As a wedding gift, I gave my father an airplane pin for his jacket. We have a special bond and flying was “our thing”. In reference to the movie Top Gun, I call him Maverick (played by Tom Cruise) and I was his wingman, Goose. During his speech, my father requested that Ryno (the groom) join him in front. He handed the stick over (like one would say in aviation when handing over the controls/reign) to Ryno that night by putting his airplane pin on Ryno’s jacket. It was an incredible moment to witness.
Both myself and Ryno have been married before but it caused us tremendous trauma, abuse, and hurt. Funny enough, we both spent out first honeymoon on the island of Mauritius. We wanted to have a redo this time around, either Mauritius or Maldives, but unfortunately the global pandemic put a halt to all our plans. We did however, enjoy a short get-away at the coast in Ballito.
I aimed for a classic yet modern look in my own styling but also that of the decor, stationary etc. I went for a classic, elegant, yet modern dress accompanied with timeless pearls earrings.
The Blueberry Hill Hotel.
This is a magical place for us. We became house guests! We regularly visit Blueberry and we got engaged there too. Our vision has always been to have our wedding on the roof (where we got engaged) but due to bad weather we had to opt for our second choice of space on the lower floor. All our guests stayed for the night at the hotel followed by a lovely breakfast the next morning. We were blessed to have the hotel’s penthouse for our wedding night as well as the night before we left on honeymoon.
My main priority was to maintain my weight as my dress was a perfect fit! In addition, my Nimue skin routine took care of my skin, which included a facial and mild peel every three to four weeks.
Our theme was black and white with a touch of gold and crystal. All our guests were dressed in black, including the flowergirls and bridesmaids. Our tables were done with beautiful black candles, gold cutlery, clear crystal underplates with chic decor pieces filling the room.
Our ceremony was supposed to take place on the roof of the hotel, but due to bad weather we decided to move to our alternative space on the lower floor.
As said before, the groomsmen along with the other guess all wore black suits with white shirts and black skinny ties. The groom however, opted for a cream/off-white jacket with a black shirt to match.
The bridesmaids had free reign to choose a dress and style they love, as long as it was black! All three bridesmaids wore different styles unique to their personality and body type. All of the ladies, including myself, got our dresses from Bride & Co Rivonia.
The groom’s nephew officiated the wedding - Stefan Zeelie. Such a beautiful memory to be served communion as the first thing we did as husband and wife.
Ah the STUNNING VanLuke Weddings.
We absolutely adored Luke. He also captured our engagement. He has an impeccable approach - capturing each moment perfectly.
No, I did most myself with the help of my beautiful bridesmaids and mothers.
The hotel prepared our food for the day. A family friend, Danielle Diesel, baked an amazing chocolate and caramel cake along with a small gluten and dairy free option to go with it. She also made macaroons for the table as a thank-you-gift to all our guests. The macaroons were white with our initials in black on top. The cake was plain white with a small arrangement of white flowers on the side.
The groom is in the music industry and a band member of The Graeme Watkins Project so we of course had our friend Graeme Watkins do his magic with an accompaniment during the pre-drinks. At the reception, our DJ took over to get everyone dancing while Graeme kept us company as MC.
