Today's wedding is extra special, not just because it's gaaaahwjuss (in different shades of glittering gold, I die), but because it features a couple who I feel are part of the SBB family. I've been working with photographer Bernard Bravenboer since the early days of SBB, and from his tweets I picked up that he had a sweetheart called Grethe (who assists him often at weddings). Fast forward a few years, and Grethe got in touch to ask my advice on some of her hiring, and when she told me what they had planned for their big day, I knew it would be beautiful! Seeing the breathtaking images by Du Wayne Denton, I wasn't disappointed - it's not just the sparkly, shiny loveliness, but the whole day seems bathed in a golden glow that can only be true love. There are some fantastic ideas here to inspire - I loved the dummy cakes, the white flowers against sequin linens, and the way that the couple wove a favourite CS Lewis quote into their day especially. Congrats Grethe & Bernard!

The Proposal (pic above left by Bernard/Grethe Bravenboer) We wanted somewhat of a white canvas with which we could do anything we want, but I also have a great big chandelier fetish. I always imagined getting married in the mirror hall at the Palace of Versailles, so that was entirely the look I wanted to create, but with a bit less 'over-the-top'ness ;) Of course, I also love big oak trees like the ones found all around Stellenbosch, reminding me of when we first fell in love. When we drove into Lourensford and saw the lane of trees, I fell in love with the place. The glass panes of the venue hall cascading open onto the beautiful veranda overlooking the open, neatly-mowed field and the surrounding scenes were just too perfect to say no to.Wedding Style
Being people who have both worked at numerous weddings and have been guests at quite a few as well (being the youngest in both our families), we wanted to have something timeless and elegant with a few 'original' touches. I say 'original' because when you've had so much exposure to the industry as we've had, you know that nothing is truly original, although every bride would like to think that way.
We decided on a gold and white colour scheme with various shades of gold (rose gold, bright gold, old gold) complementing our big white canvas (which was the venue). I really loved all the theme boards on Pinterest with this colour scheme and it also went very well with my ring, which I absolutely adored.
I also really badly wanted to get married outside, but it proved (quite honestly) to be a bit too expensive at Lourensford. So we found this wonderful, beautiful place tucked away next to the river less than 5kms away from Lourensford - Hathersage. They had the best facilities and enormous tree under which we already imagined standing from the first time we saw it. It also had this fairytale forest to the edges that made the most beautiful pictures.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Bernard announced that we were going out for lunch. After a bunch of arrangements he made (without me knowing) we finally got to our lunch booking on time. For quite some time, he has been telling me that he wants to start taking more pictures with his professional camera (he is a professional photographer) and so, he also took his camera bag along. Meanwhile, to steer me from suspicion, he took the ring box out of his camera bag and hid it in his car. Therefore, I thought nothing of it when I took the camera out to take a picture at the restaurant.
After having a wonderful lunch, he suggested that we take a drive around Chapman's Peak (my favourite route!). He even checked the weather while we were at the restaurant to see whether there was a chance of going up Table Mountain. Little did I know that his initial plan was to ask me in the cable car and that he in fact already bought tickets and was watching the weather for the last few hours! Unfortunately, Table Mountain was closed for the day. Eventually we decided (well, at least I thought it was a unanimous decision) to drive up Chapman's Peak. We finally stopped at a lookout-point where quite a few people have been stopping to get out and take pictures of the view. I thought nothing of it when Bernard also took out his camera bag and a tourist-looking couple with their two children stopped behind us, doing the same. I went to sit down, when Bernard suddenly requested that I should stand up for a picture. As I got up, he got down on his one knee and asked me (in the most beautiful Afrikaans I have ever heard) if I would be his wife. I was overwhelmed with emotion. Only later did I realise that the camera bag was an excuse to keep the ring box in and the tourist-looking people behind us, were actually an arranged photographer to take pictures of the whole thing! It was the most special moment in my life and I was astounded by my fiancé's creativity.

Wedding Details
Since we made it through what feels like a very big part of both our lives, we really wanted to tell the story of what it means to truly 'love' someone and not merely just 'be in love' with them. A big part of the pastor's message emphasized this, as well as the importance of a community of friends who must be sincerely interested in both parties' wellbeing and support them as such. We chose a CS Lewis quote to tell this story, putting versions of it on various items related to our wedding - the invitations, the banner for the reception, etc.
Another thing that was really important to Bernard, is not having guests ruin pictures because they themselves want to take some - especially during the service. So we decided to make the service an 'unplugged' one where guests were not allowed to take pictures or use their cell phones.
Both our families already have many kids of their own and so we wanted to make use of their children to make our day special, seeing that they are also a special part of our lives. My sister-in-law made them the most beautiful dresses and they were all my flower girls (7) and the boys helped handing out confetti (3). We also had a special section for them during the reception that my mother prepared with goodie bags and lots of things to keep them busy. The big lawn also helped!
We were really set on our tablecloths from the beginning. Bernard has a bee in his bonnet about white tablecloths being ironed and folded and then spread open on the tables on the morning of the wedding. The creases normally still show and although it seldom bothers anybody, to a photographer, this is very annoying! Therefore we thought having a very heavy weight fabric that happens to look like a glitter-explosion (exactly what I was going for), would be perfect! Seeing it all over the internet and Pinterest, we really didn't think it would be hard to find in South Africa, but it was. We even considered at one point to buy the fabric (VERY expensive) and have it sewn up and hire it out ourselves afterwards to pay it off. Luckily we did not have to go to such measures as we found the tablecloths at Uber Chic but this is certainly a great story of our day.

You can see more from this wedding on Du Wayne's Facebook page.

SERVICE PROVIDERS
Ceremony Venue: Hathersage | Reception Venue: Lourensford | Catering: Jessica & Luke from The Table Restaurant (friends of ours) | Photography: Du Wayne Denton | Videographer: Dewet from Sweefilm | Cakes: Our mothers | Flowers & décor: Karen & Berena (they are wonderful!) from Mint & Magnolia | Stationery: Lezanne's Designs (also fantastic) | Bride's dress: Zani Denton (she did it as a last favour for me and doesn't have a company anymore) | Bride's accessories: Charles & Keith (shoes); Forever New (earrings); Jo Malone (perfume) | Hair & makeup: Helga from Helga Bridal | Bridesmaids' dresses: YDE | Groom's attire: House of Monatic (suit); Café Cotton (bowtie) | Groomsmen's suits: Mr Suit Hire | DJ: DJ Ashley