Winfrida & Gaston - Sun City Resort

Not only was it a pleasure to plan and design this beautiful wedding for Winnie and Gaston but it was such a joy getting to know them and their kind,joyful hearts during the wedding planning journey. I wish them a marriage full of the same joyfulness,kindness and abundant love.

Rebone & Glory - Green Leaves Country Lodge & Venue

A look Into R&G's Wedding

Hi Friends

I thought i come in for a quick hello and to share a little clip from a wedding we did for Rebone and Glory on the 14th May at Green Leaves Country Lodge in Hartbeespoort . 

My camera happy walk-through at green leaves country lodge & venue

Nothing excites me more than having a wedding a venue for the first time. I will be having a wedding at Green Leaves Country Lodge and Venue in the coming months and it will be a first for me at this venue.

I must say, the beauty here just got me too camera happy :-)

I did not mind waiting for my client who was running a bit late because my view was so peaceful

Lieo and Lebusa

Planning and styling Lineo and Lebusa's wedding felt just like working with friends, simply because i have known these two lovely souls for years. They were a relaxed couple which made their wedding very calm and classy.

 They clearly share a love that is undoubtedly going to stand the test of time.

Lineo's gorgeous,  perfectly fitted dress was the main inspiration behind the overall decor of the wedding

I wish them all the best in their new life together. 

Mint Photography

Thenji's Baby Shower

On the 18th January i got the pleasure of planning and styling my sister Thenji's Baby Shower.

Nothing gave Ebu and I more joy than discovering that our little sister was going to become a mother.

Because Thenji and Molamu are expecting a baby boy, we decided to go for duck egg blue colour and white. 

I just loved these edgy images from Thenji and Molamu's maternity shoot so much, that I just had to incorporate them  as part of the table decor details.  How cool and adorable are their #team Atang     t-shirts? 

I cannot begin to describe how amazing it has been, being pregnant at the same time with my sister. To be able to share this journey with her has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. As  this is not my first rodeo, i swear Thenji consults with me more than she does her own doctor hahahaha!! According to her, her big sister knows a whole lot about pregnancies.

 I am loving every minute of it!!

Of course, the cherry on top is how Ebu is already spoiling these two babies rotten, even before they arrive. I am scared to see how crazy she is going to get when they finally get here

Celebrating the showering of Baby Atang with friends and family made this event much more special.

I know Thenji felt loved

We cannot wait to meet Atang and watch you become what we all know will be an incredible mother!!

2015 A Year in Review

I cannot believe how fast 2015 has come and gone, When the year started i gave it a word to represent my intentions. That word was IMPLEMENT. Even though i succeeded in implementing most of the things i hoped to, i had no idea that 2015 had a word of its own for me, and that word was LEARN.

As an entrepreneur who does what i am so passionate about, its easy to forget that my business is my livelihood and i need to do exactly that..make a living off of it. In the past i had been guilty loving my job and my brides so much that i neglected the business aspect of things. When the year began i was forced to take a thorough  look at my business and what wasn't working and what i needed to do to fix it. Here are a few highlights

 1. I learned that i don not have to figure EVERYTHING out by myself and it is OK to learn from those who have walked the path before me, even though that often means investing large sums it was really vital at this point in my business.  I attended The Rising Tide Summit and The Time and Light Workshop. Although the two were totally different in terms of content and the experience i got. I walked away with extremely valuable information that helped me level up my business.

 I also learned a very important lesson from attending one of these;  Although i did not receive what i had hoped, i learned that sometimes it is through not getting the answers you seek that you truly learn and grow. That experience only forced me to look within myself for those answers, and i gained so much confidence as a wedding planner.

 I am an eternal learner who is never content that i know enough, and i look forward to investing more in myself  in 2016 so i can be the best wedding planner i can be for my clients.

2. In the past years i believed all i needed to do was have a website up that just tells people what i do and throw in a few portfolio pictures. However in 2015 i released that was not a true reflection of how i wanted to connect with my prospective clients. I yearned for a website  that made it easy for couples to understand my services and how this services can help them from the moment they get engaged and to when the say i do, a website that not only shows my creativity but also one that is  authentic and presents  YWE in  an open and  transparent way, and finally a website that does not leave couples guessing and wondering, but provides them with all the information on what to expect when they work with me.
This yearning saw me launching my new website. Although it is still a working progress, the goal is to have all this achieved by the end of February 2016. ( Check out the website then)

3. I refined my Wedding Planning Process to make it easy for my clients to follow throughout our  wedding planning journey. This was part of wanting to make the experience my clients have with working with YWE to be as effortless, transparent yet effective as possible. I have since used this new process on a few weddings and the results far exceeded my expectations. I mostly love how relaxed my brides get during the wedding planning journey  since the use of this new wedding planning process.

