My husband and I have been together for almost 10 years when we got married, so we only thought it right to have a proper (intimate) celebration with family and friends when the time came. To make it even more memorable and have the festivities last a bit longer (especially with Covid-19 restrictions still in place at the time), we opted for a three-day celebration at De Uijlenes Wedding Venue in Gansbaai, which is nestled in a charming valley surrounded by trees and mountains in the Overberg region.
The celebrations started on Monday evening, 27 December when all of our friends and family arrived at the venue and settled into their accommodation (provided at the venue). We kicked the evening off with a braai, some music and just great conversation. This also offered the opportunity for our friends and family to reunite and get to know each other better.
Everything about our wedding day on Tuesday, 28 December was just beautiful! From waking up in the morning to the peaceful, perfect sounds of nature and going straight into the craziness and excitement of our bridal parties getting ready with us; husband checking his tie for the umpteenth time while enjoying some cigars and a good whiskey with the men, and myself clinking some champagne with the special ladies in my life followed by my heart beating uncontrollably as I put my gorgeous dress on for the final time. My bridal party proceeded to the forest while my dad had the opportunity to have a 'first look' of me all dollied up and ready. I cannot put his reaction in words, but I could see his pride beaming from his eyes. We enjoyed a glass of champagne together in the bridal suite as he insisted that the bride HAD to be a few minutes late. We then proceeded in his Jeep to the forest where I was met by my beautiful bridesmaids and the cute flower girls and junior groomsmen.
I cannot explain the joyous and nervous feeling that came over me when the music started for my bridal party (Guitar Cover of Maroon 5's 'Memories' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isJ9Ez_j480)) and the series of emotions that I felt when MY song started (Emily Watts' cover of 'La Vie En Rose' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSZ5yvpEtLM)). The tears naturally rolled down my cheeks as a kept my gaze on my handsome husband to be at the end of the aisle. He was perfect, we were perfect, everything was just PERFECT.
We exchanged our vows in the enchanting forest venue under rustling leaves of the most beautiful giant oak tree, surrounded by the presence of God, chirping birds, beautiful white lilies and our closest, dearest family and friends. After our ceremony we signed our wedding register and joined our guests in the forest canape area where we received the most beautiful well-wishes and prayers on our union and we enjoyed pre-drinks and some light snacks before taking our group photos with the mesmerizing mountains as our backdrop.
Our guests proceeded to the Old Barn venue which was lit up with a mixture of fairy lights and candles and a hint of glass, white flowers and greenery. My husband and I joined our guests a few minutes later, introduced as Mr and Mrs Olivier, and opened our dance floor as we walked in to 'Nobody But You' by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9o0Gujuoc). It was quite a magical feeling to finally dance as a married couple and we sure had a few laughs, as no amount of practicing could prepare us to dance with my hooped dress! We were eventually joined on the dance floor by our bridal parties and other guests where some good memories were made! We then cut our wedding cake and proceeded to our table where we were blessed with the most heartfelt speeches.
If there was one compliment that we surely received over and over again from our wedding day, it was that the food was absolutely amazing - and we couldn't agree more! We opted for a buffet-style dinner which included slow roasted lamb rib (rolled), single served chicken pies, green beans with caramelized onions and bacon, roast garlic baby potatoes and of course, butternut puffs! This delicious meal was topped off with a variety of mini-deserts comprising of assorted cheese cakes, brownies, lemon meringues and coffee! We have heard so many stories of brides and grooms never getting to eat on their wedding day, but I must say, after returning from our couples' photos, our venue and coordinator ensured that we both had a warm plate of food; and we are forever thankful that we were able to join in the delicious feast!
Following dinner, we proceeded with the fun 'formalities' such as the bouquet and garter toss and the rest of the evening was spent with our friends and family on the dancefloor, for some celebratory drinks at the bar and cozy conversations around the bonfire outside - which continued until late into the night before everyone departed to their rooms.
Our celebrations were concluded on Wednesday morning, 29 December, with a yummy breakfast and coffee enjoyed with our guests before everyone said their goodbye's and departed safely back home. My fiancé and I stayed at the bridal suite on the Wednesday (we had the best nap ever after greeting all our guests!) and further enjoyed a relaxing time in the jacuzzi with some celebratory drinks the evening. We departed on Thursday, 30 December, after a cup of Nespresso on the deck in the morning while appreciating the picture-perfect valley around us.
