Featured wedding:

Bride: Jackie Ellse
Groom: Brett Reid
Bridesmaids: Ezelna Jones, Jacqui Reid, Tricia Schaeffer
Best Man: Wesley Green, Dean Ellse, Matthew Wyatt
Date: 21 November 2009
Scene: Le Franschhoek Hotel and Spa


About the bride:
31 year old Jackie is a web designer and freelances from home fulltime.

About the groom:
31 year Brett is Technical head at Stonewall+

How did you meet:
We met while working for a certain company - Jackie had a very short stay at this company, only 3 months, but while there - a certain programmer caught her eye, Brett. First it started off with some friendly conversations and eventually progressed into a more serious relationship at Jackie’s farewell party. They say everything happens for a reason!

How long did you date before he popped the big question?
5 years

How did he propose?
We went on a Royal Carribean cruise liner called Independence of the Seas which left from Southampton, England and went to Gibraltar, Spain, Italy, France and Portugal in a 14 day trip. When we docked into Ville Franche, we took a train to Monte Carlo and went to the top of the hill, to the Princes Palace. Brett started to look extremely nervous and then told me that he wants to show me something, away from my parents - immediately I knew that he was going to propose!

While enjoying the view, away from my parents, I watched Brett’s hands non-stop! He reached into his pocket to pull out the video camera (as a diversion) but filmed something for about 3 seconds and put it away - the next time he reached into his pocket he had a little black box and asked me to marry him

How long did you have to plan the wedding and did you enjoy the planning process?
We were engaged for 1 and a half years - It was quite long but we wanted more than enough time to plan our dream wedding without rushing. It's crazy to think that all that planning was over in 1 night but it was definately worth it! First we found our venue and that allowed us to set a date and work towards a deadline. Everything basically fell into place after that - we managed to find excellent service providers that we felt were the perfect choice.

Describe details and memorable moments from your wedding day?
The girls spent the whole day together getting our hair, make-up and nails done - it was great to be pampered altogether. Walking down the aisle was quiet nerve wrecking, but once I saw my husband at the end, it was an amazing feeling. While standing in the front we tried to take every moment in. Walking into the reception area as Mr and Mrs Reid is such a great feeling - for our first dance we decided to surprise everyone and co-ordinate some dance moves to a couple of Michael Jackson songs, so we started off slowly and then the CD skipped, and we did our dance moves - everyone was cheering and said it was such a great surprise.

What advice can you give to future couples, getting married?
Set a date that you feel comfortable with - it really takes a lot to plan a wedding so make sure you have enough time. Try to relax on the day and leave the preparations in your service providers hands, they are professionals and will do their best to make your day perfect.

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