Sian & Caroline {A Wedding Story}

Hi gang! Welcome back to the blog! 

I always adore photographing weddings. There's so much love in the air and the bridal couple spends so much time carefully planning all the details. It wasn't any different for Sian and Caroline's wedding, either! 

The wedding was held at The Manor House - Knorhoek Estate, Sir Lowry's Pass,  Helderberg Wine Route, Western Cape, South Africa. 

The Manor House was built in 1795 and is a national monument, set on the slopes of the mountain above Sir Lowry's Pass on the Helderberg Wine Route. The perfect place for any wedding! 


How and when did you two meet?

This is actually quite a story, lol! We've known each other for about seven and a half years now. The first 5 and a bit years we were just friends. We were introduced to each other through Caroline's friend and my partner at the time. From the moment we met we just connected. Little did we know that that friendship is what the foundation of our relationship would be built on - and some heavenly divine intervention. As time went on (and life happened) we found ourselves confiding in each other, laughing together, having serious heart to heart conversations and just being our truest selves with each other. Looking back now, it was so weird to realize that it didn't matter where we were or where we went we always happened to end up sitting next to each other or just being near each other. Something that never happened consciously on either of our parts. 


Fast forward a few years and this is where divine intervention steps in. Caroline is originally from Mauritius and had decided to go home to a month's holiday to recoup after some difficult times with her partner passing away. The day she arrived back from holiday she came over and it was like a lightning bolt for both of us. The reality of the situation hitting us both at the same time - how much we had actually missed each other and that there was more to this relationship than just friendship. The hug hello was totally something else - you could literally feel the electricity :)

Needless to say we were pretty much inseparable from that moment on. We have been so super blessed in our path together with our very own angels guiding and protecting us.

Tell us about your dress. Where did you find it, how did you choose it, how did you know it was the one?

Due to the fact that Caroline is not a girly girl she wore a beautifully off white tailored jacket and pants from Zara. With one of our wedding colours being dusty pink, she wore a stunning dirty pink top from H&M which had a vintage feel to it, which tied into our theme so beautifully.


For my dress, I had no idea what I wanted, lol. I started off by telling Kirsten from Bridezar what I didn't want and we took it from there. I had my mom with me on my appointment and she offered some assistance here. We also had a look at the dresses that were already hanging on the rails. Both my mom and myself saw the dress I eventually chose and agreed that that was the one - with a few minor tweaks to the original. It was also a perfect match with the vintage feel of our decor for the wedding, as the top of the dress was mostly lace. 


Most important for me was to feel pretty and comfortable and not have to worry about any lumps and bumps showing - which this dress delivered so superbly.


Did you see each other before the wedding? If not, did you like waiting or would you have rather done it differently? 

Yes we did. With Caroline being non-traditional we didn't stick to the norm of not seeing each other, but because we are great at compromising (I'm quite the traditionalist) we agreed that we would see each other in the morning, but not with our hair and make-up done and of course not with Caroline's suit or my wedding dress on. We also slept in separate rooms the night before to add to the anticipation :) 

I think the way we did it, was just perfect for us.


How would you describe your overall wedding experience? 

Was it real?????...It felt like an absolute fairy tale for both of us! 

There are so many adjectives that we can add here, but I think the words that stands out for both of us is "a day full of love." We kind of have a biased opinion here (hahaha), but after the wedding numerous guests actually commented that they had never been to a wedding where the love was so visible and could actually be felt.


Leading up to our big day, it was rather stressful with all the planning. We had a lot of DIY elements to our wedding, so it took up quite a lot of time, but seeing it all come together on the day was worth every minute.

I think it helps tremendously when both of you are on the same page and share the vision of the day.


What were you most anxious, nervous or fearful about regarding your wedding day and what was the outcome? 

The weather!!! With it being a winter wedding and us deciding to have our ceremony outside (under a Bedouin tent and provided our guests with blankets), we had visions of it raining and everyone being drenched and freezing. We did make a plan B a few weeks before the wedding though.

The other thing about the weather was our photos. We had arranged see-through umbrellas for our Bridal Portrait session and honestly thought we were going to look like drowned rats in our photos.

We truly were blessed with the most amazing weather for a winter's day though - no rain and an abundance of sunshine.


The other thing, for Caroline, specifically is that she hates public speaking so she was extremely nervous for our vows. She was magnificent when the time came though and it was smooth sailing with the guidance of Symi and Ava.

How did she pop the question?

Caroline proposed to me on a very random day in the comfort of our own home. It was the sweetest thing to see how someone could be as nervous as she was. It may sound very cliche and soppy, but for us, every day that we are together is special so the fact that it happened in the privacy of our home and very casually was just perfect!

