On my wedding day, I woke up to a light twinkle of drizzle, but that didn't get me down, I was too excited. The girls and I got ready at Jemima's guest lodge, in the presidential suite, overlooking the beautiful Gonubie river. By this time, the rain had stopped and the sun began to peak through the clouds, giving us the perfect setting for our "getting ready" photos. We cranked up the music and popped a bottle of champagne and took in the beautiful view whilst the videographer worked his magic.
In the car, on the way to the the wedding venue, I practised my vowes as my heart thumped and my excitement grew. My dad was there to greet me and help me out of the car and before I knew it, my beautiful bridesmaids were making their way down a beautifully white laid carpet in the open gardens at Country Bumpkin, Floridale Nursery and then it was my turn. Clinging onto my dad's firm arm, I walked down the aisle, trying to take in as much of the glorious setting as possible, whilst trying not to cry, as I saw my "soon-to-be" husband standing at the alter waiting for me.
The ceremony was intimate and tranquil. I could feel the sun rays on my skin and the birds chirping from the trees, as if they were celebrating with us.
After signing, we made our way down a few stone built stairs where we were met with a rainbow of confetti and our loving family and friends.
Our photo session was one of my favourite parts about the day. We ordered pink smoke bombs for a different effect in our photos and I am so glad we went with the idea. It was tons of fun and the pictures are truely spectacular.
Our 5 course menu truely blew my guests away because the food was unbelievable. Country Bumpkin is known for their awesome food.
After many hilarious and embarrassing speeches, we danced the night away on our outdoor dance floor litup by tons of fairy lights
We spent our first night of the honeymoon, in the Presidential Suite at Jemima's in Gonubie (where the girls and I got ready.) We woke up to a full English breakfast, champagne and fruits and chocolates, which we were able to enjoy on our own private terrace, overlooking the pool and the gonubie river.
We then made our way along the garden route to Kei Mouth, where we stayed at a family home with beautiful ocean views, entertainment rooms (pool table,bar, braai areas) and too many bedrooms to chose from.
After unpacking, we were able to go exploring at the local craft shops and took long walks on the beach and had dinners at one of their finest restaurants overlooking the ocean.
When it came to a wedding dress, I knew I wanted something different. After trying many dresses on, it always felt like the dress was wearing me. So after many hours of searching for unique wedding dresses online, I found a 2 piece wedding dress design and fell in love with the idea. So I reached out to my designers "Dress for Style & Jess at Poquet."
They pulled it off brilliantly! It was so amazing to see this dress come to life!
I would describe my style as somewhat modern Bohemian. I wanted a flower halo from the get go and I am so glad I stuck to that choice, because the halo pulled the whole look together beautifully.
Bianca from Intrinsic has been my beautician for years, so it was an obvious choice when it came to choosing a make up artist and oh boy did she do a fantastic job!
The dark burgundy lip to match my burgundy colour scheme and skin so smooth, I felt like a doll.
I was indecisive when it came to my hair, but because I wanted the flower halo to be the focal point, I decided on soft lose curls. Thank you to Jean Breedt for assisting with the hair.
We got married at Country Bumpkin, in the Floridale Nursery, which is situated on the old Gonubie Road in East London. Our ceremony was held in their lushious blooming gardens and our reception was held in the main restaurant.
In the months leading up to my big day, I wanted to focus on my skin. I have always battled with my skin and wanted to make it a priority. I came across a lady by the name of Cheree Mc Ewen who was advertising her own business on Facebook. Thankfully not only does she live in the same town as me, but in the same suburb! This made our appointments quite convenient for me. She specialises in skin care techniques which includes microneedling and dermaplaining. After alternating between the two techniques and using her product range called "formulage," I was finally at a point where I could face the public without smothering a drop of foundation on my face. My skin was so clear and healthy. Cheree didn't only help me with my skin for my wedding day ; she has helped my skin for life and I couldn't be more grateful.