4. I am glad creativity can never be used up. When you are a creative, you need to continue creating and honing your craft. I realised that i don't have to wait to design and style a client's wedding to let my creative juices flow and bring my designs to live. From this retalisation, i designed, styled and coordinated my first styled shoot, which i was truly proud of. I hope to do more in 2016.

So what word to i have for 2016 you ask? Well 2016 is looking so exciting it deserves a sentence; "LET IT HAPPEN" i fee like i have spend so many years planning, strategising and implementing, that this year is the year i should just enjoy planning, designing and styling weddings for all the wonderful couples that  i get the honor of working with. This is the year i will just let it all happen.

I wish you a wonderful 2016 and hope that you do more of what makes your heart skip and puts a smile on your face.

Why you need a day of wedding coordinator

Even if you are a type A bride,  who is super organised and have enough time on your hands to plan the perfect wedding; You still need a professional Day Of Wedding Coordinator to ensure that your hard work and plans are executed smoothly, so you can have peace of mind, more time to spend with your guests and a have wedding day that is all round a wonderful experience for you and your guests.

If you are a bride planning her wedding for 2016, i would love to come on board to help you coordinate your big day.
Email: info@yourweddingexpert.co.za for a complementary consultation and for more details.

Don't  forget to download your  FREE Wedding Venue Site Visit Checklist, that i personally created and  use when scouting for the perfect venue for my wedding planning clients. I have made this resource available for you, the bride who is planning their own wedding, in the hope that it will make the process of searching for the perfect venue for your wedding easier. Download HERE

Hello Spring

"A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms."

Rensche Mari Photography

 Spring is here, and flowers will soon bloom. I love a change of season because it reminds me to take a moment, reflect and regroup. Happy spring day everyone.

4 Mistakes to avoid when choosing your wedding dress

Rensche Mari Photography

Your wedding dress is one of the most important purchase you will ever have to make for your wedding. Wearing a dress that does not suit you will only make you feel uncomfortable throughout one of the most important day of your life. Here are a few mistakes to avoid when choosing your wedding dress.

1. Ordering a size you hope to be; Most brides to be have an ideal weight or dress size they hope to be on their wedding day, and because they start eating healthy and exercising to achieve this ideal dress size, they get tempted to order down instead of ordering the size they actually are. Although some brides do end up meeting their fitness goals, most do not. It is better to be stuck with a dress that is a few inches too big (which can be altered) should your efforts succeed, rather than a dress that will not button up because it is too small.

2. Not doing the movement test; As much as it is important that a wedding dress looks good on you, it is equally as important that you move easily in it. It is important to remember that you will be walking, dancing, seating, bending down, turning, looking over your shoulder and lifting your arms  in the dress on your wedding day. It is essential to test how the dress looks and feels during each of this movements before buying it.

3. Ordering from a disreputable place to save money; Where you buy your gown is almost as important as which gown you buy. So be sure to buy from a reputable boutique that has been around long enough. These boutiques are usually trustworthy with experienced staff whose advice will go a long way in helping you choose the perfect dress, and you are usually guaranteed quality.  Ask your friends and family for referrals. 

4. Taking too many people along when going dress shopping; Going shopping for your wedding dress is supposed  to be a fun and exciting event. For this reason, it may be tempting to take all the important women in your life. However taking with you too many people may lead to too many opinions causing unnecessary debate, that will only lead to stress and confusion for you. Take along one or two people whose opinion you really trust and let the choice be yours. 

Time & Light Workshop/Wedding Planner's retreat

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Time & Light workshop/wedding planner's retreat in Clarens Free State.

 The weather in Clarens was really cold, but that did not stop us from having a wonderful getaway. I got a chance to meet amazing wedding planners and photographers.

Great fun was had by all as we created wreaths and worked on a styled shoot

I had the honor of styling a table with my fellow wedding planners Nadia Mangels from Shepstone Gardens and Maxine Dean du Plessis from Milorho Weddings and Events. 

 after an effortless teamwork, i must say, we we were really please with the results. 

We ended the retreat on high note with a beautiful gala dinner. The night was filled with great ambiance, good food and wonderful conversations.

Photo Credit: Rensche Mari