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SA Weddings

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Zeldine Venter

Married on Jul 8, 2017 in Gauteng

 

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How did your love story begin?

 

With a broken heart... My knight in shining Armour helped me heal my heart after a bad break up. As a joke myself and some friends went on the dating website Hot or Not to see who could score the highest in likes. Not really interested I just played along. I clicked like on his photo. There was something that drew me deep into his eyes on that photo. I received messages from him and comforting words for a broken hearted girl. Little did I know that the day we decided to meet would change my life forever and bring me closer to my Savior Lord God than ever. #soulmate#soblessed

Tell us all about the proposal.

 

Funny story actually. On our first date he took me to a private venue next to a bubbling brook. It was freezing. We had Mc Donald's as a midnight picnic. We snuck into the place as quiet as possible but in the end we doubled over laughing as we could not find the path to the brook in the dark... Needles to say, a year later he proposed like this... I only saw him on weekends and he had to work the 16th of April 2016. So he begged me to come over to the Vaal where he lived and asked to see me even if it was only for a few hours that night. Loving him unconditionally I drove through for the weekend. He got up for "work" and I was going to sleep in. Low and behold I was woken to the phone ringing and he told me to get dressed he had something planned for me to say thank you for coming through. I got dressed and drove to the unknown destination on the GPS. Arriving at the destination I was treated to a full day at the spa with breakfast and lunch and every kind of treatment you could think of. I felt so spoiled. I decided to cook him a nice dinner to say thank you. My hair was oily and I was scrubbed pink but felt happy. When I stopped at his house he called me again and said that I have 1hour to get ready before he picks me up for dinner. I was tired and confused. Upon entering the bathroom to shower, I found a hot bubble bath filled with rose pettles, stress relief body wash (I'm a high school teacher) and candy in a bowl. A towel and a dress was laid out for me in the bedroom. I was shocked and suspicious. Of course I did not expect to be going anywhere that weekend and did not pack leggings or make-up or anything. But I did what I could and got ready. With butterflies in my stomach I waited in anticipation. He arrived in a suit with a dozen red roses and I almost started crying. He gave me a breathtaking kiss and like a gentleman escorted me to the car. Thinking he was taking me to a fancy restaurant I sat back in my seat to enjoy the night. The next moment he stopped at the drive through at McDonald's. He then ordered the exact same food we had on our first date. It was then that I knew what was going to happen. I started giggling. He then drove to the venue with the bubbling brook. But this time, e we did not have to sneak in. Like the last scene from twilight he had laid out a candle pathway for us to follow leading straight down to a massive deck scattered with candles right on the flowing river. It was breathtakingly magical. It felt unreal... We sat down to eat our very "fancy" meal. It was adorable how quiet he became. Before dessert on a blanket on the deck under the stars he said that he wanted to ask me something first. A few awkward seconds passed where he was just staring at me with no words coming out of his mouth. He suddenly fell down to one knee and blurted out, "will you do me the honor of being my wife". My heart melted and I said yes in the softest voice. No one had ever gone through so much trouble for me. I truly felt like I was the only girl in the world. We shared our mcflurries sitting on the plush blanket and talked about the future. We dreamed a lot. Then to end of a perfect night he had one last surprise. He played a song on his phone that he had once tried to sing to me when we started dating... I started crying as we danced under the stars. (yet again I was freezing lol)

Magical Moments

 

I remember the flutter of nerves in my stomach while I stood alone in the dressing room staring in the mirror. As my father walked in I could see the sheen of tears in his eyes as he tried to be brave. I felt a thrill when the shovar was blown and the horses galloped by the tiny church. Walking down the isle towards my husband was the most indescribable feeling of love. Tiny horses brought in our rings and we finished by breaking the covenant glass and a loud moseltov. A whirlwind of congratulations and flurry of rose petals and photos led the prosession of guests to the hall. We entered with the cello playing the game of thrones soundtrack and I felt like a true princess. Our first dance was hilarious because we couldn't dance at all so he ended up singing the song to me at the top of his voice and we head banged the rest of the song away while we laughed and him constantly tripping over my dress. We played musical chairs and had a dance off for the garter and the bouquet. The cake cutting was a blast as we cut through our cake with a sword. The night ended with a group sparkler photo and dancing next to a warm fireplace.

The Honeymoon

 

Being a teacher and my husband working at the bank we saved and saved for our wedding and on a budget we chose to spend our time at the coast in Uvongo. We stayed in a self catering unit and it was bliss. We had our own private little honeymoon bubble. But only by the grace of God and people who spoiled us at our wedding did we have enough money for petrol, food and spending.

