How he popped the question:
Greg had organized with my family to pack clothes for me and he planned a weekend away to a place in Magaliesburg. I though we were going there for a picnic for the day. We spent the day swimming and relaxing at this place (Valley Lodge) and then Greg disappeared and a waiter came and gave me an invitation (made up by Greg) to join him at one of the bungalows. When I got there he had arranged for a dinner for 2 on the veranda and after dinner we went for a walk to the river below and that is where he went down on one knee.

The Dress:
My Mom made my dress. It was white with a gold train. It also had gold Celtic knots embroidered down the front and up the back of the dress. It was an off the shoulder sweetheart dress. Beautiful!

The Suit:
Greg bought his suit from a place in Wynberg called Trubuck.

The Bridesmaids Dress:
My Mom made all 3 of the bridesmaids dresses too. They were long Burgundy dresses and they had chiffon scarves that they wore with them.

Colour Scheme:
White, Gold and burgundy.

Flowers:
I had a bouquet with white St Joseph lilies and white roses,. The bridesmaids had burgundy roses.

The Transport:
I used my grandfathers old vintage car. It’s a maroon Devo.

The Ceremony:
The ceremony was at the venue. The pastor who married us did our pre-marital course as well. She did such an amazing service. I had a piper pipe me in to Highland cathedral. My sister (matron of honour) stood on my dress while I was walking down the aisle. It was a good laugh. Also when it was time to put the rings on, my ring wouldn’t go on cos the jeweler had put smaller bands on so I had to stick my finger in my mouth to get the ring on.

The Reception:
The reception was beautiful. We had 118 people seated. 10 at the main table and a huge dance floor. The food was excellent and everyone had such a good supper. We had left over rose petals and the venue hosts made a huge heart on the floor with them which I danced in with my dad and my new hubby.

The Cake:
Wow my cake was awesome. My brother (18 years) made my cake. It was a 3 tier fruit cake with White St Joseph lilies made out of icing on.

Favours:
We got boxes of chocolates from a place called Kees Beyers in Spartan and we bought burgundy organza bags and put about 3 chocolates in each bag with a thank you note attached.

Decor:
The venue provided the draping so we just had to do the centre pieces. We got wooden logs from a place in Multi-Flora which had dries pods and porcupine quills and guinea fowl feathers on.

Music:
Our DJ was Backbeat from centurion. He was awesome and he had the party going on the whole time. The dance floor was never empty. He played a huge variety of old and new music. Such a good party!

The Honeymoon:
We went to Umhlanga for a week. We drove down and had a nice leisurely drive down. We stayed at a friends flat. The weather wasn’t too great but it didn’t stop us from doing the touristy stuff. We had a lot of fun and were sad to come home.

Brides Tip:
Start planning as soon as you can. Don’t leave things till last minute. We had absolutely no stress on the day. Keep things simple. You don’t have to all out and do complicated extravagant things. Also don’t let people push you around when planning your wedding. Everyone has their own ideas on how your wedding should be.

Special Moments:
Greg’s speech was the most amazing speech ever. He had just about everyone sniffing and wiping tears (even the guys). Greg had also arranged for me to dance with my Dad which we hadn’t planned on doing and it was so touching.

Recommended Service Providers:
Photographer: Marinda: 011 795 3977
Venue: The Thatch: 011 464 2319

<<< go back to Real Life Weddings