We wanted to keep the wedding personal, real and down to earth. I am a wedding photographer and I have been to so many weddings, that the last thing I wanted was a traditional wedding. We love camping and being out in nature, so we wanted the wedding to be outside, but also in a natural setting. We went to look at Beloftebos and immediately knew that was our venue. We both liked the idea of a festive old world carnival with lots of fun and playful elements, oh and with a Karoo farmyard feel to top it off! We thought about the things we loved most and incorporated it into our wedding. We had stalls with ginger beer, candyfloss, popcorn and an ice cream truck. There were lots of picnic blankets and places in the forest for our guests to sit and relax, and even play with games like “kettie skiet” (catapult) – the guys made a stand with some old cooldrink cans that could be shot, this made for excellent fun and great photographs. The dancefloor was outdoors, under the stars with lots of bonfires and the whole forest was lit up by fairylights. Our guests all dressed in “festive” clothes which also made the wedding much more relaxed.

What made our wedding special was that everything was personal and reflected our personalities. We did not do anything by the book but rather tried to be as creative as possible. We made the menus, table plans, signposts, games, table numbers, etc. My mother, aunt and her friend Maurice did all the flowers. I ordered the ostrich feathers from Oudtshoorn for a bit of extra drama. My dress was very special and I could not have asked for better designers than Theresa and Stephen from Gelieft. I told them that I wanted something amazing, different and dramatic and I didn’t want to look like a bride. They made my dream dress and I felt like a princess in it. It was two dresses in one. For the ceremony I had a long dress and then I took the skirt off for the reception and had a whole different look.

My advice? THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX! There are no rules when it comes to weddings. Do the things you love and have fun. Be dressed and ready an hour before the wedding so you don’t have to rush and get stressed. Enjoy the wedding as if you are a guest and dance, eat, party and be merry! Don’t feel obligated to speak to every single person for hours because the day goes too fast. If you can, step away with your partner for a few minutes and just take in what is happening around you.

Make a slideshow with all the ideas for different sections like the ceremony , the flowers , the decor , dresses etc. and then go find them! Look around at second-hand shops, discount shops, your own things at home, etc.

Melissa and Arnold – thank you so much for sharing one of the most inspiring weddings I have ever seen! Big thanks also to Jaco from Just Jack and to Carmen as well – I very much hope to feature more of her fabulous work right here! Check out her blog to see what I mean.

Service providers:

Venue & catering: Beloftebos
Co-ordinator: Just Jack
Photography: Carmen Visser
Bride’s dress: Gelieft
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Oom Gert
Hair & makeup: Caren Blom & Ilse van Niekerk
Stationery: Natasha Dornbrack of Idea Catalyst
Hiring: Hiring4U (021 9032537)
DJ: Dirk Hanekom of Baha Entertainment

How pretty? I love…

Of course, Paperbird don’t just create Origami invitations but there is something really special about the lightness of these designs and the clear effort that goes into origami, that just makes them stand out massively amongst the sea of often uninspiring invitations available.

And it’s not just invitations that Paperbird offer – the range extends to place cards, menus and everything you could need to set the tone for a beautiful day. I’m thinking they would look stunning in an all-white scheme punctuated with super bright accents… soft and modern all at once.

Eve, the creative genius behind Paperbird, told me a little bit more about her designs…

We make each origami invitation by hand in the UK. Each design is created from a crisp cotton organza and hand folded, we then stitch a ribbon to each and add a personalised tag. We can create some bespoke ideas as well which have ranged from microphones to boats!!

We actually also have a very broad range of clients with many from abroad – Australia, France, Italy and America. Our laser cut wish tree has proved very popular since we launched it and is available in wood, card and acrylic starting from £100 for just the tree.

We love wish tree’s here at Rock My Wedding – they’re such a great way of getting your loved ones to leave a message and we think this one is particularly pretty.

Paperbird are currently in the running for an award at the County Brides Awards and if you love them as much as we do, you can cast a vote for them (or your preferred wedding supplier – there are lots of categories!) before June the 7th.

Have you found something unique for your invitations? Do tell, we always love to hear about new paper pretty!

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

P.S. Paperbird don’t just do origami – they actually make stunning laser cut invitations too, so do head on over to the site and have a look round at all their bespoke creations!