Life After the Dress {episode 9} Ché Dyer
In this series I interview married women of all ages and from all walks of life and ask them real questions about their lives now, after all the glitter and sparkle of the day is over. If you'd like to read more about the series and meet the other lovely ladies I have interviewed, click here.
Today I am so happy to have Ché up on the blog sharing her stories with us about her life after the dress.
Ché and Warren are a fun loving South African couple living in London. Ché is a ball of energy and smiles and I feel like I have known her for years (even though we have only met once in 'real life' our paths have crossed virtually and we seem to have just missed each other wherever we have gone...we both went to Rhodes University, then to South Korea to teach English and then we were both back in the Midlands area for a short time before we both got married). We also both love sharing our passions with you on the world wide web. Ché has a delightful and hilarious blog called IndieBerries, the perfect place to pop on over to forget about your worries and your strife (no idea why The Jungle Book appeared in that sentence*) but her blog is witty, and full of fun, just like her.
So grab yourself a cup of tea, make yourselves comfortable...and enjoy! x
Q1: Please introduce yourself (age, of both yourself and your husband, where do you live, what do you do & how long have you been married for?)
I’m Ché, I’m 28 and my husband is Warren who turned 31 last week! We are originally from South Africa, but currently live in Wimbledon, London. I am a freelance illustrator and designer and run the blog indieBerries. Warren is a portfolio manager for a Hedge Fund Firm. We have been married (almost) one year!
Q2: Which Disney character do you feel sums you up to a ‘T’?
Ooh, this one is a toughie! I don’t actually know!
I’d like to say Belle – if only for her epic library – and I definitely married a handsome beast.
Or maybe that seagull from The Little Mermaid – I always feel like I’m losing my marbles.
Q3: How did you and your hubby meet?
We met at Rhodes University - at a formal dinner. Really, there was nothing “formal” about it. We were all dressed like “Trailer Trash” and they served us KFC straight out the bucket.
Q4: Was your wedding everything you hoped it would be? Would you go back and change anything? Do you have any advice for brides-to-be?
Our wedding was absolutely EVERYTHING I could ever have hoped for and more. We had the most incredible, beautiful, sunny day with our most favourite people celebrating with us. Unfortunately, we lost all our professional wedding photos in a horrific “dog-meets-hard-drive” accident
– so maybe if I could change one thing, I would have hired a different photographer! But, if hiring a different photographer meant that anything else about our day had to change, then I’d keep everything exactly as it is.
planning, preparing and the big day with the your gorgeous man! Think out the box! We had an awesome “food story” to go with our food and the guests LOVED it!
Make it your own and celebrate in a way that means everything to you. (also – double check your photographer’s back up system!) And my advice to brides is to ENJOY the planning and the preparing!
Q5: Has ‘life after the dress’ been as you imagined it would be?
Warren and I have had a strange journey – when we got engaged we were not even really dating, and we had been living in two different continents for the previous 3 and a half years (it’s a long story), so just about everything “after the dress” was new and exciting – including just being in the same country! Moving into our first house together was SO exciting! (And super weird to begin with!)
Q6: What do you think makes marriage work?
Being mindful, of yourself and of your partner – appreciating him/her, having their best interests at the forefront of your heart. Laughter, love and complete support – even if it means sacrificing something for yourself – so that no matter what pitfalls or speedbumps you encounter in this life – you will always know that there is one person who will undoubtedly believe in you, always stand up for you and always protect you. Become the one thing – whatever it takes - that makes them feel happy to wake up every morning and come home to every night.
Q7: What have you learnt about yourself since being married?
That I have a freaken EXCELLENT taste in men.
Just kidding.
Warren has taught me to believe in myself on a level that I have never experienced before. He has taught me increasing patience and forgiveness and how to really listen, through the way he lives his own life and the way he is with me. I feel so privileged to spend so much of my time with such a true gentleman.
Q8: If you could describe your marriage in 3 words, what would those words be?
Beautiful precious cocoon
(I asked the same question to Warren and he replied with, “Better than sex” –which, is slightly inappropriate)
Q9: Do you have any pearls of wisdom you would like to share with my readers about being married? Perhaps something some wise person once told you, or something you’ve learnt the hard way?
I read somewhere recently a quote which said, “Don’t be afraid to be the one who loves the most” and I absolutely love it!
From my personal experience – I can totally say, before you move into your first house together (whatever stage of your relationship that may be) make sure you find out the exact procedures for trash and recycling – or else you will end up, up to your elbows in two weeks worth of stinking garbage juice – and there will be tears. Trust me.
You can find Ché at the following places:
I hope you have been enjoying this series as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.
If you would like to be featured here on the blog, you can drop me an email using the contact form above or leave me a comment below. I look forward to hearing from you!
x