Denbeigh & Paul’s Balloon Adventure

The Proposal

Being a chef, I had always wanted to go to Hartford house to experience Jackie Cameron’s cuisine so Paul planned a weekend away together in the Midlands and in the berg. After an amazing dinner at Hartford house he surprised me with a groupon voucher (it was fake, he made it himself) for a balloon ride the next morning in Winterton. The next morning they were up super early and while they were up in the air enjoying the sunrise suddenly Paul went down in the basket and I thought he had dropped his lens cap but there he was on his knee with an open box and a ring asking me to marry him and of course in my shock I first replied with “what are you doing?” So Paul asked again and then I said Yes! The first movie we watched together was “UP” so a hot air balloon ride was quite appropriate.

Paul designed the ring himself. He spent months looking over pictures and he got the perfect ring made for me. I didn’t even give him an idea of what I liked. He managed to pull me into a jewelry store after he had designed it to check the size of my ring and asked me what I liked and I pointed out a ring similar to mine, he must have breathed a big sigh of relief:)

The Planning

I loved looking at pinterest at all the wonderful ideas out there. Paul was also quite hands on and excited and gave his input too. I had friends and my Mom sending through lots of ideas too. I changed our colour scheme a few times but eventually decided on the pale pink and grey with soft touches of dusty blue. Searching for my wedding dress with my Mom and my aunt was very special too, trying on 50 of them before finding “the one!”

Our invitations were made by our good friend Thomas. Our menu placemats and wedding programs were designed and made by our friends Shirley and Gareth from Freshpress media. My bridesmaid, Debbie made our cake toppers and fingerprint balloon canvas. I did our seating plan frame.

Kim and Jenny from The Flower Shed who did our flowers and decor were so hands on and passionate about what they do. They brought our wedding to life and we had a stress free day knowing they were working their magic.

Lindy from Labola gave us some wonderful ideas and we hired our wooden slices, table runners and Giant Jenga set from them which was a big hit with our guests.

Remember it is yours and your fiance’s day and it must be what will make you guys happy, sometimes trying to please too many people will cause unnecessary stress.

Looking Back

Too many special wedding moments: Getting ready with my bridesmaids and Julz Martin from Nixon makeup was such fun, she made us all look stunning! My Mom putting on the song, “Slipping through my fingers” and her and I having a cry together. My Dad and my brother’s reaction when they saw me in my wedding gown and of course walking down the aisle with my Dad. The way Paul looked at me throughout the ceremony made me feel like a princess and when he messed the sand for our tree ceremony and quickly scooped it back into the jar, his expression was priceless. During our creative photoshoot having a romantic moment together and the horse decided to start munching on Paul’s boutonniere and the DJ, Tyron Smith playing Stukkie van der Merwe without us having requested it. The Kickstands which are a local Durban band were a big hit with our guests too.

People always say your wedding day is one of the best days of your lives and we really had the best time. Being surrounded by so much love is an amazing feeling. Yes, of course there was drama before the day (any couple saying they didn’t argue leading up to their wedding is telling lies) but on the day everything worked out perfectly, even the weather. It only started to drizzle around 8pm when we were all inside. You are so happy to be marrying your best friend and knowing that you now have a partner for life to share your ups and downs is so comforting.

Advice for future brides

On the day of your wedding there is nothing more you can change or fuss over so just relax and enjoy it. The things I would have changed was to have hired a professional videographer, yes you may watch it a couple times after your wedding and then it will sit in your cupboard for yours but one day you will want to pull it out and watch your day all over again. Write down a list of all the photos that you want to be taken. Its one of the best days of your life but there are so many things going on you forget to have those certain photos taken.