We did not go on honeymoon (yet), but spent a few more days at the venue in their beautiful Little Barn honeymoon suite. We spent most of our time in the jacuzzi and in front of the fireplace with a delicious Nespresso at night. We plan to have our official honeymoon on our one year anniversary.
I felt like a princess on my wedding day! Everything just fell into place perfectly and my service providers all understood exactly what I wanted (even at the first trials already!).
I decided to do an up-style for my hair as I had an open-back dress and wanted to have the attention on that detail. I found the most beautiful inspiration online (Pinterest) and my hairstylist, Thelma Rae (nee Smit) from Thelma Smit Hairstyling got it perfect at the trail and even more so on our wedding day. I was so blessed to already have known such an amazing hairstylist whom I have been trusting with my hair for the past few years. She helped me get my hair to the beautiful colour I wanted on our wedding day and helped me maintain it in a good condition in the months leading up to the wedding. She also did my bridal parties' beautiful long-curled style hair and supplied the extensions which were needed to add more 'body' for the style I wanted to have.
My make-up was done by Mia Taylor from Make-up by Mia Taylor. I always knew from day one that I would book Mia for my wedding make-up as she is just extremely talented! She also got my trail spot-on perfect and made me look like a model, while maintaining the 'natural' look that I wanted to keep. She did my entire bridal look exactly the way I imagined it to be and more!
My wedding dress was made by Elanie van der Merwe from Royal Dress Hire based in Wellington. I am forever grateful that we found this gem of a place (and the magic fairy that lives in it ;) ). I came to Elanie with pictures of bits and pieces of different dresses and she just knew exactly what I had in mind, making this brides' dream dress come to life! Above being a gorgeous gown, it also fit perfectly and comfortably, which I believe is every brides' wish.
My shoes were gifted to me by a close family friend of ours, aunt Marlene, and they were fine and elegant with a touch of champagne/gold.
My lingerie was purchased at H&M and accessories for myself and my bridal party were bought at Lovisa. I bought cigars for my husband and his groomsmen at Curiosity Hut (all shops based in Somerset Mall, Somerset West).
I would honestly recommend all my suppliers over and over again!
We got married at the most beautiful venue we have ever experienced - De Uijlenes in Gansbaai, Overberg.
The venue had accommodation on the premises for all our guests for two nights (Monday and Tuesday), which set our hearts at ease knowing that none of our guests had to drive home again late at night. Some guests could not stay over, but had accommodation nearby.
We have received so many compliments on our venue - and rightfully so! Not just for its beauty and tranquility, but also for the amazing service received from everyone involved! The coordinators Lieben and Danelle were just amazing and completely on the ball (sorting minor issues we only learned about long after the wedding so we had nothing to stress about!). Of course Chef Maurice and his team will be praised for many years to come as our guests loved every bite of their food!
The months leading up to the wedding were very stressful in terms of finalising not only wedding plans, but also year-end work priorities. I did not do much different in terms of my beauty regime, but kept to what has always worked - Dove beauty cream bar for my face and Rooibos night cream.
I have however worked in a few gym sessions at our local gym - Bay Fitness (based in Gordon's Bay) and booked the necessary trials for my hair (t.Hairapy Salon, based in Strand), nails (Posh and Polished by Natalie, based in Gordon's Bay), lashes (Mia Taylor, based in Somerset West) and wax (Genine from Traditional Thai Massage based in Gordon's Bay).
I ensure to have clean, healthy meals daily and cut on sugar and coffee as much as possible in the weeks leading up to the wedding.
We went for an elegant and 'simple' look which turned out to be absolutely gorgeous! We opted for white flowers, greenery, glass, candles and fairy lights. I am a huge fan of white peonies, they were unfortunately not in season for our wedding, but we were able to source white peonie roses and combined them with white chrysanths from Lyn Bryant from Flower Affair based in Cape Town. The entire reception area was twinkling with lights which were even more lit up with the reflections on the glass decor. It felt like a wedding reception from a fairytale. Nicole Pretorius from Everything and More events was responsible for our beautiful decor and flower arrangements (more details on this under 'planner' below).
