There are no words to describe my feelings waking up on the the 25th January 2020. My excitement and happiness was bubbling within me. Having planned for months it was finally the day we got to see everything come together. The sky was a beautiful grey with a slight drizzle. To calm the nerves I started my day with a trail run with my brother. Despite almost getting lost I loved spending that time with him as we live in separate cities and we don't often get the opportunity. The weather seemed to be causing a lot of panic but all I could think about was how beautiful the photo's would be, and how the clouds would look in the reflection of the calm dams.
The morning was filled with laughter and excitement while the girls prepped for makeup and hair, I couldn't help but wonder what my groom and his groomsmen were up to. As I walked down the aisle with my dad, I spotted Sean and I immediately started shaking and I remember my dad holding my arm tighter whispering everything is going to be ok. The ceremony was beautifully done by the Pastor and as if nature accepted our vows the weather cleared up and a ray of sunshine broke through the clouds.
The photo's were an absolute blast. We had such fun with the bridal party and when it was time for a few intimate photos we managed to sneak in a quick practice for our first dance on one of the jetty's on the dam.
My brother was our master of ceremonies and he had everyone in hysterics throughout the night but he also played a huge role in the whole day being a success. He handled absolutely everything which we will always be grateful for.
Our song selection for the evenings' proceedings continues to bring back incredible memories every time we hear them play. We wanted a unique and memorable playlist and selected the songs that truly captured Sean and I as a couple.
Couple entrance: Kiss "I was made for lovin' you"
First dance: The Turtles "Happy Together"
Father daughter dance: Rod Stewart "Forever Young"
Bouquet Toss: Cindi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna have fun"
Garter Toss: Inner Circle "Bad Boys Bad boys"
I surprised Sean with a second dress which I changed into just before our first dance. Entering the room, I saw his jaw drop but we executed our choreographed dance flawlessly.
The food was absolutely fantastic. We were so impressed with the catering and how accommodating the venue was with last minute dietary changes. Understanding that the food is a big part of the experience, we were overjoyed by the positive feedback we received from our guests.
We ended the night after hours of dancing and enjoyed a rose petal bath in a ginormous tub followed by an excellent nights sleep in the luxury hotel suite. The next morning we were woken up by our fathers, eager to share stories from the night before. We and all of the guests who stayed over had a beautiful brunch followed by swimming, tanning and sharing laughs & memories from the night before.
A wedding is a truly magical occasion. An opportunity for your closest friends and family to come together to celebrate two people's love for one another, two people joining two families. Definitely one of the greatest days of our lives.
Unfortunately we were not able to go on honeymoon due to Covid-19 lockdown. Although our wedding was in January we decided to postpone our honeymoon to April to maximize on the public holidays and extend our trip.
Sean and I spent months planning our dream adventure holiday in the Philippines. We were so excited to swim with the whaleshark in Oslob, explore the island of Siargao and adventure across to El Nido. Our itinerary was set and we were ready to jet set across the Indian Ocean but sadly 2 weeks before our departure date, our trip was cancelled due to the announcement of lockdown and sadly the travel agency liquidated, taking our hard earned honeymoon money with it.
Although we weren't able to experience our dream honeymoon, we are both so grateful that we were able to have our dream wedding unaffected by the pandemic.
I have always loved a classic look and my vision was to keep everything simple but elegant.
Hair & Makeup
I knew I was in good hands with Canvas Makeup Artistry's, Elrike.
I decided on an up-style with a side braid and kept a very natural make up look.
I am so proud of everything this lady has achieved and the professionalism she brings to the job is incredible. I can't wait to use her services again for another special occasion.
Wedding Dress
"You don't choose your dress, the dress chooses you" could not have been more true for me. I visited a lot of boutiques to try on dresses to see what looked best and nothing grabbed me. When I visited Crystal Brides in Pretoria, she sat me down and asked me what I have seen and liked and then told me that she was going to show me only 2 dresses. I loved both of them but when I tried on the second option I started shaking and I knew that I had found my dress.
