ago and wasn't there for this incredibly special day she and I always dreamt of and now as I smelled the sweet scent I had happy memories of her and me and felt a part of her close to me. Today I was marrying the man I had prayed for and dreamt about for 28 years. I was surrounded by my closest friends as I got ready and listening to praise and worship music as I prepared for our big moment.
We had arranged to pray together before the ceremony. Walking downstairs, we were getting ready for our prayer together before he moved to the altar and I to my spot from where I would walk down the aisle. His eyes were closed and he was guided to one corner of the wall and I towards the other. I couldn't stop smiling and sneaked a peek at him as he said, "Hello my love" and took my hand. Standing on opposite ends of the wall and holding hands we started praying for our future together and giving thanks that God had given us to each other for this great day. The moment came where I had to walk down the aisle and as I walked I couldn't stop smiling as I looked at him and he looked back shedding a few tears, overcome with emotion. When the pastor started preaching he said, "Welcome to the funeral of Hannes and Veronike." Yes, funeral, because today we were no longer two but joining to become one. During the ceremony the pastor gave each of us a block of lego, me a blue one on which "respect" was written and him a red one on which "love" was written. These were the fundamental building blocks on which our marriage would be based.
We had decided we wanted to have communion during our ceremony and honour God for what He had done for us that we may have such an abundant life. A table with bread and a wine glass filled with grape juice was standing near the altar and we each took a bite of bread together and took turns taking a sip from the wine glass.
During our vows it was my turn to shed the tears as he promised me his life and love for me. All we wanted to do was grab and kiss each other but had to wait for the moment to be announced. Finally, I was Veronike Neven and we walked down the aisle with rose petals flying.
During our reception our first dance came for which we had practised for months. It was a Viennese Waltz. We danced to "I get to love you" by Ruelle and that dance was everything I hoped for and loved every minute as the lyrics were sung, "I prayed for you before I called you mine and I get to love you, whatever may come, your heart I will choose, forever I'm yours, forever I do." I got lost in those 4 minutes of dancing.
The evening was filled with beauty and laughter and included me shoving cake into my husband's face and him blindfolded and hands tied behind his back, knees on the floor, as he tried to find my garter and pull it off with his teeth.
Months of planning and making decorations, me painting and making candles and hoping my dress would turn out as one that made me look and feel beautiful, it all came down to this; unity of two hearts, love from friends and family and an atmosphere that made the night magical. Everything went by so quickly and I wish I could've slowed time down. To every future bride, savour each moment and remember what it's all really about. ❤
Yes, we were very fortunate to spend our honeymoon in the beautiful Bali in Ubud for 3 nights with rain forests and in Nusa Dua with ocean for 4 nights, ending off in Singapore for our final night.
I had always been a "princess dress" kind of girl and loved the softness of lace and elegance of satin. My dress was made by Eurobride and was one of their designs from one of their many collections I had paged through. I had envisioned a beautiful corset that laced up at the back and had a row of buttons running up and a long train and it was exactly what I got.
My hair was loose curls with a plaited in crown made of pearls and gems done by Maryanne Landsberg. My makeup was stunning and soft and done by Rosa Lea makeup artistry.
Lingerie I received was gifts from a few lovely ladies that attended my kitchen tea and I had a beautiful white robe with "Bride" written in gold on the back given to me by my mother in law which she got from "Bra's n things".
All jewellery and accessories came from Lovisa. I loved pearls and settled for slight hanging earings with pearls and a fine bracelet with crystals. My necklace matched the lace pattern on my dress and was made with crystals and also soft and not too bold.
We got married at the beautiful Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel in Pretoria.
Kleinkaap estate boasts the original manor house built on Clubview farm in 1920 by General Frank Dyson, the first owner of this beautiful property. In those early days they far...
My day before the wedding was spent doing my nails, trying to find earings and finishing off some decor. The night before our wedding my beauty regime did not go exactly according to plan. The bridesmaids stayed over and I was scrambling to get everything done on time and almost forgot my makeup artists request that I exfoliate. I wanted to get enough sleep and we headed to bed at 23:00 only for me to wake up at 00:00 feeling so ill and being gifted with gastroenteritis the night before my wedding. I ended up in the emergency room with a drip to rehydrate and one of my incredibly amazing bridesmaids driving to find a 24 hour pharmacy for medication for me. I was a sleepless bride but I had said that even if I have to crawl down that aisle the next day, I will be getting married to the man of my dreams. Thankfully, I had amazing bridesmaids that helped me by carrying rehidrat, anti-nausea pills and lots of love and support and not to mention an amazing makeup artist!
Our theme was elegant and soft. As my favourite colour is pink and my husband's is purple we wanted those to be our main colour theme. We loved roses and had a great florist who blended colours of light and dark purples and pinks. We got married outside and had a beautiful arch of flowers at the altar and the aisle carpet surrounded by pink and purple rose petals. The tables were rectangular with a runner made of eucalyptus leaves and lots of flowers and two candles on each which I had made from scratch.
I had painted 11 wooden boards each with a qoute or verse on it which we put fairy lights around and had put up all over the venue. Painting one board had taken me about 36 hours so when I finished off the calligraphy on that last board I was about done painting boards for a while! Nontheless, they were incredibly special to me as they were so personalised.
Fairy lights provided by the venue were hanging all over outside by the outside deck and trees and inside creating a magical theme.
My husband wore a grey suit and waistcoat with a white shirt and deep purple tie. He hired his suit from Eurosuit. He also had a dark purple arum lily pinned to his jacket.
The bridesmaids wore soft, full length chiffon dresses with floral patterns on the top. I liked the lightness of it and the colours of the dresses fitted in with the theme. We had light pink, light and dark purple and grey. I told them they could wear their hair and makeup however they were comfortable. The dresses were made by Peaches and Spice.
The bridesmaids wore soft, full length chiffon dresses with floral patterns on the top. I liked the lightness of it and the colours of the dresses fitted in with the theme. We had light pink, light and dark purple and grey. I told them they could wear their hair and makeup however they were comfortable. The dresses were made by Peaches and Spice.
We were married by our church Pastor, Pastor Robbie Brazelle from CRC Pretoria.
Photography was done by Van Luke.
www.vanluke.co.za
Wendy Faber from Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel was our coordinator and ensured that everything went smoothly.
Our food was made by Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel and was absolutely delicious and 5 star class.
Our cake was made by Baker's Boys and was a three tier cake with each tier having it's own delicious, unique flavour.
Kleinkaap estate boasts the original manor house built on Clubview farm in 1920 by General Frank Dyson, the first owner of this beautiful property. In those early days they far...
Baker boys is a boutique style bakery based in Pretoria east, supplying Pretoria and the Gauteng area, stretching to different game lodges and wedding venues in the vicinity.
I designed our own stationary and made place cards, table seatings and invites.
Our music and lighting was done by Roy from KroPro entertainment. We preselected our own songs which we collected through the months leading up to the wedding. We opted for minimal lighting as we didn't want to overpower the theme and atmosphere.
Baker boys is a boutique style bakery based in Pretoria east, supplying Pretoria and the Gauteng area, stretching to different game lodges and wedding venues in the vicinity.
Kleinkaap estate boasts the original manor house built on Clubview farm in 1920 by General Frank Dyson, the first owner of this beautiful property. In those early days they far...
