The day was absolutely amazing, started off with bubble in our room while getting dressed with my bridesmaids. After the hair and makeup was complete and I put on my gown, I felt like an absolute princess and I was ready to finally walk down the isle to my future husband. Once the music started playing, the butterflies sank in. Once I saw how my husband was crying once he saw me, I had to hold back the tears. Once all our photos were taken we took 20 minutes before entering the venue, just to have some time to ourselves. I'm so glad we did that. We poured ourselves a drink and walked in as newly weds and it was amazing. Once the speeches were done and tears all dried up, we were ready to party the night away. We had glow sticks for the dance floor - which were definitely the highlight of the dancefloor and we had beer pong and other lawn games for those who didn't want to dance.
We went to San Martinho Beach Club in Bilene, Mozambique
My hair and makeup were both done by the lovely Lane Panell, She did a gorgeous up do with natural makeup.
My dress was designed by Stanley Baptiste. He truly got my vision and made me feel like a princess on the day. I opted for a non-tradition dusty pink dress with colored lace.
I went simple with jewelry, and only wore draping ear rings, I did not want to take away any attention from the beautiful dress.
We got married at De Oude Kraal Country Estate, about 40 km outside of Bloemfontein. Our honey moon suite and 11 rooms were included in our package, which was great because we got to have a farewell breakfast the next morning with many of the guests.
I started exercising more vigorously, I attempted to workout everyday. I became a lot more strict with my skincare routine and used facial masks more regularly. I burn really easy so I also avoided going outside as much as possible to avoid being a red tomato on the day. I embrace my pale skin.
The decor was done by an event in bloemfontein and lighting was done by lighticle, aslo in Bloemfontein. They worked together to bring my vision alive, from rain drop fairy lights hanging from the ceiling to draping that split the room between seating and dancing, it all looked beautiful. We had lots of greenery and proteas (supplied by happy proteas in Bloemfontein) running ontop of pink runners on the tables and lots of candles to create our romantic feel. In between the tables, we had 2 seating areas from couches and rattan chairs and tables. It was beautiful.
The groom got his suit designed by Stanley Baptiste, and the groomsman bought their pants from Woolworths. To accessorize, we opted for no tie or bowtie and instead we had open shirts and suspenders (or as some like to call them braces). The braces were made out of leather by a small company called handkiki in Bloemfontein.
The bridesmaids had their dresses made by Orijinel here in Bloemfontein, they could each design their own dress using the same white satin material.
Our pastor from Gereformeerde Kerk, Bloemfontein North.
We hired magnolia grace, a local photographer to capture our special day. We hired her for a short period before the ceremony to get the final picture of us getting ready and to capture the magical moments down the isle. We then went off with her while the rest of the guests enjoyed their cocktail hour with cupcakes, lawn games and gun on tap. We then instead opted for her to provide us with an unlimited print photo booth during the reception, which was the best decision ever. She still took pictures of first dance and speeches though so we will always have those memories to look back on.
I decided not to have a planner and coordinator as our venue was very good at communicating before the day, and I wanted a not so structured wedding day so I allowed everything to just flow and happen as the night progressed.
Our ceremony and reception were both at De Oude Kraal, so there was no need for transportation. We however, used the venues safari vehicle to drive around there premises for our photos.
We had a family friend make beautifully white cupcakes that everyone enjoyed during cocktail hour, instead of doing the traditional wedding cake cut. The food and dessert was all amazing and was prepared by De Oude Kraal Country Estate. We had a carnival styled dinner, so it was a buffet set up and different stalls with everything you could think of from tacos to pizzas to lamb spit, even green curry.
I designed and printed our stationary. It's amazing how many nice fonts you can download these days. With a bit of patience and a good pinterest page for inspiration, it is actually really easy.
We did not take dance lessons. My husband and I are both horrible at dancing, so up until the night before we were not going to have a first dance. During dinner the night before though, we were speaking and we chose a song to dance to and even though it was uncoordinated, it was beautiful and it was more us than a structured waltz or something. We hired jam jar media to be our DJ and he was great, open to suggestions from guests for songs.
