As we began the sharing of our vows, our promises to one another, it was as if we were the only two in the chapel. The intimacy of this moment mirrored the feeling of our serendipitous love, from the day we met.
When reflecting on the day, our candles ceremony, representing the unity of our families and the words spoken over us, by our minister, Charlie Wernich "Light represents life" we were overcome by emotion. The realness of God's presence in our lives, had never been more tangible.
We were truly blessed to have a two part honeymoon which took flight to Mauritius for a week of tropical paradise at the Ambre Resort and Spa. Our days were filled with experiences, ocean floor walking, relaxing on a catamaran, soaking up the sun and romantic sunsets.
https://www.ambremauritius.com/en
Christiaan's love for nature and the African bush, lead us road tripping to our next adventure at Madikwe Safari Lodge. Incredible animal sightings on sunrise game drives, pool side leisure and gourmet dinners under the bright African stars were among the luxurious pleasure that we enjoyed.
https://www.madikwesafarilodge.co.za/
I have never had a dream wedding nor a dream wedding dress. I always believed that It would all "come to me" when I met the man that I would spend the rest of my life with.
Once we had decided on the wedding venue, Victorian Manor, everything else just fell into place.
The over all theme of the wedding was done to match the venue which also happened to mirror our style and personalities to the 'T'.
Dress inspiration: Victorian theme = Victorian dress.
My older sister Chantelle and one of my best friends Yolandi attended the Wedding Expo in January 2018 at Oakfield farm with me.
The dress viewing, fittings and all the assistance a bride could dream of was very well arranged.
Chantelle, chose the Milan dress from the Lubellos Bridal Boutique 2018 collection. We knew once I had tried it on that this was THE dress. The Milan was originally a 'boob tube' design and I already knew exactly how I wanted to alter it. Lizette, Owner of Lubellos Bridal Boutique was at the fitting and I was able to discuss the alterations with her directly prior to buying the dress. I also knew from the very first dress fitting I went to that I did not want a traditional veil. I asked Lizette, Owner of Lubellos Bridal Boutique if she would be able to make a fascinator from my wedding dress, and she said yes. I loved my fascinator. it really was something different.
Lizette and her team were phenomenal.
http://lubellos.co.za/
Christiaan and I had been on the 'look-out' for some classy yet comfy marsala red heels that would compliment the dress. We found the perfect pair of shoes whilst in Edgars one day.
In terms of jewellery, I wanted a very simple and elegant look. I asked one of my best friends, Nada (My friend since we were 11 and through whom I met Christiaan) if I could borrow her wedding earings and she said yes. The symbolism of the earings being my "something borrowed" and also belonging to Nada was very special to me.
We got married at Victorian Manor.
"We will make your Victorian Dreams come true!" are words quoted by the Victoian Manor owners Jonathan and Berthe Kershaw. These two and their team were absolutely fantastic in preparation and on the day of our wedding.
http://victorian-manor.co.za/
The bridal party got ready at the Cullinan Premier Hotel & Spa.
Here Riki, Lorain and their team were also simply amazing.
http://www.cullinanpremierhotel.co.za/
Our guests that stayed over were booked in at either:
Cullinan Premier Hotel & Spa: http://www.cullinanpremierhotel.co.za/
or
The Diamond lodge: https://cullinandiamondlodge.co.za/
My stunning sisters, Chantelle (My older sister) and Bronwyn (My younger sister) were my bridesmaids. They knew that they would be standing by my side on my wedding day since we were little. Our shopping was easier than we thought it would be. Whilst we were in the Oriental Mall, we found a store that had the two most beautiful dresses. We loved the marsala colour, the flowing material and we all loved that the dresses were each unique.
Our Minister Charlie Wernich, a true man of God, presided over our union.
Jillian is someone who appreciates good photography more than anyone I have ever met. Often our family and friends find ourselves grateful for her persistence to capture the memories in the making. I told her to choose who she wanted to capture our special day and there was no difficulty in making her decision.
Trompie Van Der Berg Photography was at the top of our list. We felt comfortable with him from the moment we met.
https://www.facebook.com/trompievanderbergphotography/
http://www.trompievanderberg.co.za/
We then asked Cody Graham to do the videography of the day.
https://www.facebook.com/codygrahamproductions/
Trompie and Cody make an excellent team and we love all our photos and video moments that they captured.
The Photography team were all very professional and it felt as though they were a part of the wedding.
From the moment we met Berthe Kershaw, Owner of Victorian Manor shared her expertise in wedding planning with us.
http://victorian-manor.co.za/
https://www.facebook.com/Victorian-Manor-120069861457234/
We were also grateful to have numerous family and friends jump in and assist throughout the planning of our wonderful day.
Christiaan's cousin, Daniel suggested that we did something fun and out of the ordinary.
He then organised a 1959 BMW R50 classic motorbike for Christiaan to arrive at the venue as well as for the newly weds to use in our photos.
The Bride and bridesmaids arrived in a convoy of Mercedes.
The food was absolutely delicious. Till this day, our guest speak about it.
Jonathan Kershaw, Owner of Victorian Manor and well established South African chef prepared the menu.
http://victorian-manor.co.za/
https://www.facebook.com/Victorian-Manor-120069861457234/
Menu:
Starter
Beef consomme with julienne of spring vegetables, thyme and beef quenelle, served with petit bread rolls and butter
Intermediate
Gin and tonic sorbet or Mixed berry sorbet
Main
Fillet of beef anc chicken baked with spinach and mushroomduxelles in puff pastry
rice timbal
Roasted potatoes
Al dente mixed vegetables
Asparagus with bearnaise sauce
Dessert
Buffet of hot Dutch apple pie with custard and vanilla bean ice cream
Assorted mini pastries including black forest, assorted cheese cakes, fresh fruit pavlova and chocolate mousse cake
The CAKE:
We contacted Fairview in Paarl to order the finest cheese for our cheese cake tower cake.
Placing the order, arranging the delivery from Cape Town to Pretoria was easy with the assistance and expertise shared by Shannon Qumza from Fairview.
https://www.fairview.co.za/
Our friend Mariette, Owner of FlikFlooi, took control of some of the custom designed stationary, laser cutting and wedding preparations required on the day. Everything looked stunning!
https://www.facebook.com/FlikFlooi/
Our friend Monique, who lives in Portland, USA, was unable to attend the wedding, but helped with designing of stationary and anything else creatively inclined leading to the wedding.
We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends in our lives.
Everyone had an absolute ''ball" (Excuse the pun) at our reception.
Yes, we did have dance lessons in preparation for our first dance, however as we were about ten seconds into it, I quickly came to realize that Jillian had forgotten the choreography of our dance and I continued to sweep her off her feet and wing-it. We had so much fun just dancing in the moment.
Music, Band, DJ, Sound and Lighting was all provided by Havana Gas.
Doug and Storme were awesome! The dance floor was rocking all night.
https://www.facebook.com/Havana-Gas-170970709604659/
http://www.havanagas.co.za/