The dress is Enchanting by Mon Cheri
Reception Dress
I planned a little surprise outfit for Sean which I changed into after the speeches. It was a custom made white flapper dress designed and made by Jolache Couture in Potchefstroom.
Shoes
This is a funny story. I had tried on a pair of shoes with my dress and decided to buy them. Somehow there was a mix up later in the year and someone else had bought my shoes. I trusted that everything happens for a reason and this gave me more time to look around and I came across the most magical pair of shoes from Opari.
Lingerie
This was bought strategically so that there were no lines visible.
Jewellery and Accessories
I generally don't wear much jewellery so I kept it simple with some pearl earrings that I borrowed from my mom and a delicate hair clip to finish off the look.
Award-winning bridal collections; that offer timeless designs with impeccable fit, exceptional quality, hand-beading and luxurious fabrics.
Our wedding venue was Kloofzicht Lodge and Spa in Gauteng.
This venue is only 40min outside of Johannesburg in the Cradle of Humankind, but when you arrive at the lodge, you feel as though you are miles away from any civilization. As we walked through the entrance doors we were welcomed by a beautiful dam and a surreal view of the Zwartkops mountains. We chose this venue because the staff were so accommodating to our every request allowing us to have exactly what we wanted. We were also able to have an open-air ceremony which was set on the edge of the dam with the beautiful mountains as the backdrop. The venue also offers beautiful accommodation, allowing us to spend a few nights at the Lodge to fully absorb the experience.
We invited our friends and family to join us on the Friday evening for a pre-wedding celebration. We booked for dinner at the Lodge's restaurant where we spent hours catching up with our nearest and dearest and to build excitement for the big day.
An added bonus is that the venue package included an additional night stay on our first anniversary. We were once again treated like royalty from the moment we arrived.
Host life’s most important moments at Kloofzicht Lodge & Spa, 30 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the city
I didn't have any particular regime in place however I tried to be more consistent with a healthy lifestyle which included healthier eating choices and regular exercise.
I did spoil my mom and I to a Spa day the day before the wedding, where we had relaxing massages and pedicures while the boys tried their luck with some fishing in the dam.
Sean and I were in agreement on the decor from the very beginning. We are both in love with the South African King Protea and it was a no brainer for us that this flower would be the centre piece of our decor. Throughout our years of dating he would always spoil me with proteas and I'm sure it wouldn't surprise anyone that Sean designed my engagement ring inspired by the protea.
Our vision was a rustic table setting with candles, greenery, fynbos and of course proteas. Pretty Bunches blew us away with their table settings and their ability to understand our vision and make it a reality. We had numbers lasered onto log slices for the tables (Rustic Laser Art) and to finish the look we had a beautiful leaf placed under each glass underplate.
We used white draping with fairy lights across the back wall behind our main table as well as star style fairy lights and draping on the ceiling. This tied in with our white table cloths and white chair covers accentuating the natural greenery on the tables (FF Decor). They also supplied the draping for the ceremony and the lawn games which were laid out during the canapes for the guests to enjoy.
To add our personal touch to the room we had our initials "I & S" printed on an A0 sticker which we stuck in the middle of the dance floor.
Sean wore a navy blue suit from Woolworths with brown leather shoes & belt. The groomsmen looked dashing in their navy blue Woolworths blazers and beige chinos. To finish the look they each wore a blue tie and the original blue Granadilla socks. In keeping with the theme and decor, the groom and groomsmen each wore a rock rose boutonniere.
The saying a bridesmaid is like a sister, best friend, someone a bride's big day would be incomplete without is exactly what my bridesmaids were. My 3 bridesmaids played out of their boots in showing me love and support throughout the build up to our special day and I could not have asked for anything more.
I think finding the perfect bridesmaid dress was more difficult than finding my wedding dress.
At first I wanted the girls to choose their own style in line with my colour palette, however they insisted I make the decision as it was my day and they wanted me to be completely happy with the choice. I finally decided on a simple but elegant style in emerald green and the girls loved it.
I ordered the dresses from MayMay Attire. She is a wonderful local designer and she has such great fabric and styles to suit every occasion.
