Real Bride Q&A!

On 14 April my very spesial second cousin became the wife of the awesome Ruan. I helped a lot with the planning and Odette and I had been sending tons of emails about our ideas before her big day, since I am planning mine too. So when the day finally arrived, I couldn't beleive how time had flown by.

It was a stunning wedding! So much so that I would not have minded for it to be my own!
I asked Odette to share some insights with me on her big day, here is what she said.
(in afrikaans but I have translated the sentences)

Wat was jou beste oomblik? What was your favourite moment?

Toe ek in die kapel inloop en al wat ek sien is Ruan! (‘n baie naby tweede plek vir: Toe ek my sluier opsit en myself in die spieel sien, my hare, grimering, rok, als was perfek en soos ek dit  gedroom het)

When I entered the chapel and all I could see was Ruan! And a close second was when I had my veil on en I saw myself in the mirror, my hair, my make-up my dress, everything was perfect, the way I always imagined it.

Wat was jou slegste oomblik? What was your worst moment?

Toe ‘n by my op my boud steek by die onthaal (Ja, regtig!) en ek nie weer my lipgloss kon kry om my lippe te laat blink nie.

When a bee stung me on my butt during the reception!! (yes that really happened!) And when i couldn't find my lipgloss again to touch up my lips.

Wat is die een ding wat jy wens jy voor die tyd kon geweet het? Whats the one thing you wish you could have known before the time?

Ek het so baie opgelees oor troues en wat om te verwag, dat ek nie eintlik iets meer voor die tyd kon in my kop kry nie! Maar ek sou wou hê iemand moes plastiek sakkies of bakkies byderhand gehad het vir die koek wat oorgebly het en die blomme, want ons moes al die blomme by die venue los omdat niemand iets gehad het om dit in te vervoer nie.
I read so many things on weddings and what to expect that i wouldn't have been able to fit a single thing more into my head! But I wish we had plastic bags or bowls for the leftover cake and the flowers. We had to leave all the flowers at the venue because we had nothing to transport it in!

All photos from guests on the wedding day.

I spoke to Odette again soon after the wedding and she mentioned that as much fun as it was to plan her own wedding, she would have liked to have a wedding coordinater.
Are there any other brides who had regrets about planning their own wedding?

The first thing I bought for my Wedding... {wedding decor}

When I got engaged I had so many ideas of what the look was that I wanted to go for regarding decor...Pinterest was a great help in collecting ideas and styles. However, I realised I had a problem in committing...I wanted everything that was pretty to be part of my wedding day...EVERYTHING!! Even seeing something in the shops that I liked and thought would work for decor I just couldn't commit to immediately for the fear of finding something better...
One of those decor items that I saw and thought was just perfect for the wedding was table runners at Mr Price Home. The day I saw them I fell in love, but did not have a wedding budget yet, nor was I 100% sure what the look and feel or colour of my wedding would be...so I left them there in that Mr Price Home. For the next 2 months those runners haunted me!! I had decided on a budget, style and colours for the wedding and still knew those runners would be perfect! I would look for them in every shop I went to but Murphy's Law was that 'When you look for something that you really want, that you previously saw but could not afford, you shall not find it anywhere' - Darn Murphy!

A few weeks later a Mr Price Home opened close to where I work and I browsed through the shop. Having made peace with the runners I wanted being out of stock ages ago, I did not expect to find them there.But i did!! I was so happy when I saw them! I bought them right there and then.
And here is what the illusive runners look like...

They are the perfect shade of blue and the fabric is like a rough cotton with uneven colour...just too perfect!

Can you see all the pretty textures of the cotton and the embroided flowers? I'm still totally crazy over it and this was bought 3 months ago! :) I have big plans for these babies!

My next super cute find are these guys:

I found them at Sheet street at a huge discount! I actually only bought one even before we were engaged and the found the second one afterwards and thought they might be a cute touch to the wedding. Not sure if they'll be cake toppers or just Mr & Mrs signs for our seats....

