DIY Beach Wedding at Grootvlei by Ronel Kruger

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Considering how amazing our beaches are in South Africa, we get relatively few beach weddings submitted to SBB so I'm always thrilled to see a lovely one, especially when it's a down to earth, toes in the sand West Coast affair like Jaynie & Rudi's was. This wedding goes beyond in the DIY category thanks to a super creative bride and her family - even the wedding dress was a labour of love. All that time spent creating something special and meaningful makes this aspect go far beyond the wedding day, because you also get memories that last a lifetime, long after the fabric has faded and the flowers have died. And that's really what this wedding business is about isn't it? The love, first and foremost. Ronel Kruger was on the scene to capture these lovely pics of Jaynie and Rudi's big day.

Love Story

Wedding DetailsA very special part of décor to me was also the glass buoys that Rudi had collected some years ago, that he hung from our ceremony arch to form part of the look and also his personal touch to the décor. At the reception, instead of champagne glasses, the guests had their own personal mini champagne bottles with striped straws to add a bit of quirk. Each guest got a Lotto ticket on their side plate, saying "we are lucky to have you" :-)

DIY Elements
Did someone say DIY? That was one of the most important factors to me of the day. I come from a very creative family and attention to detail is very important to me. It was also a big thing for me to be able to bring everyone closer together by helping each other to try and do as much as we could ourselves. I made all the wedding stationery from invites to menus. Our programs doubled as fans and to help with the sun. My mom made little bags that we filled with biltong and droewors for canapés (they have a butchery). We mixed all the cocktails ourselves and had them in vintage jugs and beer on tap for the guys. My cousin did all the calligraphy and made sure everything went smoothly on the actual day. Our two aunts made the most unique wedding cakes from scratch!

I knew what I wanted and I always knew I was going to make it. Just like my mom made her own on her wedding day 30 odd years ago and her grandmother made her mom's gown. I wanted to keep it in the family, but also knew my style and taste.

The most important part to me was to feel super comfortable and beautiful at the same time. I wanted my dress to be able to transform from a long wedding dress to a comfy party dress for the reception, but still be one dress. It had to be beach friendly and also reflect my personality, be casual enough but still make a statement. I believe your wedding dress is one of the key pieces that tells your story, who you really are, what makes you beautiful. I wanted it to be sheer and to be made from exquisite lace. The hardest part was finding the material... Of course I had my heart set on lace that is not available in South Africa, so I had to create the lace myself. I went all the way to the Free State to my parents' house for a week, so my mom and I could make my dress together. We made the bridesmaids' dresses in three days and mine in four. It was so special to me being able to work on it with my mother. That's a moment I will cherish forever. On the day, I had the great privilege of wearing the same flower crown that my mom made and wore 30 years back on her wedding day. That was so special to me and it truly complemented the whole look and style.

Advice for Future Brides & Grooms
The video Spend the extra on a good photographer! That is the only area where you can not skimp!
Make sure your day is all about what you and your person love and enjoy and want to create, and no one else!
If you are on a tight budget, try and do as many things possible yourself or include friends and family.
And last but not the least, don't worry about trend and what the bridal mags say! Do what makes you happy and decide what is important to you and your person and try to achieve that! Don't worry about what guests will think, for some people tea candles decorated in driftwood is much more stylish than a very expensive chandelier with no personality ;-)
Have fun, enjoy planning and DON'T stress because stress helps no one!
My mom was amazing, she jumped in and there is no wedding planner that could do a better job. She made the table runners and table décor, metres and metres of bunting. Planted all the succulents used as décor and she and her friend made an amazing ice cream bar with all the toppings you can imagine. I said what I wanted and she was on it! My dad also did sooo much. He made little boats from driftwood with lace sails. He cut beautiful wood slices to form part of the décor and cake stand and planted each and every guest's plant into their own pot. The ultimate DIY for me of course (being a designer) was to make my wedding dress and my two bridesmaids dresses. My mom also made her dress and the flower girls' outfits.
The ice cream bar was also amazing and really brought everyone together and added a fun element, along with the mobile photo booth that my MOH gave us as a wedding gift. Everyone had such a blast in the booth - it was never empty.
We wanted to give our guests a useful gift. So we decided to combine name placements with wedding favours. Every guest received a small pottery pot with a succulent in it and their name on it. My aunt, who has a pottery factory, made all the little pots, my mom started planting succulents the moment we got engaged and my cousin helped me to write all the guests' names in a unique font. They were a hit!
I was also in love with our wedding cake. Both our aunts make amazing cakes, so we asked them to do a combo. The big one had two fishes kissing and each guest got their own tiny wedding cake with tiny fondant succulents and cacti. At the ceremony, each couple also received mint and coral cookies in the form of fish, saying "Two less fish in the sea".
We met at a mutual friend's house party. It was one week before school started and he was on his way to varsity. I was 18 and about to start my matric year and not looking for love, but after we got to know each other that night I knew I was going to love him forever :-) He was exactly what I was not looking for, a total opposite of myself, but a complete breath of fresh air! He took six months to ask me out.. six months after that I also moved to Bloemfontein and started varsity. A year later, he moved to Cape Town and we dated long distance for more than four years. It was a long and hard couple of years but it made our relationship rock solid. After I finished my studies and a couple of internships, I finally moved to join him in the most beautiful place, Cape Town.

The Flowers
I always knew I wanted king proteas on my wedding day. They have been my favourite flower since I can remember, so nobody told me that Feb was not their season at all. So we had a lot of succulents and had to make a plan. I must admit, I kind of left the flowers to the last minute. So my MOH was on damage control and we decided to go to the famous flower market in Adderley Street the Thursday before the wedding. Before we went we saw the most beautiful protea and fynbos bouquets at Spar, believe it or not. So I took ten! At the flower market, which is amazing BTW, I found a lot of extra proteas, along with amazing eucalyptus and paired them with white lilies. The lilies were closed at the time and we prayed for them to open in time for the wedding day and also at the same time not die before then. My car was loaded to the roof with wedding flowers and my poor MOH was sneezing the whole three hour drive, but the flowers looked amazing and really tied everything together. My mom, gran and gran's sister jumped in the wedding morning and did all the flower arrangements like pros!

You can see more from this wedding on Ronel Kruger's blog.

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DIY Beach Wedding at Grootvlei by Ronel Kruger

DIY Beach Wedding at Grootvlei by Ronel Kruger

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