Every moment was a fairytale... My now-husband gave each of my bridesmaids a letter to give to me during the course of the day, some taking me down memory lane and some having me in tears with his love declarations.
Walking down the aisle I had a little surprise for my Prince Charming, a surprise voiceover of my love declarations to him.
The day was a sensory overload:
- Immaculate floral arrangements
- Explosive flavours in every bite of food
- Pyrotechnics and dry ice during our first dance
- Instead of a Father-Daughter dance, I had a dance with both my brothers to a pop song where we did what we do best - DANCE
- I not only had 2 dresses, 2 pairs of shoes, and 2 completely different hairstyles, but I also had 2 very differently styled photoshoots: 1) your classical bridal photos; 2) your not so classic photos in a studio set up with a backdrop - think bride meets GQ and Vogue
Yes, 2 days after our wedding we went to paradise, also known as the Maldives, and we stayed at the Riu Atoll Resort or 10 days.
every look created by my dream team was EXQUISITE!
WEDDING LOOK 1 - CEREMONY:
- Classic, elegant, and simplistic
- Hair was styled by the talented Hair by Jako in a vintage, very Marilyn Monroe, loosely-molded curls tucked behind my right ear
- Make-up was done by the transformation magician, Artistry by Dyllan, and a soft bridal look was created to go with the whole look
- My wedding dress was a dream come true, the Debra Eva Lendel Dress from Vonve Bridal finished with a pearl veil from the same
- Bella Belle hand-crafted lace court shoe with a block heel by La Paire Shoes
- Lingerie... this was not a dress for lingerie
- Something borrowed and new was Mabe Pearls from my mother set in a ring of diamonds by Erikson Jewellers, THE RING was also set by Erikson Jewellers
WEDDING LOOK 2 - RECEPTION:
- Extravagant, sparkly, and chic
- Hair was transformed into a high tight ponytail curling down my back - Hair by Jako
- Wedding dress 2 was the divine Devina Eva Lendel dress from Vonve Bridal altered with a knee-high slit up my right leg
- Bella Belle by La Paire Shoes, I danced around in stilettos with a satin point finished off with diamante
- This chic look needed a chic pair of earrings, 10cm long Swarovski earrings
Inimitable Wedding Venue in Muldersdrift.
The close family stayed at Inimitable and other guests stayed at neighbouring venues such as Cradle Valley, Kloofzicht, Glenburn, and the like.
I have always been one to take special care of my skin, so I continue with my skincare regime:
- Monthly IS clinical peels at Lightscult Bedfordview
- Monthly Dermablading at Lightsculpt Bedfordview
- And the religious use of my morning and night IS Clinical skincare regime:
- Morning: Cleansing Complex, Pro Heal Serum finished off with Extreme Protect sunscreen
- Night: Cleansing Complex, Active Serum finished off with SHEALD by IS Clinical
However, my "get-into-shape" team was Max Lete Fitness, Titan Nutrition SA, and CrossFit
Days leading up to the big day I owe my perfect lashes and brows to DKalon, my golden glowing tan to Nail & Beauty in Meyersdal, and my goldie locks of blonde hair to Hair by Jako, the man who can make any hair the perfect shade of blonde.
The ease and joys of having a wedding at Inimitable, is that they do everything!
- Flowers: ZKEC - Zavion Kotze Events Company
- Decor: Inimitable and ZKEC
- Furniture: Inimitable and ZKEC
Some X-factor elements:
- #CDforthejourney photobooth hedge backdrop: Reserved Exclusive
- Instead of your "average" seating plan, we had a Take a Shot Take a Seat wall with not just nay shot, but our favourity, TEQUILA, this unique wall was also created by Reserved Exclusive
- Photo booth guest book for our guests to enjoy while we took couple photos, by QuikPix Photo Booth
The dashing groom wore a classic black suit with a white collar shirt all from Khaliques finished off with a classic black Mont Blanc belt and Tag Heuer watch gifted to him by me, the bride, on the day.
The groomsmen went black on black with suits from Khaliques and shirts from Woolworths.
Classic. Elegant. Simplistic.
The dashing groom wore a classic black suit with a white collar shirt all from Khaliques finished off with a classic black Mont Blanc belt and Tag Heuer watch gifted to him by me, the bride, on the day.
The groomsmen went black on black with suits from Khaliques and shirts from Woolworths.
Classic. Elegant. Simplistic.
The #BrideTribe wore black knee length dresses, each with a different neckline unique to each, finished off with a bow at the back to match the bow in my ceremony dress look.
My now-husband and I wanted someone who knew us individually and together to officiate our wedding, we then decided, who better to do this job but a family member.
Photographer:
- The ultra-talented, creative, cool, calm and collect Barclay Studios captured every moment in the utmost spectacular way
Videographer:
- It is a true talent to capture the movement and audio of each moment of such a momentous day, who better to do this but Hauke Digital Productions
Photo Booth:
- Photo booth guest book for our guests to enjoy while we took couple photos, by QuikPix Photo Booth
Inimitable provides a wedding planner package, we selected an on the day coordinator to make sure everything runs smoothly, and without our coordinator, I do not know what we would have done. Hats off to Inimitable.
The incredible Andrew Draper did all the food for our wedding:
- Canape consisted of a combination of sushi, oysters, smoked salmon, vegetarian bites and every bite crafted to perfection in both taste and presentation
- We enjoyed a five course meal of all our favourite fine-dining dishes: Crayfish, champagne sorbet, rack of lamb, ribeye, a chocolate celebration of desserts topped off with a "Carmen & Dan" favourite, SteriStumpis with vodka sorbet.
What a breeze it was to work with Invitation Cafe on everything wedding stationary.
We opted for a perspex look instead of any paper, and Invitation Cafe arose to the challenge and perfected every piece.
The reception was a true fairytale filled with baby breath, fairyliphts, orchids and lilies, each corner was breathtakingly beautiful.
We took dancing lessons by Craig Riviera from Dance Illusions and he put quite the performance together for us to dazzle our guests.
Sound, lighting, pyrotechnics, and dry ice was all manage by our live band The Morning After.
