I am a bit over exited about today’s wedding. There are three reasons for my excitement, firstly the decor of this wedding  is just to die for, secondly this is our first proper beach wedding on the blog, and finally photographer Cari Eksteen, that took the gorgeous pictures, is my second cousin!

Werner and Liesl wanted their wedding to be a laid-back family affair, so they chose the picturesque town of Paternoster on the West Coast. The groom’s sister Tanya from Aartsappel in Paarl helped to create their dream wedding. They did such an amazing job. This wedding is so inspiring and a true feast for the eye.

Tell us your love story?

We actually knew about each other for quite a few years, but never really saw eye to eye. I always thought she was very beautiful, but the face didn’t fit the personality, well this is about 8 years ago. She was working at a local coffee shop and I just started my coffee roasting business. Off course I thought it would be a good idea to promote my coffee at the shop she was working at, but she was not really interested to be honest. Then one night I just spontaneously invited her to my shop for some wine while I was working late. We didn’t hit it off immediately, but we both knew there was something in the air, but were too stubborn to admit it. Since that day everything just went downwards for us, but luckily we didn’t break up. After a lot of tears and fights, we managed to find each other. We dated about 2 years before I proposed.

Please describe the proposal.

She did sort of expect me to pop the question at that time of our relationship, but definitely not in the manner which I did it. I got her ring, asked her dad and asked her to marry me in the space of 1 hour. I did all of this while she was painting the kitchen cupboards. Funny enough the ring did not fit her properly because of all the turpentine she had to use to remove the paint on her hands. We had take-away sushi and went to go and tell our parents.

What was the highlight/s of your wedding day?

Where do we start, everything was a mess half an hour before the ceremony, our “church” washed away into sea , our tables were wet from the previous evening and morning’s rain, the wind was howling and it was cold. But with plenty of prayers and tears, we were blessed with the most beautiful day we could have hope for, especially since it was on the West Coast. To be honest our whole wedding was a highlight, from start to finish.

Any advice for brides-to-be?

Expect the unexpected.

What was the biggest obstacle/s you had to overcome while organising your dream wedding?

Purely the fact that we did not really had a wedding coordinator whom organised everything for us, let alone the wedding venue. We had to arrange everything from flowers, knives, forks, tables, chairs, decor and transport etc etc ect. We basically had a wedding in a parking lot.

Any time saving or organising tips?

Keep your guest list to a minimum.

Any hints for other brides on how to keep your wedding budget friendly?

Be creative and do as much as you can yourself. Don’t be scared to go out of your comfort zone in terms of shopping at places you never thought you would ever visit.

What song did you choose for your opening dance and why?

Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison – It’s a fun and funky song.

Were any of your family members or friends involved in the wedding and what were their contributions?

Yes, my sister did all the decor and flowers and my father did all the DIY.

How does your wedding reflect your personalities?

That we can survive organised chaos.

What are you looking forward to now that you are married?

We just started a brand new business together and hope to make the best of what we have been blessed with. We also want to keep getting to know each other better every day, because the more you know about each other, the better you understand each other.

Service Providers:

Bridal Accessories: Flea markets

Coffee: Bean in Love

Cake: Gaaitjie Restaurant

Coordinator: Tanya Buys from Aartsappel

Décor: Tanya Buys from Aartsappel

Dress: Tannie Griet from Paarl

Entertainment: Dawid van der Merwe

Flowers: Tanya Buys from Aartsappel

Food: Suzi Holtzhausen from Gaaitjie Restaurant

Hair: Jess from Cut Hair Salon in Paarl

Hiring: Basson & Basson in Paarl

Make-up: Jess from Cut Hair Salon in Paarl

Photographer: Cari Eksteen

Rings: Warren – Jeweller from Somerset West

Stationary: Tanya Buys – Aartsappel

Venue: Gaaitjie Restaurant, Paternoster.