A lot of brides and grooms these days want something different for their weddings. To stand out from the crowd, and give their friends and family something to talk about. Some really go out of their way to achieve this – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But being different doesn’t always mean you have to do something wild and crazy. It can be a whole host of small touches that add up to an overall experience. (Aha, you knew I was going to start talking about details again, didn’t you?) That’s what today’s couple did. They wanted something a little out of the ordinary, and so they booked a beautiful and unique venue – Beloftebos (one of my personal favourites) is set in a forest with an oak canopy so thick it actually fulfils South Africa’s indoor marriage regulations! Then they chose gorgeous, indigenous flowers (some of which I’ve never seen in a wedding before) and decked their tables with topiaries instead of bouquets. They complemented these with elegant charcoal bridesmaid dresses, hanging hearts and pretty stationery, and served yummy rustic food. And then they topped it all off with a rock band. When you put all that together, it’s really special, and I bet their guests felt really special being there. All of this loveliness is brought to life through the lens of the wonderful Nikki Meyer, a big Cap Classique favourite! Welcome back, Nikki!
Zelda sent over some background on the day – I just love how her enthusiasm shines through in everything she says!
One lazy summer evening during a braai at our friends’ place, I noticed the only guy there who wasn’t wearing shoes and was immediately intrigued. I made my move and told him he had gorgeous feet, taking photos of them. By 11pm the meat was in the oven and we were starving… Well, they always say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and that was true in this case! We ended up sitting on our haunches on the kitchen floor with me feeding him chops. Then, like Cinderella I jumped in my 4×4 and drove off into the night. I didn’t lose a slipper but I made a big impression! About a month later friends invited me for a weekend away and to my surprise, in the little fisherman’s town of Velddrif, there he was, the man who won my heart and the beginning of my life as a wife and his as a husband.
One cold windy Friday, Giulio rocked up at home with so much energy, suggesting we should go take photos on the beach. I looked at him thinking he was crazy, but went along with it. We stopped at Blouberg Beach to take photos of the shipwreck and were there for quite a while and just as the sun set, with me capturing the shot and him standing behind me with his arms around me, I looked down and there it was. A royal blue box with a beautiful diamond! My word, I always said “I’m not a bling person” but I must admit, I LOOOOOOVEE my ring! Oh, but let me get back to my story, I was so shocked that no words came to mind. The excitement got the better of me and I just could not stop laughing! Giulio actually had to calm me down and ask me what my answer was. And of course it was yes, yes, yes!
We wanted our wedding to be a celebration and to be different from other traditional weddings. We were first going to get married on the West Coast and drove up one Saturday, but nothing appealed to us and we stopped for a quick bite with friends. One of them suggested Beloftebos and we immediately jumped in our car and drove all the way to Stanford. When we got to the venue, we just knew: ‘this is it’.
I must admit, almost until the very end, I had no idea of what colour scheme I wanted. The only colour I had was the bridesmaids’ dresses and that was charcoal. Our invites were printed on cream paper and we used charcoal there as well. I love trees and used an old oak tree to symbolize our wedding as we were going to get married under oak trees.
My mother is so special to me, and I was lucky enough to have her do most of the decorating herself (with a bit of guidance from me! ;) ). We used my dining room table as inspiration and except for the crystals and hearts (which are so my mom!) everything was similar to the way I have it at home. I wanted to keep everything natural with a bit of French flair and so we only used topiary trees on the tables and local fynbos (indigenous flora) for bouquets – mine was sewejaartjies (helichrysum). These indigenous trees and flowers, unique to South Africa and our environment, were one of the elements that made our wedding special.
Highlights of the wedding? My husband was the best thing, of course! And although the venue created great ambiance, it was my friends and family that completed the celebration of our promise to each other. We also loved having a live band (Crimson) – not many people have a rock band at their wedding for entertainment!
In the end, it definitely wasn’t the usual beach or wine farm wedding. Just as we wanted, it was different, and as unique as our relationship.
CONGRATULATIONS, Zelda and Giulio!! Wishing you both a wonderful life together! And a big thank you as always to Nikki Meyer – you can catch more of this lovely wedding over on her blog.
Service providers:
Venue & catering: Beloftebos
Photography: Nikki Meyer
Videographer Vision on Fire
Flowers: Lulu Belle
Stationery: Lara’s Designs
Dress: Lady Marmalaide
Hair: Mia (Le Hair Lounge)
Band: Crimson Live
