When people ask me what my favourite part of my wedding day was I cannot help but be taken back to the special moment when my dearest daddy walked me down the aisle. I experienced such joy having my hero walk me down the aisle towards my prince - two of my favourite guys in the whole world! Knowing my father was right beside me, and seeing my soon-to-be husband welling up with tears when he saw me walking towards him is a treasured memory that I will keep with me forever.
My husband, Brad, planned a truly amazing honeymoon in Zanzibar. It was so beautiful - the perfect start to our life together.
I wanted a very elegant, traditional look. My hair was styled up in a loose updo with soft curls. I had my hair done by Colette Lambert who owns Shadez Hair and Beauty Salon. My makeup was done by Janine Cairns (Make-up by Janine). I bought my shoes from Call It Spring. My wedding dress was a gentle mermaid style covered in lace and detailed with a diamond and pearl belt. I bought it from GF Bridal Couture.
We had our reception at Thornbirds Conference and Wedding Centre, but had the wedding ceremony at our church - Brackenhurst Methodist. Our guests did not stay over.
I made sure to take very good care of my skin by ensuring my skin was always moisturized and by drinking plenty of water. I used a Colgate whitening toothpaste that worked very well. For the wedding, my bridesmaids, my mom and I had our nails done at Sorbet at Mall of the South.
Our wedding flowers were done by Hilary Nel at Floral Art. They were stunning! We got married on an extremely hot January day, and Hilary was fantastic at keeping the flowers hydrated and fresh-looking. Hilary did all the flowers for the occasion: the church arrangement, my bouquet, the bridesmaids' bouquets, boutonnieres, table centerpieces and main table flowers at reception. In the reception hall, we used Dream Draping to drape the room and put in fairy lights.
Brad and the groomsmen wore very traditional outfits: suits, waistcoats and cravats. They looked very smart! Suit Connexion was absolutely amazing at ensuring the guys looked amazing for the wedding day.
The bridesmaids wore very simple yet elegant long dresses bought from Wedding Connexion. They were a gorgeous slate blue colour. Their jewellery was a simple pearl necklace, pearl earrings and a stunning hair piece all from Little Lace.
This is a special one. My grandfather (Rev Brian Oosthuizen) is a minister, and ever since I was little I would give him very clear orders that he was going to marry me one day. It was truly special having my grandfather marry me and Brad.
Our photographer was Lindie Furstenburg. She captured beautiful moments that we will cherish forever.
We did not have a wedding planner, but Megan who works at Thornbirds was amazing at making sure everything was on track for our special day.
We hired a fancy car for the bride's transport and borrowed Brad's mom's car for the bridesmaid's transport. My one uncle drove me and my dad and then me and Brad in the hired car, and my other uncle drove the bridesmaids.
The delicious food was provided by our wedding venue Thornbirds. Our beautiful cake was made by The Baking Box.
We made everything ourselves which was incredibly time-consuming but so rewarding!
Brad always says that he has two left feet, however, he was determined to learn how to dance for our special day. We found a dance studio in Randhart (Just Gotta Dance Studio) and ended up with such a talented dance teacher (Owen) who was incredibly patient with us. We decided that we wanted a choreographed "first dance" to our favourite song: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli. We practised and practised and practised - and we nailed it! The dance even included a spin where Brad lifted me off the ground. We were so nervous about it, but we did it perfectly that night. A picture of our spin can be viewed in the gallery.
Our DJ from Dance Jam was also amazing! He played perfect songs to keep the party going. I wrote Brad a song for the reception and sent DJ Nelo the MP3 to be played at the end of my speech (all very secretively) so that I could sing the song. He had the music ready at just the right time and was so well-prepared.
