C L A R I S S A & W E S S E L

{ Fiona Clair Photography}

Clarissa and Wessel always dreamed of hosting their wedding amongst the pine forest. Immersed in the beauty of nature and the love of their family and friends, their celebration was one of dreamiest weddings we ever did see..

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

We first met...

In Church. I was volunteering a year of my life and he was looking for a place to volunteer too. He walked over and signed up at the desk I was working at. He was so 'smooth' that I didn't know what to do, so I almost stayed away from him for a while. Until he asked me out for a coffee date. After that small coffee date lasted for four hours we knew that there was something more to us meeting that day. Lets just say things escalated, and two years later, both of us were working for that same church, were in love and engaged.

When we knew it was love...
He always told me that it was impossible to know if someone was in love before dating at least four months which is why it was so hilarious when a month in, sitting on a grass patch under a big oak tree on a wine farm in Stellenbosch, he just said 'I love you.' He surprised himself as much as he did me. But I said it back, and I meant it.

The proposal...

Whilst dating, I once mentioned to him that I didn't mind where or how we got engaged as long as I was completely surprised. The day of the proposal was just like any other Saturday filled with the things we love to do. Homemade waffles, coffee at Espresso Lab, a great lunch and a drive around Cape Town admiring the strange weather that it so often has to offer. We made our way to Camp's Bay where a strange layer of mist had rolled in despite it being a sunny day.

I had a birthday party planned that night as it was my birthday the Wednesday before, so Wessel suggested that the mist hovering over the bay would be an amazing photo opportunity if we stopped in the little secret place we loved on the summit of Table Mountain. It was going to be a squeeze for time because we needed to head to the party, but honestly I was just pumped that he finally didn't mind a photo opportunity (as guys are)!

So we stopped and the view was breathtaking. The sun was setting on the mist cloud making it seem as if we were on the highest peak of a mountain, high above the clouds. Long story short while I was naively posing for a photo he was behind me on one knee. And so the Birthday Party turned into an engagement party with all my unsuspecting friends waiting to celebrate with us.

Our dream wedding vision...

We had no plan B. Come rain or shine, we were having our entire wedding under the open sky beneath a forest of pine trees. As you can imagine this rattled our friends and family, but we had faith for it, even when the weather forecasted rain for that day a week before.

We always dreamed of a forest wedding and after a month of scouting, exploring, venturing all over Cape Town (literally), we found the perfect hidden location.W e found a remote forest, untouched ground and began to walk around, just the two of us, planning and envisioning all the possibilities this 'venue' had to offer. We started with nothing but the most beautiful elements nature had to offer.

Rows of trees and ferns, pine needle coverings, a lake, mountains all held together by brilliant white sand. We could create anything our hearts desired.

It was all about lace, nature, raw elements, untouched earth and natural surroundings, whites and greens with a hint of gold and dusty pink.

We decided from the beginning that we wanted everyone to feel comfortable, relaxed and have fun (including us) at our wedding. That's easier said than done on a day that is usually stressful, but all our efforts were aimed at trying to make our wedding just that. People would call Wessel the 'King of Smallies' (meaning Small-Talk) He loves to chill, hang, chat to people and we wanted an atmosphere that created those opportunities.

Wedding Photography...

I instantly fell in love with Fiona's (of Fiona Clair Photography) style. It's like she didn't just capture moments, she understood what the whole entirety of the wedding's theme and mood was. I knew I could trust her to convey that emotion into every photograph and she did.

What do you love about your wedding photos?

The romantic and dreamy theme in them. She somehow made the whole venue and surroundings feel magical. When I look at them I can relive the feeling and emotion of the day - not just see an event. She captured the all the natural elements that we had originally fell in love with perfectly. She also captured the atmosphere of the reception, the fun, laughter, the mood, the lights, exactly how I dreamt.

The ceremony venue...

In the forest. under the open sky, the trees made a natural 'V' which was perfect place to say I do.

The reception venue...

Another part in that same forest, amongst trees, under open sky with pine needles creating a natural blanket right next to the lake.

The bridal party...

I had six bridesmaids and Wessel had nine groomsmen. They were made up of the people we do life with. The maids wore various white lace tops with matching high waisted dusty pink/purple flowing skirts.

The groomsmen all wore denim shirts, bow ties, black pants and various black or grey cardigans.

The dress...

Looking around, I quickly came to realise I would only really be happy making a dress from scratch that was mine and unique, I was too specific and loved detail, and so that is what I did. I took elements from many different Boho style dresses and worked it together. I absolutely love the full lace back on the dress and the lace trim finish around the bottom and neck. I loved my dress so much I've been brainstorming ways to make it appropriate for me to some how wear it to another occasion.

Flowers...

I wanted them rustic, natural and full of greenery. Something that would compliment the surrounding earthy tones of the forest. The bridesmaids had a bouquet of various types of greenery and silvery leaves.

Decor...

I wanted only white flowers on the table. We used flowers like lace, chinks, white roses, million star, cluster roses and celosia. The table decor was made up of wooden discs cut from a tree trunk, brown glass bottles, accents of gold, wooden boxes in the middle with flowers, glass jars and many different styles of white candles. We made sure we had different heights and no table was the same.

