It's been over a month now since the BIG day and i thought it was about time i did a little recap on the day itself and the organising that went into the day. Weddings are a very important milestone in any relationship and some people signify that by spending an astranomical about of money and time on their big day. Our wedding was very important to us but i couldn't justify the cost of hiring a fancy wedding planner and leaving everything to them... so bring in myself! One great thing about organising a wedding yourself is that you get exactly what you want and you appreciate it a whole lot more.
My 3 biggest challenges were finding the perfect venue, deciding on food and bringing my ideas for decor together.
Venue: We wanted the wedding to be on a beach in Durban... not just overlooking a beach or next to one but on the actual sand. I did large abouts of research and the "normal" venues would only allow the ceremony on the beach and they cost an arm and a leg. Eventually i stumbled upon Beachbums, a small restaurant and backpackers right on the beach 40 mins north of Durban. After much to-ing and fro-ing and some stress things came together perfectly :)
Food: We wanted to create a very relaxed atmosphere at our wedding (having a wedding on the sand is a good start) and I wanted to introduce the American visitors to true Saffer culture. What better way to do that than with a braai, complete with pap and chakalaka! :)
So now we have a venue on the sand just metres from the breaking waves and a braai, the next thing to bring together was the decor.
Decor: While deciding on a venue, both Stu and i had one request each... he wanted tiki torches and i wanted paper lanterns. Both worked perfectly with the decor i had in mind... chilled out chic :) my vision was to have a collection of different clear bottles on each table with a flower in each, surrounded by tealights to form the centre piece, white table clothes and hessian table runners, paper lanterns hanging from the roof of the tent and sand underfoot... the result was even better than i could have imagined :)
And what would a wedding on the beach be like without a jumping castle ;) i decided to add a jumping castle just to add to the relaxed atmosphere and it was a huge hit, not just with the little kids but with the big kids as well :)
Unfortunetly the one thing we could not control was the weather and when having an outdoor wedding you are at the mercy of the weather gods... thankfully we had no rain, but man did the wind blow. Stu's only disappointment of the evening was the fact that it was to windy to light his beloved tiki torches!!
It was a fantastic day, enjoyed by everyone, especially Stu and i... that's the main thing :) A huge thank you to everyone who celebrated the day with us, especially Stu's friends and family that made the long trip from the states... it was amazing meeting you all :)
