Pink, Pearls & Lace | Romantic Vintage Wedding: Melanie & Malcolm

If you’re a bit of a girly girl, then you are going to L O V E today’s real wedding! Jam packed with pretty pink, lashings of roses, pearls, lovely lace, silver and just a hint of vintage, this is one super romantic wedding. Oh, and did I mention, it’s all set in South Africa too…

Words by Melanie. Images by Christelle Randall.

Our wedding venue, the stunning and magical Diamant Estate just outside Paarl in the Western Cape, South Africa, stole my heart. This vintage, yet modern venue at the foot of Paarl Mountain is surrounded by vineyards and lush countryside with the most beautiful views and the majestic Table Mountain in the distance.

Everything from the old-world chapel to the stunning manor house and reception venue just blew me away.

Our wedding had a romantic vintage theme and the décor included everything I love. Pink, lace, pearls, silver, candles and more roses that you could count.

I made all the flower bouquets and all the flower arrangements for the table, while my mom and two bridesmaids did the rest. We chose mainly roses, my favourite flower.

Different shades of pink were visible everywhere while the smell of roses filled the air. Proteas were also included in the flower arrangements!

Before I even tried on my wedding dress I knew this was the one. Not only was it stunningly beautiful, but it complemented our wedding perfectly, being romantic with touch of vintage and a sprinkle of glam. It was a mermaid shaped dress – timeless, elegant and made from the most beautiful lace.

I had wooden pendants engraved with protea motives and made the men medal pendants instead of the usual flower boutonnières. Our wedding stationery and the medal pendants were in memory of  Malcolm’s mom that passed away a few years ago.

My dad gave me away… What an emotional moment to kiss my dad, the first man I have ever loved, “goodbye” to start my new journey with the love of my life…

I searched high and low for bridesmaid and flower girl dresses for the wedding, but could not find anything I really liked. My mom and I decided to make the dresses ourselves.

I designed and made the bridesmaid dresses and think they came out stunning, especially since it was my first ever attempt at dress making! My very talented mom made the flower girl dresses.

Our wedding photographer was the VERY talented, Christelle Rall. Not only did she capture all the special moments and emotions of our wedding day, but she transformed it into a work of art.

The woman’s favours were crystal and silver perfume bottles, while the men got silver pocket watches.

The three tier chocolate fudge cake was covered in ivory fondant, with lace piping and fresh roses.

What was your most memorable moment?

Walking down the aisle… I am a very emotional person and thought I would shed a tear or two, but when I saw Malcolm I was so happy I wanted to burst with excitement.

If you could impart any words of wisdom for future brides?

Enjoy every second and remember it is YOUR day, do everything exactly the way you want to without worrying about what other people will have to say. Even though it may seem that everything is going wrong, be patient, everything WILL work out. Our wedding is proof of that!

The cake I ordered was a disaster and my flowers went missing somewhere between Johannesburg and Cape Town… Luckily a young lady from Edible Art cakes agreed to bake a new cake only a days before the wedding and my flowers were found at the airport.

Even though we only started with the flower arrangements the night before the wedding and had very little sleep, everything was perfect on our big day.

Our first dance was to 1000 years by Christina Perry… the most romantic song EVER!

Thank you so much Melanie & Malcolm for sharing your romantic, South African wedding with us all.

wedding credits / photographer: christell rall photography / venue: diamante estate, south africa / dress: enzoani dakota via bridal wardrobe / grooms suit: daniel hechter / brides shoes: forever new / cake: edible art cakes

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