My last few posts I have included words from the bride and Wietske’s story is a must reed! So full of romance and great tips! I hope you enjoy this beautiful mixture of words and photographs!
We met in the vibrant city of Buenos Aires, Argentina while I was on a self-searching quest after finishing University. Not only did I find myself there – but I also found my true love. From the moment I saw Ricardo across the room, I turned to the girl next to me and told her “you see that guy that just walked in? I am going to marry him”. Of course she was laughing thinking I am crazy as I didn’t even know the guy – how could I possibly know?! It was just an instinct – “you’ll know when you know” they say…and indeed. After an eight month stay in the magical city – we grew to be great friends, not taking anything very serious as I was about to move to London that September and he wasn’t planning on leaving Buenos Aires anytime soon. As I left Buenos Aires, I was bawling my eyes out, knowing in my heart that I was leaving my “husband” behind, but it was just not the right time for the two of us. We took a break after that for a while as I travelled a bit and then settled in London. Eight months later he phoned me saying that he moved to Madrid, Spain and if we could see each other. As soon as you could say “presto” I was on a plane to Spain! We had two magical weekends of Spanish tapas and summer sun and we were back on track! I convinced him that London was the place to be and despite his non-existent English and not having a job lined up – he packed his bag and took a leap of faith and moved to London. Well – needless to say – we did get married, four years later…and trust me – it was worth the wait
The proposal – after a three course meal cooked by Mr. Larrandart himself he brought out dessert and to my surprise it was my favourite Argentine cake – chocolate and filled with caramel, however, there was something different to the one he usually makes. It had M&M’s all over it –sort of spelling something I couldn’t make out at first. After a little bit of staring at the cake – I looked up at ricky which at that stage had the little ring box open and popped the question! It was a complete surprise and I was leaving for South Africa for a month three days after that, which in hindsight was well planned by him as it gave me time while in SA to organise the necessities for the wedding.
Tips:
The majority of our guests were from international destinations, so we went green on the invites and the save the dates by making use of a wedding blog. I can definitely recommend it as it keeps the guests up to date on all the arrangements and gives you, the bride, a little rest from the endless phone calls two days before about the dress code or directions. It is also a handy tool to use for any dietary requirements. We used www.gettingmarried.co.uk and it is absolutely free.
On the day just remember that all the people at the wedding are there to support and celebrate your love. Make sure you enjoy it all. We actually attended our own canapés right after the ceremony where we could thank everyone for coming ect , which then saved us precious time in the evening to enjoy the meals and the dancing.
The dress – fortunately my cousin is Susan Ellis-Steinhauser!! She whipped me up a dream dress in no time. I can definitely recommend her (and have) to any bride – those who have an idea about what dress they want and those who don’t!
The week before the wedding we had events every day to entertain the guests, which also gave them an opportunity to get to know each other before the wedding (the ones that have not met each other that is). This also stretched the wedding feeling, which means the stress on the day is not so big. We organized a wine tasting day in Stellenbosch (using Cape Town Shuttles – info@capetownshuttle.co.za), a trip to Spier, visiting Robben Island and the cable car up Table Mountain along with all the other luxuries that the Mother City has to offer. The evenings were filled with entertainment so the guests could sample the best of South Africa.
Dress: Susan Ellis-Steinhauser
Venue: Opstal
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