Tuesday 22 December 2009

It's a nice day for a white wedding

The wedding was beautiful!!

Almost everything went off without a hitch - when you plan something that elaborate something is bound to go slightly off plan but as long as it's nothing major you count it as a victory. Especially if most of the small things, the bride wasn't even aware of.

She looked lovely of course and the ceremony was beautiful, I admit I wiped away a little tear or two. The weather was gorgeous, the hall looked fantastic, the food was scrumptious and the newlyweds looked nausiatingly cute and in love.

The next day all the family and a lot of friends all went for a picnic at Boschendal wine estate, which was also superb. After that, Liana and Louis went off for a little pre-honeymoon break. You see, so many friends and family have come from far away, they didn't want to jet off immediately so they took a few days for themselves and they'll be joining us at my parents' home in Velddrif tomorrow, together with the inlaws and some of my family and we'll all have Christmas together.

Steve and I fly back to Johannesburg on the 27th, then our first priority will be to find somewhere to live.

If I don't update before then, hope you have a lovely festive period spent with loved ones and good food.

Thursday 17 December 2009

Long time no see

Sorry I haven't updated in a while!! We've been very busy with wedding stuff and planning for all the family that are coming to visit and having a hen party. For example, my cousin who just asked me why I haven't updated my blog in so long! So this one's for you, Jasper!

The hen party was a lot of fun, although I felt quite... tired... the next day. I think my sister enjoyed it though.

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary so we escaped for the afternoon to our favourite restaurant in the area, Pearly's. We don't usually do presents but we walked past a bookstore that had beautiful collections of books, so we bought each other the complete Sherlock Holmes collection, a Dickens omnibus, the works of the Bronte sisters and the works of Jane Austen. Yay impulse purchases!

Everyone is of course very much looking forward to the wedding and I'm pleased to note my sister doesn't look too stressed out. Most of the arrangements are going smoothly too, a few hiccups but nothing of too much importance.

Well that's as much as I can think to tell at the moment; I'll start putting wedding favours in boxes in the garden now I think.

Monday 7 December 2009

There's no place like home

It's great being here at my parents'. The only downside is that Steve is still in Jhb but I'll be seeing him this weekend so I'm looking forward to that.

There's a lot still to do for the wedding but stupidly I left all the bits I bought for it in England with the other bridesmaid Erika to bring in her car (my sister and I flew and our baggage allowance would never have accommodated it all). She's arriving this weekend too, it's just a pity she has all the things that still need to be worked on and now I'm sitting here on the other side of the country twiddling my thumbs! For example, there are 130 flat packed favour boxes and lids that need to be folded. Oh well, we'll find a way.

Otherwise it's just eating good food, drinking lots of wine and chilling in the sun by the pool with three of my favourite people in the world. It's such a blessing to be in the same country as them again, we're a close family and the distance has always been hard on all of us.

I got my first sunburn on Saturday; my mother and sister kept warning me about the sun but frankly, even though I am usually extremely careful about the sun, I was sick and tired of being ghostly pale. So now I'm slightly red but that should fade to a decent brown soon.

Thursday 3 December 2009

Home sweet home

I had been in Johannesburg for a week, which was nice. I saw Steve again, viewed a few houses (none that took), fitted my bridesmaids dress (looks beautiful!), and found some great bridesmaids shoes with my sister and the other bridesmaid, Erika.

Then my sister and I flew down to Cape Town and spent two days in the city meeting with wedding providers. It went really well and everything is going according to schedule and plan for the wedding.

Then we came to Velddrif where my parents live, about 150km north of Cape Town on the West Coast. It's LOVELY being home. Now we're just resting, doing wedding things over the internet, and doing fun little bits like putting ribbons around things.

There are still things that need doing before Steve and I are settled in, but that's a whole different post.