Organic styled non-traditional South African wedding

Seline & Jaco bucked tradition when it came to many aspects of their wedding. Starting off with a cocktail party, they then moved on to a sunset ceremony in a glass chapel held purely by candle light. With an incredible view over the valley at their venue of Netherwood in the Natal Midlands of South Africa, it was nothing short of spectacularly romantic. The elegant décor of the venue dictated much of the style of their wedding, with the couple opting to use lots of greenery and raw wood to enhance the simplicity of the existing design and add a touch of elegance. As a destination wedding, it became a mini vacation for many of their guests, who spent the weekend celebrating with them. RENSCHE MARI’S beautiful images capture the lad-back essence of this gorgeous wedding.

“For our flowers we went for a mass of greenery, beautifully put together by Eve of SPLENDID WEDDING COMPANY, with the addition of white orchids and roses. I just wanted greenery in my bouquet, but we put cascading orchids in the bridesmaids’ bouquets and in the venue. I wanted something simple and natural that looked like it almost grew there. Plus, the masses of eucalyptus we used made the venue smell incredible. To this day, the smell of these trees reminds me of this magical occasion.

We asked our photographer and videographer to simply capture real, actual moments instead of anything manufactured. You can feel the tangible realness and genuine nature of the situation – in an almost documentary narrative – and I think they both hit the nail on the head. When I look at the photos I remember every single little detail, including what things felt like, what the room smelled like and what sounds I could hear. It’s incredible really.

To us, our wedding wasn’t a show – it was a celebration of the two of us building something special together and asking people to witness that. From the small details to the larger ones, we constantly chose to do things differently. We took our photos before our guests even arrived, allowing us to spend as much time as possible with everybody. Even though we did this, we still had our ‘first look’ in the chapel; something that was private, just between the two of us. I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t even walk down the aisle. It was a precious, intimate moment.“

The couple found a special way to honour Seline’s late mother by incorporating the colour emerald into the wedding – mostly in its natural form with greenery – which was her favourite. They also had the pastor who had married many of the bride’s family perform their ceremony: “It was a beautiful way to honour the legacy of our family and those who came before us.”

“At the end of the day, we had a day that perfectly mirrored our personalities, with raw nature, genuine intimacy, elegance and just a ed our personalities, with raw nature, genuine intimacy, elegance and just a touch of madness."