MICHELLE AND OLIVER'S COLOURFUL DAY -PHOTOGRAPHY BY IVINS

Oliver and I met when we were very young taking part in junior lifesaving. When I made the jump to seniors he taught me to paddle a surf ski and we ended up a couple in 2001 when I was 16.

We got engaged in December 2011 after almost 11 years together. We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding preferably on the beach. In early January 2012 we decided to go venue hunting, so I went online and searched through plenty of different wedding venues. I actually found Umtamvuna River Lodge by chance when I did a Google search for square rustic wedding tables (I wanted square not round). I then saw an image of a setting I really liked and found out about Umtamvuna River Lodge.. I then added it to our short list. After seeing the venue in real life we both knew we wanted to get married there! Nowhere else were we able to have a private beach that was protected from wind with a beautiful rock face. The setting was just perfect and we were both sold on having our wedding there!

We also knew that if we were going to have an outdoor wedding we would need to choose a date in April/May so that the chances of rain were small and it is not too cold. This put us under a bit of pressure of having to plan our entire wedding in 4 months while we both work full day jobs. I was determined to have a perfect well organised beautiful wedding and with the amazing help of our parents and bridesmaids we managed to do just that. I composed so many lists that there was no way anything could be forgotten and we also chose a very organised MC who kept the day running smoothly.

I love colour and was not set on only having one or two colour schemes, so we decided to go super colourful with bright coloured lanterns, different coloured bridesmaid/best man outfits, candy favours and a sweetie table with an amazing variety of colour! We also wanted to keep with the venues simple rustic nature by not having anything over the top. Simple details complimented the setting perfectly!

Our wedding day was too perfect for words! The sun was shining with not too much wind and the temperature was just right. We had personalised wedding vows which made the ceremony an extra bit special. The nice thing about this venue is that when we were away for photos, guests could explore the gardens and even play with the resident pig :)

The food was great and everyone simply had an amazing time. Our cake was so tasty and the sweetie table was definitely a hit! Oliver and I were so happy and were enjoying ourselves so much at the reception that we didn’t want to leave! The staff at the River Lodge were very helpful and definitely played a big part in making our day run so smoothly!

~ Michelle