We met at a rock climbing gym in Pretoria. It’s not a very glamorous way to meet since we were both quite dirty. Shortly after we went on a date to a night market. We felt very comfortable around each other from the start and had a lot of laughs.
We went to one of our favourite picnic spots – I had no idea that Jasper was planning to propose that day. For the first time ever the security guard stopped us and informed us that we are actually not allowed to have picnics there. Jasper was quite disgruntled and I couldn’t understand why. I suggested that we just go and enjoy our picnic somewhere else. We drove to another spot, went for a stroll and when I looked around he was down on one knee.
I enjoyed the planning, but Jasper not so much. Luckily we were able to find the perfect venue after visiting about five places. (Jasper thought driving around to FIVE different places was a bit torturous.) After finding the venue the rest of the planning was smooth sailing.
We pretty much knew what we liked and didn’t want to overcomplicate anything. We wanted to keep it simple and we didn’t want to go over the top.
The weather played along pretty well. We expected rain in the afternoon but the rain stayed away just long enough. After dinner a storm broke out and the rain kept pouring down until the early morning hours. We wanted to dance outside, but because of the rain we had to do it inside. It was a pretty memorable (and amusing) moment when the bride dipped the groom during the opening dance and everyone loved it as it was quite unexpected.
We didn’t have a specific theme and wanted to keep it simplistic and use neutral colours.
The plan was actually that my mom would make my dress. I did however go for a fitting – like every bride-to-be should – and found the perfect dress. I bought it the same day and did not regret my decision once. My mom ended up making the bridesmaids’ dresses. My sisters were my bridesmaids. They are not very similar in personality, so I didn’t want them to wear exactly the same dresses.
Since we started planning the wedding we liked the idea of incorporating succulents into the flower arrangements. We wanted the décor to be subtle and compliment the already beautiful venue.
Yes, quite a bit. From growing the succulents to making our own invitations, menu’s and gifts.
“Tonight” by Secret Nation. Finding the perfect song was quite a challenge. We just felt like this song suited us well and we liked the lyrics.
The greatest piece of advice that a friend gave to me was to look only at my groom while I walk down the aisle. This was such a special moment, especially since Jasper was bawling his eyes out!
Remember what the big day is about. It’s not about impressing other people, it’s about the two of you. Spend us much time as possible together on your wedding day. Don’t try to get to everyone – you will see them again, but you have only one wedding day to spend with your husband/wife. Have as much fun as possible.
We didn’t want to travel too far since we knew that we would be exhausted after the wedding. We spent five nights in the Drakensberg and a week in the Transkei. We chose the Transkei because neither of us has been there before and it was absolutely amazing!
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