Andrea & Jordan

The light captured by Fiona Clair Photography at this destination wedding is so magical you can feel the warmth radiating from the page. Held in the mountains of Greyton, South Africa, super stylish couple Andrea and Jordan had the sweetest outdoor ceremony at The Oaks Estate. The aisle and altar style is utterly immense, with simple yet elegant white and green florals and relaxed intimate vibes. The beautiful florals continue in the reception with an epic greenery installation and ambient lighting. Plus have you seen bride Andrea's protea bouquet yet? It's the stuff of dreams. Now enough of my waffling, I'm sure you're dying to get stuck in now. Enjoy lovely ones, it's a goodie.

Location

Andrea the Bride: When Jordan and I got engaged, we initially didn’t want to have a traditional wedding but as we started researching venues and locations we found The Oaks Estate in Greyton, South Africa and fell in love. I am originally South African and have a lot of family & friends there. Jordan and I travelled together in South Africa in 2012 and he loved it as much as me! After we secured the venue, the rest of the details fell into place. Having a fun and relaxing environment for our friends & family was most important and I think we succeeded in doing so with the activities following the ceremony. These included lawn games, live music, an amazing harvest table, lovely cocktails, beer on tap, and finally a cozy wine tasting in The Oaks Estate’s private cellar complete with biltong (South African dried, cured meat) and chocolate! We had a pre-wedding dinner at my Aunt & Uncle’s house in Greyton that was catered by my cousins. The food was fantastic and allowed our guests, coming from all over the globe, to meet before our wedding day. This really helped to create a fun and intimate environment for our 63 guests!

Dress

My dress was from Union Bridal, which is the most special boutique with beautifully selected gowns. The dress I selected, from Houghton NYC, was the first gown I tried on. I knew right away it was the one. I wanted something simple with that was also interesting and different. My hair pieces were from Luna Bea and the veil I wore was from Sara Gabriel. I wanted something fun and different for my shoes and the ones I chose were Loeffler Randall. Hair & Make-up were done by Mary Gouveia and Saksia. They were lovely to be around and listened to what myself, my mom, sister and cousins wanted.

Grooms Attire

Jordan wore a suit from Armani, Too Boot New York shoes, Ermenegildo Zegna tie and Tom Ford sunglasses and Tiffany Ring.

Venue & Wedding Planner

We had our wedding at The Oaks Estate and the owner of the Oaks also coordinated the day for us. Marianne and her team did an amazing job, she was able to take my vision for the wedding day and make it real. We live in Canada and we planned the wedding from across the world and our day would not have been what it was without the help of all the staff at The Oaks. We also had two nights’ accommodation and lunches and breakfasts at the Oaks. Our families stayed at the Estate which made the weekend extra special. The meals they made were amazing and every detail was perfect including the beautiful flowers in all the rooms!

Colour Scheme/Décor

We didn’t select a specific colour scheme but wanted it to be very natural and full of greenery and lots and lots of flowers! We used gold accents on the cake and cutlery to accentuate the natural colors that we used. My mom and I went with Marianne and selected our flowers from the Oak Valley Estate, which was such a fun experience! Marianne and her team hung beams from the roof in the barn and hung greenery using wire to create the luscious green look that I wanted for the reception. Marianne also made my amazing boutique which was complete with Protea’s (South Africa’s national flower).

Decor & Details

My mom and three of her friends knitted beautiful dish clothes for each guest to take as a keepsake, we paired these with handmade lollipop’s that my sister, Erin, purchased from The Lollipop League in Johannesburg. Jordan’s dad, who is an animator, drew the Protea flower that was on each card joining the dish clothes and lollipops. These created a beautiful handmade touch to the table setting! I purchased small cream gift tags that we used to make the seating chart with, and my mom’s friend helped write the names and table numbers on each card. My sister designed our wedding invitations, which were simple and elegant and echoed the design of our wedding day.

Ceremony

My dad’s Godfather was our officiant. It was very special for us to have someone we know doing the ceremony and who is close to our family. He made the ceremony lighthearted and very loving. He made it very special by reading Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare and added a little lighthearted touch by reading “How Falling in Love is like Owning a Dog” by Taylor Mali.

Entertainment

We used Shout Music Company for our live music after the ceremony, which included a double bass and a saxophonist - this added such a lovely ambiance for the afternoon! They also provided the DJ, DJ Cosher, who kept the dance floor going! We had a family friend, Robyn, sing the Bob Dylan song, Make You Feel My Love while I walked down the aisle. It was such a beautiful touch! My dad prepared a slideshow with photos of Jordan and I during our childhood which was up during the reception!

Food

254 Catering took care of the entire day! I wanted a big Harvest Table with meats, cheeses and delicious spreads and they did a fantastic job of creating this! We also had delicious canapés being passed out, we didn’t want our guests to go hungry! For dinner we had a Caprese Salad with basil and lemon pesto to start and Stuffed Lamb Loin with stuffed smoked kuku carpaccio for the entrée! Our cake was carrot cake on the bottom layer and a cinnamon churro layer on top. My mom and her friend made lavender shortbread cookies that were served with the cake which were delicious! Old Potters Inn provided the beer for the day, the alcohol was provided from Village Vinos and Luten, from the Oaks Estate, made lovely mixed drinks with fresh fruit and Pimms!

Photographer

The amazingly talented Fiona Clair who was so nice and a dream to work with! She captured our day perfectly and made us feel so comfortable!

Videographer

We decided at the VERY last minute (three days before the wedding) to get videographers. We were so happy with our decision, because the day went by so fast and we cannot wait to go back and relive it. Our videographers Mikayla Ellam and Ebert Steyn from Eberty Steyn Films were the most lovely people!