Category: Farm Weddings

Real Wedding at Rockhaven {Marené & Jaco}

by gaby

Who’d be a matchmaker, eh? For the most part, introducing two friends is a disaster. Sometimes it works but mostly it doesn’t, and there’s always the risk that your friend will feel that the person you choose for them shows how little you know them at all. It’s certainly never been my forté, but the hero of today’s wedding story is a guy who really did know a friend well enough to spot the woman of his dreams when he met her, and to introduce them. Impressive. And hey presto! Just a few years later, you have this beautiful wedding, complete with proteas and bicycles and general awesomeness. I love the chalkboard details (especially the place mats) and the printed words-as-decor runners, the soft pink bridesmaid dresses, and the bicycle boutonnieres. And I’m especially in love with Catherine Mac‘s beautiful pictures, which as always really capture the essence of the day and the couple in glorious colour!Read More

Real Wedding at The Cowshed {MoniQue & Nico}

by gaby

Good morning, friends! How’s the week treating you all? Well, either way, it’s about to get a little better with a beautiful farm wedding at a venue I have been dying to feature, The Cowshed – talk about rustic goodness! Bride MoniQue was actually first in touch a few months back when I put out a call for new Real Life Brides. Her wedding was too soon to include in the programme, but I was intrigued when she told me all about her custom, soft grey dress and vintage farm theme. Well, both dress and wedding turned out beyond beautiful, so I just had to share them with you here today! This is South African country vintage done right, with lots of heirloom pieces woven into the decor, pretty proteas (I LOVE how each bouquet was a little different), and a romantic ceremony under a tree. Just lovely. Photographer Kim Jansen van Rensburg was there to capture every special moment.Read More

Real Farm Wedding {Mariaan & Johnnie}

by gaby

They say when you know you know, and that must have been true for Johnny, who first fell for Mariaan when they were children! So cute. This pair of barefoot farm kids grew up to be free-spirited adults, and threw a laid back country wedding that had a touch of carnival celebration. I LOVE that they used what they had, and this turned into fruit on the tables instead of flowers (Johnnie is in the fruit business), barrows and crates full of fynbos, and what is without doubt my favourite bar of all time. I also love the boho flowergirls and the little pageboys in top hats! The relaxed vibe was perfectly captured by Carmen Visser, who’s been kind enough to share her beautiful pictures with us today. A farm wedding is actually super appropriate for me today, since I’ll be spending it styling a special inspiration shoot in a farm setting – hold thumbs for me that we get some unseasonably fine weather!Read More

Real Wedding at Welbeloond {Simone & Rudi}

by gaby

What on earth did we do before Facebook? Because, no kidding, I have heard about a LOT of lovebirds who have connected on there, one way or another. Today’s couple is one of them. And say what you will about modern technology, but I love the fact that, in a time before social media, their romance might have stopped when they were teenagers but today, even a couple of oceans aren’t insurmountable. Then again, if you believe as they do, that their romance was meant to be, perhaps even in another age they might have found each other. Kind of a lovely thought. Anyway, meet they did, and it all culminated in an awesome, down-home, farm-style rustic party at Welbeloond, that was centred around the love of their family and friends, and captured in all its sweetness by Jacques Lloyd of Real Simple Photography.Read More

Real Wedding at Groenrivier {Ilne & Herman}

by gaby

Whenever people ask me how I choose which weddings to feature, I end up talking about the Ooh Moment. The detail or idea or photograph that makes me go “ooh”. Literally. If you sat next to me while I was looking at it, you would hear that I actually say “ooh”. There were quite a few oohs in today’s beautiful wedding from photographer Heather Steyn (Hello! Bride and bridesmaids hairstyles! And dresses! Wildflowers! Wreaths!) but the biggest one came when I realised that each table had its own little decor theme. Each cleverly thought out (and super pretty) and each meaningful to the bride and groom. It’s like awesome table decor using found objects, times multiple. Or like a little art installation. It’s completely adorable, and it turns an already lovely wedding into a veritable ooh-fest. And that’s not all, because this sweet couple, who have careers as Afrikaans teachers in common, also share another commonality – that their fathers are both ministers. So who’s to perform the ceremony? Well, both of them! How cute is that? Very, that’s how. Now go forth, and ooh.Read More