We were fortunate enough to have a family member marry us. Sean's uncle is a pastor and licensed marriage officer. (Brent Chalmers)
I was lucky enough to have won an engagement shoot when attending the Bridal Expo at Oakfield Farm.
This is how we met Joanna (Uniq Images Photography).
She was so incredible during our engagement shoot, we knew she was going to be our photographer for our wedding day. We are so happy with how the photographs turned out and so grateful that she was there to capture the moments.
We also decided to use the services of a videographer to ensure we had a video highlighting the day. We were lucky to know a talented young professional who was excited to shoot our wedding. He went above and beyond and provided us with a beautiful video clip of all the spectacular moments of the day. (Ashwin Productions)
We couldn't resist including a Retro photobooth (Propel Photo Booth Hire) set up during the canapes for our guests to enjoy. Guests were able to take these photos home as well as stick them into our guest book. We kept our guestbook safe until our 1st anniversary when we read everyone's messages.
With more than five years experience in wedding photography and a Fine Art degree from Michaelis School of Art, I am very confident in my technical skills, high level of creativity
Propel Photo Booths provide innovative and quality photo booths for all occasions.
Sean and I decided to plan our wedding day together. I am known at work as the Excel guru, so naturally I created spreadsheet after spreadsheet ensuring I covered all elements of the day and most importantly, our budget. It was truly rewarding to see all our hard work come together.
Sean was my pillar of support, finding our venue and helping me comb through the hundreds of decisions we had to make.
Thankfully the venue included a co-ordinator on the day to welcome our service providers and ensure everything ran smoothly. We were able to sit back and fully enjoy the day.
The venue, Kloofzicht Lodge and Spa catered on the day.
This was no small task as I had a number of vegans attending (including myself). We chose a buffet style dinner and the vegans were catered for separately. We were blown away by the food and we received so many compliments from our guests. Food is always a hot topic at weddings and I am thankful that everything was so delicious.
The wedding cake was an absolute hit and the best part, it was all vegan. We decided to have a sweet canape's and cut the cake before the reception. Plant Powered Patisserie delivered such a fantastic service at such a reasonable price. I would recommend them for all weddings.
Host life’s most important moments at Kloofzicht Lodge & Spa, 30 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the city
Our "save the dates" and official invites were sent to our guests using a free wedding website, WithJoy.com. This worked well for us as our guests were spread across the country and it provided us with a single location to manage attendees and communication.
Paperkutz truly came to our rescue with only one week to go; our seating plan had changed for the third time. We ordered our last minute seating plan, menus and thank you cards from them. They designed the prints in line with our theme which brought everything together. Our thank you cards were attached to a mini spekboom, which each guest could take home with them.
During the last few months leading up to our wedding day, we booked dance lessons with The Dance Junxion to ensure we were well prepared for our first dance. We had so much fun practicing and our choreographed dance was executed flawlessly thanks to our amazing dance instructor. The instructor was extremely patient with Sean and always gave us homework to improve our dance.
We were very excited to have Michael sing during our canapes. He is an extremely talented man and always draws a crowd. (Musician: Mike the GuitarMan). We originally heard Michael at an outdoor market, fell in love with his voice and booked him immediately.
The sound and music for the rest of the day and evening was taken care of by Liam Walsh (Pulse Dj's). He is an extremely experienced DJ in the wedding industry and reads the crowd so well. He ensured that he had all the necessary mics and equipment for the ceremony and reception. It was a true blessing to receive a full end to end service. Liam touched base with us to ensure he found the perfect set for our taste and ensured our favorites were thrown into the set.
Host life’s most important moments at Kloofzicht Lodge & Spa, 30 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the city
Propel Photo Booths provide innovative and quality photo booths for all occasions.
With more than five years experience in wedding photography and a Fine Art degree from Michaelis School of Art, I am very confident in my technical skills, high level of creativity
Award-winning bridal collections; that offer timeless designs with impeccable fit, exceptional quality, hand-beading and luxurious fabrics.
