Red For Romance ~ A Relaxed South African Wedding…

Why good morning to you! 🙂 How does this very first blog post of the week find you? If I am honest, I have awoken today feeling utterly full of cold and germs :/  I think I may have the perfect excuse to go back to bed, but not until I've shared this absolutely beautiful wedding with you all.

This is Wouter & Betina, and they got married on 21st January
this year at the Grand dé Dale Countryhouse in Wellington, South Africa –
having both grown up in the area, the couple wanted to  keep the
ceremony close to home and heart

"Take the cool guy and the geeky girl from high school – give
them each ten years, and, if you're lucky, voila!

 I noticed Wouter way
back in the long summery days of 1998 while on December holidays in the
quaint seaside town of Stilbay – where both our families went each year
to put our feet up before the new year. Since he sometimes hung out with
my brother he kind of knew who I was – so there was, from time to time,
the awkward 'hallo how are you's.' Long story short – fast forward to
an old
school house party mid my final year at school. (We grew
up in two small towns called Wellington and Paarl in the beautiful
Boland – only a few miles apart)
."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 20120, Christine Meintjes

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

"My good friend and bridesmaid, Annemi,
was with me at that party, giving me typical teenage advice – "It was
'now or never", I remember her saying. So I walked up to Wouter sitting
all alone -  and asked if he would kiss me. Looking back, that was
nothing but a proper mix of high-school hormones, adrenalin and an
unusual surge of self-confidence. He sent me a sweet text message afterwards that I
wrote down in my then pink diary.  
Then I never heard from him again!

 Seven lucky
years later we met again for the first time after high-school – and I
guess the charm was still there. My brother read that sa,e corny text message out
loud at our wedding.
" 

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

"We designed all the stationery ourselves – including everything
from name tags, menu's, post cards, table numbers, invites and venue
directions – it also saved us some money of course!"

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

"I have very simple taste, but my heart tend to lean towards the very romantic, old-worldly and imaginative – my dress by KLûK CGDT was the perfect choice…"

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

"We got engaged on a peak
in Hong Kong overlooking the city. It was unexpected for me – a truly
transcendent moment.  We were engaged for five and a half months before
tying the knot."

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

"I wore a birdcage veil by Lily Blue – and the flower headpiece that I attched to it was from my mom's closet…"

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

"Staying true to ourselves and adding our own flavour to our wedding
was decisive to us. We mostly just went with our first initial ideas,
without looking back, and without really consulting others.  In the end
we went for a soft, classic romantic feel – adding some splashes of
deep-red to bring in that timeless love!

 We wanted informal and simple flower arrangements. No two tables had to look exactly the same…"

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

"Walking down the aisle was by far my most favourite part of the
day. It was surreal and very real at the same time. I couldn't stop
laughing."

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

Bettina regularly used Love My Dress to seek inspiration for her own wedding day and I absolutely adore her effortless elegance and that simply beautiful wedding dress – by designer KLûK CGDT – the lace, that gorgeous back detail! Absolutely divine…

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress


South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress 

"My bridesmaids dresses were from all over the place. One from a
flea market in London, one from Mungo&Jemima, one from Truworths in
Cape Town…"

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Go with your own instinct
and cut out all the clutter and excesses of the wedding industry – be
it sugary-coated sales pitches or too many different opinions. Keep it
simple and keep it close to your own heart. A big budget doesn't make for
an authentic wedding.
 

We didn't have a too rigid plan
for the day and decided to let the party dictate. That's probably why
in-between the celebrations we forgot to cut the cake. Your guests are
there to celebrate two people getting married, so relax and enjoy every
moment, and remember to sit back, at least once, and just embrace the
thought of your wonderful day.

I also really loved
the beauty tips and old school wedding videos featured on Love My Dress too – they add so much
more dimension and realness to planning a wedding than the what can sometimes be overly
superficial wedding blogs.

And finally, of course there are always things you would have done
differently in hindsight, but it boils down to a celebration of your
commitment to love. That's all that really matter."

South African Bride, KLûK CGDT wedding dress

It doesn't get much more beautiful and romantic for a first thing on a Monday morning, does it?

I'd love your comments on Betina and Wouter's beautiful South African wedding – feel free to leave some love below.

Huge thanks to photographer Christine Meintjes for sharing these gorgeous images.

Back later folks with more to keep you smiling and inspire you.

Much love,

Annabel

Heart


Photographer – Christine Meintjes
Venue – Grand dé Dale Countryhouse in Wellington, South Africa
Dress Designer – KLûK CGDT, Cape Town
Brides veil – Lily Blue, Cape Town
Shoes: Aldo
Brides Other Accessories – Earrings: Accessorize, Cape Town
Grooms Suit + shirt – Stiaan Louw
Bridesmaids – Various/own choice
Florist – Leipzig
Cake – A friend
Hair and make-up Artist – Cheryl Parker
Stationery Design – The Bride & Groom

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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