How do you honestly begin to describe this most perfect day ? How you you even try to pick a highlight when the entire day is one ? I don't think any words could do our wedding day justice. We were loved, and hugged and kissed and admired and held and celebrated for an entire day - this day that is planned months and months in advance entirely around you and your partner, it is all about you two , every detail is picked by you and created by and around you- I woke up in the morning and from the moment I opened my eyes I had this abubdant pouring of love, joy and happy tears from all those close and special until the moment I closed my eyes that night. Now, apart from the love from family and friends, to explain the feeling you get staring into your husband's eyes as you pledge and vow to love them, protect them and honour them for the rest of your life- now that is pure magic. That is something my heart had never felt before, a different kind of magic happens in this moment- it was honestly as if the crowd had disappeared for a second and it was just him and I , and most importantly, God. It was beyond special. The rest of the day was this cloud 9 blur of laughing, eating, beautiful words from loved ones , dancing , singing and more love and more magic. So my highlight, was the entire day of the 26th of May 2018 when I married the love of my life with all our family and friends. I will treasure our wedding day " for as long as we both shall live." .
We went to the breathtakingly beautiful Maldives ! Chris kept it a secret until the night of the wedding, we left two days later. The colour of the water is just unreal- we enjoyed 8 days filled with plenty sun , gin and tonics on the deck and of course , delicious food ! ( alot of food). Was the most ideal way to relax and recharge after the most amazing whirlwind of excitement and emotions during the wedding build up !
Just shortly after our engagement, once all the questions start flooding in - dress ? Wedding venue ? DJ? I took to Pinterest like any newly engaged bride to be does, and well, if you had to look at my link , I look pretty confused - as confused as I was walking into my first dress appointment. I think I had every type and style saved to my board , so walking in I only had the intention of first finding the right style , thinking the dress may come later. Well , I couldn't have been more wrong. I went in with the perfect dress crew - my mom , mom in law, and my sister in law who was a bridesmaid. We went straight on the hunt- 3rd dress in , we were struggling to decide which should go next- my mother in law Liz- spotted a absolutely stunning McCarthy Wolf, a classic beauty with crystals and pearls and lace and tule for days which I had to try on and , it was a no brainer. The moment the veil went on I knew that it was my dress , and as soon as the whole room filled with tears I had the nods of approval from everyone and dress was officially ticked off . The dress designers were AMAZING to work with, and made it such a happy experience ( there were a few a adjustments that had to be made to fit it to my body) . Due to the back of the dress - I knew that my hair just had to be up to do the dress justice and I knew I had to finish the look off with a classic pearl earing. Well , the earings were a story in itself . I searched far and wide for the perfect earing , I think I bought about 6 pairs , none of which were the perfect one. The morning of the wedding- while getting ready, I received a delivery from the groom . A beautifully wrapped box , with the most incredibly stunning diamond and pearl necklace and earing set. He did well :) and it was the cherry on my perfect wedding cake. My make up and hair team were amazing and made the morning relaxed , fun and calming. They are the best and I would recommend them to anyone . I didn't want my make up to be over the top , but wanted just the right effect - a slightly darker eye with a light lip , and I moved to a darker lip in the evening. I did have a fun party dress , with some wedding dress influences that I changed to later in the evening - and literally let my hair down to party with my husband.
We got married at the Venue Fontana in Umkomaas. This beauty of a wedding venue is nestled in a forest and alongside the banks of the Umkomaas river. This gives you various options for the ceremony depending on your taste. The wedding party was given accommodation, as well as there is a beautiful honeymoon suite for the wedding night. Our guests stayed not far from the Venue, there are plenty hotels and bed and breakfasts in the area , it's not that far from home so some drove home too. Our parents and family stayed in two huge, beautiful beach houses next to eachother quite close to the Venue which was perfect for the weekend.
I was all about my skin , gym and diet ! Gosh , I lived, breathed and well, can't say I ate ... gym and diet. I must be honest though , once you get into a good routine and you get yourself a good trainer , it does become easier , and fun. The diet part was tough at times, especially when there is so much going on in the beginning of the year for us both - but I managed to do pretty well , and it really has introduced a cleaner way of living and shown how beneficial it can be so we planning on keeping this as our way of life. I went for regular facials and skin treatments which I honesty do believe helps alot for that little extra glow!
The reception at the Venue Fontana is a barn which was renovated into this stunning mix of modern and rustic elegance. Not much decor is needing to make the reception look any more beautiful than it already is. We had gone for a rose gold , gold and copper colour scheme with alot of greenery and white flowers. Each table ( long tables seating 20 ) had penny gum running across with three big geometric shapes divided across as the table statement with candles, rock roses and various other white flowers. Gold charger plates with dusty pink napins finished off the look. Behind the main table was a huge stunning arch made from greenery and flowers and our initials hanging in the middle. A candy bar and tea and coffee station was set up for all guests to enjoy. There is an outside area just off the reception where we had our canapes and pre drinks served while we went for photos. There was furniture set up , with giant games and baskets of penny gum situated around the area. Thirst, our bar team had set up a gin bar with craft beer and there was revolving canapes served by our excellet caterers, Saffron chef's. We had a photo booth set up by Aisle hire it for the guests as well as some live music entertainment to keep them busy. Our DJ , David Yapp, was fantastic and I feel is the best in the industry- not only did he play the best music , but he made sure we had full drinks at all time and checked on us constantly! The decor was all done by the best . The absolute best you can get - a team headed by my mom , my mom in law , and wedding coordinator Lee Murch.
