My most special memory of our marriage day, 22 December 2020, was seeing Pieter (my handsome husband) waiting in the woods, at the end of the walkway, with tears in his eyes as I was making my way towards him. That moment was breathtakingly beautiful. No words can explain what I felt in my heart and soul in that moment!
If there was a competition for honeymoon-planning, Pieter would without a doubt be the winner. He had a little help from Elzanne at All about Travel….
The honeymoon was planned with so much attention to detail and a lot of heart and soul went into it. It was beyond magical and felt like a fairytale! We stayed our first night near the venue at the Boutique Villa Guesthouse in Somerset West – the curfew was 11pm, so we couldn’t travel far that night. The honeymoon suite was beautiful and a bottle of wine awaited us in the room!
Then we went to 3 magical destinations.
1 - Botlierskop Private Game Reserve - we had an amazing experience staying in the luxury tented suites. We went on game drives at were treated to the most amazing food.
2 - Trogan House and Forest Spa - wow what an unforgettable experience it was to wake up to the sound of roaring lions in the distance, and the views was spectacular. Pieter, being an adrenaline junkie, planned some adventures here as well. We went river rafting and treetop swinging!
3 - Bushmans Kloof Wilderness retreat & Wellness centre. What a superb setting and we were treated like royalty!I don't think any place on earth could ever come close to the experience and memories we made here. From picnics to mud spa experiences!
All of the venues went out of their way to meet our every need and as a honeymoon couple we were really spoiled with little extras!
My wedding dress was simple and elegant. It had a sweetheart neckline, open back and princess-like train. The sweetheart neckline really accentuated my athletic shoulders and smaller bust. The bodice of the dress was embellished with pearls and the bottom of the dress and train was a pristine, smooth-looking white. My veil was long and simple - it draped all the way down my dress. You could see the sparkle of the pearls shining through the veil as I was walking on the gravel trail in the woods. All of this was the creation of Anri Ham Bridal Wear in Paarl!
To accessorize my beautiful dress, I chose organically-shaped, statement pearl earrings from Jade in Stellenbosch. It really tied the whole look together and looked beautifully on our photos!
My hair was done by Rentia Weber in a soft feminine wavey look. I loved it!
Contrasting with the elegant pearls of my dress, my makeup was smokey and dramatic to match the earthy browns of the forest scene at Winery Road Forest. The earthy look really emphasised my green eyes and made for stunning photos! Thank you Samantha Carter.
I would describe my bridal look as earthy and a complete representation of who I am as a person. I am a unique and a rare find - down to earth, adventurous. But still feminine!
Craig Marks Jewellery was responsible for our custom made engagement and wedding rings.
I also wore light brown heels from Aldo Tygervalley.
Our breath-taking forest offers various options for a customised wedding ceremony under a natural pine canopy
Our marriage ceremony took place in the charming forest scenery of Winery Road Forest, Stellenbosch. It has a beautiful ambiance and when you look up into the treetops, you really feel one with nature. We had our ceremony in the woods and our reception in the rustic old barn with the most beautiful chapel.
Our guests stayed the night in the guesthouses surrounding Winery Road Forest - Vredenburg Manor Guesthouse, Acara Guest cottages and In The Vine.
Our breath-taking forest offers various options for a customised wedding ceremony under a natural pine canopy
My bridal beauty regime leading up to our wedding day was shared with dear family members and friends that are very close to me. My mother-in -law treated me to a lovely spa day at Majeka House, filled with various indulging treatments and lots of pampering. There was a steam room, sauna and heated pool. I got to share this special day with my lovely mother- and sister-in-law. I had a fun make-up trial with the makeup artist, Samantha Carter. I love living a healthy and vibrant lifestyle, so I just kept to my normal healthy routine.
I had a sunkissed spraytan at Endermologie Winelands, two days before my wedding. They were really helpful and gave topnotch advice.