Wedding Gallery

 

My Special Day

I ordered my dress and had it adjusted before the wedding to create new sleeves with beads. I chose a frozen fairy tale look for my hair and makeup (done by Melissa Minne) seeing as my entire theme was snowflakes and winter. I bought white shoes and with lace I made them into beautiful bridal shoes. I bought my jewelry and crystal headband from lovisa and YDE. I spent a lot of time and effort to find the perfect things with the money I had saved.

The Venue

We got married at Louig Giano at Mon Plasier in Pretoria. A stunning venue that looks like an Italian village. Breathtaking. We had some guests that stayed over on the premises in beautiful rooms that each uniquely represented an Italian flat.

My Bridal Beauty Regime

I suffer from a disease called IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) so I was in hospital 2 weeks before the wedding. I couldn't exercise but I did follow a dietary plan designed for me. I did the best I could. My best friend was a Beauty and skin therapist and I received facials from her as a gift, but sadly she committed suicide in January.. She was going to be a bridesmaid. So I just took care of my skin by putting on a face mask once a week and doing a full body scrub once every 2 weeks.

Wedding Elements

I created most of the decor myself. It was so much fun DIY-ing everything for my wedding. I made glitter glasses with lace and snowflakes with blue Led lights inside to create that winter feel. I had small vases of white roses everywhere. I created my own invitations and I made them by hand, my mother created the most beautiful bouquet in the world for me and my bridesmaids. I even did the name cards myself. I loved every single minute of it. There is a sense of pride and satisfaction to know that you worked hard to get things done for your own wedding. My winter theme was like a real fairy-tale wedding.

My Groom And His Groomsmen

My groom wore a gray suit with white fitted shirt and brown shoes with an ice blue tie. The groomsmen all wore black suits of their own choice and style and we provided them with silver bow ties.

Beautiful Bridesmaids

I did not want the bridesmaids to be uncomfortable with a choice I made for dresses. So I told them to wear anything silver or gray and I gave them a gift of a personalized bracelet for each to wear on the wedding. My sister was the maid of honour and wore a navy blue dress. My mother looked gorgeous in a silver dress and white jacket. By doing this my bridesmaids were comfortable and each of their personalities shone through

Marriage Officer

We are messianic Jewish. Meaning we are Christian Jews. So we had a traditional Jewish wedding with Western influences. We were married by Rabbi George Jonker. Our ceremony was breathtaking. The traditions we brought in from the Bible made the ceremony extremely powerful and God's presence could be felt.

My Captured Moments

By now our budget has run out. We found a photographer Named Jenny Snygans from Blue Jeans Photography to take our photos for the day. I wanted our photos to be realistic and real. My uncle did the video for us as a wedding gift. He has done this for all our family members for years.

The Wedding Planner

Nope. I did it all by myself. I just gave the venue the program and they followed the specifications that I wrote down. I was extremely calm and had faith that everything would be perfect. It even rained on the coldest day of the year. I feel that it was a big blessing from our father above.

Wedding Transport

No transport was needed. We got ready at the venue. We had Clydesdale horses run around the church when the shovar was blown and the church bells rang.

Food & Cake

The delicious food was made by Danie, the owner of the wedding venue. The food was to die for. I received the money for my wedding cake from close friends of my father and felt so blessed to be able to choose the cake of my dreams. I had a ruffle ombre cake from dark blue to white and had my snowglobe with a white owl (given to me by my fiancé a year before) and it had the globe on top as the cake topper as if it was built in. And snowflakes rounded off the cake. It was a 3 layer cake of chocolate and vanilla with ganashe

Wedding Stationery

I bought different papers in pearl white and bought bulk Lazer cut silver invitations at China Town. I then created my own invitation and wrapped them in lace with a blue lint and a silver snowflake. I felt really proud and happy.

The Reception and Entertainment

The dj was included in the package deal. I created lightning with my Led glitter glasses. Me and my hubby didn't have money for dance lessons so we danced on Sum 41 without you. Seeing as it was an alternative sing and we didn't know how to dance, my husband surprised me by singing the song to me while we were dancing. We even headbanged a bit while he stepped on my dress. We were laughing so hard. I enjoyed every minute of it. I walked into the church on Avent Maria from the mission. We left the church with an upbeat song by chritina perri and edd sheerans On top of the world. We played bandstand while taking photos and entered the venue with a cello version of the Game of Thrones soundtrack. It was bliss.

Wedding Services Used

 
YDE

YDE

L’s Creations Cake Boutique

L’s Creations Cake Boutique

A family owned bakery, specialising in Designer Wedding cakes and Gourmet Edible Gifting