Three years ago...

...we said yes. It was a great great day and I always look back with fond memories. Three years, many adventures, some heartache and a beautiful baby boy later, I'm more and more thankful for this man with his rock-steady personality, his honesty, his patience, DIY-skills, love for his son, eye for detail, and most of all...his love for me. Happy anniversary, my Liefie.

Weddings in August #2

We met Anjo and Johannes last year through our blogs. Anjo invited us for dinner and we immediately knew that they are part of our tribe. Or we are part of theirs. Either way...

I love Anjo and Johannes' love story. I love how good they are for each other and how they see each others' souls - openly and without restrictions. We also met a few of their friends and consider them part of the tribe too. Because they are people who understand that living in a security estate in Mordor is not cool, neither is driving a flashy car nor is technology illiteracy.

So, on the 10th of August we were lucky enough to attend their wonderful wedding. At her parent's house in their yard. 100 people on one long table. As the guests arrived, we saw the couple strolling up the driveway, still in their jeans and t-shirts. After they got dressed, they joined the guests before the ceremony for a drink. Never in my life have I seen such an un-bride-zilla!

Anjo's dad married them and there was not one dry eye at the entire table. This was absolutely the most beautiful wedding ceremony we have ever witnessed. The ceremony lasted the best of 10 minutes and then we feasted on food that the bride and groom prepared themselves!

The best part was when it moved to the family kitchen later that night for a second round of food and more festivities.

Anjo and Johannes will be leaving for Toronto next week. Anjo will be completing her PhD and Johannes is going for work. I'm so grateful that we met these wonderful people. It feels as though we have been friends for years.

Weddings in August #1

On this blog, there are no apologies for lacks of posts. Those who know me, know that I have a hardcore full-time job and sometimes you just can't get to everything and everyone. Which is also enough. Something I had to learn the hard way.

So...we did some work for a wedding late July / early August. The ceremony was the week before the actual reception and we did things for both. I thought it would be an easy job, but now I have huge respect for people who do this for a living. Here are some details of the preparation and a few glimpses of the reception.

Mid-week celebration

Yesterday we celebrated the wedding of our friends Konrad and Liezl at Rosemary Hill, just east of Pretoria. Here are a few details of this sweet afternoon.

A year and a week

We've been married this long. And although I'm very bad with anniversaries (hence the late post), I feel that this one is great. Thank you husband, for the first one. You are my everything.

Photo by Christo Harvey

Our Wedding part II

If I can recommend anything it would be to have a photo booth. Use a pro for this and forget the self-timer home made thing run by the drunken cousin.We had so much fun and we only used chalk boards for messages and sunglasses as props. The photos really came out nice in the end and many of the memories of our wedding were based on these photos. Mari Engelbrecht was our booth photographer. She has such a keen eye and great sense of humour.
I still smile when I look at these.

 

Our Wedding part I

Okay, I know this is 7.5 months overdue. Don't ask me why I've postponed this so long, I don't know either. But here it is, upon numerous requests  from family and friends - a few snippets of our day. Needless to say, a few photos on a blog will never ever capture the magic of the moments we shared with loved ones, the absolute intimacy of the venue, the beauty of the city and the sheer delightfulness of the day. The photographer was Christo Harvey and the photo-booth photographer (coming up in the next post) was Mari Engelbrecht.
A few short details:
We got married on 30 April 2011
We made our vows in the Anglican Church of Christ in Arcadia
After the ceremony, we made our way to Church Square to take some kick-ass photos
The reception was at Brasserie de Paris 
We were welcomed as Mrs and Mr Kotzé by a beautiful thunderstorm later the evening
I wouldn't have it any other way

Our ring bearer bowl, from Paloma's nest
It reads: Loved you yesterday, love you still. Always have, always will.

My dress was made by René O'Neil.

Our beautiful wedding car.

All photos above by Christo Harvey.