The Long Distance Wedding

The problem with living so far from home is that when you want to plan a wedding it's difficult to do everything from so far away. I wasn't planning on making a trip back before the wedding but only when you start planning do you realise that no matter how advanced technology is there is just certain things you can't do over the Internet. Not only that but you also feel slightly removed from the whole occasion if you aren't thrown into the pre-wedding planning saga.  So off I went with wedding planner in hand to my first appointment Bianca Warren Signature Store for brides maids dresses. I later returned for a small shopping spree because her clothes are just so pretty! I will share the dresses on here post-wedding.

Bianca Warren Signature Store

It's a special time and it should be absorbed and enjoyed as much as possible with your family and those involved in the wedding. After realising this I booked a flight home for 6 days and I literally hit the runway at full sprint. I had a full schedule of appointments booked for the week and I managed to get to them all, to my great relief. Amongst trying to do all my wedding things I also needed to renew my drivers license. Any fellow South African can understand when I say this is the most excruciating experience you will ever endure. It was so bad that I am planning on exchanging it for my British license just so I never have to go through that again.  So with my make up trial booked at 8am and my hair trial booked at 2 we had a few hours to head to the license department in between. This process really reveals why South Africa is still very much a developing country. Stuck on a wooden bench wedged between at least 100 other people (me with my bridal make up in tact) for over 2 hours with my mum on one said and a bridesmaid on the other we survived on a few short bread biscuits we had stashed in the car. After the sacrificial two hours it was off to hair...

I think hair has to be one of the things the bride to be probably worries about the most, no one wants to walk out on the day looking like a peacock. So I think when I looked in the mirror with my hair all done and my bridal face on it finally hit home that, not only was I actually getting married, but I was going to do it with amazing hair too :) thank goodness because Mr P's aunt has kindly offered to do the hair as a wedding gift and it would have been one awkward convo if it looked like I'd stuck my hand in an electric socket.

One of the biggest reasons for my trip back was to see the place that I would actually say my 'I do's', Zulu Nyala Game Lodge. Yes ladies I had not even seen my wedding venue with my own eyes before! Having seen it now and fallen in love with the place I don't know how I ever thought I could arrive the day before having not seen it. I can now picture my day more realistically in my head for the next three months instead of filling in the blanks using my imagination.

Zulu Nyala

So as I sit at the hair dressers having some highlights done while I type this I will fly back to London tomorrow night a lot more excited and a lot less worried about the most important day of my life. Poor Mr P will just have to trust my judgement (and the pictures).

It's been very special to spend time with my mum and do what normal mums and daughters living in the same country do when prepping for a wedding.

See you in 3 months Durbs ;)

Wedding venue wish list

www.litchiorchard.co.za

We are certainly spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting your ideal wedding venue. There is no shortage of beauty or uniqueness if you are planning on getting married in South Africa. The vast terrain means quite simply, there is something for everyone.

From game reserves, farms, vineyards, beaches, countryside, cities to garden venues, take your pick.

The weakness of the Rand to the Sterling also makes it an affordable option for couples based in the UK. You can have your dream ‘holiday destination wedding’ for a third of the price and the warm weather is guaranteed(avoid Cape Town Winters). The only drawback is that the cost of flights could deter some of your guests from making the trip, but maybe that’s a good thing!

Picking a venue in South Africa is a tough job. It’s almost like being let loose into a Vera Wang wedding dress store room filled with hundreds of beautiful, lovely, heavenly (you get the picture) dresses. How can you possibly pick just one? Well some people might get to pick a second or third time but let’s hope that’s not us!

To simplify the process you need to decide: what type of wedding are you looking for?

Always been a lover of the African bush then maybe a Game Reserve is your preference? Home to the infamous Kruger Park there is an abundance of Game reserves located around major cities such as Johannesburg (Kruger) and Durban (Zululand). Depending on the size of your party this will cull down your list on suitable venues. Most Game Lodges can only cater for small numbers of guests. Zulu Nyala Game Lodge in Zululand caters for larger weddings and all guests can be accommodated in either their Game Lodge or Hertiage Safari Lodge, which are 5 minutes apart. This is the venue for my wedding in October and I can say I was very surprised at how reasonable they are in comparison to other lodges. Leopard Mountain is a lovely little lodge and a great venue for a smaller wedding party. The views from the lodge are spectacular and they have a dry river bed location making for a very special ceremony.

www.zulunyalagamelodge.com

Have a bigger budget? The Singita reserves cater for a more upmarket and luxury venue with lodges in Kruger, Sabi Sands, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. I have myself stayed as a guest in the Sabi Sands reserve and have only amazing things to say about it. The game viewing was one of a kind and the level of service far surpasses any other lodge I have visited. I can imagine that if you had to choose this reserve to exchange your vows it would be a truly special and memorable occasion.

