A Kitchen Tea {Surprise!}

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A few week's ago, one of my bridesmaids organized yet {another} surprise Kitchen Tea for me! What a special day filled with great company, yummy food and lots and lots of laughs. It's times like these that make you realise what special people surround you. Thank you to all the ladies in the photo's below, as well as all those who couldn't make it.

I am currently writing this post in bed, after a very full day of wedding DIY'ing, from putting up chalkboards, to hanging shade clot and hessian to weather proof our farm venues, and of course lots and lots of ribbon and lace tying. The last few days before the wedding have been so special, a time for family, and a time to just take a deep breathe and realise the beauty of marriage.

Enjoy the photies below, lots more posts to come before the Big Day on Sunday!

*And a big thank you to Dear Chloe Photography for the piccies!*
















Wedding Hair & Makeup {sneak peek)

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Yesterday I went for a full hair and makeup trial with Makeup Your Mind in Durban. I had spent hours on Pinterest and wedding blogs like100 layer cake, The Pretty Blog, Ruffled & a lovely South African wedding blog South Bound Bride trying to find the perfect style that suits both me and my dress, and then makeup to match.  I was feeling pretty frazzled about the whole thing. I took everything I had to my appointment, and my makeup artist asked me a few questions, had a squizz at my pic's and got busy! I am thrilled to say she has given me exactly what I was after from the beginning...something a little sexy, pretty, and different all rolled into one!

Here a few very sneak peek's, I can't risk Farmboy having a look and seeing me all done up before the big day (which is next weekend!!!!)

*all photo's taken by my super talented mom! Thank you mommy for spending 2 hours photographing every strand of hair and eye lash...I <3 you!*

#HuttonWedding...2 weeks to go!

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Yesterday marked the two week countdown to our wedding...eek! Here are a few snaps of our time spent on the farm cutting, hammering, sticking, tying and general DIYing in preparation for our big day. A huge thank you to everyone involved, I hope I wasn't too 'Bridezilla' like in my demands :)










The story of {FarmBoy & CityGirl}

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A little while ago, the lovely ladies behind Ruby and the Swallow featured our engagement shoot, along with some questions and answers about our relationship. {To read the full post, click here}

I thought I would post our love story here, seeing as we are getting married in 17 days :)


Dale and I met at Rhodes University. We were both heavily involved in the same community project, Galela Amanazi (which means ‘pour the water’. We helped set up water tanks in the surounding townships of Grahamstown). He had been brought on as an environmental consultant, and I was in charge of publicity and media. He was barefoot, shaggy bearded and non-conforming, and I wore earrings that matched the colour of my nails. Complete opposites.



Dale was brought up on a dairy farm, I have lived in concrete jungles my whole life. I remember us discussing this fact as we were paired together to go and find out the cost of sausages for a fundraiser. It turned out that that evening, we were the only two committee members who were able to get together to make T-shirts for the fundraiser the next day. And what followed can only be explained as a whirlwind romance.


You see, I had a boyfriend at the time, of nearly 5 years. We had been doing long distance for the 3 past 3. It was’t easy but we were happy. That is, until I met Dale. In this life you can’t choose who God puts in your life, and who He has destined for you to be with. And if it wasn’t for Dale, I would never have come to know God.


Fast track through 3 years (6 months at University together, a year teaching English to cute little kiddies in South Korea, 6 months living in Pietermaritzburg) and here we are…Engaged! 

Here's to spending the rest of my life with you Farmboy, and adventure I am beside myself with excitement to start with you by my side.


FarmBoy & CityGirl...a year past

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I was

stalking

 looking at some old photo's on Facebook a little while ago and I came across these lovely photo's that our wonderfully talented photographer friend Sophie took of Farmboy and myself in Grahamstown last year. Farmboy and I met while studying at Rhodes, and we returned 2 years later for a friends wedding and of course to experience the National Arts Festival again.

Sophie took our engagement photo's earlier this year too! If you are looking for a super awesome photographer, pop on over to her website and get in touch with her, you won't be sorry!

So a year has past since these photo's, and in one months time, we will be married. Photographs are a wonderful thing don't you think, helping to preserve all the good (and sometimes it's not just the good, sad memories are captured inside photographs too). Go take a walk down memory lane, whether it's your Facebook timeline, or an old album...make yourself a nice cup of tea and take a moment to appreciate where you are, or where just how far you have come in life.

Mission Find Snow {accomplished!}

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 This afternoon (after hearing about snow all day on Twitter and Facebook!) Farmboy and I headed out into the cold in search of some white powder for ourselves.

