From the time Jarred and I got engaged, we planned our wedding within 6 months in the midst of Covid-19. It was a stressful time for us both but we were truly blessed with the beautiful wedding we were able to have! From the special moments shared with my mom to walking down the aisle and seeing my husband cry, this was truly the best day of my life. Every detail was perfect. It was a warm autumn afternoon, without a cloud in the sky nor a gust of wind. The venue was filled with the sounds of chattering and laughing amongst our guests while Jarred and I embraced one another and looked into eachothers eyes, indulging in the new found feeling of being husband and wife. As much as I had day dreamed about our special day, there was nothing that could prepare me from the absolute bliss experienced on April 11th, 2021.
We were unable to travel overseas due to Covid-19 restrictions so we decided to enjoy our honeymoon locally, at the Unembeza Boutique Lodge just outside the Kruger National Park. Our honeymoon suite was filled with flowers and champaigne, weather was warm and sunny, we enjoyed 3 course meals from breakfast to dinner, game drives, and sundowners by the pool deck, all in the middle of our African bush!
I decided on an elegant, romantic look for my special day. My makeup style was classic and my hair was pinned up in a romantic updo, with dark curls framing my face. I wore a white lace mermaid style dress with a beaded pearl waist and a cathedral length lace veil. My shoes were plain white ballet flats with handsewn lace and beaded pearl embellishments. My jewelry consisted of a diamante and pearl hair band with a matching pair of drop earrings. I wore 2 handsewn lace garters (1 white and 1 baby blue) and completed my attire with perfume by Chloe.
At the beautiful Bell and Blossom Wedding Venue located in Pretoria.
Shew! Amongst checklists and endless "to-do's" (excuse the pun!), I maintained my fitness and wedding prep stress by regularly going for a run outdoors to get my heart racing in the fresh autumn air. I coupled my running with a balanced diet by including plenty of fresh produce, complx carbs and lean proteins and gulped down lots of water :)
I designed my decor with two elements in mind - the season (Autumn) and the style of the venue itself. Based on these two elements and their complimenting warm, woody feel I chose bright white, wine red and deep green colours. I specifically wanted to enhance what was already there - the forestry of the garden, the wooden trusses in the reception hall, the glass chapel... and create an enchanting fairytale theme, while keeping it classic.
I tried my best not to get involved with this! (giggle)
The colour chosen for my bridesmaids dresses was wine red. A perfect contrasting and complimentary colour to the greenery of the garden and my bright white dress.
Grant Pahl
Having done modelling, I had worked with these photographers for years before the wedding. Jaco Malan and Eduard Labuschagne from Model Connect.
The wedding package that we selected included an angel - our wedding planner, Mirna Labuschagne. She was amazing.
Being a runner, I was so exited for the big day I would have quite easily ran to my venue, wedding dress and all! But no no, I drove myself to the venue (independant woman vibes)...
The food was inclusive of the package from our wedding venue. The cake was privately made for us.
We decided to skip tradition with this one and create a website for our guests. Hubby and I created this together :)
We had a DJ, Kilowatt Productions DJ for us. We took dancing lessons for months before the big day with the help of my beautiful mother in law, Sharron Kavanagh, a professional international dancer and owner of Dance Fusion.
