Rewind to a week before the wedding - We had been planning the most beautiful and perfect outdoor wedding since July 2020, and 3 days before the wedding a HEAVY 100% chance of rain was forecasted, after weeks of beautiful sunny days.
In a huge panic, and desperate attempt to save the fairytale forest wedding ceremony the bride and mom set out to find 120 plastic umbrella's for the guests. Thank you China Town!
The morning of the wedding it did not rain... it POURED! The bride was totally unaware of everything the groom and coordinator had been organising behind the scenes, from back-up ceremony chairs set up in the reception hall, to a whole team with towels waiting in the forest to wipe the benches as the girls get ready for the wedding. The ceremony was set to start at 14h00, and when I say it POURED, I really mean buckets full of rain (and a rainbow).
At 13h55, the rain stopped. Completely. The clouds opened up, the sun peeped out and it was the most picturesque day. I remember walking down the aisle with my dad and we both just mumbled "Dankie Liewe Jesus".
The rain stopped for a whole 25 minutes - just enough time for the ceremony and signing of the registry to be done in the forest, and for guests to move into the reception area for canapes and drinks. It started pouring down just after the last granny and grandpa were under the roof! But as they say, rain symbolises blessing and fruitfulness!
It really was the most perfect day.
We are planning a lovely trip to Istanbul, Turkey for our honeymoon - what could be more romantic than hot air balloon rides!
But celebrated a small honeymoon and get away on the West Coast in Velddrif the week after the wedding.
My wedding look was simple, timeless, elegance with a hint of Las Vegas!
My wedding dress story:
I begin to lose faith in the whole "when you know, you know" idea, as I fitted over a 100 dresses, each as pretty as the previous.
I made a trip up to KZN to visit my parents and my mom suggested we try a few boutiques in the area for some more ideas.
Bella Bride KZN was the first stop, we even took dad with.
I tried on 6 very different style dresses, and I kid you not, number 6 was the one.
After 105 other dresses. Number 106 was the one!
The feeling of "when you know, you know" truely does exist!
Mom & dad were both in tears, and we bought the dress on the spot!
My dress was a simple, plain trumpet-style dress, with material buttons down the front and a plunging neck line. We opted for a BIG poofy removable skirt to add drama, and a cathedral-style pearl veil.
Picture perfect.
Yolandi from Bella Bride was the ABSOLUTE best - she arranged all of our fitting and alterations to fit my program as I had to fly up from Cape Town every time.
The journey was seamless, beautiful, joyful and I felt like a real princess.
Wedding Dress - Bella Bride KZN
Jewellery - Make Space Jewellery
Hair & Make-Up - Ilana Geldenhuys MUA
Photographer - MICK Creative
Videographer - Dearbeb Media & Second Luke Films
Micke specialises in high-end, creative and documentary-style wedding photography that captures you in your most comfortable and natural state.
We got married at De Uijlenes, Old Barn in Gansbaai.
The ceremony was held in the Forest and the reception in the Old Barn.
The wedding was a whole weekend and all the guests slept on the venue the night before the wedding and the night of the venue.
With two equally unique and different wedding venues on the farm to choose from and surrounded by glorious countryside, you will be blown away.
For the whole year of 2021 I invested in a fantastic skin regime using of Dermexcel products. I went for a light chemical peel and micro-needling treatment every 6 weeks to ensure a smooth and glowing skin on the day of the wedding.
My hair I treated in the same way, with regular visits to SHOW Hair & Beauty for hair treatments and intravenous "glow" drips to energise and rejuvenate!
The décor was our biggest project!
We did everything ourselves.
The table flowers, which was only pampas grass, were hand picked on my father-in-law's farm in Clanwilliam, hung out to dry for 2-3 weeks and then spray painted in various shades of pink and orange. We spent weekend upon weekend picking pampas and spray painting them to save on some of the wedding costs - and had the most fun while doing so!
Each guest also received a pen sketched picture of themselves (this was used as our find-your-seat) drawn by the bride.
The main table flower arrangement and bride's bouquet were done by the fantastic Husband & Wife Team in the Overberg. They used beautiful colours of pink, purple and orange to compliment the table settings.
The lawn games (Giant Jenga) at the canapes and pre-drinks area as well as all the lighting were also done by the Husband & Wife Team.
We rented the table cutlery, candles and candle holders form Hire4U located in Kuilsrivier, and transported it all the way to Gansbaai - The Bride and mothers set up all the décor ourselves! We are still very proud of how everything turned out!
The groomsmen wore all black suits, with white collared shirts.
The groom wore a floral skinny tie, and the groomsmen floral bowties of the same material that was hand-picked by the bride and groom.
Their ties were all made by Karin Fourie, a local dressmaker and designer in Cape Town.
My bridesmaids are from all over the country, so having their dresses made were quite a challenge!
Hence, I decided on an "easy", flattering cut that would fit all bodies. We opted for a loose and flowy skirt, with different necklines which the bridesmaids could choose themselves- I wanted them to feel pretty and comfortable on the day!
The material was satin, which I sourced myself, in all shades of pink! I spent days trying to find the perfect pink palette and numerous material shops around Cape Town
The dresses were then all made by the same designer that made the groom and groomsmen ties, Karin Fourie.
Our Marriage Officer was Pastor Gawie Gouws, from Swellendam.
We had the most incredible photography and videography team!
They took our crazy ideas and visions of a Vegas wedding and turned it into reality, capturing every single special element of our day!
We were so comfortable at all times - and are strongly considering getting married again just to take model for more photos!
Videographers - Dearbeb Media & Second Luke Films
Photograper - MICK Creative
Micke specialises in high-end, creative and documentary-style wedding photography that captures you in your most comfortable and natural state.
We had a coordinator on the day, as included with our venue. Her name was Danelle from De Uijelenes and she was the absolute BEST!
With two equally unique and different wedding venues on the farm to choose from and surrounded by glorious countryside, you will be blown away.
Due to the crazy amount of rain, we opted to use the venue's shuttle to move down from the bridal suite to the ceremony area. It's about a 500 m drive.
Our catering for the night before the wedding and the wedding was done by the fantastic Chef Maurice of De Uijlenes Venue.
The cake was a tall layered pink velvet cake transported all the way from Cape Town on the morning of the wedding and was baked by The Velvet Cake Co.
My best friend and room mate designed all our stationary - she also brought alive my Las Vegas wedding dreams with different fonts and prints!
We then had it printed at the local print shop - Wizards Printing, and cut and stuck it ourselves.
Our reception was held in The Old Barn on the De Uijelenes Venue. The hall has a very unique rustic, but chic vibe to it, also exceeding all of our expectations!
For our entrance we did a famous "TikTok" dance move on the remix of the song Love Story by Taylor Swift.
We didn't rehearse the opening dance, as we wanted it to be special, uncomplicated and spontaneous. And it was all that and more! There were lots of tears, and lots of laughter! The bridesmaids and groomsmen joined in after a few minutes, and the colours of pink dresses under the fairy lights were extraordinary.
The lights were all done by The Husband & Wife Team
We had a DJ for our canapes and reception, DJ Andre from the DJ Dean SA Service. He was also the BEST!
Micke specialises in high-end, creative and documentary-style wedding photography that captures you in your most comfortable and natural state.
With two equally unique and different wedding venues on the farm to choose from and surrounded by glorious countryside, you will be blown away.
