Nicholas and Tamarin’s Green, Gold and Silver Cape Town Wedding. By Real Simple Photography

Well hello Friday and how are you today? Wow that was a super fast week! I hope it has been a good one for everyone? This evening my sister-in-law Johanna is coming round with our 3 month old nephew Ted, Nik and I are super excited as we haven’t seen him for a few weeks, so lots of baby cuddles for us! But before the working week ends I have this glorious South African wedding for you full of warm sunshine and beautiful rustic details. The lovely couple Tamarin and Nicholas decided on Cape Town, even though they both live in London as Tamarin is originally from South Africa and the weather really did their day justice! It’s full of beautiful details and loads of handmade details that really make this day a true stunner! Topped off with some amazing photography by Jacques Lloyd from Real Simple Photography and this wedding is the perfect way to round off this Friday!

Our wedding had us stamped all over it, was filled with laughter, surprises that took our breath away and the odd tear. It brought friends and family so much closer to us, in the pre-wedding prep and in the special moments shared, that just filled our hearts to overflowing. Sincerely, the best day ever!

Tamarin and Nicholas were married of the 14th of December at Langkloof Rose, Wellington Cape Town. ‘Cape Town meant guaranteed sunshine, and Langkloof Farm was sheltered from any wind by beautiful surrounding hills. The farm is filled to the brim with rustic charm, which meant we could focus on tiny details to add, rather than starting with a blank canvas. We knew a chapel was a must, and dancing under the stars was just too tempting to walk away from. The bonus of having roses grown straight on the farm, horses, birds and the odd cow made it such a very unique option. With the exchange rate, it was a very affordable location which meant we could have the wedding of our dreams with our rather average budget. We had 70 guests and the wedding took 14 months on and off to plan. There are some added logistical difficulties with an abroad wedding, I would recommend couples start earlier than we did!’

How they met
I was very fortunate, that my hubby just knocked on the door one day! His brother had agreed to help a girlfriend and I move house, and brought him along to help under the guise of ‘going for a drink’. Nic was living in London and I was in Cape Town, so this was followed by a few years of being long distance friends of the flirtatious kind. About 7 years ago we were holidaying in Kenya and decided that it was time to abandon pretences, and for me to move to London and see if there was anything to us as a couple. Luckily, there was! We knew each other for ten years before I walked down the aisle.

The proposal
Like many Londoners, life is busy busy busy. I travel a lot with work and our friends are located all over the capital so we often visit or host parties. It was a Sunny Sunday (beautiful day on the weekend – already special) and we had the weekend to ourselves! We spent the morning working in the garden and decided to have a yummy BBQ for the afternoon. With a summer cocktail in one hand and paging through a recipe book in the other, I had no idea what was coming! One minute Nic went to top up our glasses and the next he was on one knee with this sparkly beauty catching the light! There were tears and lots of kisses for twenty minutes before I actually took a proper look at the ring.

How did you allocate your budget?
We followed the advice of a much loved cousin, who recently tied the knot. Focus on the food, music and photos. People always have a good time if there stomach is full and they can have a good old dance. The photos are for the couple – the day passes so quickly it’s important you can capture it well and pour over the photos in years to come. It was solid advice and now that I’m looking at the photos, I’m so glad we did just that.

How did you choose your photographer?
This was such a hard choice. We met with a few local photographers but didn’t feel comfortable. Online was our best resource and that’s how we found Real Simple Photography. Jacque works out of Surrey so we could meet with him in person, but was going to be in Cape Town over December anyway. It combined the best of both worlds for us. As an event organiser, I’m very particular, but his work is awesome and his relaxed personality meant that he took all my anxieties in his stride.

The dress
My wedding dress was a Paloma Blanca 2013 dress which I fell in love with when friends surprised me with a day trip. It was double the budget so I kept hunting and trying on more and more dresses, but I always compared them to this one. After much patience, I found London Bride Couture who had a sample sale and by chance the sample was my size. I was fourth in the queue three hours before the shop opened with trusty friend in tow, and headed home with the dress and a massive grin. I also bought a second hand ‘party’ dress that was light enough to jump in and affordable enough to destroy! It made by a designer called ‘Nicholas’ which seemed to be a match made in heaven.
Shoes were Miss KG that I bought on January sale for £15! My necklace was a gift from hubby on the morning of the day and came from Tiffany’s. Underwear was from Boux Avenue whom I just love.