Although my wedding was in summer,
I wanted to make sure I had a natural summer glow. With all the planning and running around to place and fetch orders, there wasn't always time to relax in the sun and catch a tan. I turned to my beautician (Bianca @Intrinsic Beauty) for a few sunbed sessions, which gave me the perfect summer glow I was looking for! Bianca also did my wedding nails and my flawless wedding makeup.
When it comes to fitness, I've always loved gym. I am a member of the Body Culture gym in Beacon Bay, East London. It's a way to unwind after a long day at work and gives me loads of energy and confidence. My workouts mostly consisted of cardio and a bit of muscle toning.
We had the best help when it came to our décor and flowers. Cheryl at Function Junction is so talented and made life alot easier for us, as she provided the bulk of the ceremony and reception setup and was my go-to flower guru. Function Junction is literally "everything under one roof." I could almost call Cheryl my wedding planner, which is a title I feel she most deserves!
Cheryl and I took a walk through the venue at Country Bumpkin, with numerous creative ideas flowing to compliment the beautiful setting it already presented.
Country Bumpkin presented its own challenges when it came to the décor, as it is not known as a wedding venue, but more as a family restaurant and nursery. I fell in love with the thought of having my close intimate wedding there and had an image in my mind of what I wanted it to look like.
Cheryl took to my ideas to transform the well known restaurant into my fairytale wedding venue I had always dreamed of.
With lots of draping and fairy lights and flowers, I suppose you could say my décor had a mixture of rustic and modern elements, giving off a relaxed and layed back atmosphere we all want to experience on an emotional and stressful day, with a touch of glam!
I gave Cheryl free range with my flowers. I just gave her a few guidelines to stick by :
1) My bouquet had to be a tear - drop bouquet.
2) The flowers had to be burgundy with a few blush pink or peach flowers to break the darkness of the burgundy flowers.
Cheryl did my fresh-flower halo as well.
From the flowers hanging above the wooden arch that we got married under, to the flowers that bridesmaids held tightly as they stood beside me, Cheryl went over and beyond with everything she did.
Cheryl at Function Junction even set up our personalized dance floor, which we had outside under the bamboo covered roof which was lit up with fairy lights.
We had 3 big individual lights made in the shape of our initials (C & K) which also lit up the dance floor as the DJ pressed play for our first dance.
My better half has never been a "suit and tie" kind of guy, so to tie in the "layed back " side of our wedding theme, we decided for him and the groomsmen to wear what they would feel most comfortable in - some sand brown chino's, a white button up shirt, suspenders and a bowtie.
Because these items are somewhat "essential" in a man's wardrobe, the men teamed up and spent a day shopping for their attire. Most items were bought at Truworths Man and Woolworths.
Each groomsman received a wooden pin badge which stated their role in the wedding - groomsman, best man, MC, along with groomsman and best man socks, which were made visible with a slight roll up of the chino's and a burgundy bowtie.
The pin badges were made by Melanie @Memorable Creations and were a lovely personal touch to their overall "rustic, layed back" look.
When it came to my gorgeous bridesmaids, I knew I wanted them in burgundy, which was the main colour pallet for my wedding.
So many people told me to either pick short or long dresses and not to mix the two as it looks "strange" in photos.
So, with it being in my nature to try something "daring," I decided to do the exact opposite of what I was told and I am so glad that I did.
Not every dress was the same pattern or length, but they were the same burgundy colour. This tied in beautifully with the relaxed theme I was looking for. Each dress had a beautiful open back piece and a sparkle element which added to the glam aspect.
My girls looked breath taking. Their dresses weren't specially made. I have always been the type of person to first weigh up my options before jumping to a decision. I just popped in to YDE (Young Designers Emporium) to see what they had in stock and I wasn't even in the shop for 5 minutes when I found all four dresses.
I knew the girls sizes and just decided to buy them there and then. I included the dresses as part of their bridesmaids gifts and they absolutely loved them!
