Gosh I don't know if any one thing can be singled out as a highlight. Our wedding day was a crazy mix of surreal calm, overwhelming emotions and magical moments surround by our nearest and dearest. Getting a love letter from my hubby-to-be hours before we said "I do", that echoed the exact sentiments I had written to him, truly reinforced that the stars had aligned and I was about to marry my forever. We cried, we laughed - especially when I put the ring on the wrong hand - and we danced! Emotions were running so high that as I got to the end of the aisle our pastor threw propriety to the wind and allowed us a (chaste) kiss before we got down to business. Our wedding truly was the absolute best day of our lives.
We mini-mooned at Lake Naverone in the Underberg for 2 nights after popping home to pick up the fur babies. It was magical. We are hoping and planning to honeymoon in 2018.
I was never one of those girls who had an idea of what she wanted for "one day when I get married". When my monkey got down on bended knee that all changed!
I wanted everything to reflect us as people and chose to be slightly unconventional. My dress was a Durban inspired golden sheath with a touch of Indian bling designed and created by the INCREDIBLY talented Sadie Bosworth. My shoes were gold Steve Maddens. My mom found me the perfect pair of vintage gold, shell-shaped earrings set with a blue topaz, which really tied in to our Monkey & Mermaid theme.
I was lucky enough to be blessed with the best for hair and make-up - Laura & Wadene from Nixon. They created a look that was natural (for a girl who doesn't usually wear make-up) & wedding ready.
We tied the knot at the magical Crystal Barn Country Estate. From the moment we arrived and I got goosebumps all the way into the top of my head, we knew we couldn't do it anywhere else! Our bridal party stayed on site with us, while the rest of our friends and family filled up the awesome accommodation along the Midlands Meander.
I LOVE DIY projects and am passionate about decor and the finer details so once we had decided on our look and feel I had a very specific idea of what I wanted. We went for a bit of glam (I am obsessed with sequins), a bit of vintage elegance with the brass candlesticks (I must have bought every single one on bid or buy ha ha), some lush Durban greenery, protea & blushing bride floral arrangements, customized wooden table names & a little bit of quirky with our iced-crab biscuits which doubled-up as place holders. We went full DIY collecting, curating and creating something I thought was pretty magical.
The gorgeous groom and his dapper groomsmen were all in shirts and ties from his apparel. The groom wore a navy suit with tan sneakers and the groomsmen paired their shirts with pants in shades of beige & green.
I had the most gorgeous group of brides-(mer)-maids EVER! Each one so different and with their own styles that I gave them a color palette and we found outfits that reflected their personalities. An eclectic bevy of beauties - They looked AMAZING!!
Our marriage officer was Ant Redman. What an absolute blessing! It was paramount to us that we didn't have a stranger marry us and that it was someone who could speak to the couple we are. We reconnected with Ant & Les a few short months before the wedding and it was just meant to be.
Casey Pratt is a true artist. She captured our day so perfectly and our photos are a magical reflection of us and our BEST day EVER. Both Rich & I are a little awkward infant of the camera and we could not have done this with anyone else! Because our special friends at The Shank Tank were part of our bridal party, we had a friend film the day and The Shank Tank will be gifting us with our Wedding Film Edit.
I love planning! And so every detail of the wedding was planned by myself and my incredible bridal party and family. Gabby from crystal Barn took care of the coordination on the day.
Scott Bain at Crystal Barn is a culinary GENIUS!! From the harvest table, the gourmet burgers and fries to the delectable ice-cream and specially created sauces and toppings - the food was incomparable. Mouthwatering and I still dream about it!
We were lucky enough to have Roxi Wardman from Masterchef create our wedding cake. There actually aren't words to describe this cake. Three tiers - three fillings, three frostings, and three different icings - we were in chocolate, peanut butter & salted caramel heaven.
I designed (& re-designed) each element of our wedding stationary and had it printed by the fabulous Print Lab.
After all the happy tears, laughter and really emotional speeches it was inevitable that a party of epic proportions was in the making.
We had the supremely talented band The Kickstands, get things started at the pre-reception and we had friends Dylan Worman & Dylan Kincade, both epic DJ's, keeping the party alive on the dance floor.
Our first dance was a mash-up of " You look like Gold - Ben Harper" & "Treasure - Bruno Mars". We had the best intentions of choreographing something fantastic but in the end we winged it and it was perfect!
