This gorgeous duo both love entertaining and are extremely passionate about food and wines, so the idea for their wedding was to re-create the feeling and ambience of a wintery afternoon lunch in their own home. When they came across LANGKLOOF ROSES they immediately fell in love with it and the rustic decor offered them the homely feel they were after, with the bonus of a huge fireplace in the reception area really selling them. ABBY ANDERSON was on hand to document this cosy wedding.
HOW DID YOU MEET? We had briefly crossed paths at Stellenbosch University but had not gotten to know each other too well. Adrian went overseas after varsity and I started working in Cape Town. A mutual friend, who had gotten to know Adrian in London, decided to start a monthly dinner club and we were both included in this. We got to know each other relatively well through these dinners and developed a good friendship. It was only during the festivities of the World Cup in 2010 that we got together.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Having never lived overseas and with my massive love for summer, I had never been in snow. Adrian decided to plan a road trip to Golden Gate Highlands Retreat and the Drakensberg to try remedy this. We arrived at the Golden Gate Retreat to clear blue skies but icy cold temperatures. Adrian lit a fire and we opened a bottle of wine and while doing this it clouded over and, if you can believe it, began to snow!! We were all alone on the top of this mountain, with views for days and it was snowing! It was incredible! So sitting on the balcony while it snowed around us, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was perfect. (We didn’t get snow again that holiday and I haven’t been in snow since).
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: I had a good idea of the style I was looking for – I definitely wanted something classic, sleek with lace and sleeves. My twin sister got married a couple of months prior to our engagement so I had been around to various dress makers and shops with her. Elbeth Gillis made her dress which was absolutely beautiful so it was a given that I would go to her for mine. It was such an easy, honest process. Elbeth was fantastic with giving me direction on what suited my body but still keeping to my ideas.
ANY DIY OR BUDGET ELEMENTS? I am one of four children and the last to get married so it has become a bit of a tradition for the ladies of the family to get involved with the seating plan, place settings, name tags etc. So I went off to Ebony and Ivory and got tons of ribbons and stationery and on the Saturday before the wedding we all got together for some bubbles and DIY! My sister and my sister in law are incredible when it comes to cakes and deserts so I knew I wanted them to get involved in this. My sister had just had her second child so my sister in law raised her hand! I literally just told her the basic idea of what I was thinking and let her do the rest. And it was amazing!!
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: Rustic and wild but still delicate and beautiful. I wanted to use proteas and succulents amongst the more traditional roses and to try keep things simple!
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: Our food and the way it was served. We called it our wedding feast as the food was bought to the tables and everyone served themselves and each other. We also made sure that there was a constant flow of wine on the tables so our guests could keep their glasses full. This combined with the stormy weather outside and the raging fire made us all feel as if we were at home! We honestly had the most fantastic caterer who worked with us to create a delicious seasonal menu and avoid the standard ééòwedding foodééò. She put so much effort into presenting the food and creating the wedding feast we had envisioned.
Photographer ABBY ANDERSON / Videographer GARETH JONES / Cake SOMETHING SAVAGE / Florist | 4 EVERY EVENT / Stationery EBONY & IVORY / Venue LANGKLOOF ROSES / Dress Designer ELBETH GILLIS / Shoes CHARLES & KEITH / Jewellery FAMILY / Hair & Make-up DONNA HAY / Bridesmaids Dresses YOUNG DESIGNERS / Grooms Attire COUNTRY ROAD / Caterer LINDA BRUYNS