The suit and bridesmaids
The groom wore a morning suit from Moss Bros by Ted Baker. Shoes were Ted too, but bought from John Lewis.
Bridesmaid’s dresses and groomsmen’s ties were from Dessy – infinite selection of styles and colours and this one worked perfectly. I loved the ‘farm’ look of the boys with their braces.

Theme or colour scheme
We knew green would be a key factor, as it’s been my favourite colour for many years.
We matched it with gold, silver and white and settled on this early on which made the other decisions easy. We wanted a rustic feel to keep with venue, so we knew bunting, haystacks and wheel barrows would play a factor. The elephants were added later as a ‘South African’ touch.

Flowers
We kept the flowers quite simple with white and green variations including roses and Gerbers.

What sort of decoration did you have?
Rustic – wheelbarrows, crates, bunting, wild flowers.

Food
Starter: Trio of Springbok Carpaccio, Kudu Biltong Pate and Riebeek Valley Olives
Main: Beef Fillet medallions served with onion rings and a red wine jus accompanied by creamy potato dauphinoise, syrupy pumpkin fritters and grilled summer vegetables
Dessert Buffet: Baked cheesecake pots with summer berries, Amarula Crème Brulee, Belgian Choc Mousse, Dom Pedros (a kind of alcoholic milkshake) and fruit skewers with a lavender syrup. Our menu was amazing and played to local produce. We had alternative menus for the bride and others who are vegetarian. Each guest had a menu wrap-around their napkin. Those with something special had their own menu reflecting accordingly.

Wedding cake
It was made by a close friend of ours, it had a mixture of layers. Some were chocolate cake with chocolate ganache icing and others were vanilla with lemon icing. We gave the brilliant baker some pictures from pinterest that we like and a couple of ideas for the cake topper. And she totally blew us away! It must have tasted as good as it looked, as we had arranged cake boxes for people to take some home afterwards, but there was none left over the next day and only a handful of little boxes missing.

Entertainment
Oyster King during the pre-reception drinks who shucked fresh oysters in front of guests and spiced with salt/pepper/Tabasco depending on their preference. Entertained with interesting facts about local Oysters. He enticed a number of guests to try one for the first time including the Bride and Groom! Me and Mr Brown Live Band – The live band made such an impact on the guests and kept the dance floor busy until the early hours. They put everyone in the party mood with some amazing music and even had my granny shaking her hips! Our MC for the evening was a long standing family friend. He is a wonderful story teller and can totally hold an audience and keep the laughter going.

Buy or DIY your Stationery?
The bigger bits we left to the professionals but we did some of the easier jobs ourselves. It is a great way to get family involved and it helps everyone feel a part of the wedding. Printables, Printables, Printables! We had the invites, paddle fan programmes and menus that wrapped around the napkins professionally designed and printed by Seven Swans. They were amazing, taking our basic thoughts from the skype calls and turning it into exactly what we wanted but didn’t quite know we wanted. Place settings where made by the brides cousin who does calligraphy, the thank-you tags for the favours were prepared by another cousin with a personalised stamp. Don’t disturb’ signs for each of the bedrooms, and all signs at the venue where bought through ETSY and prepared by the couple. The groom’s brother’s fiancé made signs on pallets to sit by the side of the road leading up to the venue which helped guests find their way along the dirt road and set the tone before they even arrived!

