Winery Wedding in South Africa

Winery Wedding in South Africa

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K A T R I N A & E D M O N D

F R O M T H E B R I D E ...

The Meeting...

We initially met when I arrived in Cape Town at the beginning of 2013 to do an internship with Hillsong Africa Foundation. Eddy was working for Hillsong Church South Africa so we saw each other most days, just in passing. He moved to Pretoria to help establish our new church campus up there at the end of 2013, so it wasn't until we both ended up in Windhoek, Namibia, in June 2014 for a conference that we really 'saw' each other and reconnected. He asked for my number 'to keep in touch more' as he 'missed people from Cape Town'. We started chatting and haven't stopped!

Love...

The relationship developed very organically. We chatted lots via message, phone calls, had regular FaceTime and Skype dates getting to know each other more, our visions for the future and dreams, etc. I have a heart for justice and helping those most vulnerable in the community so I wanted to know he was on the same page. The more we talked, the more we learned how much we had in common and how similar we were. I think I knew straight away that he was different to other guys I'd met, there was something very special about him and something which I really liked. I'd never 'noticed' him before, but I well and truly noticed him that day in Windhoek! Our backgrounds and upbringings were very different, but we have a strong common ground in our faith and core values, as well as many other similar interests and dreams. I have always loved African culture and have spent many years in different countries there. He has spent a lot of time with Australians and had numerous Aussie bosses so is familiar with our culture. After about 7 weeks, I flew to Pretoria on my way to meet my parents in Zambia and he officially asked me out, as he didn't want to do it over technology. Such is the sequence of events, my parents met him after we'd been dating 5 days and straight after hopping off a 15 hour flight from Sydney, jetlagged and all! He was my first (and only) boyfriend, so it was a very special season.

The Proposal...

We got engaged on 13 th May 2015 at Avontuur Estate, Somerset West, a beautiful wine estate owned by some of Eddy's friends. He arranged for us to have dinner there (I thought with the friends!) and when we turned up we watched the sunset over the vineyards and mountains on the patio. I was so lost in the sunset and view, that I turned around to find Eddy down on his knee with a ring in his hand! Apparently he'd been down there for a while...I kept telling him to get up and he kept saying, "I need to be down here", haha. We then went into the restaurant for a private dinner by the fireplace, which they'd decorated especially for us. I'd always told him if he asked me anything at sunset, the answer would be yes, so it was just perfect (it's my favourite time of the day)!

Wedding Style...

Simple, classic elegance. I'd always wanted an autumn wedding so had navy & white with hints of brown/gold in mind. It still worked for spring! We wanted a relaxed vibe and with flavours representing our heritages, Zimbabwean and Australian. We had Tim Tams and gum leaves for Australia plus traditional African print napkins (ShweShwe) and Africa shaped embellishments as place names.

Pre-wedding Celebrations...

20 Australian family and friends arrived 10 days before the wedding so we had a wedding week. Bridal shower, bachelor's (soccer & a braai [BBQ]), sightseeing, private game drives...and we booked out a guest house down the road from the venue the weekend of the wedding so all stayed there together which was lovely. Eddy's family arrived from Johannesburg, Zimbabwe and UAE the weekend of the wedding so joined the festivities then as well.

The Dress...

It was the 'Corinna' gown by Elizabeth de Varga, a Brisbane based designer. We bought it at Brides of Beecroft in Sydney. I'd wanted lace and a smaller skirt and wanted to originally design my own with elements of my 2 grandmothers' and my mum's wedding dresses, but when we saw it on the model in the window, I just tried it on to see and it was the first one I'd actually said that I love. It was the first shop we went to and chose it in an hour!

Bridesmaids' Dresses...

A navy lace dress from Forever New. Having this store in both Australia and South Africa made it easy for the cross-continental bridesmaids to all try it on! They got their own gold accessories and brown belt & shoes to match their tastes. I wasn't fussed with these details; they had to like it!

The Flowers...

White. That was my directive to the florist! The bridesmaids had white roses; I had a mix of roses, lisianthus and carnations. The flower girls had gyps garlands on their heads (baby's breath).

Decorations...