We created a little pocket in the woods for couches and carpets. I loved the idea of having a full blown lounge in the middle of a forest. We had only long wooden tables and benches for seating and built a teepee out of long wooden poles with the tips painted white held together by ivy and greenery as an entrance to the wedding.

We put white flowers in big glass hanging bulbs that were strung up in-between hanging pot plants in terra-cotta pots and hung bouquets of flowers from the trees and signage. I hand-painted all signage on wooden boards. We had bistro bulb string lighting strung throughout the forest and had three areas in the forest of grouped big vintage bulbs hanging down from black cords.

It created the perfect setting and lit the forest beautifully.

Reception Style...

We had what we like to call a 'chic market-feel' reception. We ordered long benches and tables with no placing, that way everyone could sit wherever they wanted and feel comfortable at all times. They could stand, grab food, grab a seat, grab a drink, grab dessert and keep mixing up conversations and friends.

We weren't going to do anything for just 'Wedding-sake'. We only planned things that would be special and add to our friends and families' enjoyment. Nothing stiff and boring, but everything to do with a party and celebration. We made a wedding full of everything we love in life; friends, family, coffee, gourmet street style food, donuts, a forest full of lights, good music and the smell of pine.

On the menu...

We had the coolest matte black food truck parked and ready with a little landing for people to collect their food straight from the window.

We had three options for people to choose from:

Pulled Pork buns, with curried peaches, fennel slaw, crispy onion and crackling butter on a freshly baked bun.

A burger with 100% grass fed beef patty, baby lettuce, crispy bacon, onion beignet, homemade mustard mayo, citrus bbq sauce and matured local cheddar.

A chick pea frikkadels (like a meat ball), with curried pickled carrot, beetroot, roast garlic chickpea puree, cucumber yoghurt, textured onion and bitter green salad served on a grilled flatbread.

We made mini donuts covered in icing all packaged in individual boxes with the word 'yum' illustrated in gold. Each person received them and could then add a topping to it.

Bonbonniere...

Each guest received a bottled cold coffee brew from Potion Coffee as one of their favours. We did it a little different and decided to thank everyone for coming in the beginning and hand them their favors so they could enjoy them while they were still ice cold, Straight up or with milk and brown sugar.

Memorable moments...

Wessel says: "The moment that I will always think back on is that first moment I caught a glimpse of my bride arriving through the tree line. My only reaction was to look away and crack a joke with my groomsmen, secretly to avoid being so emotional!"

Our favourite time of day is dusk when the sun sets (as you can see in our proposal) and so from the beginning, we had planned that our couple shoot would be at that time. The clouds had pulled over at some point and I was kind of disappointed because I thought any chance of seeing a sunset was gone. But, to our complete amazement, right at the end of our shoot, the clouds opened up and the sun streamed through in brilliant oranges and pinks. It was a breath-taking moment for everyone.

Wedding Soundtrack...

We had two bands made up of our talented musician friends and when they weren't singing their hearts out along with the guests, we filled the forest with music good for the soul like Rougue Wave, Ben Howard, Matthew Mole, Iron and Wine, Jose Gonzalez, John Newman, Pharrell Williams, Bruno Mars, Walk the Moon etc.

The song used to walk down the aisle was the first thing Wessel and I ever picked, about a month into dating. It was perfect - The Wedding Song by Matthew Mole.

Honeymoon...
We stayed in South Africa for a week and stayed in Arabella Hotel and Spa in Kleinmond and the Safari at Aquila lodge. We then flew to Mauritius for nine days.

The future...

At the moment we run the university age group ministry for our church called Hillsong Church and from there literally anything is possible!

In 40 years you hope to...

Be more in love than ever and still enjoying the very adventure we set out on the day we said 'I do'

W E D D I N G W I S D O M

Advice for enjoying the engagement...

Our ideas and wedding was told to be a little unconventional. Maybe even a lot unconventional. There will always be opinions but if you stay true to your dream and each other anything can really be achieved. I've learnt that even when it seems impossible, there's always a way to make something happen.

Advice for planning...

We used a wedding planner as much as we could, which helped with tons of unforeseen logistics and details no bride or groom ever thinks about. Get a wedding planning book from day one sounds simple enough, but trying to keep all details, names, and suppliers in your brain is overwhelming in itself. Get bridesmaids. They are a life-saver for all the small things, don't be afraid to use them, most people want to help you.

Budget advice...

We decided from the beginning that we would only have things we loved and our friends loved. We wouldn't be afraid to splurge on those non - negotiables, but everything else was up for discussion and cutting. We would ask questions like "do we really need that" and if 'yes' we would keep it, explore all alternate ways of doing it and then settle. If the answer was 'No' we would cut it and settle that too.

We got a Food truck that cut costs by more than half and had quite a few DIY projects instead of paying someone to do something we could ourselves. Warning this is not for the faint hearted. There's a reason you have service providers, but I felt confident enough to take on the challenge.

Advice for enjoying the wedding day...

Just take a deep breath, soak it in and if disaster strikes just make the most of it. In the grand scheme of things it's all going to be okay.

MW x

Photography Fiona Clair Photography Bouquet Myli from Urban Fig Flowers Alsmeer Flowers Decorations DIY by the bride, groom and friends Catering Chef's Bench