Today we share with you Alecia and Ruan's Nutcracker Wedding, just outside of Parys in the Free State. Earlier this year we shared the E shoot of this lovely couple and we thought a follow up feature would be ideal. What we love about Alecia is that she thought very hard about every aspect of her wedding. The botanical theme is not a new concept to the wedding industry, but the way she executed her version of this theme is simply magnificent. We would even go as far as saying, a trend is reborn!

Photography: Splendid Productions | Flowers & Décor: Metliefde Blomme

Lovebirds | How did you two meet?

I wish this story was a little less cliche to make it more believable, but we fall into that
Nicholas Sparks category of "love at first sight, high school sweethearts".
We met almost 9 years ago - 26 September 2006 - on a bus...on our way to a school/
church camp. We were so young, but I can remember we both felt "this is it." Clearly...it
wasn't just infatuation.

Have a look at their wedding video by Pink Flower Productions:

I said Yes | How did the proposal go down?

I had only mentioned to him once that I wanted something simple, just between us. No
family or friends or flashmobs. My only requirement - it had to be on the beach. Early
2014 he told me that we had been invited to a wedding at the Oyster Box. We made a
road trip out of it. He played it quite cool, making phone calls to friends to hear what
time the wedding starts. When we arrived at the hotel, he told me we weren't there for a
wedding. We went down to the beach (dressed all black tie) where he got on his knee and
proposed. Happiest moment of my life! Afterwards: dinner on the Oysterbox terrace was
served!

The Big Day | Tell us the most memorable moment of your wedding day?

Oh there were so many! But for me, what stood out most, was when I had just walked
down the isle and we opened the ceremony with an acoustic gospel song. One of my
favorite bands were there - Kaleidoskoop - and they led the church in worship. It
grounded the whole day. There was so much peace, joy and grace in that moment.

I Quote | Describe in one sentence your wedding day

A day of filled with with so much laughter, peace, beauty and love that you could sense
God's grace

Forever & Always | Any advice for future brides

My struggle during the planning phase was accepting my choices. I had so much doubt
every time I decided on something, be it the dress, flowers, table runners etc. It mostly
came from looking at too many blogs and spending too many hours on pinterest.
Although these sources offer valuable guidance, they often create unrealistic
expectations (especially when on a limited budget) and cast doubt by constantly
promoting new trend (I started planning in 2014 when I decided on soft beaded
tones...imagine my doubt when marsala was announced as the colour of 2015?! I wasn't
even aware that something like this existed)

My advice would be to just stay true to yourself and avoid feeling the pressure of
changing trends. Create a moodboard and stick with what you find beautiful. That's what
I did and perhaps the biggest compliment I received from my closest friends in doing so
was that the day "looked like me".