PALM SPRINGS BRIDE // PAULA & JACQUES

December 12, 2021

PALM SPRINGS BRIDE // PAULA & JACQUES

Near to Prince Alfred Hamlet in South Africa, at the beautifully rustic Elim Ceres venue, Paula and Jacques were married amongst their dearest loved ones, and bohemian decor that even complimented the bride’s gown.

The couple met at a mutual friend’s wedding, needless to say, love was in the air from the get-go! Down the line, on a weekend full of weddings and celebrations, Jacques suggested taking another route back home to stop at a spot where they had always wanted to for a quite brunch after a busy weekend. They went to Bosjes farm to look around the breathtaking gardens, admiring the scenery and walking to the top of a hill. Once she’d reached the top, Paula turned around to share her astonishment with Jacques who was bent down on one knee.

COUPLE’S NAMES

Paula and Jacques du Bois

WEDDING DATE

24 April, 2021

GUEST TOTAL

100

WEDDING LOCATION

The wedding venue was Elim Ceres Venue – close to Prince Alfred Hamlet in South Africa. We looked for a place that really reflected our personalities and then we found it – super rustic and just like we imagined.

MARRIAGE TO US MEANS

Finding your best friend and experiencing life together and making a commitment to each other in front of God. Choosing each other daily, in every wild adventure and circle of life.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Kilig Photo

MOST TREASURED MOMENT OF MY WEDDING DAY

As we decided to get married before our wedding celebration day, we did not have a lot of stress on the day. However, when Jacques cried again when I walked down the aisle the second time, was so special. Seeing everyone who are very special to us having a good time and celebrating with us – that is the moment we will cherish.

The bride searched a few places, trying on wedding dresses but initially couldn’t find one that resonated with her personality, until her sister mentioned that she’d tried on Bo & Luca’s gowns a few years back, and had absolutely fallen in love with the place. They made an appointment and after trying on the first gown, Paula knew it was the one, “Funny enough, my sister tried on this exact same dress a few years ago and she was obsessed!”

BRIDE’S DRESS

Palm Springs Dress – Bo and Luca

WEDDING DAY SCENT

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER – Classique

This was the perfume that my gran used to wear – so it was super special.

WEDDING DAY ACCESSORIES

The beautiful Palms Springs dress is super detailed at the top, so I did not have to many accessories.

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES

I did not have a set theme for them. I wanted my bridesmaids to all be comfortable in what they were wearing, so I just gave them a colour and told them to get something that they would love to wear again!

WEDDING RINGS

Cape Diamonds

HAIR & MAKEUP

Sunita Steenkamp MUA – I wanted the natural/effortless look and she did a great job!

ADVICE FOR BRIDES-TO-BE

As cliché as this may sound, please don’t stress about the small things at the wedding. The day is all about you, your other half and celebrating the two of you together with all your favorite people. No one will even know if something you planned is not there or not the idea you had in mind. Also, plan this day together, as a couple and not only focusing on your idea – again, it is about both of you!

FLOWERS & BOUQUETS

A special friends mom made these spectacular little creations for us – we absolutely loved them! A special shout out to Emma Knoetze, you have great talent!

FOOD & DRINKS

Elim Ceres Venue

We had some great canape’s and cheese boards that the venue made for us. For the mains we had very traditional South African food – “rys, vleis en aartappels” All food were done by the venue and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

SPECIAL WEDDING SONG

Walk in – You make my dreams

First Dance – Lanco – born to love you. When we met and realised that both of us are very much into country music, we knew that this was going to be a big vibe on our wedding day! We were one of the lucky couples whose wedding had to me postponed 2 times due to Covid, and even as the time passed, we still chose that song.

CEREMONY & RECEPTION DÉCOR

The venue was so exquisite that we didn’t want to take away from that by crowding it with décor. The décor was kept very minimalistic. The venue had a lot of floor rugs that we used, along with numerous pampas, dried flowers, and candles, it created the perfect vibe – bohemian theme that complimented my lovely dress so well!

FAVORS

We had some small bottles filled with “witblits” for each guest. We made a label so that these who wanted to take them home, could use it at a later stage. We have a special family tradition that everyone could participate in on the wedding evening – always fun and big laugh!

SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

With the initial wedding date in 2020, the picture I had in mind was totally the opposite of we finally had at the wedding celebration. From greenery and white fresh flowers – to dried flowers, pampas and rugs. I looked at the venue that we chose and asked myself what I could do to reflect our personalities / make this unique to us.

HONEYMOON

As travelling abroad was unfortunately not on the table for us, we did a trip in South Africa – going all the way from the Karoo, Garden Route and ending off at the most Southern Tip of Africa – Cape Algulhas. We realised that there is still so much to see in our own country, and we loved exploring locally.