The whole day honestly was a highlight in my life! The love and energy throughout the whole day was palpable! From having a first look with my dad, my mom putting my hair piece in, walking down the aisle and locking eyes with my future husband. The chaos of taking family photos with a Portuguese family. Our first dance was everything I imagined and having all my favourite people in 1 place!
Yes, Owain from Take off Travel planned our perfect honeymoon to Cape Town. It was our first time in Cape Town and during winter it was the most magical cozy romantic experience.
I wanted the wedding to be a soft, romantic Bali chic style. With a lot of white and nudes with pops of rusty rose. Our venue Lieu de Grace was so lush and green with the perfect amount of industrial chic so I wanted it to pop and be a contrast to the venue.
My hair and makeup was done by Unmissable Makeup. I wanted my hair to be soft natural and relaxed to compliment my open back dress. I had a gorgeous floral hair piece at the back (done by Salvador Dahlia Flowers) to go with my unconventional Bohemian style drape veil. My makeup I wanted very natural and soft with muted nude tones and a rusty rose lip colour for a pop.
My wedding dress was done by Calegra and is the dress of my dreams! I fell in love with the a line style the moment I put it on. I wanted a long dramatic train and more fitted bodice. The lace and bead detail on the top was the perfect amount of sexy while still making me feel comfortable and elegant. It’s a timeless dress that complimented the style of the wedding perfectly!
For my jewellery I didn’t want anything dramatic. I opted for a dainty necklace and paired it with earrings that were gifted to me by my boss. I knew the moment I saw the earrings that they were exactly what I had in mind to bit the daintier details on the dress.
For my shoes I opted for comfort so I went with flat pumps. Because I am a size 2 shoe I knew it was going to be a struggle to find something but luckily Steve Madden had the perfect jewelled flat shoe that I wore comfortably all night and gave that little glitz and sparkle when I walked.
Calegra Bridal House sells wedding dresses designed by the most trendy and fashion forward designers South Africa has to offer.
Our venue was Lieu De Grace. Only direct family stayed the night on the venue in the most quaint, stylish rooms.
Leading up to the wedding I didn’t go crazy with skin products and treatments and dieting. I stuck to the basics- workout once a day 5 days a week. I ate clean (avoided processed foods and diary and ate more fruit and vegetables with lots of water). I made sure to wash my face every night and not to go sleep with makeup on. I also made sure to have Grace with myself. To not stress out too much over little things as that will show on my skin. I also went for a teeth clean before the time at Oral Hygiene Studio.
The decor I wanted to keep minimal and have a few elements that pop and create a whimsical warm atmosphere. I worked closely together with monette and Anja from Salvador Dahlia Flowers to create very natural, whimsical pieces that could be used in multiple different areas of the venue throughout various parts of the day. This definitely helped with the budget! I wanted the flowers to be natural with pops of white and soft rusty rose flowers. I had combinations of pampas grass, roses, rose peonies, orchids and bunny tails. Monette & Anja included other stunning flowers (such as blushing brides) to elevate each piece and really capture the romantic Bali chic vibe throughout the wedding! My bridesmaids had simple rusty rose bouquets with pops of white to match their dresses and my bouquet was cascading all white. I wanted it to blend in with my dress.
The reception hall tables had 1 main floral arrangements with small single vases and candles. Our main table had a hanging installation and candles.
Our venue provided all the furniture so I did not have to worry about any additional vendors. It was stress free!
We ordered a custom neon sign with our nickname for each other which we displayed at the entrance to our reception hall along with a stunning floral arrangement to frame it. We got our neon sign from Happinest Neon.
My husband wore a classic black suit and bow tie that he bought from Euro Suit. He had an all white boutonnière to go with my all white bouquet.
The groomsmen went for a more relaxed look with blue linen suits from Woolworths. The groomsmen had bunny tails and natural boutonnières to go with the more Bali chic style.
My bridesmaids wore custom dresses in a rusty rose colour made by Veil Bridal Couture. We went for a more simple style that everyone could be relaxed in but had a draping open back to still be a little sexy. My maid of honour had beading detail on the neckline of her dress for a little more glits and sparkle.
Our photographers were the amazing Carolien & Ben. Their energy, kindness and love for what they do is so welcoming and infectious that we bonded straight away! Carolien made us feel so comfortable and confident in front of the camera and never failed to crack a joke and get a laugh out of us.
We also made use of a photo booth provided by our venue on the day. It was the best decision to include it! The guests really enjoyed it and loved that they got to take the images home with them. We then used the other photo in our guest book where they could write a message.
No I did not. I planned everything along with my amazingly supportive husband! Even though our wedding had to be postponed because I was working with such wonderful vendors and suppliers they made the whole process so much fun and stress free!
Lieu de Grace made the food on the day. It was absolutely delicious and every guest only had the best things to say! The staff was so efficient and lovely!
A family member made our wedding cake. She is an amazing baker and knew from the get go that we wanted her to make our cake. It was a banana, pineapple and nut cake with a vanilla filling. We even had cake for breakfast the next morning!
I designed and printed my invites and stationery items. I worked in the wedding industry before I got married so it was an element of the planning process that I was super excited to do!
Our reception was a magical dance filled time that was made even better with the in-house DJ. There were fairy lights draped from the ceiling and candles on the tables to create a warm, romantic atmosphere!
Myself and my husband used to do ballroom dancing so we just practiced a basic first dance and we had our family join in towards the end.
Calegra Bridal House sells wedding dresses designed by the most trendy and fashion forward designers South Africa has to offer.
