Lisa & Waide’s South African farm wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Lisa, self-employed artist and illustrator

Her offbeat partner: Waide, Senior Developer

Date and location of wedding: My grandparents' farm, Nelspruit, South Africa — August 2, 2014

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:
We had our wedding at my grandparents' farm. Some of the highlights for me were my black dress, our ceremony (which we loved!), the bubbles we used as “confetti,” and the glowsticks we played with during the reception. Everybody started making jewellery out of them and even the grandparents were joining in on the fun.

I made most of the decor, from the 250 fabric flowers to the atlas bunting to wrapping all the table decor in twine. We had so many friends and family members helping us set up the day before, and when I saw the finished venue for the first time on the day of the wedding I nearly cried. It was better than I thought it would be. I was so worried my expectations would overshadow the reality but it was actually the other way around.

Our photographers, Kallah Ohr Photography, were also amazing, and put everyone at ease about having their picture taken. They were the best team we could have chosen to shoot our day.

My brother wasn't a groomsman; instead, he offered to fire dance for us during the reception. It was amazing, and something I will never forget.

Tell us about the ceremony:
Both Waide and I are athiests and the ceremony was actually a huge problem for us since we didn't know how to craft it. It was suggested to us that we ask a local Methodist minister to do the ceremony. He was open to the idea of marrying people outside of the church as long as he got to know us first. We were a bit hesitant because we didn't know what to expect, but he put as at ease very quickly and was a very nice guy. I was still nervous about not having a rehearsal (his suggestion) because I had no idea what he was going to say, so the reception was a complete surprise for us. But it went smoothly.

Our biggest challenge:
The biggest challenge for me was learning not to micromanage and to let go of stuff that wasn't important. I was so worried that my perfectionism would take over, but I was actually very calm about everything. We didn't know if we were going to have a cake because the cake vendor had only contacted me about the design the day before the wedding. I was cool about the whole thing and took it as a “if we have a cake it will be a great surprise!” It turned out that we did get our cake and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

The next biggest was the DJ's power supply dying just after the speeches. The electricity kept shorting and his computer just died. I panicked a bit but my bridesmaids came through. They produced laptops and the music eventually returned. And even though he lost the playlist, no one noticed and everyone danced anyway.

My funniest moment:
When I was throwing the bouquet, all the girls stepped away from it like marriage was contagious, and the one who did catch it dropped it with a shocked expression! Another one of my friends then grabbed it triumphantly.

I kept tearing my dress! Our photo shoot was on the farm and we were walking around in the orchards and it kept snagging on sticks. I also got it caught on one of the doors and a friend stood on it with her heels (twice!). But the best part was when I told Waide to just tear off the ripped part — his face was just amazing.

My favorite moment:
The most meaningful moment was seeing Waide's eyes fill with tears as I walked towards him. He told me afterwards that he wasn't smiling because, if he had smiled, the tears would have run down his cheeks.

Another one was definitely the first dance. In the eight years we had dated, we had never publicly danced together, and the fact that Waide took lessons so he could dance with me meant the world to me.

It was wonderful having most of the people we loved in one place and some of them even travelled huge distances to be there. It meant so much to us.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Kallah Ohr Photography
• Dress: Handmade by my friend, Talita

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

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