That's just me being silly on Photoshop :) Will see where they find a spot at our wedding. Owls have special meaning to FI and I, so it will be a cute addition to the decor.

So there you have it...the first things I bought for my wedding...what was the first thing you bought?

Wedding Inspiratin {Wedding}

It's been a little hectic in my life the last few weeks. Hectic in a good way :)
I'll write more about the goings on a little later....but for now I'd like to share some more wedding ideas!

I'm realy like the idea my MOH and I had about using pinwheels as part of the decor....I dont want it to be an overpowering theme, just a design element. Some weddings have had stunning Pinwheel decor so I thought I'd share:

www.artsyweddingblog.com

I think piwheels as boutonieres are super cute! And how about that 'Team Groom' pin? Love it!!

Pets in Weddings {Wedding ideas}

jonaspeterson.com

 So today marks the exact 1 year mark till our wedding day! Although it seems like lots of time to do everything I cant help feeling a little nervous about everything that needs to be done, but totally excited of course! :)

And to celebrate the pre-1year anniversary I thought I'd blog something cute and special. Pets at weddings!
I have a cat. A cute, adorable cat, that is Garfeild, Tigger and Hobbes all rolled into one. And if it wasn't for his huge 'stanger-phobia'  we probably would have considered having him as part of our wedding day. But would have been easier if he was a dog....
But I think adding something as special as your pets to your wedding day just adds to the personal touches. And isn't your wedding day all about having everyone you love there to celebrate with you? So why not include our pets?

Here are some adorable pets that have had the honour of joining their best friends on their wedding day.

elizabethannedesigns.com, weheartit.com, google.com, marthastewartweddings.com

And for all the cat lovers out there. Here is a better option to having a something kitty-cat:

Top: Left: etsy.com, Right: sugarliciousonline.com, Bottom: Left & Right: flickr.com 

Love the peeping kitty one!

And here is a cute kitty moment I spotted on Clark Walker Studio's blog

Say it with me.... "Awwwwwwwwwwwe"

Okie dokie
:)

French inspired wedding {wedding tips}

Chani & Wihan got married in April this year. I've known Chani since primary school and with facebook we have been able to keep in contact and often share emails about our love for photography and pretty things.
Chani loves all thing french and I loved how the venue and all the french inspired decor complemented her so well on her wedding day, so I asked if I could post her photos on my blog. She agreed and we even did the whole wedding blog question thingy. She shared some really great tips for brides to be (me!). Enjoy!

 

Tell us your story, how you met, fell in love and got married!
We met at a mutual friends' house party during our matric year. A few weeks later we were at my best friend's house - he's friends with her brother - when Vincent (best guy friend since I was 4) got in an accident. I got a little freaked out when he came back and he was full of blood, so I went for a walk - Vincent asked Wihan to follow me and check that I was okay. We ended up walking and talking for 5 hours about everything: family, school, our past, where we grew up, our likes, dislikes. And that was the night I started falling for him - hard :)
It took a few weeks to convince him that I really did like him - I was popular and outgoing, he was shy and a little dorky - but on the 9th of Feb he asked me out at break. I'll never forget, he said: "Will you be my girlfriend? I wanted to wait till Valentines Day but I couldn't wait that long!"
August 9th will be our 6 year and 6 month dating anniversary
He proposed the year after school, and we wanted to get married straight away, but then the reality of me supporting him during his studies dawned on us and we decided to wait until he was done with his studies. Last year was his final year and we could finally set a date!


How did he propose?
We spend our December holidays down at Gouritsmond (4hours from Cape Town). My family has been going there since my mom was in high school so it's a really special place for us. On the 9th of December (our monthaversary - hehe) I woke Wihan up so we could watch the sunrise, but it was completely overcast so we couldn't see anything. He promised that he'd wake me later that holiday so we could watch the sunrise.
The day after Christmas he woke me up early in the morning and told me we were going for a drive - we got in the car and he drove me down to the rocky part of the beach. We sat there (me still wearing my pjs) until the sun started coming up. As soon as the sun started peaking over the ocean, he went down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was perfect!