www.singita.com

Is your palette a sucker for a bit of vino? Apart from the Med, South Africa has the oldest wine making industry and the Western Cape offers some magnificant Wineland venues. A friend recently got married at Vrede en Lust in Franschhoek and whilst I was unable to attend the photographs made me double think my choice about getting married on a Game Farm (but only for about 5 seconds). Based at the foot of the Simonsberg mountains, if its a speculator backdrop you are looking for, this is the place to hold your ceremony.  Whilst Cape Town is probably the most attractive area of South Africa, with Table Mountain at its centre, it is also the most demanding on your credit card.

www.vnl.co.za

Due to South Africas agriculture sector a whole lot of awesome Farm venues are available. Being the worlds second largest fruit exporter you can pledge your vows amongst lemons or litchis, if you fancy? Sandveld Country Estate is a citrus farm located in the Sandveld just 2 hours outside of Cape Town. They have a free standing barn suitable for a reception and a few cottages available for guests and there is also a country lodge which I have stayed in and highly recommend. The Litchi Orchard just outside of Durban also provides for a beautiful, rustic location. They have a quaint open plan, wooden chapel giving you a true country bumpkin feel.

www.litchiorchard.co.za

Beach bum? With over 2,798 kms of coastline I am sure you could find a good spot to say 'I do'. The Garden Route offers a number of fabulous beach locations that cater for weddings of all sizes. Villa Castollini in Knysna is perfect for a ceremony on the beach followed by a reception with breath taking views. Get Married Garden Route is a great website for scanning wedding venues on the garden route.

Dreaming of a wedding amongst the spectacular Drakensburg mountains? Champagne Castle could be your answer. A dreamy little chapel nestled between rolling mountains and green hills. Another popular venue is the recently refurbished Netherwood Estate located in the midlands meander town of Nottingham Road.

www.netherwood.co.za

So as you can see it is a no brainer, South Africa is the best place to get married, fitting then that the worlds largest diamond weighing in at 3,106.75 carats was found there (even though it currently sits upon our gracious Queens head)!

The 'African' Engagement

I may not have day dreamed about my engagement ring but I did day dream about how my future lover would pop the question. Luckily for me the reality was better than the day dream. Future fiancés take note.

I am an avid African bush lover and I’m fairly confident I inherited this love from my father who has had shares in a few small private lodges over the years. It has been one of my biggest challenges about living in the UK. Every time I return home I make sure to plan a trip to the bush to satisfy my addiction to the smells, peacefulness and beauty of Africa’s greatest asset.

We planned a trip to South Africa for a friends wedding in December 2012 and we combined this with Christmas and family time. Normally I am quite happy to stay in more rustic places however, it had been a busy and tiresome year so I decided to splash out a bit and we booked at the 5 star Thanda Game Reserve in the luxury tented camp for 3 nights.

Our home for 3 nights

As cliché as it may seem to you all it was the most romantic and perfect setting for what was to come. Besides the game viewing being awesome and the food to die the staff went over and above for us. They snuck into our tent, scattered rose petals and candles everywhere, ran a bubble bath and left a bottle of bubbly for us. When we returned from dinner and I came back to this, Mr P insisted that this was standard as part of their ‘romance package’ which we had booked. I am very gullible so naturally I believed him and didn’t quite ‘get it’ when I turned around to a dashing young lad down on one knee, lit up by flickering candles…. as you can gather I put two and two together and said ‘yes’.

We still had a night left in the bush after this so it gave us time to be alone, let it all sink in and have a relaxing spa day before heading back to a gang of over excited family and friends. The great thing was, as it was Christmas and the wedding was a few days later, most of our family and friends were all in Durban to celebrate with us.

View from our tent

Turns out he had already decided I was going to accept and went ahead and organised an engagement party so we would be able to have it at home. One of my girlfriends booked out an area at a restaurant called Remo's by Mount Edgecombe for a few hours on Boxing Day and a few friends chipped in to pay for a photographer, Kate Van Onselen. What a lovely day! We had pizza and focaccia snacks as well as a bar tab, which both sets of parents very generously picked up.

katevanonselen.com

katevanonselen.com

katevanonselen.com

katevanonselen.com

katevanonselen.com

Quite simply it was the best holiday I have ever had and I cannot wait to return for my wedding in October.

Nothing beats an African bush engagement, except an African bush wedding!

The 'Wedding body' obsession.

Source

6am, woke up, went to gym and sweated like a beast as the trainer pushed me to the point of wanting to throw up. Why would I do this? Simple, I am getting married in less than 6 months.