Simple and classic. Crisp white, romantic, neat bunches with greenery swag to make it less formal. We had large asparagus fern wreaths down the wall and behind the bridal table as which created a nice daytime feel. We both have farms in our families so that and the hessian table runners brought in a bit of that flavour. The navy tablecloths were something different - I don't like doing things "just because", so wanted this day to be personalised, a reflection of us and what we love, combining 3 different cultures and countries.

On the Menu...

We had a sit down meal, but wanted to have a more intimate, family dinner type vibe so had the tables joined together in a U shape.

We had a professional barista and coffee machine serving drinks before the ceremony, then started with canapés outside on the patio straight after the ceremony; starters and mains were served sitting down, followed by canapé desserts during dance and chill time.

Smoked venison and biltong pate on wonton crisp with apple

Traditional 'boerewors' with maize and chakalaka

Coronation chicken salad served on a poppadom with pineapple and coriander salsa

Confit pork belly with pork crackling and apple sauce (everyone is still raving about this!)

Lightly smoked Lourensford Trout on a bed of baby leaves, asparagus, watercress, crème fraiche and horseradish dressing

Ricotta and herb gnocchi with minted spring peas

Grilled chicken supreme with creamy spinach and ricotta stuffing, pomme puree, spinach and mange tout, sauce soubise

Pan-roasted beef fillet served with herbed baby potatoes, roasted butternut cubes, spring vegetables and red wine jus

Madagascan vanilla bean crème brulee

Gooey chocolate brownies

Seasonal fruit skewers with minted sugar

Wedding Bomboniere...

Two Tim Tams in a clear box, one white and one chocolate Bit of a joke with the mixing of our races. Plus we had personalised glass water bottles before the ceremony with our monogram on them and the nametags were wooden Africa shaped embellishments to take home as well.

Special Memories...

  • When I was leaving the guest house to hop into the car to go to the venue, all the ladies who worked there plus some Zimbabwean relatives had dressed in their traditional outfits and surrounded me down the path, singing and dancing like they would do at traditional weddings. It was so special and such a lovely surprise to start the day.
  • Having my 90-year-old Grandfather and 83-year-old Nan fly over from Australia to be there.
  • Having a live stream online so all our friends and family overseas who couldn't make it could still watch, live!
  • We had a kids table with special activity packs for them and had games and a jumping castle outside to keep them entertained. I am a qualified teacher and we both love kids so wanted them all around and having fun.
Wedding Photography...

Tiffany has a great way of capturing moments, going unnoticed and seeing the day and people through a different lens. She captures emotions, personalities, relationships and the moments you want to remember. She's hilarious, makes you feel so at ease and her husband Ross working with her makes for a great team, not missing a moment throughout the day. The photos are stunning, natural, beautiful... a great reflection of our day and memories to last a lifetime.

Wedding Songs...

I walked down the aisle to Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran (what a dream), walked out to Verge by Owl City and into the reception to Keeper by Guy Sebastian. First Dance / Father's Dance was Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman and the rest of the day was acoustic versions of famous love songs, creating a lovely, chilled vibe.

Honeymoon...

We were supposed to go to Mauritius but due to visa challenges in SA we were forced to change our plans the day before the wedding. So we stayed local, which was still lovely, at Lanzerac Hotel and Spa in Stellenbosch, the Winelands surrounding Cape Town and also Diamant Estate in Paarl, which I'd won a getaway for at a bridal fair earlier in the year. We postponed Mauritius for a month and got the visa the day before we were due to fly!

The Future...

We are in the process of establishing a community development organisation in Zambia focusing on teenage pregnancy care, prevention and education. We plan to move back to Australia when we are ready to have children so we're close to my family as Eddy's parents passed away when he was younger.

Photography Tiffany B Reception + Ceremony Venue Laurent, at Lourensford Wine Estate Bride's Dress Elizabeth de Varga from Brides of Beecroft Bridesmaids' Dresses Forever New On-the-day Coordination Jessica Hubert of the Aleit Group Flowers Paradiso Flowers Signage, Games, Vases + Table Numbers Blooming Wonderful Wedding Cake Wilma Nel (friend)

MW x

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