Earthy & elegant wedding at Zevenwacht Wine Estate, South Africa

J o v o n n e & H e i n

{all images Veronique Mills Photography}

The Meeting...

Hein and I met one evening in Stellenbosch, South Africa, when we were both out with friends. Our friendship groups started to socialise together each weekend and Hein and I were always the ones who wanted to go out dancing after dinner so we ended up spending a lot of time alone. One night, while out dancing, he just leaned in and kissed me. Since then we have truly been inseparable! After a few months of dating Hein had to move back to the Northern Cape to resume his work at their family farm. He visited every third weekend but it became clear that we had to make another plan. I decided to take a leap of faith and moved to the tiny Karoo town a couple of months later. The rest is history!

The Proposal...

I knew Hein had the ring months before we actually got engaged. My sister's partner blindsided us by proposing to her a week or so before Hein intended to ask me to marry him. We decided to wait until after their wedding was over to get engaged but luckily they got married shortly after their engagement.

One weekend we had to go away to get farming supplies in George, a town near South Africa's Garden Route region. We stayed at our usual bed and breakfast and the next day Hein wanted to go to a nearby town, Plettenbergbay, for the evening and suggested that, while we were there, we checked out the lodge where my brother spent a few nights on his honeymoon. I was not very keen as it was quite a drive and it was getting late but I eventually agreed to go.

When we arrived at the lodge, Hein asked the receptionist if we could have a look around since his friend wanted to take his fiancé there. She informed us that all the treetop cottages were already booked but one guest had not yet arrived and she agreed to quickly take us to have a peek at the beautiful lavish tree house.

After we walked through the forest on the boardwalk, we reached the stunning tree cottage, which overlooked the Knysna forest. Once we were inside, I failed to notice the candles and roses everywhere in the main bedroom, and then it struck me! Hein got down on his knee and presented me with the ring. I didn't expect it at all as I always thought he would propose on their family farm during one of our sunset bike rides.

We spent the night eating strawberries and chocolate with French champagne and enjoyed the forest spa, which he had exclusively booked out for us that evening.

The Dress...

Believe it or not I actually bought my wedding dress while dress shopping with my sister for her wedding gown. She had already found her dream dress but wanted to view a few other boutiques. When I saw this particular dress from Lady Marmalade, I absolutely knew that this was the perfect dress for me"”I didn't even try on any other dresses after that! Luckily I had no doubts or regrets after I bought it.

The Ring...

Hein and I had browsed a few jewellers for a ring, however in the end I designed my own ring at Daneel Diamonds in Stellenbosch, based on what I liked in other rings.

The Venue...

We didn't want to wait a long time before we said 'I do', so we immediately set a date: 7 December 2013. We were looking for a venue that could comfortably accommodate 130 guests with a spacious dance floor and a venue that was preferably located on a winery. We did not have too many options, as most of the venues were booked a year in advance. Shortly after our venue-hunt began Zevenwacht Wine Estate informed us that they had a cancellation for our date. We were ecstatic!

Wedding Details...

The colour scheme for the wedding was blush pink and silvery grey-green. I wanted the wedding to have an elegant yet earthy feel and I decided on an array of blush coloured roses, protea-flowers and desert roses for our flower arrangements.

The decor we kept classic and elegant with crystal and silver chandeliers that had plenty of glass elements. My mother arranged for entertainment, a violinist, while the guests enjoyed their pre-drinks and entrées at the venue.

The wedding cake was the least of my worries, as I knew it was in excellent hands. I opted for a chocolate and fudge mousse cake with the top tier being the traditional fruitcake. I collected pictures of different patterns and sent it to Mrs Jones Cakes, who constructed the perfect five-tiered wedding cake with each layer displaying a different design. Instead of a cake topper, we had fondant roses draped around the cake to tie in with our wedding flowers.

As gifts to our guests, we gave our female guests a beautiful hand made cupcake shaped soap (from Riverlea Soaps) in our colour palette and the men received a mini bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey.

I had not arranged for a wedding car, as I was happy to use my parents' car. After the ceremony I was pleasantly surprised when a gorgeous royal blue Chev 1956 pulled up in front of the church to take us to the reception venue"”this was of course my mother's brilliant idea.

Two days before the wedding, I jumped in my car as soon as I finished work and made the 500km drive to Stellenbosch, where my parents live to finalise everything for the wedding. I could not believe how many last minute things popped up that I had to attend to! It was a mad-rush around the Cape Town area with my mother to do all the finishing touches, some DIY projects and to finalise everything.

On the day of the wedding the most unexpected thing happened: I was an image of calmness. Hein sent over a bunch of red roses with a note saying, "Can't wait to meet you at the altar!". The time running up to the ceremony was pure bliss and it felt as though I was walking on clouds and could not wait to get to the church.

Memorable moments...

Jovonne: The biggest highlight of the day was when my father walked me down the aisle and seeing the look on Hein's face"”both of us knowing that the moment that we waited for is finally here. We were blessed to have my father marry us as well. The ride to the church was also a real highlight"”the pure child-like excitement, people hooting and knowing that this is it. Also having both the families mingle and catching up with everyone was great and one of the most surprising and special moments for me was when Hein gave his speech"”let me just say I cannot WAIT for our wedding DVD to arrive to listen to it again and again...

For Hein: My most memorable moment was the overwhelming feeling of butterflies when I saw her walking down the aisle. The wedding reception was another highlight. It completely exceeded our expectations. Our guests made the wedding one to remember"”seeing everyone dancing and genuinely enjoying themselves was priceless.