Southern Weddings

Friends, there’s a reason why we have a “Details” feature here on Southern Weddings, and I’m pretty sure that reason looks a HECK of a lot like Estelle + Pieter’s wedding.  I’ve got three posts devoted to their soiree today, and each one is chock. full. of details.  Seriously.  Not a filler portrait to be seen (though the ones we did include are stunning, thanks to talented photographer Christine Meintjes!).  So though this wedding comes to us from the South of Africa instead of the South of the United States, there are SO many ideas to inspire in this wedding.  More soon!

P.S. Estelle’s dress + her bridesmaids’ dresses (both designed by Teresa Joubert)!  The bride’s Queen Victoria-inspired riding boots!  The ceremony seating + fans + umbrellas!  I DIE.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met the first time at church in September of 2007, but the real meeting took place in December.
On the Thursday before my summer holiday to visit a friend in Pringlebay, I impulsively decided to visit a friend of mine at Pringlebay, a small Cape coastal village. That Saturday morning, I found out that three friends from Johannesburg would be joining us for the weekend.

I remember walking down the stairs and seeing this blue-eyed, “bushy-tailed” guy standing in the living room. We were once again introduced and the rest is history.  The planned weekend getaway turned out into an unplanned five day road trip along the coast. We swam in the sea, played beach bats, danced, laughed, went wakeboarding and stargazing, and, in the process, fell hopelessly in love with each other!

After five days, we returned to our families at their respective holiday houses along the coast, but the friendship and fun didn’t stop there. Pieter visited me almost everyday of the holidays and we both knew that life was never going to be the same again!

Describe the proposal:  For the next year, Pieter and I lived apart from one another, but the distance couldn’t kill the love.  After a year of flying between the two cities, hours of telephone conversations and countless emails, he asked me to marry him at my family’s beach house.  I knew he wanted to ask me to marry him since we already had the ring designed and made, but the time he took to pop the question was something!  He first needed to ask my father’s blessing, but he didn’t realize what a mission it would be to get my dad alone over a family holiday! He tried everything to make an “unofficial appointment” with him, but it never worked. In the end, he decided to ask my dad in our kitchen after dinner the one night while the rest of us were watching television! (He had a very hard time, because both my brothers and their wives expected something, so they kept interrupting his conversation!) The whole appointment with my dad stressed him so much that he actually forgot to plan something for the proposal! Luckily, my sister-in-law was there to help. She got him the number of a place where we could go horse riding (my favorite thing in the world!) and they organized to pack a picnic breakfast for us and to hide it somewhere along our road. The appointed morning came and everything went according plan.  We celebrated the engagement with family dinner’s and cocktail parties for three consecutive days!

There are all sorts of reasons why we choose to feature a wedding on the blog.  Sometimes we fall in love with the details, sometimes we fall in love with the photography, and sometimes we fall in love with the couple’s story.  In the case of Carrie + Douglas, it was the stunning imagery from Jesse Leake that drew us in, but the heartfelt story behind the day that really hooked us.  Wondering about the horse?  It was given to Carrie by her father before he passed away shortly before her wedding.  Being accompanied down the aisle by the horse was a lovely sentiment, no?  See more from their day (which took place at a private ranch in the Fremont Hills) at Jesse’s blog here.

As cute as Ilona + Philip’s ceremony was, I think their reception might raise the cuteness bar just a little bit higher.  Lawn games?  Check.  Gorgeously mix-and match daisy, wheatgrass, apple, and willow decor? Check.  A nod to the couples’ love of cereal?  Check!  The Trentadue Winery turned out to be the perfect venue for this garden party, and the florals from Erin Rosenow were a lovely complement to the rest of the decor (and Ilona’s hair and makeup, put together by Cowboys & Angels!).  And don’t those cupcakes from Laurie Lucov look delicious?  Thanks again, Anna — check out her blog post from the day here!

Describe your wedding flowers: Erin Rosenow, who did our flowers, made gorgeous boutonnières for the guys that looked like birds’ nests.  She also decorated the tables with white flowers made out of paper and clear glass containers of wheatgrass.
Describe your wedding cake:  We had yummy cupcakes in several flavors and sizes, with this adorable cupcake toppers.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?  We are both pretty disorganized and would have procrastinated a lot in doing all the chores that needed to be done in preparation of the wedding, if not for our amazing wedding planner, Stacy McCain.  She made the whole process bearable.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  At one point in the ceremony, our rabbi, Camille Shira Angel, had all the guests come forward and touch someone who’s touching someone who’s touching the bride and groom, while she said a blessing.  It was really lovely and meaningful.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  Married life is awesome.  Even better than the wedding!

Congratulations, Ilona + Phillip!