We planned a morning wedding with the ceremony starting at 08:00. I've always wanted a sunrise wedding and this sure was more than I dreamed of!
I wanted to have the ceremony in a forest, but it would have been difficult for some of our guests (grandmothers) to access the area. So I started planning a first look ceremony in the forest. My mother made me a cape to wear over my wedding dress ( a vision I had since a teenager). The first look ceremony was planned for 07:00, but due to low light, we did it at 07:30.
My soon-to-be husband stood with his back to me as I walked over to him. It was so special! The moment had a magical feel to it: it is early in the morning, the trees and grass still wet from the dew from the night, birds singing, romantic light of the sun still busy rising and the love of my life waiting for me.
After the first look we had a moment together to pray for our marriage and the day ahead, something I will treasure forever.
We went to Mauritius for Honeymoon and it was the most special time for us newlyweds to relax and spend some time together after the busy wedding planning time.
We stayed at the Inter Continental Resort in the north of the island and enjoyed a lot of cocktails and delicious food.
We are 4 sisters and 3 of us were married within 13 months (March 2018, December 2018 and April 2019) and the special thing about this is that we all got our wedding dresses from one 'supplier'. We rented our dresses from Richelle's Wedding Dresses in Durbanville and Annemarie and her sister René were such blessings!
I wanted something less formal (because of the morning wedding), and I loved the idea of lace. So my Chantilly lace wedding dress with pearl detail was definitely my dream dress! I wore the sleeves down to have an off shoulder look and a long veil with lace detail.
My sister, who was 32 weeks pregnant at that time, did my hair and make-up and once again, this is something I will keep in my heart forever. She woke up at 03:00 to start with my sisters' (bridesmaids) hair and make-up and afterwards she did my hair and make-up. I loved the up-do she did with my hair and we used a rose gold hair piece she wore for her wedding the previous year.
My earrings was also rose gold with pearls (bought from Lovisa).
The wedding look I had in mind was natural and it came out perfectly! I had mixed colored flowers with pink bows and some rose gold touches that decorated the outside area where the ceremony took place.
We wanted an intimate wedding where our families could enjoy each other's company and where we could be in nature with a back-up in case it rained.
We wanted to get married in Grabouw because of the beautiful scenery. After a lot of searching, we found Inn on Highlands, which is advertised as self catering accommodation, more than a wedding venue. The fact that they can accommodate just more than 60 people was perfect, because our wedding was planned to be from Friday to Sunday, and all our guests (55 people) will be able to stay over for the weekend on the same premises where the wedding will take place. This was another positive, because the guests did not have to get up earlier for the already very early wedding to allow for travel time.
The views on the valley and comfortable accommodation wowed our guests.
Inn on Highlands is a peaceful apple farm nestled in the heart of Elgin valley. Offering you a venue that will truly impress your family and friends!
I wanted an informal setting, so we used the wooden benches from the venue for the ceremony, it looked great with the wooden deck we got married on. I rented Shepard's hooks and glass flasks to decorate the isle with flowers. We made pink netting bows to decorate the wooden pillars and I made rose gold hoops with greenery to bring something extra to the decorations.
The flowers was inspired by the 'wildflower' look and the florist really did an amazing job!
We used the picnic benches from the venue for the reception and used the same flowers from the ceremony area to put on the tables.
We rented everything (tablecloths, lanterns, Shepard's hooks and consol jars) from To-Nett's in Paarl and they also supplied all the flowers, bouquets included.
‘Live your dream wedding with To-Nett’s’ For more than 30 years our inspiration has been our clients!
My three sisters were my bridesmaids and because one of them were pregnant, we had to work around that. We ordered the dresses from Annatjie from Anna's Sewing Studio in Pretoria and she courier it to me in Paarl.
I originally wanted floral dresses, but decided against it because the bouquets were already going to be 'busy'
I asked my sisters what colors the wanted and the three colors looked so beautiful together. Dark peach, sage green and light peace was there choice and after their dresses was ordered I also had a more clear vision of the color scheme of the wedding.
Liesl Basson, from Liesl Basson Photography was the best photographer we could ask for! We met her at my sister's wedding in December and she instantly became part of the family.
She captured our truest feelings in every photo and her willingness to go beyond of what is asked for is such a blessing! She even brought in a second photographer to help on the day and together with Lumé, Liesl got the most precious photo's of our day.
I wanted a brunch buffet to keep to the intimate feeling of the wedding, and Irma and Karin from Cutting Board catering delivered beyond my wildest imagination! Waffle bar, flap jacks, sausages, muesli cups, smoothies, croissants and muffins are only a few of the lovely dishes they made.
The wedding cake was made by Soet Society Cafe in Durbanville. I loved the floral look of the cake and the chocolate cake under the decorations was a big favorite when we cut the cake!
We had a wedding newspaper designed by Hildegard le Roux and the rest of the stationery was also designed by her and printed by Minuteman Press.
We had pencils with our names and wedding date that our guests could take home.
‘Live your dream wedding with To-Nett’s’ For more than 30 years our inspiration has been our clients!
Inn on Highlands is a peaceful apple farm nestled in the heart of Elgin valley. Offering you a venue that will truly impress your family and friends!
