Roodezand Wedding - Max & Kate

Roodezand Wedding.

Why did you choose your venue?

Finding a venue was the first thing we did when we started the planning process, because once we had a venue we could secure the date.

We came up with a list of what we wanted from a venue – size, layout, chapel, view, distance from Cape Town. Our first venue viewing was quite a laugh though, because Max forgot his contact lenses at home – so his impression of the venue was very different to mine!

After viewing lots of venues, every weekend, we were referred to Roodezand Wedding Venue in Tulbagh by a friend of a friend. We emailed Karen to ask for their pricing before we set up a viewing, and we really appreciated her upfrontness, her ‘no hidden cost’ claims, and her transparency. We were tired of hearing about venue hire fees, and then finding out later about the long list of additional charges. Karen was clear from the beginning about what was included and excluded, and how much we would have to pay. When we went to go view Roodezand, she also sold us with her wonderful knowledge of wedding planning, and her helpfulness. The venue was stunning, and we loved the mountains surrounding it. We also loved that Karen took so much pride in the service she offered, going as far as providing complimentary cordials for the table as to not have bright coloured cooldrink clashing with the decor. We loved how she treated and spoke about her staff, and how accommodating everyone was.

What was the most memorable moment of the day?

Kate – I would love to say walking down the aisle, but to be honest, that’s a bit of a blur for me. I loved walking through the confetti passage and seeing all our friends. But most of all, I just loved having everyone there. I loved that wherever I went during the day there was someone that I was excited to see. It’s amazing being surrounded by all your favourite people.

Max – Ah there are so many! If I had to choose it was when I got to shake my now father in law’s hand and then took Kate’s hand. There was lots of secrecy about her dress and I had no idea what it looked like, it was the most epic moment when I eventually got to see it; and start the adventure that is marriage in front of God and everyone that’s important to us.

How did you experience your Photographer’s service and where did the importance of photography fall in your day?

Choosing the right photographer for our day was a top priority for us, because we knew that the photos of the day would be something that we would cherish forever. Landi Groenewald was great from the very beginning, and her years of wedding experience were very helpful. She shared some wedding timelines with that gave us a very good starting point for planning the flow of our day. She was also full of really great ideas about how to arrange your wedding timeline in a different way to make the best of your time with your guests, and utilize the best light for photos.

We wanted to do an engagement shoot so that we could get comfortable with getting our photo taken as a couple (I think most people don’t get their photo taken very often unless they’re models?) and Organictales was super accommodating. She gave us some great ideas for spots to do the shoot, and went out of her way to make our crazy (and somewhat last minute) ideas work. Our engagement shoot was so much fun with Landi, and we knew we were in good hands for the wedding.

On the wedding day Landi was relaxed (which made us relax) and was able to give us guidance on what we needed to do to get the best photos without us having to do weird stuff. We also really appreciated how organised and structured she was. She managed and guided our wedding party and family well, and really helped the day flow. She is also just such a lovely, likeable person that everyone enjoyed working with her.

If there was anything about the day you wish you could change what would it be?

There’s not a single thing we’d change. Even the unexpected rain and clouds played their part in making our wedding day special – by giving our guests relief from the heat, and providing us with a beautiful backdrop for photos

Any advice to other couples still in the planning process? What was the most difficult and what really helped?

Talk to your partner about your expectations for the day. Both people have thought about their wedding and what they want it to be like, not just the brides!
Decide what you want your wedding to look and feel like, and then take it from there.
Coming up with our top 4 priorities really helped us stay focused. It’s really easy to get swept up in all the wedding craze. You decide in the beginning that you want your day to be simple, the next minute you’re requesting quotes for chewing gum papers printed with your monogram!
Share the admin. Keep everything in a folder on Google Drive or Dropbox so it’s accessible from wherever you are and on all devices (I remember we almost did our table layout on a piece of A3 paper – imagine we lost it! Very glad we just did it on a google sheet).
Be fussy about your service providers. Find people whose work you love, and then give them the freedom to make your day beautiful. Let them be the experts, no matter how informed you think you are, you’re doing this for the first time, and they’re doing it for the 100th.
Be nice; to your guests that keep changing their minds about their RSVP, to your service providers, to your partner, to your bridal party. This is meant to be a time of celebration, not of trauma.