From the very beginning of this romance, Corné showed determination to win the heart of his future bride.
Nicola shares their story:
"Corné and I met while we were still at university. At that stage he was in his final year and I still had two years to go. I was having an afternoon nap when my friends woke me up and said there are these guys downstairs for me. When I came down Corné was on one knee in a suit with a bunch of flowers with one of his friends. He impressed me so much with his courage that I immediately liked him! He proposed while we were on our first ever diving trip in Kosi Bay (South Africa) with his parents. He woke me before sunrise and took me to the nature reserve at Kosi Mouth. To my surprise he arranged beforehand for a permit and for an early entry into the reserve. He proposed just after sunrise while we were having coffee on the beach!
When it came to wedding attire, I knew I wanted a feminine and elegant lace dress from the Rosa Clara range. And then I stumbled upon Odisea from Rosa Clara and I knew this is the dress I wanted with the most beautiful long trail. Corné looked astonishingly handsome in his suit and bow tie and the groomsmen with their poor boy caps. My bridesmaids were stunning and I let them each choose their own dress design and accessories they preferred.
We knew we wanted to get married at Green Leaves Country Lodge in Hartbeespoort, South Africa because it has this perfect Italian farm-style feel to it with beautiful gardens. We got married in early January on a very hot summer afternoon. One of my favourite moments of the day was when I walked down the aisle to "Now we are free" composed by Hans Zimmer for the Gladiator soundtrack, which is one of our favourite movies. My father passed away when I was very young and my older brother walked me down the aisle which was also very special to me. The way Corné looked at me just made me excited for the life that we were going to be sharing together!
I wanted a simplistic yet elegant feel to my wedding and I wanted all our guests to enjoy themselves in a relaxing atmosphere with lots of candlelight and laughter! My very talented mother-in-law created our wedding cake, which was a three-tiered cake in the form of gift boxes! We did some DIY for our wedding by making our own table names, as well as our table placements.
"My advice for other brides would be to just enjoy it and not to get stressed about too much detail, especially the day of your wedding. Decide beforehand what is important for the two of you on your wedding day. And remember you're there to share the love you have for each other so don't get too caught up with things that may go wrong, it will work out. So relax and enjoy it, it goes by so quickly!"
Thank you, Nicola, for the peak inside your wedding album. We wish you and Corné a very happy marriage!
Photography by Marius at Sagely Photography. Nicola’s favourite site for inspiration: Style Me Pretty.
By Ingrid Szajer
Anonymous Buyer