- One of our highlights was waking in the morning to do my usual Yoga and meditation.
- I also enjoyed having my bridesmaids getting ready with me at the Bridal Suite, as danced and drank champagne.
- Walking down aisle and looking at how handsome my "husband-to-be" was, I started getting butterflies immediately, I could see no one else but him and his smile.
- Beautiful poems that were recited during the ceremony, that almost made me cry
- Looking into Chris's eyes during the ceremony, and trying so hard not to cry
- Ribbons that were tied by our guests during the ceremony, each colour representing a blessing (i.e communication, passion)
- My friend singing "Umakoti ngowethu..." after the ceremony as she was leading people to pick up confetti
- All the speeches at the ceremony
- Dancing with the Scottish Ceilidh band and getting everyone up to join in.
We call it a 'mini-moon', we enjoyed ours at a Yoga retreat called Bodhi Khaya (which was 6 minutes from our wedding venue). We spent our days hiking, doing some yoga and swimming in the dam. On our way to Franschhoek, we went passed Calendon Spa for the day and spent our our last 2 nights at Le Franschhoek hotel.
My look was an combination of African-White wedding, with a tint of colour. We wanted the wedding to signify a union of 2 individuals from different backgrounds and cultures, so we stuck to the theme in every element of the wedding.
We got married at De Uijlenes Rustic Farm, Gansbaai, Western Cape. We were fortunate that the venue included accommodation with the venue cost, with an additional accommodation as an option as we had planned to have 120 guests. All our guests stayed at the venue, only a few used Airbnb around Gansbaai.
With two equally unique and different wedding venues on the farm to choose from and surrounded by glorious countryside, you will be blown away.
Everything I did was at the comfort of my home.
Health - I went on a low-no carb diet, and 6 weeks before the wedding me and Chris went on a strict vegetarian diet and no alcohol.
Fitness: Yoga with Adriene (Youtube) daily, exercise using the Nike app and The body couch TV (Youtube channel), Also dancing every at least twice a week.
Skin - mum's homemade face mask combining: eggs white, lemon, Avocado and milk
We went for an African-White wedding theme which encompassed both our personalities, cultures and traditions. This included some African fabrics for bunting and napkins, beautiful greenery and floral tops to compliment the Rustic Farm. Deco, Flowers, lighting and the wedding cake were provided by the The Husband and Wife Team and the chairs provided by the Venue (De Uijlenes).
The Groom bought his stunning suit at Tailor me, in Parkhurst. A combination of Italian wool for the jacket, with velvet lapels and pockets. For the waist coat, African wax material designed as a double breasted french cut, both with a beautiful paisley inner lining.
For the groomsmen: They combined white shirts, black formal shoes and pants with Xhosa accessories to compliment the Bridesmaids. These are known as 'Isidanga' , which are the black beads running across the body, 'Imsimbi' around their arm, 'Umgqa' around the neck, and 'iBhayi' over the shoulder.
The bridesmaids wore modern-xhosa dresses called 'Umbhaco', which combined cotton twirl material with binding. Each dress was made to the bridesmaid's individual design and the different colours to represent the cosmopolitan cultures and upbringing.
Our Celebrant was a wonderful lady called Linda Everitt. Our ceremony combined readings (2 poems, one in Xhosa and another in English). We had a unity ceremony (where we shared 2 different wines) and shared a bowl of 'umqombothi' (traditional beer) with our guests.The other highlight included our guests for the 'hand fasting' ceremony, where one came up to tie a ribbon, and the other explained what blessing the colour of the ribbon represented. Finally, when the ceremony was over, we had a beautiful song, and the guests joined in, this song is usually sang by the Grooms family after the wedding to welcome her into the 'new family'
Our photographer was Dani Smith, who is well organised, and pays attention to detail, but also shoots very documented style (which was perfect for us). Also we enjoyed the shoot because she had some water, and played some of our songs to get us in the mood to dance and smile (specifically asked for in the questionnaire before the wedding)
Our photographer Gustav complimented Dani's shooting style which was amazing. Gustav was very easy to work with and sometimes you wouldn't even notice he was in the room.
I create authentic wedding films, and would be honoured to bring your love story to life.
The planning was done by us, we had a coordinator for the wedding day. Belinda (from De Uijlenes) was amazing at helping us keep calm and stick to the schedule for the day. She was pleasant to work with as we tried to put things together and was in constant communication with our service providers.
With two equally unique and different wedding venues on the farm to choose from and surrounded by glorious countryside, you will be blown away.
We used our hired cars
The food was AMAZING!, if you remember we spent 2 nights at the venue where we had a braai and pub quiz the day before. On the wedding day we were provided with a scrumptious full breakfast, a harvest table immediately after the ceremony and dinner at the reception which was a nice Lamb and vegetables. The day after the wedding we had a food market setup, with all sorts of nibbles ranging from bunny chow, to crumbed mushrooms, spuds etc.
Our beautiful wedding cake was provided by the Husband and Wife Team, who also did the deco, flowers and lighting.
The order of service was designed by my sister in Law Sarah and printed from Papier
The reception was probably the most emotional time of our wedding day. We walked in after taking our sunset pictures, and we were applauded my our family and friends. We had a lovely main and the speeches started, this was emotional for both me and my husband. Later in the evening once the dessert was out of the way we had an AMAZING dance session with the Scottish dancing (Ceilidh band). Everyone got up and joined in the dancing and fan, what a best way to end our lovely celebration.
I create authentic wedding films, and would be honoured to bring your love story to life.
With two equally unique and different wedding venues on the farm to choose from and surrounded by glorious countryside, you will be blown away.
