My highlight of my wedding day would have to be the ceremony. It was the most emotional yet peaceful experience and I loved every second of it.
Yes we did.
We went to Mauritius which was absolutely breathtaking. We relaxed on the beach and besides the pools, drank to many cocktails, went on a board ride to some islands and relaxed some more. Yes i did feel like I was in a movie.
I had a very natural look for my wedding day. I bought my dream dress at Bridal Isle and had it Altered by Tracy's Bridal Gowns - It had a beaded lace top v neck with a plain white chiffon bottom and open back.
I wore black heals and custom made Garter that had a Liverpool picture on it (it was a surprise for my husband as he is a huge fan -- it didn't go down too well with the none Liverpool fan guys at the wedding lol).
For jewelry, I wore silver diamante earrings and a diamond bracelet my husband actually bought me for our 1year anniversary.
For my hair, I had soft curls put in with half my hair pinned up by two plats- the pictures will help you understand as I'm sure this explication didn't do it justice. My hair was a joint effort by Leanne from Contour Hair Design and Dana Lewis from Prime.
My make up I kept with the natural look. A soft pink lip with a shimmer eye and slight winged eyeliner. My make up was done by Chelsea Mooney from Flare Make up
My lingerie is nothing to boost about. As all girls know, the underwear appropriate for white dresses is not the most flattering - I had beige high waisted seamless panties (very attractive)
Over venue was Vondeling Wine Estate. We chose this venue because of the exquisite little chapel they have there- when I saw it I just knew it was where I wanted to get married. When you see the pictures or if you go and visit you'll understand. It was also small and rustic which fitted in so well with our theme. Our wedding was in May so as you know Cape Town weather, it can go one or two ways (luckily the weather was amazing) and because of that worry, we loved the fact that they have aircon inside the venue and a awesome fire place for if it was to be cold and rainy.
I really didn't have much of a regime. Regarding exercise and healthy eating-- I stuck to my standard routine of 'doing better' every Monday. And as usual, I failed hopelessly so I think I actually gained weight.
My beauty regime leading up to my wedding was also none existent. Beauty wise-I just booked my regular waxing routine at Sam from the Beauty Room in Edgemead two days before my wedding, which included waxing all the necessary bits. I also booked to have a Spraytan, lash extentions and gel toes at Sublime Skin and Body in Pinelands. I got my hair dyed and cut by Leanne by Contour Hair Design and then me and my bridesmaids all had gel put on our nails the day before by Maroche Bester.
My decor was very minimal, the venue itself was so beautiful that I used its natural beauty as part of my decor. I simply added some greenery on the tables and ceiling lights as well as candles and fairy lights. I'm obsessed with the dark moody look--so fairy light and candles were my go to. I didn't hire any furniture as the venues furniture was enough and give me the look I wanted so that was a bonus.
The groom and groomsmen wore black suit pants, white shirts with brownish (not really brown but I don't know the actually color lol) shoes and belt. The Groom worse a black blazer as well whereas the groomsmen didn't. We found my husband's attire from Woolworths- the groomsmen all already had all items of clothing needed so we didn't have to buy that.
My Bridesmaids all worse black dresses - I'm in love with black. We bought their dresses at YDE. The dresses has thin straps, v-neck, beaded top with a tule bottom. They all also wore black heals with black stud earrings.
Our Marriage Officer was the youth pastor of our church. His name is Ryan Warner. He was amazing!
Our photographer was Debbie Lourence. She was absolutely phenomenal, I was very impressed. She used her initiative and never let any natural backdrop go to waste. She was so sweet and made us feel so comfortable.
I didn't have a planner or a coordinator, though I wish I did. I ended up running around being the coordinator, which wasn't ideal and quite stressful, but once all formalities were done and the dance floor opened - I was in my element.
I never hired anyone for transport, my mom's boyfriend just picked us up and drove us all to the venue. Luckily he had a nice big car so all my Bridesmaids and I drive together.
I have a cousin in the catering industry. His company is called Karoo Catering and he did my catering for me. We had a spit braai which was delicious. Our starters were plated and the mains and deserts were all buffet. We had many complaints on our food, our guests thoroughly enjoyed it. My cake was made by my Granny - I didn't see the need to pay for anything extravagant because a) that didn't fit in with my style and b)the cake ALWAYS goes to waste (and yes, mine did)
My good friend Jessie Bell who has her own company called Scamp designed and printed all my stationary for me and I never had any problems- loved each and every design.
We didn't take any dance lessons. We wanted to, but time just got away from us, so we just ended up doing the standard side to side swaying lol and it was fine and still cute. Our DJ was a guy name Hylton and he did a good job, we also got a few compliments from our guests about him so we were very happy. He created the mood we wanted and used initiative when needed.