What was your favourite part of the wedding day?

I loved all of it! It's very hard to choose one specific moment, but I'll mention two of my favourite parts:
1. The moment before the church doors opened right up until I was standing next to my groom. There are so many emotions going through you at that moment: seeing your dad next to you nervous and on the verge of tears, your maid of honour (or in my case maids of honour) and flower girls all nervous and excited, walking down the isle and seeing all your guests smiling and some sobbing, and seeing the look on you soon-to-be husband's face... It really is too much to handle
2. Our first dance. We had been going for lessons for 3 months and we both loved our dance, the song, everything. It was just so special to have all our guests watch us take the floor and Mr and Mrs. I loved seeing how nervous my husband was but how much he was enjoying it.

Did you do any DIY projects?

I did quite a few: the table names, seating charts, signs ie "sign me" which was put up at the guest book table, "Mr & Mrs" which was pinned to our table, "history" which hung over the stand with all the old wedding photos of family members. The scales used in the centre pieces are all old family scales.

 

 What was the style/theme of your wedding?

The theme was Vintage French, but it was a very informal French and not the "uppity" French with glassware and crystal etc.

Any tips on being budget friendly?

We saved on a few things that we felt really weren't necessary: we didn't hire a DJ (saving of about R5000) and instead I created playlists on my iPod and we plugged that into the sound system in the chapel and reception hall. It added to the fun as anyone that wanted to request a song could just go search it on the iPod. Of course I had a WIDE variety of music and different playlists for during dinner and after for dancing; then we didn't have a cake but had dessert instead (which was included in the buffet meal option we took); we supplied one bottle of wine and one bottle of champagne per table, other than that it was a cash bar.
At the end of the day you have to realise that it is YOUR day and spending a fortune catering for the people that are joining you in celebrating is ridiculous - they're not there to be served, but rather to enjoy the day with you.

Anything you wish you knew before your big day? (any tips for future brides)

* Get a nice hanger to hang your dress on - you might not think it's a big deal, until you see your dress hanging there on a wire hanger and realise how much it spoils the photos
* Get as much sleep as possible - I was still doing DIY projects until 11/12 the night before and then I couldn't sleep after 3am! By 9pm I was super tired but partied on till just after 11. Our guests stayed up till past 4am though!
* During dinner, ask the servers to put some take-aways in a holder for you and your husband - you're too nervous and busy greeting everyone during supper to really eat and enjoy the food, and when you get to bed you realise you're starving
* Keep the following handy: Handy Andy (for spills on the dress - consult the designer beforehand of course), safety pins
* Anyone will tell you that the day goes by quickly, so enjoy every minute! As you're walking down the isle, pry your eyes away from your groom for a few seconds and look at all your guests - you might not get a chance to greet each of them later during the day
* Ask the photographer to take photos of your guests as well during the ceremony (and not just of you)

This is just a suggestion but we had a "stay-over" wedding - those guests that wanted had the option to sleep over at the venue (at their own cost) and have breakfast the next morning. I think that's one of the reasons why our guests had such a great time.

What songs did you: walk into church with ; walk into venue ; do you first dance to?
Church entrance: Lenka - We Will Not Grow Old
Church exit: The Proclaimers - Then I Met You
Venue: The Proclaimers - 500 Miles
First dance: The Goo Goo Dolls - Better Days

Vendors: Hair; make-up; venue; dress; photographer; cake; etc

Hair: Lizelle from Headfirst (0126621545)
Make-up: I did myself with a little help from a friend that did beauty studies
Venue: La Petite Auberge in Witbank (they supplied all the extra decorations that we didn't bring/make as well as catered - the food was DELICIOUS!)
Dress: Lise Design (bought it at her March sale for R2000!)
Photographer: Quintin Mills
Flowers: The Green Chameleon

 

 

Thanks for sharing Chani. ♥