we are on b.loved!!!!

Cannot believe how EXCITED I am that our little East London wedding was featured on b.loved.

Louise, the stylish and sweet blogger/stylist behind b.loved, gave me so much inspiration for our wedding and I guarantee you will love her blog. It's just so pretty and full of bridal inspiration...
Thanks Louise!


PS: her blog post has a long shpiel that I wrote about our wedding, inspiration and how we made it all happen. Bit of an essay, but worth a read if you want to know more about our day.

our wedding: the ceremony

Nicky and I always knew we wanted to be married in a church. Never mind Bernie and Belle (our mothers) would have killed us both if we had it any other way.

There was a (brief) period when I dreamt about being married under a shady tree with white chairs in neat rows on the grass…like this:

Christine Meintjes Photography

But then I woke up from the lovely dream and realised we would be married in January in the Eastern Cape – a province notorious for its dodgy weather.

First City Baptist was the church I went to as a teen, and where my cousin Don trained to be a minister. It was the perfect choice: a beautiful bronze organ and a lovely long aisle to sweep down with the Dad.

Estefania Romero Photography

Don gave a wonderful sermon with a mountain biking theme that made everyone laugh (great if not everyone in your family is particularly religious).

                                                               Estefania Romero Photography

And, despite forgetting to sing the second hymn, saying our vows in that beautiful church was an awe-inspiring experience.

                                    Estefania Romero Photography 

All I could see was my Nicky in front of me and all I could feel were my cheeks hurting from all the smiling. We chose the old school vows, and it felt like such a privilege repeating those words.  I was so happy with our churchly choice and would recommend it to anyone (and not just to avoid a beating from religious Mamas)!

Next up: Our wedding decor

His Puppiness

Meet Howard John. 

Everyone asks why he has this name, but I mean LOOK AT HIM! He has that kind of old man face that lends itself to an old man name. I know this is a case of everyone thinking their kid is the best, but really….my kid is the best. He is loving and lovable and placid and only tries to jump out the bath once and then gives up and goes on being placid.

The vet tells me he is known as a “party colour” dog. Basically this is a nice way of saying he is a Cocker Spaniel, but with every colour combination known to man…black, golden, blue roan, orange roan, white…the combo is too cute. He is pleased to meet you.

coastal girl

So it’s been two weeks since we moved to the coast. In this time we have:

• Got a puppy (more about His Puppiness later)
• Transplanted our girls (bunny and cat) to a new home, with many murderous looks from the cat
• Waged an ongoing battle with fleas
• Unpacked our belonging into our gorgeous new house, complete with pool and an actual bona fide suburban garden my dears
• Got sick, me more so than The Husband
• Started a new job in a new industry in a new field
• Got our wedding photos and DVD (more on that later too)
• Took His Puppiness to the beach and were chased by the Metro police
• Exploded a snackwich machine, shorted the entire electrical system in our new house and found that the wiring was dodge and the explosion could’ve been avoided if the electrician had just come one day earlier
• Felt decidedly depressed because our awesome friends Tam and Pete are getting married on Sunday and we cannot be there :(
• Got Internet at home!!!

Right so that about covers all the mayhem and upheaval. Now for some serious settling down and exploring our new city and PEACE.

Pretty pretty flowers courtesy bloved

I don’t belong here

So today is my last day in the place I have called my employment for the last 3 plus years. The relief is enormous. Because...I really REALLY don’t belong here. And it shows.

This means I will be incommunicado for the next week or so, as the husband and I move our happy asses down to the coast. I’m sure you’ll survive without me, safe in the knowledge I am taking destiny by the nuts and a-changing it.

Tomorrow the movers come and use an enormous amount of our money to move the contents our tiny tiny flat. Preferable to me standing around with a feather duster, having a nervous breakdown because I just can’t decide where to pack all my Marian Keyes.

Happy Kate to follow...

shoe addict's dream

Life has been a bit hectic, apparently moving your entire life (plus husband and bunny and cat) 700km’s is rather a big deal.

Good news: our wedding DVD is ready. Bad news: Mom still has to courier it to our new address. So at least a two week wait. I am so excited to see it all again, in Real Time instead of superquick Wedding Time. Will let you know the extent of the tears as I revisit the best day of my life so far.

In other news, I saw the coolest thing on Cup of Jo this morning. It’s a website where you can design your own shoes! Called Milk and Honey. Look at what I created in about two minutes:

It’s every shoe addict’s dream! You can literally bring your shoe dreams to life. Ground breaking.

Our wedding: The Dress

Oh how I loved this baby. Like a fat kid loves cake. Like a warthog loves his bendy knees. Like Kate Middleton loves Jenny Packham. Like Victoria Beckham loves suffering for fashion...OK you get the picture. 

Even when she was giving me back fat and was covered in sand and gave me hot flushes that would rival any menopausal Mom.

I knew having a dress with six different layers of material was not a good plan in African midsummer. You heard correctly. Six! Just like I knew waiting 18 months to get married would be less than ideal. But I fell in love at first sight.

This is what she looked like on a model in the brochure:

Thanks Bride & Co.

 And on me:

Thanks Steff

Very different yes?! Proof you must try something on before you decide it’s not for you. Check my Finding the Dress post for more wonderful wisdom on wedding dresses...