I was a total puddle of mush.


What was your favourite moments from the wedding? 

Does saying "all of it" count? Hahaha. Wow, it's very difficult to pick something specific, as the day was so magical for both of us.

For Caroline, her favourite moment was seeing me walk down the isle towards her, and our vows.


For me, my favourite moment was seeing Caroline's face as I walked down the isle.

My mom, sister and myself were in cahoots with each other here and had told Caroline that I had chosen a "big, poofy marshmallow dress, with huge hoops in the skirt and these long flowing drapy sleeves." So I couldn't wait to see her face when she saw what my dress really looked like. 

As cliche as it sounds, another favourite moment was when they announced us wife and wife.


To top it off though, is for both of us to know we had married the person of our dreams.


What advice would you offer to other couples planning a wedding? 

Make sure you arrange a videographer - or at least have one of your guests record your vows and the speeches. If we could do one thing differently it would be that. The only reason for this is that the day truly does fly past in the blink of an eye. Neither one of us could actually remember what was said, lol. Thank the pope our marriage officiant had sent us a word version of our vows.


This brings us to the next little bit of advice we can offer - make sure you find the right marriage officiant for you as a couple.

Caroline and myself are more spiritual people than religious people and our marriage officiant (Symi and Ava from Tie The Knot Cape Town) was incredible in this aspect. It was not a one size fits all ceremony. She tailor made our ceremony to suit us as individuals and as a couple and captured elements that were important to both of us. An example of this is that we paid tribute to all our dearly departed with a poem reading that was significant to us.


Something is bound to go wrong on the day. As much as you want everything to be perfect (especially if you are an A type personality), it is inevitable that you cannot control everything. Go with the flow and make sure that the people supporting you on the day as a couple are people you can rely on to have your best interests at heart and who can make miracles happen, lol.


And finally, as most couples will say, try to be present in every given moment as the day truly does go by in the blink of an eye. The day is about the two of you as a couple and anybody's thoughts and/or opinions does not count. You do what you feel is true to the both of you and enjoy every single moment.

Well said, Sian! We couldn't agree more! 


Was your wedding very different from the way you always imagined it? Or the same?

Neither one of us had actually thought we would ever get married, so we never really had any expectations from what we may have imagined. The most important thing was the way it turned out was very symbolic to both of us and represented who we are as individuals as well as a couple perfectly.

Any tips that you have about preparing your wedding party for the photos?

Once you have done a venue visit with your photographer make sure you communicate the plan to your wedding party, but also be open to going with the flow on the day.


We had decided that once the ceremony was done and our group photo was taken we were going to do the bridal party photos and then our couple photos, but as mother nature would have it we had to swap around our couple photos and bridal party photos due to the lighting. We had a winter wedding (although you would never say that by looking at the photos, as we had the most incredible weather).

Ensure you have a good MC to relay all the necessary information to your guests.


Have you had any prior sessions with us? If so, what and where?

Yes, we had our engagement shoot with Just Frame Me Photography in February earlier this year. We started off at Derdesteen beach and then ended up in a quaint coffee shop on Melkbos beachfront.

How was your experience with Just Frame Me Photography?

Both our engagement shoot and wedding shoot were incredible. We were made to feel so at ease in front of the camera and the essence of us as a couple was captured so magnificently. The photos left us properly speechless and in absolute awe of such talent.

Besides the talent, Karien (and her hubby) are just the most amazing people we have had the privilege of meeting and we can honestly say that our relationship has gone from more than just a photographer and her clients, but to friends.

As we have said before and will continue to say - Karien, you are now stuck with us for always! :) Sorry for you, lol!

Nobody who ever decides to have you as their photographer will be sorry!


Aaaaw thank you SO much for the beautiful words, Sian & Caroline! And thank you for sharing your special day with us! 

I've said it before and I'll say it again - We are unequivocally blessed to always have the absolute BEST clients in the world! Clients who ultimately become friends - each and every time! xxx

All the people who helped Sian & Caroline's wedding go off without a hitch were:

Venue: The Manor House, at Knorhoek Estate
Marriage Officers: Tie the Knot Cape Town
Makeup Artist - Madeleine from Makeup & Hair by MB
Hair - Lesley Ann from Eternity Hair & Beauty
Wedding Cake - Analize of Cakes by Analize
DJ/Music - Mac from Sound FX Entertainment
Wedding Planner - On the day Co-Ordinator, Courtney and Nicholas of Smiley Rosary
Dress - Caroline's suit from Zaa and Sian's dress from Bridezar
Caterer - The Manor House
Florist - Hashtag Shop


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