We had planned a beautiful forest wedding inspired by the highlands of Scotland and the day before the wedding it was pouring rain. We were decorating the venue and me and my (then) soon-to-be husband stood in the middle of the hall and prayed. We prayed not for the rain to stop, but for God to remind us that it was not about where we got married, but who we were marrying and who the people were that joined us in our celebration of love. A great peace fell over us and that was the first magical moment. Of course, God continued to bless us on our wedding day with even more rain and so the ceremony was held within the reception area, but oh we would not change a thing. I got my Scottish wedding, rain and all.
When my dad and I walked into the venue and Tainton (my husband) saw me for the first time, he burst into tears and I followed suit soon afterwards. So much was the overwhelming love and happiness we felt in that moment. While reading our vows and saying I do the rain came down even harder, as if God was saying, finally! (And we couldn't agree more.)
The rest of the evening was magic, love and laughter. The most incredible thing for us both was the fact that many of the guests came to us and said that it was the most fun they had had in a long time. This was all we wanted, to know that everyone around us would enjoy themselves and celebrate the best day of our lives with us.
We were limited in time and only went away for the weekend, but oh how much we needed those first few days on our own. We were so blessed to spend our first evening together at the Harbour House Hotel in Hermanus. We were still on a massive high of love and excitement and couldn't believe we had finally tied the knot.
The next morning we had breakfast and headed to Cape Town where we stayed in the Bay Hotel in Kampsbaai. My husband had spoiled me with a five star hotel and I was so grateful. We also didn't have much time so we decided to stay somewhere different every night to feel like we traveled a lot.
So, on the Sunday we woke up late, went for a run, ate breakfast and off we headed to the Lagoon Beach Hotel in Milnerton area. Every hotel was on the beach and I loved that. My husband knows how much I absolutely love the beach. We ended the honeymoon off on the Monday with a buffet and lunch at the Spice Route.
My whole wedding look was inspired by the idea of a fairy princess in Scotland. I wanted my dress to be very flowy and full of flowers. I knew I wanted an A-line dress with a train and a corset top that was off the shoulders. There is actually a very funny story behind me finding my dress. A week before Tainton and I got engaged Cindy Bam Couture had a Black Friday special and my mom saw it. She immediately thought she couldn't let the opportunity go to waste and she also knew I would be engaged very soon, so it wouldn't hurt to look. I also didn't find it too strange since we were already shopping for an engagement ring at this stage. I told Cindy what I wanted and the third dress I put on I knew it was the one. She put a dress on me that took my vision to the next level and the rest was history. I felt like a princess.
I was very blessed to know so many friends who work in the industry and they helped me with hair and makeup and many other things for the wedding. My hair was done by the very talented Amrie Wessels from Hermanus and my makeup by Anlo Janson, also from Hermanus.
I got my wedding shoes from Aldo in Canal Walk and I can honestly say they fit perfectly with my dress and I was able to keep on wearing them all night (in other words SUPER comfy!).
I was so blessed that my sister-in-law gave me beautiful customized earrings as a wedding gift. She has a very talented friend Terusa who does jewellery and she perfectly created the earrings I had in mind. Except for these earrings I didn't wear any other jewellery so as not to distract from my dress and my beautiful ring.
My engagement ring as well as my wedding band was created by Van Deijl and it suits me so well. I have received so many compliments and I still look at my ring in awe and gratitude every day.
Cindy Bam creates luxury gowns that evoke drama and glamour of past eras whilst still maintaining a modern edge.
At Terusa Anne, we get excited about your vision and ideas for your special day.
Wow! What a good question. The truth is it was all hands on deck from my family and my family-in-law, as well as friends. We never had an official wedding planner and I mostly got my ideas from lovely Pinterest and put my own spin on them.
It was stressful at times, but we had so many willing hands that I never felt overwhelmed and planning it all on our own made it so much more special and rewarding at the end of the day.
At Terusa Anne, we get excited about your vision and ideas for your special day.
Cindy Bam creates luxury gowns that evoke drama and glamour of past eras whilst still maintaining a modern edge.
