My ♥ stopped at Val de Vie

I have been dying to do a wedding post for a while now. I wrote about the planning so much last year and now I can finally show you pics from our special day. We tied the knot at Val de Vie Polo Estate, just outside Paarl, and we were lucky enough to get a scorcher of a day. We had rain on either side of the day, so naturally I was stressing, but in the end we had one of those days that reaches 30 degrees and not a drop of wind (in fact I was getting a bit of tan at the altar). 

Notice my father-in-law in the reflection!

My bridesmaids were so fantastic on the day, making sure every detail was perfect for me and just by being relaxed and enjoying the moment, they made me relax and enjoy the moment. The black bottle bubbly above may have helped ;) The dresses were made by Chica-Loca boutique, and I really think the girls looked stunning. I've told you before that I don't believe in making b-maids look ugly, I went all out to make sure they felt fab. They had buns in their hair, ranging from tight to messy (I let them choose) and I gave each girl a necklace and some pearl earrings to wear on the day. In the pic the dresses look slightly blue, they were actually gun-metal gray short numbers, very sexy.

The groomsmen looked so smart in their suits, wearing orchid boutonnieres. They had matching gun-metal gray ties. A really special group of guys who have walked a long road with Andrew.

Eric Uys was our photographer, brother to the esteemed Jean-Pierre Uys. He was fantastic and I was completely blown away by the pictures when I got them. The funny thing is, I didn't even notice him running around and capturing special moments, he seemed almost invisible. He really and truly does have a special style. Because he likes to shoot almost documentary style pics, you really get a lot of emotion from them, as opposed to the very 'posed' ones, which also have their place. He is remarkable, that's all I can say. 

The bunting used in the ballroom was hand-made, and yes a labour of love. But it added such a nice touch to the overall look and feel.

Our DJ was Warren Morse, better known as "Hey Mr DJ". He played a mix of old and new, because we had a mix of oldies and youngies at the wedding. 

My dress. The beautiful dress I only got to wear for one night. It had a sort of tutu-style going on and looked almost feathered. I decided not to be too precious about my dress, I decided to rather enjoy myself, too much! At one point, people stepped on pieces of it on the dance-floor and bits of tulle were scattered about. The sign of a night well enjoyed I like to think. It was made by Robyn Roberts, the queen of wedding dresses in my mind. I loved it, I love it still.

The food at Val de Vie is outstanding, made perfect by chef Dewald Hurter. When everyone arrived we served a Turkish Delight lemonade as a welcome drink (5pm) and then moved on to Pimms and lemonade. Canapes were served while we had photos taken, and included sashimi, satay chicken skewers and chilli poppers (my husband insisted on the chilli poppers). For mains we had Fillet Medallions with a Herb Crusted Potato Rösti, Asparagus and Red Wine Jus & Crumbed Chicken Breast with a Parma Ham and Emmenthaler Filling, Mushroom Risotto and Artichoke Sauce. Our vegetarian dish was butternut ravioli. We had salads and breads and the most divine Panna Cotta for dessert. After dessert we had macaroons, made specially for me in the wedding colours, accompanied by a simple 3-tier wedding cake with orchids cascading down the side. All in all a very yummy affair!

The flowers used on the day were roses and orchids. My mom got married with orchids and so I decided to as well. I alternated the decor on the tables, to mix it up a bit. But each table had a glass underplate, a lightbox, and silver and white striped linen. As party gifts, I gave the girls butterfly fridge magnets and the boys got lottery tickets (which tied in nicely with the venue). I used butterflies with names on them, perched on wine glasses, to show everyone where to sit. 

My hair was done by Liz Kaplan and my make-up by Algria Ferreira.  They really made my day special, and I thoroughly enjoyed having them around for a couple of hours before the ceremony. I went very plain and simple for the wedding because I am like that. I didn't want to go too over the top with hair and make-up, because it just isn't 'me'.

Andrew (my husband) was so composed the day of the wedding. I wondered if maybe he'd been popping some Rescue remedy because he was super calm. He wore a Hugo Boss suit, with a light gray tie and an orchid boutonniere. He was the best looking groom I've ever seen. 

It was truly magical, and I wish I could relive it again. We both enjoyed being surrounded by 130 of our favourite people, or as Andrew says our 'Golden Circle'. Magical.