We have known Pastor Ian Smith for many years. He has married a few members of our family in the past.
We met with Pastor Ian a few weeks prior to our big day and he was so easy to talk to and so encouraging.
He gave us free range with our wedding vows, making our ceremony extra special. His wife, Katherine Smith lead us in worship during our ceremony, which was a wonderful touch, making God the focus of our celebration.
Pastor Ian was born and raised in London, so he carries a British accent, which drew everyone in from start to finish
Amanda De Bruin @Design Photography, captured our special day. Amanda has previously captured family moments for us and I have always loved her work.
Her ability to capture emotion and her attention to detail is amazing. Her calm, helpful and creative nature made us feel comfortable and we were able to enjoy every second of our special day as she captured it.
Wesley @Videos by Wesley Thatcher, was our videographer and sound technician. I remember watching my wedding video for the first time and I had tears pouring down my face!
Such a talented videographer!
I hardly saw Wesley on the day of my wedding. He captured my entire day so effortlessly and the quality and flowidity of the video he produced is spectacular!
The wonderful thing about having our wedding at Country Bumpkin was that it was a blank canvas for us to be creative. There is a small corner section outside just past where we had the dance floor, which was undercover. We decided to turn that into our own photobooth corner. I asked Cheryl @Function Junction, put up a beautiful flower wall and drape the two sides to create our own little "photo booth corner"
It was a hit!
I can proudly say that I was able to plan my entire wedding on my own (with a little help from my husband..haha.)
Planning my special day brought out my creative side and I was able to have fun whilst doing it.
I planned my wedding over a course of two years, which gave me time to think about what I really wanted and allowed me to explore different options.
I will be honest and say, with every wedding comes many stresses, but having time to make decisions and get orders done, paid for and collected in advance and over a period of time, gives one great sense of ease.
This was my husband's area of expertise.
One of his groomsmen owns a dealership and was able to have us transported to the venue in style!
The girls and I arrived at the venue in a Mercedes Benz ML350 whilst the men arrived in an Infiniti QX70.
I have never felt so glamorous in all my life! What a smooth ride, considering the bumpy, windy road, which definitely helped keep our hair in place.
One of the main reasons for choosing Country Bumpkin as our wedding venue, is because of their food. The food was one of the biggest highlights of our wedding! The guests boasted about the food even weeks after the wedding.
We treated our guests to a 5 course menu which included a spread of sea food, homemade breads and soup, roasts, a wide variety of vegetables and sides and not to mention, 5 different mouth watering desserts!
Our beautiful 2 tier Lemon flavoured cake was made by Bronwin du Plessis @Queen Bee's Novelty Cakes.
The cake was dirty iced and draped in a beautiful array of flowers which matched our wedding colours.
We ordered our stationery from a few different places.
Our wooden table numbers, wedding invitations, gifts, card box, lights in the shape of our initials, personalized hangers and "find your seat" board, came from Iniek. https://www.iniek.co.za/
I was so happy with my order. I couldn't wait to show it off to my bridesmaids.
Our signing board, groom and groomsmen wooden pin badges, were designed and created by Melanie @Memorable creations.
https://www.facebook.com/mcreationsZA/
I love supporting local and Melanie is extremely talented. The groomsmen loved their badges, which they received as part of their gifts and we have a board that was signed by each guest and that we get to keep forever.
Our beautiful ring box was designed and created by @Wedding Accessories, which is also a local company. My son carried the personalized ring box down the aisle and it made our ring photos extra special.
https://www.facebook.com/weddingaccess/
My many years of dance classes have never come in more handy! I was able to choreograph a dance that was not too difficult to learn and fairly easy to remember.
Our first dance song was "I'm glad you came" by 5 Seconds of Summer, which allowed us to have both intimate dance moments and a bit of fun.
Our sound and lighting technician was Wesley Thatcher @On Beat - Sound Hire.
https://www.facebook.com/On-Beat-Sound-Hire-280479182848013/
