Entries Tagged 'our wedding' ↓
December 10th, 2010 — about me, our wedding
November 1st, 2010 — about me, bridezilla, ideas, our wedding, paisley theme, planning, red and purple, suppliers, theme ideas, wedding reception
I had so many ideas when we started planning our wedding, but I managed to whittle my list down and by the time we got together with the decor company for the first time, I had only two concepts. It was either feathers, or an ornate Victorian theme.
After chatting to Kelly from Kelro, we decided on the feather idea. She was keen to do it and I think I was more excited about that one than the Victorian idea by then. We opted on a different style of decor for the chapel, but still something that fitted with the feathers.
The chapel aisle was lined with small birdcages hung on ribbons from the ceiling. They were filled with flowers, candles and feathers, and each one was different. The purple and red colour scheme was used in the chapel and in the reception hall, and the front of the chapel had two big flower arrangements on white stands flanking us as we said our vows.
After the ceremony, the two big arrangements and the cages were whisked into the reception hall where they were used to decorate the buffet tables, the coffee station, the bathrooms and our main table.
Our tables were covered with red and purple table cloths, and in the centre we had tall vases covered in a sheer white fabric with battery operated lights inside topped with a fountain top of white ostrich feathers! There were a few small candles on the tables as well, but the main thing was the feathered centrepiece. The serviettes were bound with strands of jewels and pearls on wire at each place setting, and there were no flowers on the tables.
We used photographs from our couple-shoot earlier in the year to make up triangular table number cards. One side had the table number on it, the second side displayed the menu and the third side had one a photographof us on it.
It was very striking and I was very pleased with the look of the reception hall.
October 28th, 2010 — links, our wedding, planning, suppliers, venues, wedding reception
After I dragged my fiance to 17 different venues, and we rated, photographed and reviewed them, we chose Helderfontein Estate as the perfect place for our wedding.
Helderfontein Estate scored the highest on our ranking list after we’d visited all the venues, and the criteria we looked at included ample secure parking, a big enough venue to have space to move between the tables and still have a decent size dance floor, a chapel on the same property, overnight space for us and for our guests, and close to home and family.
Another issue was that the venue had to look pretty in winter as we were planning a July wedding. This was also why we started looking at venues in June and July the year before we got married. Many venues look exquisite in summer, but winter means no flowers and no green grass and no ivy… then they’re not pretty at all.
Helderfontein was beautiful when we went to see it in the middle of winter in 2009. The huge stone building that in summer is covered in ivy are very striking in their own right in winter. The reception hall was more than big enough for everything we had planned, they had ample secure parking and they have over 50 rooms available for overnight guests!
On our wedding day, we each had a room to get dressed in and they were on opposite sides of the property so that we wouldn’t accidentally see each other. We did the majority of our photographs before the ceremony to make the most of the available light and we had more than enough beautiful places on the property to take photographs including these huge stone walls and dams on the property.
That night, after the reception, we had the honeymoon suite to sleep in! The underfloor heating as well as the bed’s electric blanket had been switched on and there was champagne chilling in an ice bucket… ooh and a platter of eats and snacky things like cheese and biscuits and strawberries!
It was fabulous. We had breakfast with our parents early the next morning before we set off on honeymoon, and the best part about outsourcing everything was that we only had to take our clothes and gift home with us!
August 27th, 2010 — about me, bridesmaids, bridezilla, budgeting, our wedding, red and purple, suppliers, the wedding party
When I asked my sisters to be my bridesmaids they were very excited! I said they could choose their gowns provided I had final say on their choices, of course. I worked hard not to be a bridezilla since I was planning my own wedding 
I took my sisters to Bride and Co for their dresses because you can’t easily find a bigger selection of styles and colours, and they don’t charge for their fittings which is always a bonus.
My sisters could choose either purple or red for their dresses in any style, and they both opted for full length red dresses. My sister Candy knew EXACTLY what she wanted to wear and tried on only one dress. She looked fantastic and she was really excited with her choice. It was a strapless satin dress with a diamante side detail. She had it taken in a wee bit and added a layer of tulle to the bottom of the dress at her final fitting to add some length as she’s quite tall.
My sister Brigitte had a dress in mind, but when she found what she was looking for they didn’t have one for her to try on! She was very disappointed, but with a little convincing we got her to try on another dress- one she would never have chosen for herself and one she was adamant would not work for her. It was a soft flowing gown with a detachable flower (that she opted not to use). When she stepped out of the dressing room, I got goosebumps! She looked amazing! She added satin straps to the gown and had it taken in a little.
Both bridesmaids bought themselves red satin wraps which they wore on the day, both dresses were ready 2 weeks before the wedding, and both dresses- with their alterations- were well within my budget!!
August 25th, 2010 — our wedding, paisley theme, red and purple, the groom, the wedding party
We didn’t have anything specially made for the men in the bridal party, we decided it would be easier to go out and find ready-made suits in black.
My husband’s suit had to be tailored slightly, and he and his best man Andrew wore black shirts, with these gorgeous purple and red paisley ties that they found in the suit shop!! I was stunned that they found ties to fit the wedding colour scheme and theme as we’d searched for paisley ties for months!!
We found my son’s suit and shoes at a retail store earlier in the year when we had another formal function to attend, so he wore his black suit- which he likes- with a new black shirt and a new plain red tie. He also had a haircut and he looked very dashing.
My daddy darling also wore a black suit with a grey shirt and a purple tie, so he matched my mommy darling very nicely!
They all looked so handsome!!
