ISRA BRIDE // ANNIKA & RUAN

July 28, 2023

ISRA BRIDE // ANNIKA & RUAN

A rustic and heart-warming seaside wedding was perfect for Annika and Ruan who walked down the aisle together to “To the Sea” by Jules Ahoi. With so many moments from her special day to treasure, the bride shared some thoughtful tips for staying present, “Wake up and decide you’re going to make the most of it, no matter what. And that you take time for yourself and your husband to enjoy the day. Don’t worry about anything going wrong, it’s a celebration of your love, not a Superbowl performance, it is supposed to be unique and personal.”

COUPLE’S NAMES

Ruan Kruger & Annika Bremicker (now both Kruger-Bremicker)

WEDDING DATE

22 October 2022

GUEST TOTAL

MARRIAGE TO US MEANS

Committing to each other no matter what. We are each other’s support person and structure but we also both value our independence. We are here to help each other while putting our dreams into reality.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Silverdune Photography (Jude Howell)

THE MOST TREASURED MOMENT OF MY WEDDING DAY

There are honestly too many. But I think going for a quick swim with my girls and chilling on the beach with everyone before getting ready for the actual ceremony was amazing. But the coolest thing was probably that our dog Whisky was our ring bearer and brought the wedding rings down the aisle, OR driving to the ceremony in Ruan’s oldschool mini with the whole wedding party and hear everyone cheer on the dune as we got out of the car, OR… honestly, too many!

WEDDING LOCATION

Strandkombuis, Yzerfontein, South Africa.

HOW WE GOT ENGAGED

I (Anni) actually popped the question after 2 1⁄2 years. My dad asked my mother with a necklace instead of a ring, so I decided to have a necklace made out of an Ocean Jasper gemstone I had at home. We love fortune cookies, so I had custom fortune cookies made that said “Ek is baie lief vir jou, kom ons trou” (Afrikaans for: “I love you very much, let’s get married”). This all happened while I was back in Germany, so I phoned his best friend as well as his parents, whom I asked for permission as well, and got insanely excited before returning back to South Africa.
My actual plan was to propose on Glen Beach where we had our first date, but because we ALWAYS ran into people there, that never happened. So one night I couldn’t wait any longer and lit all the candles I could find in our flat, cooked up a storm in the kitchen, and handed him a fortune cookie after dinner as a “dessert”. His reaction to reading my proposal: “What does YOURS say?!”. Being shocked was an understatement, luckily, not shocked enough to still say “yes!”.

Annika had planned a full day with her best friend to go wedding dress shopping in Cape Town, South Africa. She wasn’t set on anything initially and was seeking inspiration to start with, before getting a friend to help make her own design. After visiting the Bo & Luca studio as her final destination for the day, she slipped into the ISRA gown and just somehow knew that was the one,

“The coolest two-piece that made me feel so incredibly comfortable and like a million bucks, while still 100% like myself.”

BRIDE’S DRESS

Isra gown

WEDDING DAY SCENT

The same scent I have been wearing my whole life (DKNY Be Delicious).

WEDDING DAY ACCESSORIES

The most stunning bracelets I got from my in-laws as well as my maid of honour on the day. A mermaid’s money or Shiva Eye seashell bracelet and a moonstone bracelet. My parents had moonstone and pearl earrings made for me. This was all a homage to our wedding by the sea but also to my engagement ring, which is a moonstone, too.

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES

I only had a maid of honour and she wore an outfit inspired by both me and my groom. It was a two-piece with a lacey and satin top, inspired by my outfit, and a long, burgundy skirt (like the groom’s suit) with a slit and pockets!

WEDDING RINGS

Made by the amazing Mignon Daubermann. She already designed my engagement ring and crafted a wedding ring out of silver and moissanite that I can stack perfectly. Ruan went for a black titanium ring with our initials and the wedding date engraved inside.

HAIR & MAKEUP

Done by myself.

ADVICE FOR BRIDES-TO-BE

Before you start going crazy on Pinterest and talking to friends and family about the day, have a sit down with your fiancé and chat about what YOU guys want. Put down a list of Do’s and Dont’s and stick to them, no matter what. There are so many opinions and traditions that deter from what this day is supposed to be – your day. Also really try and set aside all expectations on the actual day.

FLOWERS & BOUQUETS

We went for seasonal and local flowers by Fabulous Fynbos, so it was a beautiful mix of Fynbos and bunny tails as well as all kinds of wax and penny gum. I didn’t have a bouquet but a flower crown.

FOOD & DRINKS

The amazing staff at Strandkombuis made the most perfect Westcoast Seafood Buffet with home-baked bread, delicious soups, and all the gems of the ocean.

SPECIAL WEDDING SONGS

Our first dance song was “The Night We Met” by Lord Huron.

CEREMONY & RECEPTION DÉCOR

Very beachy and boho. We rented most of our decor from Strandkombuis and added some boho touches with rentals from Souk Rentals. Before the wedding, I collected tons of seashells and boiled them, as well as sprayed them, so we could use them as table decor. We had plain pillar candles and kept the tones very beachy, too.

SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

Pinterest mainly, plus the amazing Betti from Standkombuis sent me a ton of inspiration based on previous weddings they hosted there, so it was easy to put together.

WEDDING CAKE

Still dreaming about this cake from Kanya Hunt. We had a three-tiered wedding cake with an ocean-inspired design. Each tier had a different taste, from chocolate to berry to coconut lime – absolutely heavenly!

FAVORS

A little survival kit with rehydrates, Panados, and sweets. It also had a travel sewing kit for any outfit mishaps as well as a bottle of either red or white wine with a picture of us and our wedding details printed on the logo.