Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens… Whoa there, showtunes. But seriously readers, I can’t help but think that today’s stunning Café Felix wedding is absolutely chokka with a few of my favourite things (and yours). Lace, roses, mismatched dresses, ribbon, chalkboards, lavender, tulips, postcard luggage labels, brunia, succulents, bell jars (am I pushing your buttons yet here?), beautiful stationery, milk glass and silver, hanging birdcages. It’s like a smorgasbord of loveliness right now. Topped off, of course, with work by some of my favourite Cape service providers including bright and beautiful pictures by Adene Photography, and a sweetly smiling, clearly head-over-heels bride and groom. It’s just perfection for your Tuesday morning. So go on. Dive in. (PS You’re totally going to be singing Julie Andrews all day. Sorry!)

From the bride, Leandri:
Neil and I started dating during our first year of university. We met at a social function and I remember thinking that he had the most beautiful blue eyes. We started talking and really enjoyed each other’s company. During the following weeks, one of my best friends became aware that Neil had feelings for me and started to let him know when and where we would be having lunch each day, so we started bumping into each other quite often. I never realised that this was no coincidence but a carefully orchestrated plan to make me fall for him! In the end it all paid off. I loved spending time with him and we have been together ever since. Thank you matchmaker Maggie! :)

The proposal came as quite a surprise! During my final year of study, Neil moved to Paarl to start working as an audit clerk and I stayed behind in Potchefstroom. It was the most challenging part of our courtship. When I visited him during my spring break he took me to the coastal village of Struisbaai and casually suggested that we have a picnic on the beach at sunrise. I had no idea what his intentions were and was flabbergasted when he proposed as the sun was rising in the background.

From the beginning we had the same idea of what the atmosphere of our wedding should be. We wanted a wedding that reflected our personalities and casual approach to life, so we aimed for a relaxed, lighthearted morning wedding. We wanted it to be small and intimate and a time for us to have our friends and family come together and celebrate our love for each other. We chose to be wed in Riebeeck Kasteel, as it was close to my family’s home. I love the relaxed “country vibe” and beautiful countryside filled with olive trees. Café Felix was the perfect choice and we instantly knew that it had to be our venue. We loved the intimate garden setting with vintage touches and wanted our wedding to have a soft, romantic feel. Another reason why we chose Café Felix was for its fabulous food – our four course menu on the day was a mouth watering affair. It was important to Neil and I to have really good food and lots of wine!

When thinking about our design concept for the day, the following words come to mind: lace, roses, tulips, lavender, crystal vases, porcelain milk jugs, silver teapots, glass domes and birdcages filled with flowers. The tablecloths were white with a gorgeous light teal blue blossom patterned runner. The venue itself contributed as a beautiful backdrop with its mismatched chairs, vintage “Paris style” streetlamps and cobblestone courtyard. For our colour scheme, we opted to use soft colours to enhance the romantic vintage feel. Our final colour palette was dominantly white with shades of pink, purple and blue accents. I got most of my inspiration from blogs like Lanalou Style, Ruffled and Snippet & Ink.

Our wedding decor came together with the creative talents of Jo- Lise van der Merwe from Floral Affairs. She is a creative genius and I was really fortunate that she was there throughout the wedding planning process. My mom and I had a lot of fun meeting and planning with Jo-Lise. When I sat down with her for the first time and started sharing all my ideas, I knew she “got it” and judging by her other weddings I knew my wedding would be amazing. She truly captured the feel of what we wanted and helped design an unforgettable day. Jo-Lise also introduced us to Jaco van Loggerenberg from Just Jack. This was definitely the best investment we could have possibly made for our wedding. He streamlined our ideas and brought all the loose ends together, and his professionalism shone through all the way through.

My favorite memory of the day was when Neil’s and my eyes first met, at our photo shoot just after sunrise. I was so nervous, but when I saw him, I truly felt a sense of relief. Finally it was our wedding day and nothing mattered more than the love I felt for the man standing beside me. It was truly a magical feeling I will never forget. If I could pick a second favourite memory it would be the speeches and toasts from our friends and family. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to sit back with my husband and take time during supper and see all the planning come together.

My advice for future brides:

• Do enough research and choose your service providers wisely! Everyone we worked with was great, which made our wedding a huge a success.
• Choose your venue as soon as possible, as it is much easier to start conceptualizing everything for the big day once this is done.
• Invest in a good photographer. Photos are all you are going to have to remember your day.
• Don’t lose perspective and fret about small things.

Thank you so much, Leandri and Neil! Wishing you every happiness together. Another big thank you to Adene – your photos always look so beautiful on the blog! You can see even more of them here.

Service providers:

Venue: Café Felix
Photography: Adene Photography
Flowers and décor: Floral Affairs
Coordinator: Just Jack
Stationery: Elsje Designs
Bride’s Dress: Elizabeth Stockenstrom
Hair: Liz Kaplan
Make Up: Algria Ferreira