Emma & Willie {A Vintage Romance}

When Emma and Willie met at university in 2008, she started dating someone else. But Fate wound their paths back toward each other and, as Emma says, "the rest is history"...

                  

{How We Met}

Willie and I met at the University of Pretoria through the wonderful phenomenon known as RAG. My day house "ragged" with his res, and we met during one of the many different events that go along with it. At RAG I actually met someone else and we started dating. After a very short romance, as many RAG romances are, we broke up and I was really not out looking for anything. My best friend and flat-mate was, at the time, dating another guy in the res and I would tag along when she went to visit sometimes. Willie lived across the hall from her boyfriend and I would often go hang out with him and another friend from the same corridor. During this time Willie started paying more and more attention to me and eventually, on the 10th of May 2008, we started dating.

       

{How He Proposed}

In 2010 we were living in two different countries - I was in South Africa, and Willie was in Namibia. During on of his visits in April he decided he was going to make me a breakfast with all the stuff he couldn't get in Namibia, so he dragged me out of bed to Woolies to get everything. We used to always eat the triple chocolate dessert together while we were still studying, and he insisted we buy it as dessert for breakfast - which at the time I thought was madness!

After breakfast, while I was clearing everything away, Willie started prepping dessert. He was going on behind my back about "garnishing dessert", and I remember thinking to myself "this dude is crazy for wanting to put parsley on pudding". When I turned round, he was hovering, not knowing whether to get down on one knee, holding a ring box. He asked if I would marry him, opening the box upside down. Of course I said yes! Through happy tears we called our family and friends and told them we were getting married.

       

{Our Wedding Day}

We married on the 8th of January 2011. I always wanted to get married in a church with a centre aisle. When we started planning and looking at venues, this was at the forefront of my mind. When we found our reception venue at the Pretoria Zoo, I wasn't too crazy about their chapel. Since the zoo is in the centre of the 'historical district', I drove around one Sunday afternoon looking at the churches that were close by.

We stumbled upon Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church, and when I walked in the door I knew immediately that it was the place. It had all the amazing Old World charm and vintage feel we were going for, and that all-important middle aisle! The church was very accommodating to all our ideas and it turned out as beautifully as I imagined. We got married in the morning, and the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows was a sight to behold! 

    

Our reception was held in the Waterhole Venue at  the Pretoria Zoo, which overlooks the waterhole enclosure housing all the antelope. With its wooden tables and chairs, it seemed to fit perfectly with the feel we were going for.

We chose our decor to fit my dress (which I found before I was even engaged!) - a stunning ivory dropped waist lace / embroidered dress from Morgan and Brown. The dress had a vintage feel to it which then became the launching point for decor and design decisions. We chose a colour scheme of ivory, old gold, browns and black.

We ordered our flowers wholesale and the day before the wedding called in all our reinforcements to help out! My mom did the initial arrangement and it was set out as an example for everyone else to follow. We used polystyrene top hats (which we painted and added ribbon to) as our vases to compliment our vintage theme. I used the left over paper from our invitations to make table numbers, as well as the beautiful seating chart which my amazingly talented cousin helped us design.

{Your Favourite Moments}

Our wedding day was amazing and I enjoyed every minute. My favourite part was getting married to the man of my dreams.

   

{Advice For Brides-To-Be}

DIY! You can have a fantastic day on a budget and there are many talented people in your family circle. We had friends help us put our invites together, my mom did the flowers, I had special friends sing items, and my fantastic maid of honour even painted the tree for our fingerprint guest book as her wedding gift to us. Not only does this save costs, but it allows your extended circle to feel like they have a part in your special day.

Don't give up if the first venues you like are outside of your budget or already booked. There are many unorthodox places that host functions and they often end up being more open to customisation if you ask.

Think outside of the box! We got married at lunch time, which cut our costs dramatically. It also meant that a lot of our guests stayed for the whole reception, instead of leaving early to avoid getting home late. We also asked the venue to swap the dessert option for a starter and used our wedding cake as dessert. We transferred the arrangements from the church to the reception to save on costs, and bought our bridesmaids dresses at Woolworths for less that half of what the boutiques were asking. And they can be worn again!

{Suppliers}

{Ceremony} Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church

{Reception and DJ} Pretoria Zoo

{Flowers} Pretoria Flower Market - arranged by my wonderful mom and team

{Decor Design} Devine Details

{Cake} Suzanne Crozeir

{Photography} Genevieve from Blaw Photography and my good friend Marno

{Dress} Morgan & Brown

{Bridesmaids} Twist @ Woolworths

{Groom's Suit} Phofls (Windhoek)

{Groomsmen} Edgars and Truworths Man

Emma is a budding wedding and event planner - expect big things from her in the future!

{Go like her page on Facebook - Devine Details - and check out her website!}