We feature the South African coastline wedding of Ina-Mari & SC at Gourikwa Reserve. It is one of the most unique private reserves along the South African coastline. With five kilometers of pristine coastline. Just imagine how much pretty wedding photographs you can get here! SC asked Ina-Mari while watching the sunset in the Karoo. Ina-Mari first thought it was a joke, but soon realized it wasn’t. The Karoo is such a special part of South-Africa, with the most beautiful landscapes. The Karoo is the South-African word for a Desert.
Enjoy this lovely couple’s coastline wedding with the most beautiful sunset photographs. The talented wedding photographer, Caroline Pinto Photography photographed this pretty wedding. Ina-Mari explained that she planned her wedding on a budget while working. This is great example of how you can plan a wedding while working and when budgeting correctly. For more real weddings from around the world, visit our weddings category. Enjoy today’s wedding feature!
Engagement Story:
My engagement story was a huge secret. My husband said we must go do a quote in Ladysmith. He arranges with my boss that I can leave early and meanwhile he packed everything from clothes to food. I did not suspect anything. When we finally arrive at the cute little cottage in the mountain. He said that we will be staying here for the weekend. We then go for a walk to a little dam close to the cottage with the sun just starting to set.
I walked in front of him and said that the karoo sunset is beautiful today and when I looked back there he was on his knees and said: “what will be more perfect is if I can become his wife”. I thought it was a joke and when I realized he was serious I laughed and cried at the same time and said yes. First, he gave me a wire ring with a huge Diamond on it, till I got the real one.
The story behind your wedding dress:
My wedding dress wat the first picture of a wedding dress I saved on my phone when I was still in high school. When I started to search for wedding dresses this dress kept on popping up. So I just loved the dress from the first time I saw it. It was made through Bridal Inn in George.
Wedding Colours:
Black and wine red. I loved the simplicity of the colors and how perfect and vintage it looked together. I couldn’t decide on my wedding colours. When I went through my pins on Pinterest I saw that almost all the pictures that I had saved included these colours. I chose the black dresses for the bridesmaids because they had the option to wear it again and a black dress is always handy.
Favourite Wedding Memory:
I loved my whole wedding, but what was special is the fact that our entire family and friends came all the way from all over just to spend the weekend with us. That moment when we walked into the ceremony and we saw everybody clapping and cheering was special and then my “husband” said to me we are finally husband and wife.
Honeymoon Destination:
Our honeymoon was a surprise gift from a close family member. He booked the entire trip with my colleague who is sitting in front of me and had to take all the calls while I was in the office. I started to suspect something and a week before our wedding he told us that we are going to Zanzibar because I began to ask too many questions.
Decor Inspiration:
My inspiration was quick and affordable because I worked and had a budget. My mother, mother-in-law and sister-in-law helped me a lot. She is very creative, therefore she did most of the décor. She also did the flowers. I absolutely love flowers and lights. I just gave the idea and they helped me.
Wedding Venue choice:
We have a lot of friends and big families that came from all over. This venue was big enough and perfect to accommodate almost all of our guests. Also, Gourikwa is situated next to the ocean. You can’t travel all the way and not see stay by the sea. This was just perfect.
Wedding Cake Story:
I actually don’t like cake, so the wedding cake was the last thing on my mind. One of my family members bakes the most delicious carrot cake. I asked her to bake lots of cupcakes and just one small cake for the top for us to cut. Cupcakes make it easier for everyone to grab a bite during the evening.
Wedding Service Providers:
Photographer: Caroline Pinto Photography
Venue: Gourikwa Reserve
Make-up: Gabriela Neto
Videographer: Jason Maggot Videography
Hair: Elisia Bosch and Lallie Venter
Dress: Bridal Inn George
Music: Jive Bunny
