AMELIE BRIDE // CHANÉL & ANDREW

January 11, 2022

AMELIE BRIDE // CHANÉL & ANDREW

Both with dreams of getting married in a beautiful garden setting, this couple immediately fell in love with Rosemary Hill, in Pretoria, after walking into an enchanting maze.

Much like their instantaneous love for their wedding venue, Andrew and Chanél met in high school and knew they were made for each other, “We started dating a month after we met and never looked back.”

A few years down the line, Chanél was visiting Andrew when he was living in Botswana for work; he surprised her with a getaway to the Okavango Delta, a place close to their hearts, where he proposed on a floating deck in the middle of the lagoon at sunset.

COUPLE’S NAMES

Chanél & Andrew

WEDDING DATE

16 October 2021

GUEST TOTAL

63 Guests

MARRIAGE TO US MEANS

Friendship, trust, compassion, understanding and support for one another. After 10 years together, we are so lucky to have shared so many moments of life together & now to many more.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I had been following The Geldenhuyses page for a while and absolutely loved their style with the warm, natural tones of their images that really captured natural moments – Andrew & I still can’t stop staring at the beautiful moments they captured on our special day.

When it came to looking for the bride’s dream wedding dress, it seemed a bit of a challenge as Chanél knew she didn’t want anything traditional. She’d already fallen in love with the idea of a gown with tiers, and after seeing our Temple by Bo & Luca Primrose gown on Instagram, she flew to our Cape Town showroom to try it on.

“All the dresses I tried on were beautiful but the Amelie caught my eye as it was so unique and the detail was exquisite, as soon as I tried it on I fell in love with it – not to mention it was a two-piece (doesn’t get better)”

BRIDE’S DRESS

Amelie Gown

WEDDING DAY ACCESSORIES

The details of my dress were so gorgeous that I decided to keep it very simple with my accessories and paired it with organic leaf-shaped statement earrings. It was the perfect finishing touch.

WEDDING RINGS

I have always loved unique rings that have a romantic vintage charm, Andrew designed the most beautiful gold teardrop engagement ring in a halo of diamonds. For the wedding band, I designed a half-moon gold ring with alternating black stones & diamonds which compliments my engagement ring beautifully and symbolizes two souls integrating. Andrew’s wedding band is a classic gold ring with a rough finish that suits him perfectly.

HAIR & MAKEUP

Yvette Rautenbach was highly recommended by a few friends. I felt so beautiful and natural with the soft golden glow & embracing my natural curls. The perfect combo with my dreamy dress.

WEDDING SCENT

Narciso Rodriguez

WEDDING SONG

I walked down the Isle to one of our favourite songs, Love someone – Jason Mraz, it was such a special moment that we were able to share with all our loved ones. Our first dance song was a cover of Elvis Presley’s classic Wonder of You by The Villagers.

ADVICE TO BRIDES-TO-BE

Your wedding is such a special day, my advice to brides is to take small moments throughout the day to take in everything around you and the love that is surrounding you because so much happens on the day it’s nice to just take a moment to take it all in. Most importantly, have fun!

MOST TREASURED MOMENT OF MY WEDDING DAY

We treasured every moment from our wedding day and will always hold the memories very close to our hearts. After 3 wedding postponements due to covid, being able to have our wedding and be surrounded by everyone we love to celebrate our special day was incredible.

FLOWERS & BOUQUETS

For the flowers, I really wanted to create a unique setting with dried flowers and highlight different textures with the contrast of fresh flowers. Rachelle from Wilde Bloem created beautiful arrangements that suited the theme and setting perfectly.

SPECIAL WEDDING SONG

CEREMONY & RECEPTION DÉCOR

For our ceremony, we were lucky to have so much natural beauty in the Maze that we didn’t need a lot of décor apart from the citrus backdrop we were surrounded by lush green gardens and blooming flowers. The reception was beautifully decorated and the perfect balance of soft romance dried textures and pops of colour.

My mom & I wanted to create a feature piece for the wedding and came up with the idea to dry citrus for the main backdrop and to use in the flower arrangements and table décor. After months of cutting and drying all the citrus we could find, we brought this vision to life.

Andrew’s feature item was his bespoke tie that was hand-painted by a dear friend and talented artist. It unfolded our love story in a romantic and special way. Something we will treasure forever.

HONEYMOON

Our Greece honeymoon adventure was put on hold due to Covid but we are looking forward to a trip soon to celebrate & explore a new destination.