A Colourful Boho Forest Wedding: Donia & Chris

A Colourful Boho Forest Wedding: Donia & Chris

If you’re a fan of nature and the outdoors, you’ll love this forest themed boho wedding with a dash of Italian festival thrown in. Our gorgeous bride even arrived in a cute donkey cart… too sweet!

The lovely Donia and Chris married in SA on the western cape and their gorgeous images were captured by Shireen Louw Photography.

Words by Donia. Images by Shireen Louw Photography.

I wanted a dress which was something totally different and remembered by all. I wanted the feather bottom to show nature, free and pure. The style of the dress complimented my body shape. I also decided on a floral crown instead of a veil and lace instead of wedding shoes!

My bridesmaids made their own dresses to their taste. They were all long flowing dresses in different colours. I wanted dresses that they felt comfortable and pretty in – I chose the colours.

My father and I were taken to the wedding in a real, traditional donkey cart. The donkey’s name is Abram. So cute!

My father walked me down the aisle to the instrumental version of Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve.

This is how Chris proposed to me…

We went for a walk on the beach, sat down and started chatting. He starts talking about penguins and how the male looks long and hard for the brightest pebble on the beach to present to his mate. If accepted they will be together forever, they have only one mate for their whole life.

He then gave me a beautiful white pebble. I loved it, but then… he said “just in case, I have something else to represent the pebble” went on one knee and removed the most beautiful ring (which he designed himself) from his pocket and presented it to me… I am sure you all know the rest.

Our wedding photographer was Shireen Louw. My future sister-in-law suggested her. Once I saw her portfolio, I knew that she would capture my special day, as I wanted it, to be remembered forever.

We met two months before the wedding and did a beautiful engagement shoot on the beach with a paint fight – it was a lot of fun and she even got a bit dirty.

Shireen was an absolute delight and spent the whole day from start to finish celebrating with us and capturing beautiful memories. Our photos are just stunning. We were also so impressed with the turnaround time in getting our edited photos back. Just amazing.

There aren’t enough words to describe our wedding florist – Marinda Potgiete’s talent . She took my dream and imagination and brought it to life. Like a real fairy tale. But only the pictures can put it into words.

Marinda from saffron also did the whole wedding decor. The decor was done in such a manner, that our guests felt as if they were in the forest. The table runners made from real grass.

We had wooden disks on the tables with candles in jars placed on them, we had many different flowers and colours, mainly blue, purple, green and orange.

We also had huge branches hanging over our guests with the table numbers on them. Fairy lights and bonfires were everywhere.

My grandmother is a potter – at the age of 84, she handmade all the small wine glasses, with our names and the wedding date on as wedding favours. We also bought small wooden men and women with a little red hearts on the chest. The supplier was a man who sold them next to the road – what can I say, in South Africa we have very talented people everywhere.

Our entertainment was out of this world. He is the next best thing and got everybody up on their feet. He plays the violin, Spanish guitar and the didgeridoo.

At the pre-drinks, he brought Italy to us. It felt as if we were sipping wine at a true fiesta. Between the mains and dessert he played all the rock classics, all instrumental of course.

Our first dance was to Florence and the Machines ‘Cosmic Love’. The words are beautiful and she is one of our favourite bands. We’ve always enjoyed it together with a glass of red wine in hand.

If you could impart any advice to future brides planning their wedding day, what would that be?

Have fun!!! Have it your way, not what someone else wants. Cherish every moment, it goes by very, very fast. Take deep breaths and enjoy.

What was your most memorable moment of the day / evening?

When I walked down the aisle and my husband to be had tears running down his face. Our vows was very special as well, we wrote them ourselves.

I can’t tell you how much I love this wedding! Thanks so much to Donia & Chris for sharing their forest themed big day and massive thanks to Shireen Louw Photography for sharing this wedding pretty!

p.s. Was that the sweetest proposal ever?!?!?!!!? Waaaaaah

wedding credits / photographer: shireen louw / wedding venue: beloftebos, in the western cape, south-africa / brides dress: wilma van rensburg / grooms suit: the bridal shop in george / hair & makeup: me / florist: saffron

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