Isn't it weird that for most of us it takes a ring on our finger and a wedding lingering on the horizon to get our butts into shape? It has become part of the standard wedding planning list:

• Buy dress
• Book DJ
• Book flowers
• Book hair dresser
• Book make up artist
• Book venue
• Choose menu
• Book minister
• Buy wedding bands
• Lose 7 kgs

Anyone who has ever been engaged will know what I am talking about. One day you are plodding along, maybe you go to gym if you feel like it or have a nice slow Sunday run, then your own Mr P gets down on one knee and bam the pressure is on. Forcing yourself to get out of bed before 6am every day, googling wedding arms work out programs (I like the one below by Studio 132 ) and turning down the birthday cakes at work ;( Gone are the days of guilt free sleep ins and afternoon treats.

www.studio132.co.uk

Literally every morsel of anything yummy becomes forbidden and if you back slide just once, even on a weekend, the guilt is unfathomable. Although none compared to the remorse felt should you really have an off day and give the gym a skip.

Even when I was trying on wedding dresses at the shop the assistant remarked 'you'll have to have alterations done just before the wedding as all brides lose weight before their wedding', now if thats not pressure to get on a treadmill I don't know what is.

Yes, we all want to look amazing on our wedding day and yes we all want to be in the best shape possible but what we should not do is put our health at risk. Make it a lifestyle not an obsession. That way your goal is more about looking and feeling great everyday instead of 'I have to be skinny for my wedding'. What happens after the wedding?

My best piece of advice is to throw away the scale and don't focus on numbers, but more on how you look and how healthy you feel. Lucy at Studio 132 also recommends using a tape measure instead, which makes sense really. I have never lost weight according to the scale even when I have been in my best shape.

I try to exercise at least once a day during the week so I can relax and enjoy the weekend. I tend to run to work 1 - 2 times a week, go to the gym 3 - 4 times a week and then I play in a netball league once a week too, which I love.

I’ve recently started some HIIT/Cross Fit Training classes and they are awesome. It just helps having someone there to push you. I shower, leave the gym, walk in the cold for 15 minutes, get the tube and arrive at work still sweating and looking like a tomato, but I feel GREAT!

Happy healthy wedding bodies all!

Jus 

x

Source

Source

The Black Diamond - Engagement Ring

http://katevanonselen.com/ 

http://katevanonselen.com/ 

I've always tried to be a little bit unique. I've never been very girly and I don't wear a lot of jewellery, that’s partly because I'm too lazy to coordinate it and partly because I'm very sporty. Engagement rings were never something I dreamed about like other girls and even when Mr P proposed I didn't even see the ring until he asked me if I liked it.

Well if I told you I was different from other girls and said that I didn't fall in love with my ring, I would be telling a very big fib.


I had just met up with an old childhood friend who had recently got engaged and guess what? She has a black diamond ring. I had never seen one before and I thought 'now that is much more me'. Not so glitz and glamour but elegant with a dark sophisticated touch. I loved the antique element that the black diamond had to offer and I was quick to throw it out in conversation with Mr P.

A few months later here I sit typing this with my very own black diamond on my finger. However, different coloured stones seem to be the 'in thing'. I have since had friends get black diamonds as well as lemon and chocolate diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and amethysts. Are the days of the white diamond coming to an end? I think there will always be a market for the traditional white diamond engagement ring but it doesn't hurt that it’s become acceptable to be able to reflect your individuality through your ring. Besides we do have to wear it everyday for the rest of our lives.

It's not only the stone that has branched out to new domains, metals are evolving too. Rose gold is becoming more sought after as well as it has a softer and more neutral tone than yellow and white gold or platinum. 

My ring was designed by my very talented fiancé. The inner lining surface of the ring with rose gold is not only quirky but it adds that little bit of intimacy to the ring.

I love my ring and I am often being asked about it and what stone it is. All hail the black diamond!

Wedding Invites: Paperless Post

www.paperlesspost.com

I was always against emailing out our official invites as I thought it came across as a bit tacky. However, after going over the costs involved in getting an invite designed, printed and posted to 130 guests and weighing this up against the extra guests we could invite if we just emailed the invite out we decided we would rather have the extra guests.

I found this great site that was really easy to use.  I customised my own design using a template from a large range of choices.

Once your design is ready you can then send your invite out using the site and Paperless Post will keep track of who you have sent to, who has opened the invite, which addresses have bounced back and the RSVPs. You can also customise the RSVP to ask your guests to respond to a question. We decided to ask what their favourite song was so we could incorporate this into our wedding play list.

The site charges a very small fee to send out the invites (we only paid USD $16), so we saved massively on printing and postage costs as well as saving a few trees in the process ;)

They also have an app available which you can load to your tablet or phone to keep track of responses on the go.

My experience with this site has been very good and I must admit that I almost decided to just create my own PDF document and send this over email however, email RSVPs would have been a lot more difficult to keep track of.

If you are thinking of going the email invite route this site is a must!

Jud

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