Our fairylight setup on the roof and outside boma area was done by The Husband and Wife team based in Gansbaai.
The furniture was provided by the venue.
My handsome groom and his (just as handsome) groomsmen wore black suits and white shirts with the groomsmen wearing black bow-ties and crossbands and my groom wearing a black undercoat, tie and jacket. The classic and elegant James Bond look! He certainly had me weak at the knees when I saw him!
Their suits were hired by Mr Suit Hire based in Paarl.
The junior groomsmen (my nephews) wore short black pants and white golf shirts purchased at Ackermans and Mr Price, respectively.
My bridesmaids wore infinity dresses made by the talented Carisha from BrideZilla as I felt this would make them all feel more comfortable. Carisha gave us such amazing service ensuring she gets the colour of the dresses correct and her turnaround time to get them done (specifically made to each bridesmaid's size) was just amazing (I think it took her two weeks at most). The dresses were a beautiful forest green colour, which had shades of blue if standing in the right light. They all looked absolutely gorgeous and folded their dresses uniquely to their liking. They wore accessories from Lovisa which I gave to each of them on the day.
The little flower girls' dresses were made by my extremely talented aunt Ina Henderson. Our daughter, Alana, wore white like her mommy and the other three flower girls (my nieces and our family friend's daughter) wore green dresses matching the colour of my bridesmaids.
Our Marriage Officer was Pastor Esri Malan from New Life Ministries based in Paarl. We were absolutely blessed to have Pastor Esri (and his wife Susan) at our wedding ceremony and they are the sweetest, dearest people. Pastor Esri guided us from day one on what we had to get in order beforehand and prepared us in terms of the ceremony, vows and where to take our places - we did not have to stress about anything on the day.
Our beautiful images were taken by Karen and her team from Escada Photography and Videography. We received a few sneaks from our day with our final photos and wedding video being finalised within the next week or two! They were such an amazing and professional team and we were super blessed to have found them! Our pictures are 'magazine-perfect' as most of our family and friends have stated. I would recommend them over and over again and am stalking their Facebook page to keep up to date with their beautiful work!
My décor and personal coordinating was done by Nicole Pretorius from Everything and More events. Nicole was my guiding light in all my wedding planning, especially around the décor, flowers and on-the-day coordination. She set up appointments for us to ensure we are both on the same page and kept me informed with ideas and progress in the months leading up to the wedding. I was never in the dark or worried about anything!
She made everything happen as and when it was supposed to happen and I feel that our entire day just absolutely flowed perfectly. Nicole supplied all my décor and the flowers were supplied by Lyn Bryant from Flower Affair based in Cape Town. Nicole did all the flower and décor arrangements for the tables, ceremony area and just about everywhere. She also did our welcome board, honeymoon fund box, guest message book, cake topper - everything was covered and looked nothing short of STUNNING!
I will choose Nicole over and over again for any of my future events!
My dad was my personal chauffeur to the forest area. My wedding vehicle was his Jeep Wrangler - which I absolutely love!!
Our food was done by Chef Maurice and team from the wedding venue (as mentioned above). We were so blessed to have such an amazing chef and team at our wedding. Our guests LOVED the food.
Our wedding cake was made by our close and dearest friend, Chantal Conradie, from the Cupcake Co based in Gordon's Bay. We had a two-tiered naked vanilla and lemon cake and it was delicious and beautiful at the same time! We even delivered some cake to our local guests after the wedding as there was just so much left as the guests had pudding and cake!
All my stationery, welcome board, menus, table seating, cake stand etc. was done by Nicole Pretorius from Everything and More events. She had everything (and more ;) ) covered!!!
We practiced our dance at home, but I must be honest, it was quite different with the dress on! :) We did eventually find our 'groove' and had quite a few lovely dances throughout the reception.
Our DJ was Morné Nel from BAHA Entertainment, based in Somerset West and surrounds. Morné queued our music perfectly for the ceremony and sourced all the songs we requested. He even advised on some songs where I was uncertain, such as the song for my bridal party walking into the forest. The tone and music was set perfectly and beautifully.
He also kept the music flowing and read our guests incredibly well during the reception. Everyone was on the dance floor at some point through the evening, even if just passing through with a jiggle in their step! We would recommend Morné any day and were so pleased to have him make our wedding day a memorable one!
