Our wedding planning was not as sunshine and rainbows as we thought it would be and had to be postponed but if we could do it all over again we wouldn't change a thing because everything turned out beautifully over and above what we could have imagined.
The first memorable moment and highlight of our wedding day was our entrances. The groom was escorted into the forest through the forest door by his mother on DR DRE song. The bridesmaids entered from a different entrance from between the trees on Can you feel the love instrumental and the bride emerged on Tale as old as time from between the trees with her stepdad until halfway where the brides father walked her the rest of the way to hand her over to her groom who had tears in his eyes the minute he saw the bride.
The entire ceremony was beautiful with not a dry eye in sight.
The fact that everything was on the same venue allowed us to maximise the time with our guests by spending the canape time with them and taking pictures with everyone and before we went in we managed to take all our photographs with no rush.
Best highlight was marrying our best friends in the presence of loved ones and experiencing a true fairytale.
We spent a week doing a road trip and stopping at a few places and ended our honeymoon off at a beautiful secluded cave lodge in cederberg at Donkieskraal allowing us to enjoy each others company.
Bridal look I decided to go with was elegant and timeless look. My makeup artist Jamie Abrahams used a shade that my late grandmother used to wear and that was my something borrowed which was very special.
We said our " I do's " in the breathtaking forest surrounded by loved ones at the dream wedding venue, Winery Road Forest. Our wedding day began with showers of blessings but a few hours before our ceremony the rain stopped and the sun shone beautifully through the dewy trees. The venue really is too beautiful to put into words and it truly made our wedding a fairytale.
We had guests stay the night at many accommodations but our wedding party stayed 3 mins up the road at The Country Guesthouse.
Our breath-taking forest offers various options for a customised wedding ceremony under a natural pine canopy
With a busy work schedule my beauty regime consisted most of rehydration and moisturising of my skin. Health and fitness wasn't on my daily planner but getting as much rest as possible the week before the wedding was a goal of mine.
With the venue we chose we opted for a very minimal and whimsical look. For the ceremony our seating was wooden logs for our guests with the forest door where they entered through. All our floral arrangements were done by a company called Honey Blossom Floral run by a true gem Chantal. We had fairy lights as a backdrop at our main table supplied by the wedding venue. We hired our table decor from a company called Function Hiring 4U.
Each table was decked with a burnt orange napkin and table runner with a rustic wood slice as a center piece with different sized bottles/jars and teapots with a variety of white and orange roses , daisies and a multitude of dainty flowers in them.
The groom wore a custom made suit by GD Suits. He had a 3 piece suit a detailed ivory blazer, burnt orange waist coat; they both were lined with something special for the bride (a photo collage of their journey) matched with a burnt orange pants with a piece of his blazer running down the side of his pants.
The groom wore Jonathan D shoes
The grooms mean wore beige suits with a burnt orange tie and pocket chief from the material of the bridesmaids dresses.
The bridesmaid each had an opportunity to chose the style they wanted their dresses and all their dresses were custom made by a small business owner Shireen. They had burnt orange dresses that went very well with the beginning of spring/end of autumn wedding in a rustic green forest.
Our marriage officer was not just any marriage officer but the brides father, Pastor Denver Abrahams. We had the absolute honour to have been married by someone who knows both bride and groom and create that special moment for a father.
We couldn't have asked for a better combination to capture our special day. Maggie Photography captured our wedding day and our engagement and they did an excellent job at capturing the day in the exact essence that it was felt.
AT Films was our videographer and they did a fantastic job as well with capturing everything and providing us with a sneak peak that same evening when we arrived at our accommodation.
They were not just vendors or service providers but they were part of our guest and our party.
We had a coordinator on the day of our wedding that was provided by our wedding venue. Margot was a true life saver and just what a stressed bride needed.
She ensured that everything ran smoothly and that the bride and groom got to eat of everything
Our wedding car was a gift from one of our friends - A blue wrapped Range Rover with a personalised number plate "THEDJ01" as my husband is a dj
At Winery Road Forest you have to make use of one of their incredible caterers and Easy Does It Catering and Events was definitely a winner at our wedding that our guests are still talking about the food until long after.
They presented the harvest table at the dam with a bountiful of options for our guest to eat and drink until we went in for main meals.
Our main meal was a spitbraai buffet and our guests were able to go back for seconds and thirds and the food was mouthwatering and left our guest with a happy belly.
Our desert was floating desert option of peppermint tart, tiramisu and chocolate mousse.
Our wedding cake was handmade my the grooms grandmother and she provided a candy table for the guest alongside cadbury chocolate eclairs, chocolate cupcakes topped with strawberries and caramel and cream horns.
Our stationery was very minimal but our wooden stationery : ring box , cake topper and guestbooks(acted as table numbers) were made by Xpress Designs.
Our Mirror welcome sign and seating chart was done by the bride and groom as a fun activity.
Our reception was truly a party to remember.
Our first dance was the first minute and a half of - So this is love by Ilene Woods and Mike Douglas and then mixed into the chorus of Get Low by Lil Jon which kick started the opening of the dance floor.
We did not take any dance lessons and we stuck to the basic sway allowing us to take in the moment.
Our DJ was the amazing DJ Hayden Isaacs SA he took all our suggestions and made sure the dance floor was packed at all times that we didn't want the evening to end .
Our breath-taking forest offers various options for a customised wedding ceremony under a natural pine canopy
