The Bride and Groom
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Francois & Mignon
My favourite moment of the day was seeing my soon-to-be husband standing at the end of that isle as I walked down to him. The way he looked at me made me feel like I was the only woman in that church!
How did you meet?
My husband and I met at collage. We both studied at Elsenburg and met our second year. Only after we realised that his family owed a holiday home in the town that I grew up in, but our paths never crossed before. The first time I really ‘saw’ him, was when he drove up to class in his corsa and I was looking out from the balcony. He looked so handsome in his green farmer boots – even though it sounds strange.
How did the Mr propose?
My Mr proposed on top of Table Mountain. It was the biggest and best surprise of my life. It was unexpected and I wouldn’t change a thing. He took me to look at rings the previous day, without me knowing that he already chose the ring for me. And in some weird way I chose the exact same ring he wanted. The next day he told me he had to go fetch something for his grandmother and normally I would go with, but that day I said I’ll stay at home. Without me knowing he went to go fetch the ring that they made into my size and when he came back he asked where would I like to go that day. I wanted to go the Table Mountain for a while and he said that is a great idea. That day was very cloudy, but we went anyway and as we walked around a reached a look-out point he said we should sit. Just as I went to sit down, he said I should stand up and I thought he was crazy because I just sat down. As I stood up and walked towards him he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. And yes I cried and it was beautiful!!!
The planning process:
I started the very next day. I researched the different venues and found one that suited our expectations and vibe we wanted to go for. I organised my own wedding, because I am very good ant organising and planning ahead. I checked out the vendors I wanted and got price lists, tweaked the listed to suit me and everything was organised and ready 7months before the wedding. Because I was planning a wedding in Western Cape from Upington, I wanted to have enough time to sort out disasters. I enjoyed the planning, so I wouldn’t have gotten a planner but for those who prefer ‘no-stress’ it will be great. I started at the big things like church, venue, décor, and photographer and worked my way through our amazing home-made flow chart. And with that flow chart everything was covered.
The day you envisioned:
Every girl envisions a fairy tale day. Even though that sounds cliché, it’s true. My day was exactly as I dreamed and more. I wanted minimalistic and sophisticated – and it turned out just like that.
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Colour schemes, décor, flowers & style
I went with brown, green and white. There was no theme but I wanted the day to be more formal than semi-formal so I made the décor the way I wanted the day to be. Wooded tables with full length lace table cloth, flower runner with white and green, a few candles inside the flower runner, glass under plates and table numbers. Nothing more nothing less and it didn’t look empty, just stylish like I envisioned. With the table I wanted the wood to stand out, but not so much as a naked table so I went with the lace to cover it just enough that the brown of the table came through. I would have loved stargazer lilies but as the time of our wedding was not right I went with roses (the flower coordinator decided on the day to add orchids).
The dress
The dress was somewhat a surprise. I chose to get my dress at Elizabeth Stockenstrom in Cape Town. She not only designs all her own dresses but can design one you would like to hire for the day. I went to her with a totally different vision than what I came out with. She dressed me in exactly what I asked for, but after seeing me not very satisfied she took over and put me in dresses I never imagined wearing but they suited me better. After choosing my dress and coming back for the 1st fitting, she surprised me and said that she was working on a new dress no one has seen and would like me to wear it. It was a semi A-line, very form fitted with full lace and rose detail. I chose the longest veil they had and hoop for the skirt section.
My favourite moment of the day was
seeing my soon-to-be husband standing at the end of that isle as I walked down to him. The way he looked at me made me feel like I was the only woman in that church! Of course the whole day was a wonderful blur because it goes by so fast, but after everything I wouldn’t change a single thing. I also could not have asked for a more beautiful cake! She took my idea and made it exactly like I wanted it. It was really the cherry on the cake!!
The unexpected
So I think that what happened to me must be the worst thing that could happen to a bride on her special day. The Friday before our wedding we went to set up and have a final look at everything before heading off the out different venues for the night. As we arrived we hear that the décor and flower coordinator was late. So we waited and waited and when finally arriving she informs me that the place she rents her table cloths and serviettes from made a mistake and she doesn’t have the table cloths I wanted. She brought other options but I was not happy. She said that she would go and see if she could find material that was the same and had to sew through the night to have them right for the day. On the wedding day and the final day for sett-up, our ceremony in church started at 15:00 and she arrived to set-up 12:30. Naturally the whole crew tried not to tell me she was late, but the news got to me as I had to give the last say about things being placed (without me being there). I have never been more relaxed than that day. Nothing could have bothered me and I just gave the duties over to my husband and my mother-in-law. When my flowers arrived I saw that there were orchids added to my bouquet as well as to the table flowers. I personally don’t like orchids so that wasn’t the way to ‘make-up’ that was faulted. Everything seemed fine to the guests and looked beautiful, but it was a bit disappointing that after months of planning and going for the mock-ups and sending photos of what I wanted – it still didn’t go as planned. But like I said, nothing could have bothered me that day and it all seems silly to me now knowing that even though it was not like I planned, everyone still had fun and it stilled looked beautiful.
Advice for future brides
I heard the same advice from brides before I got married, but some of the advice went in one ear and out the other because I wanted to do it my way. The best advice I could give is to never think about other people but only what will make you and your husband happy. Don’t over spend on things nobody will see, make sure to eat and give responsibilities over to other people. Don’t try and do everything on your own, you should relax and enjoy it.