Personal or handmade touches
• The bride’s mom arranged for lots of vintage items (suitcases, cake cutting set, crystal decanter, hessian bags and brass pots etc ) from a hire shop used by film companies for scenes at no charge!
• We raided family garages for wheelbarrows, crates, frames and other bits we could put to use.
• We borrowed photos from both families for grandparents and the bride’s father who had passed away and placed them alongside candles on an old piano so guests could light a candle in their memory. They were brought to the evening reception and placed on a shelf in the bookcase overlooking the evenings activities.
• The groom’s dad owns a factory that professionally powder coats all kinds of things, so we had family save bottles (wine, ketchup, coffee, coca-cola) which they coated in our colours and where used as vases for all the flowers.
• We had the water and wine bottles personalised with labels designed and printed by family. Water bottles were also placed in the bedrooms for the next morning. The morning of the wedding, we had aunties and brother-in-laws sticking away as quick as their hands would let them.
• The maid of honour took all the gift bags from the hen party and cut them into little hearts. She strung these onto ribbon with bells on and hung these from trees. Which made a lovely soft noise as the trees blew but had a real sentimental feel to it.
• We bought sunglasses from Primark and had them hanging on a washing line with a sign ‘ Our Future’s so bright you are going to need shades’ which was very popular especially as that is the couple married name: Mr and Mrs Bright.
• We bought flipflops for £1 each from various places and tied them with a ribbon for guests ‘dancing feet’
• The favours were little bottles of Jagermeister for the boys and Amarula (a local drink similar to Baileys) for the girls, bought at cost from a contact of the Bride’s mother. Her cousin put them into cute boxes and tied thank-you notes to them with ribbon. The thank-you tags where stamped with a personalised stamp from Etsy.
• Place cards where little cards attached to wine glasses with a mini peg. The names were written by hand by the bride’s cousin who does Calligraphy.
• Table Numbers where gold elephant cut-outs with the numbers painted on them.
• Small details including coloured straws and toothpicks with cute messages (Eat me; new Mr and Mrs) were bought and given to the caterers to dress up the food.

Special moments or highlights
It’s true that when you walk down the aisle you don’t notice anyone or anything except the man of your dreams with slightly teary eyes. I always remember holding his gaze as I walked down.
Opening a letter from the groom an hour or so beforehand, with all the ladies in my family and watching them tear up.
My maid of honour (angel of the day) arranged for two chairs and a bottle of champagne to be set up in a hidden area behind some trees and she took us away from the crowd just after the ceremony to have a few quite moments together. Just brilliant!!
Having the finishing touches put to my outfit and seeing my sister run past the window in hot pursuit of the flower girl and page boy who had escaped and were heading for the duck pond.

Biggest surprise
Without a doubt the cow that appeared at the chapel door just as the bride headed down the aisle. Everyone was in stitches. Not quite the reaction I was hoping for the big moment, but it certainly made it memorable.

Advice for other couples
Put as much time and effort as you possibly can into it. Get everyone involved, it increases the joy and makes everyone a part of your big day. Make sure you love your suppliers. If you are doubtful of anyone/thing in the build-up, then trust your instinct and change it. You are sharing a really special moment with them, the last thing you want is to be aggravated by them on the day. And when the moment finally arrives, try and relax and savour it. Nothing else matters. Just have fun, because it’s over before you know it. And trust me, you will be wishing you could do it all again!

Supplier Shout Outs

• Hairdressing: Jemma Burton Facebook
• Makeup: Shannyn Fourie from Make-up Artistry Facebook
• Stationary: Ella de Villiers of Seven Swans www.sevenswans.co.za
• Venue : Langkloof Roses www.langkloofroses.co.za
• Catering: Linda from HeartWorx – [email protected]
• Flowers & Decor: A little thing called alittlethingcalled.co.za/the-bright-wedding-day
• Band: Me and Mr Brown www.meandmrbrown.com
• Video: Handstitched Films handstitchedfilms.com
• Photography: Real Simple Photography www.realsimplephotography.net
• Bunting: Bellbunting www.belbunting.co.za
• Personalised water: Sean of Natural Brands  [email protected]
• Entertainment: Oyster King: www.oysterking.co.za
• Cake: Julie Terblanche – [email protected] – +27844019576

• Lingerie: Boux Avenue www.bouxavenue.com

For more information on Jacques’ work go to:

www.realsimplephotography.net
www.realsimplephotography.net/blog
FACEBOOK
@JacquesLloyd