The Picturesque Winelands Wedding of Chester & Eliza

Oh, we are super excited to share the Picturesque Winelands Wedding of Chester & Eliza at the gorgeous Boschendal Wine Estate with you. Nestled in between Franschhoek, Paarl and Stellenbosch make this wedding venue the ideal wedding destination for couples wanting to get married in the Winelands. Surrounded by breathtaking mountain views and manicured gardens. We totally understand why Eliza and Chester fell in love with this wedding destination.

Eliza looked so pretty in her beautiful wedding dress. We love the detail on her wedding dress and it works perfectly with the feel of this couples wedding day. Chester’s colourful bowtie and dark suit blend in with the gorgeous wedding decor of this couple’s floral-filled wedding day.

A modern twist on the classical baroque style is how one can describe their gorgeous wedding decor elements. Strawberry Weddings & Events, a celebrated wedding planner specializing in luxury weddings in South Africa coordinated Chester and Eliza’s wedding planning process. We are in love with their wedding decor! It’s so pretty.

Large floral designs hand high from the double volume wedding venue giving an elution of more height and plenty of space. The natural light that flows in from the doors highlights the beautiful wedding table decor. The use of shades of purple, and pink and touches of gold and black is just breathtaking. Although this wedding has a modern feel to it, it is still a classical design. To read more about the picturesque Winelands wedding of Chester & Eliza and their story, please scroll down.

Engagement Story:

It was a cold November night and also my 30th birthday. We were living in Vancouver, BC, Canada at the time I had just finished a difficult month-long rotation during my residency so we decided to keep it a bit more low-key and just do a dinner out at one of our local pizza places down the street. We enjoyed sharing a pizza and a bottle of wine and started walking back home. Little did I know Ches had something extra special planned for our walk back.

I noticed he was trying to take us down a bit of a longer path home through our neighbourhood park, but both our teeth were chattering and so he decided to cut the walk short and head straight back home. Once we made it back inside our warm apartment I started making myself comfortable by snuggling up on the couch. Ches came and sat next to me and started to ask if I’d had a nice birthday and if there was anything else that could make it better. Before I could answer he was down on one knee popping the big question.

Wedding Dress:

I actually went to try on a wedding dress at a bridal boutique in Vancouver and fell in love with one of the first dresses I tried on. Also had my heart set on a different outfit for the reception/evening portion of the wedding and found the second dress whilst at home in Toronto. I had big ideas about adding some details to the dresses and found a fashion designer who made my vision come to life.

Advice to couples planning their wedding:

Enjoy the process! You will undoubtedly feel some frustrations along the way, but try and embrace it all. Remember it’s only one day and a lot of planning goes into it so you might as well make the most of the whole process!! Definitely add elements that compliment both your personalities into your day. This will make the day truly unique.

The Venue:

Ches is originally from Cape Town, South Africa and I have always wanted to get married in an exotic location. The Winelands of South Africa are world-renowned and absolutely breathtaking. Boschendal Wine Estate was perfect for us as it also provided ample accommodation for our friends and family travelling from overseas. It was an obvious no-brainer.

Wedding Colours and Inspiration behind them:

Jewel tones with a dark and moody baroque twist. We were inspired by the designer Erdem and their use of florals as the focal point to give an elevate modern take on a classical baroque style.

The inspiration behind the wedding decor:

The perfectly imperfect whimsical secret garden was the vibe and inspiration behind our wedding decor. I wanted to embrace nature taking over an old abandoned French/English Manor, and bring in elevated baroque theme elements via chandeliers and candelabras. I love the addition of colour via fruit and vegetables delicately layer out to add a delicate exotic feel.

Wedding Cake:

We wanted a unique cake that would complement the whole eclectic/different vibe of our wedding. After selecting a 2-tier wedding cake and the flavours, we left the rest of the design up to the experts. The bottom tier was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting & toasted walnuts and the top tier was lemon poppy & lemon curd.

Musical choices:

We had a harpist and cellist duet play live for the ceremony portion of the wedding. For the cocktails/predrinks we had a jazz vocalist singing. We also opted for a trumpeter to play live alongside the DJ for the reception portion of our wedding. We had our guests provide any song requests through our website.