Farm Wedding
Olive Grove, Beaufort West
♥ ♥ ♥
André and Nicole’s vintage South African farm wedding set at the rustic Olive Grove venue was inspired by their youth spent growing up amongst wide open spaces. Lovers of the great outdoors, the couple longed for a classy wedding wherein they could indulge in their fetish for windmills and DIY projects!
Indigenous flowers, burlap and over 130m of bunting was used to decorate their wedding, which they planned entirely by themselves!
Take a look at their enviable wedding weekend created from scratch captured by Carmen Visser Photography.
Windmills & Bunting Farm Wedding Look
Matching their beautiful nature surroundings, the couple and their bridal party looked stunning in naturals and soft hues of blue and pink.
(Above) Nicole wore an unusual sleeveless lace, silky dupion and tulle wedding gown from the Blue by Enzoani collection. She added a musky pink ribbon to accent her waistline, which also matched her pink peep-toe wedding heels.
(Above Left) From the Fynbos family indigenous to South Africa, Nicole carried a gorgeous Protea bouquet secured with burlap adorned with a mini windmill.
DIY Boutonniere: Nicole made the groom and groomsmen’s boutonnières, which comprised of a little wooden windmill on burlap & ribbon.
Windmills & Bunting Farm Wedding Ceremony
André & Nicole’s Love Story & Proposal
The couple met at work a little more than 4 years ago while working on the same project. After chatting at the water dispenser and coffee machine, they got to get to know each other and after 3 months they went on their first date!
After 3 happy years of dating, André proposed to Nicole on a romantic weekend away in the Drakensberg at the Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse, which had the most beautiful scenery and food to-die-for! The morning after they arrived, André surprised her with a helicopter trip, which took them to the top of White Mountain where he went down on one knee with the most beautiful ring she had ever seen! Needless to say, she was all teary and on Cloud Nine! “I still get a lump in my throat when I think about this day, it was so special, romantic and totally unexpected,” says Nicole.
(Above) Nicole’s dad organised a 1956 Chevrolet as a wedding car, and they were so grateful for this as it made the most amazing photos and fitted in perfectly with their theme.
(Above) DIY Ceremony Arch: They married on a beautiful piece of green lawn. The entrance to their wedding aisle began with a set of wooden doors, which Nicole’s dad made.
(Above) At the entrance to the wedding ceremony, vintage props such as crates, suitcases, burlap and a vintage bicycle frame was stylishly arranged to house the wedding umbrellas for their guests.
(Above) Lucerne bales were used for the guests to sit on at the ceremony.
(Above) Their wedding ceremony program fans carried the windmill and bunting theme.
(Above) Wedding Cornfetti (popcorn) was given to their guests to use as confetti.
Windmills & Bunting Farm Wedding Reception
For their wedding reception, with the help of the guest farm owners, they converted a shed at the Olive Guest Farm into an amazing wedding venue.
(Above) DIY Bunting: For hanging wedding décor, they created 130m of bunting and strung it throughout their wedding reception venue!
(Above) Framed photos of the couple were displayed on a feature wall.
(Above Left) For their centrepieces, wooden tree stumps with a metal frame contained mini glasses with rustic-looking plants and flowers.
(Above) Handmade metal windmill décor was found throughout their reception.
(Above) DIY Flowerboxes: Nicole’s dad created flower box centrepieces for their wedding tables.
(Above Left) DIY Serviettes, Serviette Rings and Under-plates: The serviettes and serviette rings were created from burlap and ribbon with mini rusted wire hearts glued on top of the serviette rings. The under-plates were made from wood, which the couple whitewashed to match the chairs.
(Above) DIY Gifts and Favors: For the wedding favours they wanted something “country like” and homemade. For the ladies, they gave homemade jam, which Nicole’s mother made. For the guys, they created packets of “braai” spices (barbeque spices).
(Above) DIY Dessert table: Nicole’s mother took care of the dessert table, which she filled with all of their favourite homemade desserts such as red velvet cupcakes, “koeksisters”, lamingtons, lemon meringues, peppermint crisp tarts, meringues and toffee apples.
Real Bride, Nicole’s, Top Tips For Bride’s-To-Be
- Planning, planning, planning! – “We planned our entire wedding ourselves, up until the finest detail,” says Nicole. Although a wedding planner would have made planning their wedding much less stressful, they loved the planning! If you find that a wedding planner may be what you need, refer to our advice feature: Do You Need a Wedding Planner? {Wedding Planning Series} to find out more about their range of services and pricing packages.
- Budget – Nicole advises that you try to stick to your budget even though it is extremely difficult!
- Delegate – “Get people to help you as you do not have to do everything on your own,” she says. The couple involved all of their family by giving everyone something to do, make, or organise.
- Get quotes from different vendors and compare them – “Don’t go for the first best quotes shop around,” suggests Nicole.
- DIY projects can also help you save costs – The couple saved a lot by making their own fab wedding favours.
- Use Pinterest and wedding blogs – “I got so much inspiration and ideas from wedding blogs such as Confetti Daydreams, which I followed religiously,” reveals Nicole.
Real bride, Nicole, proves that it is possible to create the wedding of your dreams with plenty of DIY projects and the help of others. Find more vintage wedding inspiration from another of our sweet real brides, this time hosted at a beach location – Handmade Rustic Beach Wedding {Strandkombuis Beach}.
Looks like it was an amazing wedding and beautifully captured by Carmen.
Ongelooflik mooooi! Baie special. Die detail is uitstaande. Well done xx.
Beautiful farm wedding. Wedding fans for programs. Love it.
Beautiful farm wedding. Wedding fans for programs. Love it.
So sweet! Love the little windmill details!
Too cute, right? Love attention to detail like that!