While a wash-out may be some couple’s worst nightmare, Michelle and her fiance Trevor certainly made the most of their rainy South African wedding…in fact they rocked that rain like I’ve never seen before! The wellies, multiple white umbrellas and incredible backlit portraits made me always wish my wedding had been so damp!
The wedding was held at the bride’s parent’s wedding venue, Willowvale Weddings. “6 months before our wedding date the reception hall was just a cow shed,” the bride told me. “In those 6 months my parents bashed and built the most fantastic space. There was still paint drying on the day – nothing like a bit of pressure!”
Continuing on from the ‘DIY’ venue (which is now open for all weddings) the day had a handmade and homespun feel. As Michelle explained, “We didn’t want the usual cookie cutter, draped-hall wedding, I was quite happy to elope but Trevor convinced me that I’d be happier if I shared the day with our closest friends and family (he was right). So we tried to make it as unique as possible, my Mom made my dress from pictures of dresses I sent her and it was EXACTLY what I wanted.”
“Our guests sat on hay bales for the ceremony, we didn’t have hymns (each of our sisters read a blessing instead) and we had a handfasting ceremony within our Christian ceremony. Our men and maids didn’t matchy matchy. We had a fingerprint tree instead of a guestbook, our table flowers were arranged in giant teapots, we both made speeches (he read an excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit about being made real and made me cry), our friends collected baby food jars for us to put candles in everywhere and the bunting made everything more fun!”
“Following wedding blogs gave me the guts to stick to my guns about some things (and made me realize that other things are just unimportant!) As well as helped me to show my Mom visually what I was trying to achieve from 9000km away!”
Thanks so much to Michelle & Trevor and their photographer Alexis Diack for sharing their wedding with us today.
Thanks so much to Michelle & Trevor and their photographer Alexis Diack for sharing their wedding with us today.