Real Wedding at The Oaks {Celeste & Deon}

by gaby

I’m a words person, no doubt about it. People express themselves in different ways, and for me, words have never been hard to find. (Maybe a little too easy to find, because I do talk a lot!) So when I came across today’s wedding, one of the things that really struck me was the clever ways that Celeste and Deon used words not just to express their feelings for one another, their relationship, and their history, but to decorate their beautiful country venue (The Oaks in Greyton). Custom tablecloths shared these words with friends at the reception, and the bride even walked down the aisle towards her groom on an aisle runner handwritten with a favourite piece of scripture. Their aim was rustic elegance, and this was achieved with clever neutral touches that recalled the bride’s farm heritage – wire windmills, white proteas, paraffin lamps and white candied Easter eggs (this is one of my favourite, properly South African decor ideas, ever!). Everything was graceful and beautiful, none more so than the bride – isn’t she just stunning? I really love that vibrant pop of red from her shoes and her amazing Elbeth Gillis dress. It was all captured exquisitely by Cari Photography and co-ordinated by the Aleit Group, who never fail to impress. I just love it.Read More

Real Farm Wedding {Bianca & Chevy}

by gaby

Oh I do love me a farm wedding. And who could fail to love one as pretty as this? Personalised pinwheel favours, bridesmaids in belted floral dresses, a love letter motif based on the couple’s relationship… not to mention a big, red, Just Married truck. Chevy and Bianca (who get my vote for the couple with the coolest names, by the way) chose to celebrate their marriage at a place important to them – Chevy’s grandmother’s farm near Pietermaritzburg, where he grew up. They were surrounded by family and friends and a sunny afternoon, which signalled the end of a long distance relationship and the beginning of a married one. Their lovely pictures were taken by Thea Cogill of Tink Photography, and are full of colour and life and general down-home goodness that makes me want to pull on a pair of wellies and trek out to the countryside. Yup, farm weddings are the rockingest.Read More

Real Wedding at Oranje Guest Farm {Liezel & Louw}

by gaby

I love weddings. (Surprise! I bet you didn’t know that.) And this year has been all about attending weddings for me – five so far, and number six coming up on Friday. I can’t WAIT. You’d think by now I’d be sick to death of looking at them, but no. They’re a gift that just keeps on giving. Take today’s gorgeous wedding, from Michael Tree Photography (welcome, Michael!). It’s so elegant, with a palette of navy, mint and grey. (Just take another minute to be delighted by that colour combo, because I totally am.) The bride is rocking a stunning dress and I love that she’s wearing her hair short and loose – it looks amazing. The design has a touch of vintage (cute car alert!), but somehow manages to feel modern as well. And it took place amid some spectacular South African scenery. There are even white proteas, which basically make me want to punch the air. In fact, the whole thing does. Yay for this wedding, and yay that I get to write about it. I love my job!Read More

Real Wedding at Old Mac Daddy {Amé & Karel}

by gaby

Holy moley me oh my – now if this isn’t an amazing wedding, I’ll eat my fascinator. Ever since the team behind the Grand Daddy Hotel (which I am still dying to stay at) opened a country version of their rooftop airstream trailer park in Elgin called Old Mac Daddy, I have been dying to feature a wedding there. (For those who don’t know, each of the trailers – already pretty rad on their own – is custom decorated to a theme by a local artist).  I knew if I held out, the perfect wedding to show off this rustic, funky, informal venue would come along, and boy has it ever. I am so in love with Amé and Karel’s style – from their very cool stationery (how cute is the game-style invitation, not to mention their classy on-the-day farm look and adorable table names!) and quirky ideas, to their green and white flowers and laid back farm chic decor. And those bridesmaids’ dresses! Everything about this wedding is in synch – it’s so beautifully put together and well-thought-out. And, of course, I am also thrilled to be showcasing the work of the awesome Love Made Visible – their ability to see and capture the behind-the-scenes moments that really make up a day so much more than the decor or colour scheme ever could, always astounds me. Sit back, bliss out and enjoy.Read More

Real Wedding at Cabriéres {Lindi & Scott}

by gaby

Hello friends! I have been dying to share today’s totally adorable Cabriéres wedding with you for ages. One, it is uniquely South African – it even has a Karoo farm theme! With little tin windmills on the tables. Like I say, ADORABLE, right? And not just for the sake of it, either – everything about the day was chosen to reflect the couple’s personalities and the history of their relationship. Which, as you know, is so my thing. And two, I love that you can see so much genuine love and emotion, not just from Scott and Lindi, but from their friends and family as well. Steven Booth, their awesome photographer for the day, even spoke about this in our emails, telling me how during the speeches especially, you could tell how this group of friends and family know each other and really ‘get’ each other, resulting in some very entertaining but also heartfelt speeches. What an awesome wedding to have been a part of.Read More