Countryside weddings are always a brilliant idea. Liezel and Ruan got married at The Barnyard Lodge outside of Ermelo in Mpumalanga. This couple had a beautiful countryside wedding at the perfect time of year. February is raining season on the Highveld and the area is stunning that time of year. Izelle Labuschagne captured the wedding day beautifully and she is sharing this wedding on the blog today.

{I Propose} - Elaborate on how the two of you met or on how the proposal went down.

Ruan and I went to the same small town high school. In grade 9 Ruan asked me to be his girlfriend, we were both seventeen years old at the time. Seven years thereafter we started talking about getting engaged. Ruan planned a romantic weekend away at Jozini Tiger Lodge outside Pongola, I suspected that he was going to propose, so I went through his bag before we left and found a little red box, which I realized had the ring inside. Despite being extremely excited and curious as to what the ring would look like, I did not open the box. That part I wanted to be a surprise. So I waited patiently. Ruan decided to propose next to the St Lucia estuary just after sunset. I have never seen him so nervous; asking a question that he without a doubt knew the answer to. I said yes, and so it started.

{Bride & Prejudice} - Express some memorable experiences you had during the planning.

We enjoyed the planning of the wedding so much. The whole family was involved - especially my mother-in-law. She loves planning parties and she is also very creative. I changed my mind a lot though - not about getting married - but things like the venue. I had my mind set on every venue we went to see and eventually we found the perfect one.

{My Fair Wedding} - Describe an event that you feel was unique or even funny.

My brother wanted to sing for us at the reception. We were skeptic though as none of us ever really heard him sing before. But we agreed. The DJ however did not have the back tract to the song he wanted to sing, so they played the original song - and when he started singing the first line all we could hear was the original artist's voice coming through. All of our guest though that it was a joke and started laughing. But then suddenly the DJ turned down the volume of the artist and we could clearly hear the voice of my brother, and he danced and sang and gave an amazing show. So everyone joined in and started dancing around him. It was lovely. He even held the microphone towards me to sing a line, and I thought ' well if he can sing, so can I, we share the same genes' - we unfortunately then found out that gene did not reach me.

{Don't Tell The Bride} - Reveal something that happened behind the scenes.

As I was getting dressed by my bridesmaids, one of the buttons of my dress fell off. We could not leave it that way as it would be noticed. I tried to stay calm. Luckily there was a sewing kit placed in our dressing room by the hotel - and the bridesmaids speedily sewed the button back on.

{No More Wedding Woes} - Share your wedding advice for future brides.

Enjoy the planning of the wedding; share it with your family and friends; take some alone time on the big day. Try to experience every single detail of your wedding day. It lasts but a moment.

{Service Providers}

Photographer: Izelle Labuschagne Photography | Venue: Barnyard Lodge, Ermelo | Dress: Mori Lee | Shoes: Rage | Flowers: Blomme vir Almal | Stationery: Crystal Print