I woke up so excited, but calmer than I've ever been (ever). Driving up to the venue, I felt like a kid on Christmas, I wanted to hang out the window and wave to everyone and shout "I'm getting married!!" Everything looked so beautiful, and I felt like a princess in my poofy dress and long veil. Walking down the aisle and seeing Dean wiping away his tears was such a highlight because he's a big ol' toughy, and my heart just melted seeing him and we couldn't stop smiling at each other!
Another great moment was when we did our first dance.. It was self taught from a Polish dance tutorial and learning the dance is a story for another day. As we started the second part of our dance to "Skate to Me Baby" by Silk Sonic, load shedding hit and the DJ's system rebooted - mid dip! Out of breath we decided we'll sit down but we got an encore and resumed our spots on the dance floor to do the second part of the dance. I don't think I'll ever forget it.
The ladies also learnt a flashmob dance that we did at the flower bouquet toss- that was incredible! It was so cool to be able to involve the guests in making the big day. Doing the dance with my sister (who flew out from South Korea for the wedding), my mom and mother in law was especially great!
Best day ever!!
We had our hearts (and dates) set on the Maldives! But because of the travel ban, we decided not to postpone and rather go on a South African Garden Route trip. We started in Pringle Bay, went through to Swellendam (a personal favourite), a couple nights at Garden Route Game Lodge, then Natures Valley and we ended off our holiday in Knysna with a Storms River Bridge Bungee jump on the way!
It was such a great experience to be able to travel and see so many wonderful things and places, right in your back garden. We ate way too much and had way to many cocktails, but it was so worth it! It was also the first time went away for so long, just us! We were really lucky to visit so many beautiful places as a married couple and just soak up married life because everything leading up to and including the big day goes so by fast!
The bungee jump.. was not so romantic, but I wouldn't have done it with any one else.
I think my overall look was modern, romantic! Chanelle at Chanelle Cindy Bridal made my wedding dress, and I think we matched better than the dress! I couldn't decide between a tight dress and an over the top princess skirt. So I decided I'll get both! Chanelle Cindy Bridal did such an exquisite job, I was speechless at the last fitting. I chose my second dress based on a second opinion over FaceTime with my sister in South Korea. I got my slim fit dress for the reception at Bride & Co (Canal Walk).
I am quite tall, so I opted for a low block heel sandal from Aldo. I used Blush for hair and make up and after 3 trials with them, they helped me decide on a look that I loved. It was just a 'natural look' (and Heidi and Skin X absolutely transformed my acne prone skin)! It also took me really long to find the perfect earrings. I wanted something modern, but also something timeless. I think I bought about 5 pairs and a week before my wedding - I found the ones!! They're small gold hoops with a small pearl drop from Yellow by Jeslea. I also just wore a bracelet that my mom helped me choose and my gorgeous engagement ring of course. What I wore under the dress is between me and the ladies at the Woolworths checkout counter haha.
We got married at the beautiful Murasie in Gansbaai (Overberg area). It's on a farm with so many cows (I love cows), and the venue and it's modern glass doors looks out onto the farm and a dam that worked as a perfect backdrop for our ceremony! The staff and overall experience at Murasie was such a dream. Everything was perfect ( en Tannie Leana is 's Yster)! There was accommodation on the farm, and the option to camp, so we decided to make it a weekend wedding and invited everyone to a braai at the boma on the venue on the Friday evening before the wedding. The rest of the guests stayed in and around Gansbaai (the accommodation ranges from 10mins from the venue to about 20 minutes from the venue).
I thought that my health and wellness journey leading up to the wedding was going to be a lot different! I play soccer at Green Point Salesians FC, and we only finished the season at the end of October. I decided to sit out on the last week of 'kick around', just incase! Soccer keeps me quit fit, we train twice a week and play matches on Fridays. On other days I'll go for a short run, join a shape class at Virgin Active or play 5 aside. I also got into Lily Sabri who you can find on YouTube and she is FIT! I still do her workouts.
Heidie at Skin X in Durbanville helped me get ready for the big day (even helping me with a huge pimple that I got 3 days before). I think I started going to her 4 months before the wedding. I also got my eyebrows laminated with her and it looked sooo good! My teeth.. Well I knew we were going to get married at some stage so I actually got braces a year before the big day! After they came off I got them whitened at DentalWize. Perfect teeth for a perfect day, and still loving my straight smile.
I must say, I thought I was going to be more obsessed with eating healthy and pampering myself. But I really could have drank more water and put more lotion on- either way it was still the perfect day, so I'm glad I didn't sweat the small stuff!
Our decor was modern, romantic, mostly nudes and beiges with pops of colour like pink and peach.I didn't want too much green, and Christien at Husban & Wife Team was just incredible. The hall looked gorgeous and it was honestly more beautiful than I could have imagined. They did our flowers and our decor and Christien went out of her way to find the right napkins for us! We also had the most gorgeous fairy light set up, lots of fairy lights was a non negotiable for me.
We were lucky enough to get married outside, it was a bit windy but only for my cathedral length veil. Dean and I ended up switching sides at the altar.
The groom wore a grey suit that was made for him, he chose the colour and everything and he looked amazing. The groomsmen wore similar grey suit pants from Woolworths and we got them leather suspenders and ties from HandKiki in Bloemfontein - which is where I'm from.
I have worn a bridesmaid dress which I sweated in so much at the wedding so I wanted the girls to wear something a bit lighter but also with enough support so they aren't uncomfortable so we opted for the satin slip but with more support. The dresses were a light rose/lilac colour.it kind of changed depending on the light. The dresses were made my a friends mom! She was just so lovely and came all the way to Cape Town for alterations!
Our pastor Stephen Murray from Hope City came up for the wedding but he only officiated the wedding. Pastoor Frikkie from Gansbaai was kind enough to help us with all the legalities!
I found Meisiegirl Fotografie online and when I was sure I wanted to book them I realised they are in Pretoria, but they had a special running with flights included - and I booked them right away! They did pur photos and video :)
I planned the wedding, I had great support structures though!
My mom drove me to the wedding.
Tannie Alida Groenewald did our catering and she was really affordable! We had canapés non stop after the ceremony so that people could get full already, and then a bit later we went with Burgers and fries - we did smaller sliders - one chicken burger and one beef burger which we actually made at home with our friends to decide what we thought was going to taste better. Highlight was putting pampoen koekies on the dessert table! What's a wedding without them?
Divine by Design did our wedding cake, it was just small, I didnt really make a fuss about the cake - I really just wanted to have donuts and a dessert table out, and theres always so much Cake left at weddings! But it was perfect, and exactly what I wanted.
Simoné Snyman at Simoné Snyman Studio designed and printed the stationary! It was modem, and subtle and I loved it. Simoné is so stunning to work with and she has really great taste and a keen eye for detail! I love her to bits.
