Our intimate family wedding happened in a storm - not only the weather that day, or the pandemic raging around us, but Miguel’s father was sick in ICU with severe COVID infection. We had moved our wedding twice before and we decided to proceed provided he was stable.
It was incredibly difficult for Miguel to not have his mother or father there. My father walked me down the aisle in the school chapel I had been at for 12 years.
One of the magic moments happened as we were driving through Amakhala Game Reserve, trying time best the storm to a look out point for photos, and we got stuck in a herd of giraffe running beside the vehicles. I will never forget the sight of those massive, majestic animals running! The sheer size of them made it look like they were running in slow motion!
Not yet - with COVID we are planning on going to Sardinia when travel is safer. We spent the weekend at Hlosi Game Reserve with our family.
I was aiming for a mix of classic, timeless, and elegant. I did want to incorporate Miguel’s Portuguese and Catholic heritage and so I opted for a Mantilla Veil.
My dress was a custom Janita Toerien dress, sleeved mermaid with lace and a plunging neckline. It fit me like a second skin! It is still the most beautiful dress I have ever seen!
My jewellery was bespoke Phillip Wulfsohn, made from diamonds from my Grandfather’s previous ring. My wedding and engagement rings were from Browns.
Robyn Bowles did my hair and make up (touch ups by Yolande Oosthuizen after the rain) and I opted for classic finger waves. Lashes by Hey Mickey, and brows and tan by Queen Bee.
Shoes were an amazing find at Aldo.
We were married in the Kingswood chapel in Grahamstown. Miguel’s party stayed at The Milner by The Oyster Collection. We then celebrated at Hlosi Game Lodge on the Amakhala Game Reserve. We all stayed for two nights to celebrate as a family (all 10 of us, including two toddlers).
Hair care by Eloise, at Crown of Beauty. Brows and tan by Queen Bee. Lashes by Hey Mickey. Skin care and treatments by both SCIN at Wembley Square (and Dr. Pillay), as well as Sean Christians a Detmatologist in Library Square Cape Town.
I would never have fit into that dress without Mariam Forgan (dietician in Cape Town) and workouts from Linn Lowes (Fitplan).
This was a small, intimate family wedding, so there was not a reception per se. We decorated the table at Hlosi with decor from Floral Designs in Port Elizabeth. We had gold rimmed underplates with white plates, three large floral arrangements, gold and glass candle holders and tea lights, gold cutlery, and pink serviettes.
No groomsmen - Miguel’s suit was custom from Frank Bespoke, a three piece navy suit. I believe he bought his shoes in Italy, where we were engaged.
His nephew and brother-in-law dressed to match in navy with suspenders.
It was a small family wedding so no bridesmaids.
Philip Howard married us. He was excellent about tailoring the service to what we wanted, the perfect mix of tradition and ceremony but short and sweet!
Sophie Smith was our photographer and we could not have wished for better! Both of us are not exactly comfortable in front of a camera but she managed to put us at ease and by the end we were even laughing and enjoying ourselves. She completely understood that we didn’t want cliched pictures, and was able to use the drama of the weather to create some truly beautiful images.
No, unless you count my sister-in-law Tanya Rossouw who took over all the planning and logistics when I just couldn’t anymore (we thought we were going to cancel a third time and it was just too much).
We used Miguel’s Mercedes as the roads in Makanda are not really suitable for classic cars.
The food was catered by the team at Hlosi, the wedding cake was made by a friend of my mother’s. It almost didn’t survive the drive to the game lodge on the dirt roads!
We did not require stationary for this wedding.
Reception was just a small intimate family dinner. We did bring in wine nd MCC from Beau Constantia to toast the occasion.
