Our wedding day, one of the biggest milestone's in our lives! Looking back on the amount of time, energy and passion that went into the planning of our special day, I am so glad I can say that it went exactly to plan, simply magical!
There were two very special moments that captured both our hearts, the first was the slideshow I created for my husband to pay tribute to his late parents, even though they were not physically there to share this special day with us they were most certainly with us and all of our friends and family in spirit.
The next was our very special first dance. Months of practice and choreography turned into the most magical, most intimate moment that we cant help but watch over and over again! Two very special moments that we will remember forever along with what our friends and family call a 'Fairy tale Wedding'
Planning a wedding during the Covid-19 Pandemic is hard enough, but trying to decide where to go on honeymoon left us with very few options. We chose to go to the Maldives after weighing up all the pro's and con's, and putting our safety first.
We chose an island resort called Dhigali which was about a 45 minute flight by seaplane from Male airport - Another first!
It was the most beautiful 7 nights of our life as a married a couple and probably the best holiday of all. It was my husband's first trip overseas so he was absolutely beside himself.
We were blessed to have made it to the island just before the Omicron variant surfaced and returned just before the 4th wave hit South Africa - we literally found the perfect window to travel!
As indecisive as I am, the one thing I was dead certain on was how I wanted to look, what I wanted to wear and who I would get them all from.
I chose an elegant yet classic look and chose a dress from 'Vonve Bridal Couture', a Wona Concept gown, crystal beaded and adorned with bold Italian lace.
Website: https://vonvebridal.co.za/
My hair was done by Avant-Garde, I wore a semi up/down hairstyle, a look that I had chosen years before, and perfectly done by Aaliyah.
Website: https://instagram.com/av_antgarde?utm_medium=copy_link
My make-up was done by Yulisha Avantarkis MUA - and I chose a natural, soft and elegant look.
To finish it all off, I wore a crystal heel from Aldo and a larger tear drop crystal earring with a beautiful crystal bracelet from Swarovski, a wedding gift from my husband.
Deciding which venue to get married at seemed to be such a daunting task at first. We made a shortlist of all the venues we wanted to see and knew that it needed to be in the KZN Midlands, closest to my hometown, Pietermaritzburg.
The very first venue we visited was the infamous Brahman Hills, just off Nottingham Road, and needless to say that this was where our venue hunting started and ended.
We both fell in love with this beautiful venue! It was simply the perfect setting to what we envisioned our wedding would be. Rolling hills filled with rose gardens and a Chapel down by the lake with a glass window overlooking the beautiful lake - simply perfect!
Our guests were treated to 5 star accommodation at Brahman Hills as well as a few other hidden gems in and around the Nottingham road area.
Situated in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Brahman Hills is a destination of choice for weddings, conferences and idyllic country escapes.
The preparation started early, we decided to go on a healthy, sustainable diet to shed of the Covid fluff and committed to a regular gym routine of 4 - 5 times a week for an hour.
The week before, we chose to slow it down a little and unwind as the tension started to reach tipping point. We chose to go for our favourite full body Thai Massage at Sunnny Thai Spa in the East Rand to reset, relax and unwind.
I topped it off with a facial at the Skin Renewal Clinic to make sure my skin looked bright and radiant for the day, whilst my husband made sure he dyed his hair to cover all the greys! - Bought him at least 10 years!
Choosing a decor theme and finding the right supplier was probably the most time consuming and stressful exercise. I spent months researching and following South Africa's best wedding decor suppliers and finally settled on Red in Paris events after visiting their showroom in Sandton and knowing for sure that they could deliver on the vision we had for a classic, elegant, yet modern with a touch of rustic (for my husband), in soft shades of pastel (white, peach, light pink). Champagne table cloths topped with black and gold accents, glass candle holders and crystal tealight holders complimented the flower arrangements we chose on each table.
Website: https://www.redinparisevents.com/
My husband, being a creative, chose to design and make our table numbers which added a little more of a personal and sentimental touch to it all.
My husband, being a very decisive person, found one supplier and stuck with them. Bespoke Suits in Nicolway Centre in Bryanston put together the perfect dark olive green 3 piece suit for him, tailor made to suit. He wore, tan leather shoes from Aldo with custom socks from Typo which he got for the Groomsman as well as part of their gifts.
My husband designed a set of custom cuff links and tie pin with cherry wood inserts for the Groomsman and himself which showcased a custom 'SC' logo that he created as well along with tan belts and dark olive green ties made from the same material as his suit.
The Groomsman all wore a tailored beige, sandstone 3 piece suit by Bespoke Suits as well, with tan leather shoes to match the Groom.
I spent months trying to find the perfect material to create the look I wanted for my Bridesmaid's. I found the perfect look on Pinterest and knew immediately that this was the look I wanted.
I eventually found the perfect material and gave the liberty of design to each of Bridesmaid's to help them bring their own personal touch to their dresses while still being perfectly in sync with our theme.
Pastor Johan Pretorius from our local church, CRC.
Photographs make sure that memories last forever and Bridaltech knew exactly how we wanted our photography captured. After spending months looking for the perfect photographer, my husband found Bridaltech sitting right under his nose as a service provider he had used for work previously.
Website: https://www.bridaltech.co.za/
We specifically wanted Cinematography as opposed to just Videography, we knew that when we looked back on our day, we wanted it to be captured in the most creative way possible, and what better way to showcase this than in a film. Conway Photo and Film was our chosen service provider and they did an impeccable job!
While we were capturing these moments after the wedding ceremony, the guests were indulging in canapés and some photo booth fun before the reception. Our photo booth was supplied by Asile Hire it.
Website: https://www.aislehireit.com/
We are a wedding film and photography business that specializes in emotive and creative style storytelling.
Our coordinator Lusanda, was allocated to us from from the wedding venue, Brahman Hills.
Situated in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Brahman Hills is a destination of choice for weddings, conferences and idyllic country escapes.
I arrived in a royal blue Bentley Continental GT and my husband in a red Mustang GT 5.0 V8, his dream car!
Our delicious menu was prepared by Brahman Hills.
We had a variety of canapes to start off with and a delicious buffet menu to make sure our guests got what they really came for! :)
Our beautiful 3 tier cake was artistically executed by Obsessive Cupcake Disorder.
Website: https://obsessivecupcakedisorder.business.site/
Situated in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Brahman Hills is a destination of choice for weddings, conferences and idyllic country escapes.
Once again, my husband put his creative talents to good use and designed the wedding stationary, including the digital and printed invite as well as the Guest Welcome Board and seating plan and called on one of his well vetted printing supplier, Gravity International Print, to the print job.
Website: http://www.gravityprint.co.za/
As mentioned before, we had an idea, and that idea included both a custom first dance as well as a flash mob that we got one of my husbands long standing work colleagues who specialises in dance choreography to teach us.
The dance lessons were probably one of the most exciting preparation activities of them all, we all got a chance to be together, laugh and have fun while getting a good workout! We managed to pull of the perfect flash mob even with half of our team being situated in KZN.
My husband called on yet another old work colleague in Chilli Funk DJ to do both our sound, lighting and special effects, yet another piece that executed perfectly!
Website: http://www.chillifunk.co.za/
Situated in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Brahman Hills is a destination of choice for weddings, conferences and idyllic country escapes.
We are a wedding film and photography business that specializes in emotive and creative style storytelling.
