Diamant Estate Wedding.
~The Manor House Chapter
The Meeting.
Sara and I met on flight BD772 on Saturday the 17th October 2009. We were each returning to London from Cairo after separately travelling to Egypt with different friends.
The Proposal.
The proposal went down terribly! I had known for several years that I wanted to propose to Sara and despite usually being impatient I planned it thoroughly. On a holiday home over Christmas I discussed my plans with my parents and my father very kindly gave me the stone from his mother’s engagement ring. I returned to London and found a jeweler to commission a bespoke ring in time for our summer holiday to Corfu. Unfortunately the ring wasn’t quite ready on time but it was our final trip for the summer and after consulting a few of my female friends I decided to proceed without the ring! After arriving in Corfu I planned to pop the question at a romantic little restaurant on a jetty over the ocean. On the afternoon that we were due to have dinner there we found ourselves sitting alone at a restaurant overlooking a beautiful beach called Agios Gordios. Sara commented on how perfect the setting was and I spontaneously decided to do it then and there! Unfortunately I didn’t drop a knee and had no ring so she initially thought that I was joking! It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing but she said yes and shortly after we had a celebratory drink with my brother and his fiance.
Sara:
The proposal was not a fairy tale! I had no idea Morgan was planning to propose. I had for years (despite not thinking it would happen) prepared what I would say if he ever proposed to me and I can say that I said none of that!
The Rings.
Morgan:
Sara’s engagement ring is a bespoke design that uses my grandmother’s diamond as it’s main feature. We decided to get matching wedding bands that were made from the same material as the engagement ring. We found a local jeweler in London to provide these but when we went to visit Sara thought that I looked stressed out about the process. When we left I admitted that I had had a terrible headache in the shop explained my facial expressions. Nevertheless the rings turned out perfectly!
Sara:
My engagement ring is important to me. Morgan’s family gave him the diamond from his grandmother’s ring, which is very sentimental. From that moment, I felt like I had been trusted with an important responsibility. On top of that, Morgan had designed the ring in secret, and I admire him for his resolve to do that. It ring is beautiful, I love it, and it’s an honour to wear a family heirloom. Our wedding bands are very simple, owing to Morgan having a very bad headache while we were in the shop, so designs were decided swiftly. Ultimately, the simplicity is exactly what we both wanted
Diamant Estate Wedding.
We fell in love with Diamant Estate on our first visit. The whole venue is fantastic but we were drawn to the Manor House and the lovely lawn overlooking Paarl. We couldn’t have been happier with our choice and it would seem that our guests agreed since many commented on the venue during the wedding day.
Peter Smallbones, a priest from the Claremont Baptist Church, officiated. Peter’s wife works with my mother who suggested that we consider him. We chose him because he was known to the family and also because of his very relaxed and friendly demeanor.
Mon Amour Events – Jessica Thiart.
Morgan:
We found Jessica Thiart of Mon Amour Events through our friends Mike and Antonia. They had a lovely wedding in Stellenbosch and couldn’t stop raving about Jessica so we asked for her details and met to discuss our plans a few days later. We really couldn’t rate this service highly enough! Jessica was instrumental in every aspect of the event and we never could have done it without her. It was especially useful since we are based overseas. We especially liked her consistently calm demeanor which allowed us to enjoy the day to the fullest!
Sara:
We approached Jessica from Mon Amour Events for her business card at our friends, Mike and Antonia’s wedding. We loved the wedding in Stellenbosch, and after months of indecision on where we would be married, we finally knew it be possible in South Africa. From the very beginning Jessica was perfect for us. Extremely organised, and patient with us being far away, she did an amazing job of organising our wedding. People always say things go wrong on your wedding day…that is not an option if Jessica is on your team!
Cape Town Wedding Photographer.
Morgan:
We found Landi and Organictales through a recommendation from my dad after he had seen some of her work online. We really liked her style and thought that it might be a small way that we could include my dad in our planning. We met Landi for a coffee and her service ever since has been absolutely phenomenal. She is incredibly professional, responsive, organised, relaxed and passionate. We knew that the photos would form an import part of our memories of the day and are so pleased with the beautiful pictures from Organictales!
Sara:
Morgan’s dad suggested Organictales after his love of horses led him to gorgeous shot of girl and horse which was taken by Landi. We had already been offered a list of photographers from our wedding planner, but we both liked the creativity of Landi’s photographs and also thought we could include Morgan’s dad in the planning by choosing his suggestion. It was the right decision. Landi is a professional. I loved her commitment to getting a shot right, and importantly as someone who is by default uncomfortable in front of a camera, she did her best to make me feel comfortable and beautiful. I’m sure our wedding photos will capture the happiness of the day
Service Providers:
(Please do not copy, lift or download images from this site. A Downloadable Link will be made available to service providers to download images soon)
Venue: Diamant Estate
Photography: Organictales
Assistants: Anje van Dalen & Graham Richardson
Coordination and Planning: Mon Amour Events
Catering: Red Pepper Catering
Lighting: Authentic Planning
Flowers: Bouwer Flowers
Live Entertainment: Angelo and Jane
DJ and Sound: Music 2 the Max