Highlights of the day for me include the moment when I walked down the Isle to my future husband infront of everyone who was important to us. Memories made with friends and family will always be dear to us.
My 2nd favourite highlight includes our first dance which my husband and I created. We are both not the best dancers but the week before the wedding we decided to have a go at it and practice. We had so much fun practicing that when we had our first dance it was as if it was just us in our lounge going through the dance and having fun.
We had an amazing European honeymoon, starting off with a connecting flight from SA to Dubai and from Dubai to Munich, Germany. In Munich we attended the Oktoberfest before heading through to Austria, where we toured through Salzburg, Innsbruck and visited aunts and uncles on my side, who live there and took us around. Our journey from there took us to Italy, where we toured through Venice, Florence, Pisa, Naples and Rome all via train or public transport. We average walking about 25km per day and didnt always have a gamelan. We knew where we wanted to get, but didnt book accommodation until the day of. It was fantastic and I will never forget it!
My dress was custom made by someone I've known since I was in primary school. I went to about 3 bridal stores to try in dresses until I found a style I liked, which was completely different from what I originally had in mind! My dress was a satin a-line (slight ballgown) dress with a heart shaped neckline. It had satin straps which split at the back and a beaded accent belt. My favourite part of the dress was the upper back of the dress, as we had taken lace used on my mother's wedding dress so that the back of it was had a lace overlay with flowers which would stand out, giving it a very sentimental characteristic. We also took flowers from my mother's dress and sowed them onto my veil.
I wanted make-up to be more natural but just highlight the best of my features. I asked for a purple/pink tint to my eyes to bring out the brown. I couldn't decide on if I wanted my hair up or down, which is why I had a half up half down look.
My mother gave me a pearl pendant to wear which also had a crystal flower in it. The flower resembles the national flower of Austria(the edelweiss). As my dad is Austrian and some of his family were attending, we decided to pay homage to them by wearing the pendant. My earrings were matchingg pearl earrings which came with the pendant. I also borrowed a pair of swarovsky crystal studded earrings from my sister in law. Lastly my shoes were new, bought from Bridal wardrobe and were peep-toe wedges with white satin and ivory lace over them. They were the first thing I purchased, before I even had a dress
We got married at Zorgvliet wine estate situated in between the Stellenbosch mountains. It was a beautiful venue and the staff made the day go off so smoothly! They say guests always remember two things from a wedding, the food and the music. Zorgvliet catering made sure that our guests were well fed and everyone will remember how delicious the food was. My family and bridemaids made use of the venues on site accommodation the night before the wedding and the night of the wedding. It was heaven and the rooms were gorgeous!
Water, gym, water, healthy eating, water, repeat. My skin was the best it had ever been at the wedding, even the makeup artist was amazed. Before the wedding would focus on cardio at the gym, and drink an obscene amount of water. I stayed out of the sun and always moisturised and used sunscreen. I only had a hydrating facial about 3-4 weeks before the big day.
Share our haven and you will never be the same again as you will become a beholder of the spirit of the Banghoek Valley.
