Chalky greens, fynbos and Protea wedding

Some of you might remember me featuring the lovilee Natalie from Sugar & Vice‘s Woodlands E-session. Today I get to share this special friends’ wedding day! A Chalky greens, fynbos and Protea wedding complete with handmade details, special touches, quirky games and an outdoor movie! The images of Jandré & Natalie’s special day were taken again by Wilfred Photography.

The couple tied the knot in the Western Cape at De Uijlenes in December. The couple paid for the wedding themselves and wanted to give themselves enough time to save. They got engaged end October 2015 and booked their venue for December 2016. Natalie was fortunate to have her hubby-to-be involved in the planning every step of the way, their personalities shone through in every quirky detail.

DIY Details
I did the table decor myself, choosing to have cream lace runners and brown and copper sprayed bottles on the tables filled with various fynbos and proteas. The bottles was all South African inspired – from brown beer bottles, Marmite (my fav) to chutney bottles. Deer antlers and pine cones decorated the tables, which were named after a places we had previously traveled to together as a couple. The talented maid of honour (and my sister) did all the chalk boards and designed our beautiful wedding stationery.

I had chalky green wreaths suspended from the ceiling over each table and green tin camping mugs with the names of each guest printed on that were filled with Lint chocolates were our wedding favours, that also doubled up as a place name. Each couple also received a “hangover kit” on their bed in their room as they arrived and I also made all the gift boxes for the bridal party and had so much fun choosing the contents.

I wanted a unique dress, as none of the ordinary dresses felt right for me. I wanted to involve all the important woman in my life as it helped us all bond and tested our patience. As a result my dress became a very long project for my sister (and maid of honour) as well as my mother in law. My sister took photos of proteas and fynbos and arranged it on a template of my bodice on Photoshop. She then printed it out and used it as the embroidery pattern. There must have been over a 300 hours of work that went into the dress, with my mom and me only helping with a bit of the hand embroidery. I chose flowers that all the special woman in my life loved, including both my grannies that has passed away. My dress have become a family heirloom and I don’t think I would ever part with it!

About our wedding
We both really love nature and so wanted to take our photos in the woods and chose a forest setting for our wedding. We wanted the actual wedding to be a laid back and relaxed affair, just like how we both are and just like us, we also didn’t follow the usual traditions of throwing the garter, bouquet and cutting the cake. Instead we chose to rather spend time with our guests and as we only had 53 people at the wedding – we were able to chat to everyone more than once.

Our wedding day was perfect in every sense. We chose to have our wedding festivities in the rustic farm in the Overberg called De Uijlenes. We wanted to treat our guests to a wedding weekend so that the celebrations could last longer than just a few hours of one day. On the Friday night the bridal party was served red wine and slices of wood fired pizza by the dam. We screened an outdoor movie, which everyone watched under the stars on picnic blankets. We watched “50 First dates”, which Jandré chose as he said he, just like the movie, falls in love with his bride every day.

We fell in love with the enchanting secret forest ceremony spot in the woods and exchanged our vows under a giant oak tree in the depths of an indigenous forest and surrounded by a sea of white arum lilies. The pre-drinks picnic area in the forest was a treasure trove of cool cocktails and delicious canapes that were served to out nearest and dearest while we took our photos. The wedding reception took place in the Old Barn, a rustic 19th century former dairy sheds which have been lovingly converted into a unique event venue. The party followed cosy by the bonfire outside.

On Sunday morning we all had a breakfast buffet together and could chat about the festivities of the night before.

Advice for other couples?
Don’t stress the small things – no one will pay as close attention as you think they will. Go with the flow, focus on enjoying your wedding and spending time with your friends and family. Don’t go overboard with the spending (or fall into debt), you can rather use your money on your honeymoon or save it towards a deposit for a house. Don’t invite everyone you know, keep it small, so you can actually talk to every person that’s at your wedding.

Other lovilees that made the day possible include
Flowers: Raka Flowers
Brides’ shoes Woolworths
Earrings: Heirloom of Natalies’ granny – cameo earrings
Nails: Mint Beauty
Spray tan: Caribbean Tan
Dress: Hand Embroidery done by Natalies’ sister & mother in law, dress made by Anje Bridal Couture
Makeup: Danielle Franken
Hair: Lizelle Palomino
Rings: Zanry Jewellery Design & Manufacturing
Cake & Rental Items: Husband Wife Team
Rental Items: Happpy Tree Design & Function Hiring 4 u

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