I’m not sure there is a wedding backdrop more beautiful than the plains of South Africa. And when Ulrike and Dirk started to plan their September wedding they knew that a farm backdrop was perfect for them. “We decided to have a farm theme seeing as our wedding was held at a farm”. began the bride. “I was infatuated with the idea of a barn wedding.”

“We decided to make everything ourselves, and that nothing should be matching. We wanted our wedding to be very informal and mainly just see it as a fun party. People sat where they wanted and while some people ate, others were watching the band or playing Foosball.  We just included whatever we thought was pretty. It didn’t matter if it matched or not.”

The weekend-long wedding was held at The Cowshed, a farm in Lydenburg. Their bridal party was also able to say there with them and help with the set up too. “All our groomsmen, bridesmaids and their partners stayed with us on The Cowsheds premises”, she continued. “The night before the wedding we were all hanging up decorations, friends came and asked what to do with the Chinese lanterns, I told them to hang them where they thought they looked good. When I walked outside I saw my friends climbing into the ‘ceremony tree’, they decided to hang the lanterns there. It was their idea and we loved it!”

“We made sure we had loads of pretty things but none of these had a particular placement. Our friends all decided and decorated. It was like a group effort wedding. Everyone had fun and everyone made it happen with us, our wedding could not have been more perfect. Everyone being involved made it personal and special, for them and us.”

“One of my favourite things about the wedding was how relaxed it was but also that we chose our favourite meal (burgers) for meal and for dessert we had an ice cream bar”, she concluded. “We even had sugar cones, wafer baskets and loads of toppings and chocolate and caramel sauces! A friend of ours actually made the ice cream (peanut butter, marshmallow, rocky road, bubble gum and honeycomb) which made it really special. We also loved that everyone could move around and hang out with other friends or play games as they pleased. In other words, that everything was informal and relaxed. Oh and the open bar of course!”