Smell that, folks? Yep, it smells like freedom. The freedom of a long weekend, and I’ll tell you a little secret, mine has already started. Started last night, in fact, with wine and cupcakes at Altar-ed, a fab little event organised here in London by OMG I’m Getting Married and Forever and Ever Events (thanks, ladies!). Which is, obviously, the best way to start a long weekend. Prettiness always is. So allow me to do the same for you, by providing you with your own dose of prettiness courtesy of this wedding at Diemerskraal. I have been DYING to share it for weeks, and I am so excited that the moment has finally arrived! Where do I start? The buttons, maybe my favourite little touch? The bunting? The supercool invitations? The OMG they actually WILL wear them again bridesmaids dresses? The fact that the venue is an aircraft hangar? Actually, it’s all of it together, tied up in a perfect little bow by Stephan Marais, who took these gorgeous pictures. To me, it strikes the perfect balance between contemporary, classic and cheeky, and I absolutely LOVE it! So enjoy. And if I don’t see you here tomorrow (even though you totally should pop in, because we have another loooovely wedding!), have the best Easter weekend!

Oh! PS. The lovely bride, Diné, also happens to be the maker of lovely cupcakes (and has just the best named business, Bake Love Not War). Check her out!

From Diné:
Nick and I met when we were in brother-sister student residences at UCT. That was back in 2003, so we’d known each other for many years when we got engaged. The proposal was very simple (which I always wanted) – we were hiking through Cecelia Forest when he asked me.

We opted for having a simple venue and food so that we could invite all the guests we wanted. We didn’t really have much of a colour scheme. I tried to stick with warm colours but that was about it. The venue was basically an empty aircraft hanger with lights in it. When we arrived with our army of helpers to set up the day before, the aeroplane was still inside! :)

Apart from the starter and main course, we did almost everything ourselves, with the help of our families and bridal parties (we had seven bridesmaids and eight groomsmen so plenty of hands!). Nick’s dad did all of the flowers except our bouquets. They were AMAZING. We wrote letters to each of our guests (yes, this took many hours) which we put on their seats with a button badge. The badges were our favours, instead of something more traditional. And obviously the pictures on them were things specific to us. Nick’s cousin designed our wedding invitations with a cartoon picture of the two of us on it, which I loved. And our friend Lea painted signs to the venue which I loved. Oh and Nick’s mom sewed the bunting (flags) for our venue.

I loved ALL of it! Getting ready with my bridesmaids… walking down the aisle… seeing my husband-to-be. And I loved partying with everyone afterwards!

My advice to future brides: Resources = THE INTERNET. There are loads of useful websites that helped us a lot. I would say, if your friends and family are willing, it is definitely worth doing DIY things. It’s much more cost effective and people like to get involved.

Also, try to keep perspective and remember that the main objective of the day is the two of you becoming husband and wife! All the details are wonderful but when you leave the wedding venue, the only thing that remains for the rest of your life is your marriage. Not the bouquets or the thank you letters or the dessert. I had to keep reminding myself of this :)

Thank you so much, Diné & Nick! You did a spectacular job. And thanks to Stephan (and a very big welcome to Cap Classique, looking forward to seeing more of you here I hope!). Head over here for more pictures from this lovely wedding.

Service providers:

Venue: Diemerskraal
Catering: Verve Caterers
Photography: Stephan Marais
Stationery: Mary-Anne Hampton
Bride’s dress: Carol O’Reilly (0828902242)
Hair & makeup: Cheryl Parker
Hiring: Dez Hire
Entertainment: Scott Behrens