Beautiful mountain views and a romantic garden were the perfect setting for this couple’s big day. Leonie and Ronald invited friends and family to join them for a simple yet stunning wedding in Limpopo.
THE MEET
I was at a church conference with my family on the South Coast and Ronald was on a golf tour with friends. I went for drinks at the same place with my brother. He sat right behind me and made conversation. He took my number and we spoke every day since that night, Ronald made an exceptional effort ever since that day to put me first and keep in contact. For months he tried to come visit me, I live 4 hours away in Tzaneen and he lived in Pretoria however it was not possible as I worked at the hotel and things just didn’t pan out that way. He went on holiday to Mozambique and travelled daily to make a call to contact me somehow. Eventually he put his foot down and bought tickets to Dave Matthews band and insisted I go with him. He drove 4 hours to Tzaneen the day before the concert to come fetch me and brought me back the day after the concert. For the next couple of months he came to visit me each weekend doing the 8 hour round trip! Eventually he moved his business operations closer to Tzaneen and well the rest is history!
THE DRESS
I didn’t really have a set idea of what I wanted my gown to look like except that I wanted lace on it. I gave the designer free reign to design and make what he thought would suit my body. The designer is Gerrit Pienaar and has dressed many celebs and therefore I felt confident that he would do a fantastic job. I didn’t want an overly formal or “stiff” dress as we were having a garden wedding and wanted to blend in with the surroundings.
THE WEDDING
Ronald and I both have a feel for the finer things in life and both from the get go had a distinct idea of what we wanted. We wanted fresh, classy, minimalistic and above all fun! I am fortunate to live in on of the most beautiful places in the country and to top it all to work at the best boutique venue in Limpopo. Kings Walden has the most amazing views, food and all round set up. We planned our wedding around the scenery, everything to highlight the view and beauty of the mountains. We particularly wanted the ceremony to overlook the view and the mountain. Ronald and his best men put up the canopies for the ceremony and the view to be enjoyed by all our guests. This went along with the reception that was in an open nomadic tent. We wanted the ceremony and reception to compliment each other. Due to me being a wedding planner and manager at the venue I knew exactly what I wanted, Ronald made the tables as I wanted long light tables and these were not for rental in our area. The boxes for the succulents we also had made locally. The wedding stationary was an important consideration as it gives a professional feel. Cylie was amazing and literally read my mind and did things exactly how I wanted it. Plated food was a non negotiable and the venue did our food beautifully. For canapé drinks we had a gin bar. We had different types of gins and mixers and loads of different condiments like mint, chilli, orange, lemon, limes etc that guest could infuse into their gins.
Service providers: Venue: Kings Walden; Photography: Andre Badenhorst from Blackframe Photography
Want to share your real wedding with GLAMOUR? Email [email protected] with your top five pics, or tweet us at @GLAMOUR_sa with #GLAMWedding to share!
Click here to see last week’s ‘Real Wedding’ or check out our wedding section for tips, tricks and advice on tying-the-knot.