The groom wore a black tailored Hugo boss suit. And did he look handsome or what . Funny thing was , just as I of course didn't tell him what my dress looked like or ANY hints - neither did he ! I had noooo idea the style , look, colour - so I was blown away when I got to the end of the aisle , just as much as I hope he was too. His groomsmen looked dashing in black pants , white shirts, suspenders and bow ties, all from Markhams, and suspenders and bow ties from H&M.
To go with our colour scheme- I really wanted the girls to wear full rose gold. The first that came to mind , was the full length sequin dresses I had spotted on Pinterest. I knew I just had to have these dresses! Problem was, I couldn't find them made , and to make them was proving a quite costly. We happened to be in JHB one weekend , with my mom and mother in law , and the same lady who found my dress - found my bridesmaids dresses too :) Liz my mom in law found them in YDE, perfectly made and in the right look and style I wanted! They were perfect ! We did land up adding and changing them so that all 3 had a different look and they turned out exactly how I had dreamed it up in my head. Happy bride.
Our family Pastor Trevor , was sadly booked up for our wedding. Luckily however, we were still able to have our pre marital counselling with him. It was really amazing , as both Chris and I have know Trevor since we were young, and he is really special to both of us. On the day however, just as special as it was to have our counselling with Trevor, we had a close friend of ours, Sven, perform our ceremony for us . It was so lovely , and he had the most personal , special touch included in a very moving sermon.
We had the best ! Bron Veale from Vanilla photography was our wedding photographer, and she teamed up with her brother Hilton , from Wavecrest pictures who did the videography. They are another league - so professional, had us feeling comfortable and relaxed the entire time... and not to be biased or anything, but I think our photos are just out of this world. I couldn't have been happier.
We had the best ! Bron Veale from Vanilla photography was our wedding photographer, and she teamed up with her brother Hilton , from Wavecrest pictures who did the videography. They are another league - so professional, had us feeling comfortable and relaxed the entire time... and not to be biased or anything, but I think our photos are just out of this world. I couldn't have been happier.
This lady deserves a medal ! My mom helped me through the entire process. I couldn't have done this wedding without my mom. My mother in law Liz , was just as instrumental in all the planning , and I was so lucky with the amount of support I had from both these two. Our Coordinator Lee Murch- from weddings by Lee is just another league of her own . She is honestly the best. There was nothing too big , too little , and she has the personality to light up any room. These 3 ladies , and our two dad's are the reason our wedding was as incredible as it was.
This lady deserves a medal ! My mom helped me through the entire process. I couldn't have done this wedding without my mom. My mother in law Liz , was just as instrumental in all the planning , and I was so lucky with the amount of support I had from both these two. Our Coordinator Lee Murch- from weddings by Lee is just another league of her own . She is honestly the best. There was nothing too big , too little , and she has the personality to light up any room. These 3 ladies , and our two dad's are the reason our wedding was as incredible as it was.
This lady deserves a medal ! My mom helped me through the entire process. I couldn't have done this wedding without my mom. My mother in law Liz , was just as instrumental in all the planning , and I was so lucky with the amount of support I had from both these two. Our Coordinator Lee Murch- from weddings by Lee is just another league of her own . She is honestly the best. There was nothing too big , too little , and she has the personality to light up any room. These 3 ladies , and our two dad's are the reason our wedding was as incredible as it was.
We were so spoilt! Oh my gosh. It does help when your hubby is in the industry and has a few connections with incredible cars. My bridesmaids arrived in a Lexus LX , my dad and Maid of honour were in a Lexus RC, and I was driven in a Mercedes SLS GT. Wow! Is all I can say. We got to drive around the Merc a little after the ceremony- amazing :)
I wish I could eat all the wedding food , all over again. We had the amazing Saffron Chef's make all our food , including the canapes, the starters, mains , wedding cake and the late night snacks! Gosh, the main which was a fillet steak with all the sides was to die for . Delicious! The wedding cake was a three tier white chocolate sponge with a rose gold drizzle. We took some home and ate so much of it just before leaving for our honeymoon. Couldn't resist it !
I had a friend of a friend, who was literally sent as my stationery angel, design all our stationery for us . We had been going back and forth on which design and couldn't settle on one - She swooped in and created the most perfect, elegant wedding stationery for us. We sent our designs to a local printing company- the very professional Lightning Printers! Receiving our stationery was a very happy moment, and was almost the cherry in the wedding planning cake ;)
We had such a party ! I mean , I can't remember when last I danced that much ! And no , we didn't take any lessons , and totally winged it , but dancing has always been something we never worried about as hubby and I have always taken the dance floor on at many a wedding, and with our same signitutre moves ! And this wasn't any different , but we just had fun, and the music was exceptional . Our DJ as mentioned before , David Yapp, just read the crowed perfectly and the dance floor was full at all times. We couldn't actually believe it when the last and final song came on- I think we could have carried on into the early hours of the morning.