My wedding ceremony was set in a beautiful pine forest, next to a quint dam which overlooked the Stellenbosch mountains. The ceremony took place in the woods, surrounded by large trees. My guest sat on rustic wooden benches. The small stage in front, was encircled with a frame of wild flowers in shades of pink and whites. My bridemaids’ dresses and bridal bouquets were mixes of the same flowers and my bouquet had wild flowers and a white protea – Flowers by Blomlief Paarl, Marelize Meyer.
The rustic, enchanted, forest feel of the wedding ceremony carried through to the inside of the venue... (which I will come to shortly)...
Once the ceremony was complete, my guest moved to the lawn in front of a beautiful dam which mirrored the picturesque mountains in the background. Here our guest had their pre-drinks and a scrumptious harvest table was served.
Thereafter, we moved into the wedding venue for the reception! Guests walked through the courtyard, over the dancefloor into the rustic dining hall. They were seated at two long tables, with us seated at our Mr and Mrs table at the front.
Our décor was white table cloths and stunning bouquets of my signature flowers in pink and white, at equal intervals along the table (each connected with leaves) and beautiful candles in between. Behind our table was a curtain of fairy lights and outside above the dance floor, were strings of lights – just like a starry night!
Décor was provided by Creative Nook, San-Marie Jacobs.
While we had our first dance as Couple Du Plessis, our guests surrounded us by lit sparklers from Quirky Parties.
Pieter wore a custom tailormade super 180 wool suit made by Pieter du Preez of "The Modernist" team. His tie and pocket hankie was from Zed Menswear. Shoes from Rockport Canal Walk. White shirt from Twill.
The Groomsmen wore Chinos from Trenery with white collar shirts, leather bow ties, and leather suspenders (The Envy - Elsamari Hoffman).
My bridesmaids wore infinity dresses from Daisy Island by Tanja, in a soft sage colour. The look was inspired by our wedding colour scheme, as well as their individual personalities.
I wanted to give my bridesmaids the opportunity to express themselves and be comfortable in what they wore. The infinity dresses allowed them to personalize the style of the dress to suit their bodytype and preference, while creating a cohesive image as a whole.
MUAH - Rentia Weber, Roxanne van Riet
Joseph Peter Oosthuizen and Marius Cornelisson – both dear family friends!
*The very talented Talita - Inka Photography. We are already in love with all our photos!
Jean de Villiers - Volk & Vlieer (videographer) and Jaen Kleynhans- Volk & Vlieer (video editor), very special to me – this is my talented brother!
Thank you for the professional and creative manner in which you captured our wedding day.
Cape Town based Wedding and Elopement photographer, documenting love in its most honest forms.
Lize Francis from Winery Road Forest coordinated our day and most of the planning was done by me and my hubby!
Our breath-taking forest offers various options for a customised wedding ceremony under a natural pine canopy
A close family friend, happens to be the owner of an Austin Healy factory and courteously gave us his personal custom built Austin Healy to ride off into the sunset on our special day. Thank you Ruan Malan
Niel van Zyl from Concept food catering was our caterer. We had the harvest table for a starter, followed by a fillet steak, roasted jacket potatoes and veggies with salads as the main. The desert was milkshakes topped with a macaron, crème brulee, lemon meringues and our wedding cake by The Frenchie Bakery, Paarl.
Top wines from Beyerskloof, Stonewall, Annandale, Louisa, Warwick and Grimond was served to our guests.
We are fuelled by passion and ambition to approach every wedding with creativity and meticulous attention to detail.
We decided to only have a mirror with the table seating provided on it as the whole ambiance of the venue was more rustic and not as formal. We spent the little extra we saved by not having stationary on the tables, on our honeymoon!
We went for dance lessons at Sarene's Dance Studio, Strand, who assisted us with a modern rumba for our opening dance. We used Paul from YourDj, who put together our wedding playlist and was responsible for sound and lighting on the day.
Our breath-taking forest offers various options for a customised wedding ceremony under a natural pine canopy
We are fuelled by passion and ambition to approach every wedding with creativity and meticulous attention to detail.
Cape Town based Wedding and Elopement photographer, documenting love in its most honest forms.