But alas, in our cold corner of KZN it seemed like everyone had the same idea...


Never-the-less, there was plenty of snow to go around...







Time spent in the cold is never complete without hot chocolate! And watery hot choc made with lots of love but not much flavour by yours truly...priceless


BBRRRRR!!


Did you find any snow today? I heard Joburg had lots! Sorry Durbs and Cape Town, none for you today I'm afraid :) xxx

Choosing Flowers for your Wedding...

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The task of choosing the who, what, when and where for the flowers for our wedding in September has been one that I have been putting off for a while. But, it is one of the most important things to decide on, as the flowers add to the whole mood of the wedding. Luckily for me, I have a lovely local lady who is helping me to make those decisions, and who is going to be actually doing the flowers as well as my bouquet on the day!



She suggested starting with a trip to the local flower shop and to grab a bucket. Start by picking up every flower that catches your eye, and see what works for you. Don't forget to find out what flowers will be available on the day/during that season and make sure to plan ahead when arranging delivery of the flowers. If the weather looks like it's going to cool the week before the wedding, then you can collect your flowers up to a week before the day to make sure they stay fresh. If it looks like it's going to be a scorcher, best make sure there's a cold room in the area to keep those blooms looking good for your big day. 

Happy Weekend {Kitchen Tea & Birthday rolled into one!}

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This past weekend was a very special one for me. Not only did I turn 24, but my lovely bridesmaids threw me an incredible {surprise} Kitchen Tea! A weekend full of prezzies, cup cakes and good company = one very happy young lady!

A few pic's {thanks Mommy for snapping away!}
















#HuttonWedding overload

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80 days today, and I will be saying I do and walking down the aisle. It has only really just hit me, how much work is still to be done. As we are getting married on Farmboy's parents dairy farm, I thought it a wonderful idea to do everything myself (this means source every decor item, purchasing most of them myself) in the hopes that I could really get my hands dirty. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And now, after getting very eager with our digital save the dates, and sending them out to far too many people, we are very clearly over our numbers. Unfortunately, this can't just be fixed with a little cash injection (although that wouldn't hurt either) but rather we physically DO NOT HAVE the space! Eeeek!

Now, I'm worrying that the barn will only be able to seat 100 people, and the other 80 will have to stand outside, craning heir necks to catch a glimpse of our nuptials, worrying that the slightly eccentric lady we are hiring our cutlery from will simply 'forget' my wedding date, that my dress will never be ready in time, and of of course, that the makeup artists won't wake up in time to get us ready at 5am on the day. You know, the usual stresses :) Oh, and worrying that the poor barn owl who has taken up residency in our 'church' will decide to give us one last wedding present on the day covering the benches and chairs with a powder white coat!

Anyway, instead of pulling my hair out, I'm off to make myself a cup of tea, and finish the last of the invites...

source {inhale nature}

A weekend of {wedding DIY}

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Last weekend was spent with sanders, nails, hammers, paint and of course multiple cups of coffee as Farmboy and I got our hands dirty in preparation for our wedding in September. The first few photo's show our awesome yellow wood sideboard (which will hold all our dessert at the wedding) and the last few shots of of the door to the barn (where our ceremony will be). The only problem with getting started, is that we realise just how much we still have to do to make all our idea's happen...eek!











Sneak Peek {Wedding Invites}

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A sneak peek of our wedding invites from the lovely ladies at Ruby and the Swallow (they also did our Save the Dates too!)...we are so happy with them...I can't wait to show them to you once they have all been handed out!


{Wedding} Wedges

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With getting married on a farm, there are a few restructions when it comes to finding the perfect {and as much as I hate to admit it...practical} wedding shoes can be a bit of a challenge. Luckily for me, I had already decided I wanted to wear wedges, before we had even decided on the farm! They are practical; *and I wont sink into the mud/grass/cow droppings*, easy to walk in and look fabulous, what more could a girl want out of a shoe?!  

Here are a few of the shoes that I have seen and loved...

www.hsn.com
Aldo

www.dsw.com

Jimmy Choo



How to build a brick book shelf {part 1}

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Having moved/downgraded into a little 1 bedroom flat here in Pietermaritzburg, I have had to be really creative with my use of space. And with my fiance moving in with me when we are married in September, I/we have had to think very hard about ways to store all my stuff (and boy do I have a lot of stuff! I'm not sure how iImanage to collect so many bits and pieces in the short space of 6 months!). 

One thing that I do have lot of is files and books (at the moment I will blame that on being a student) and Farmboy hates them! He thinks they are a complete waste of space, and no matter how many times I tell him I need them next to my desk at all times, he just won't have it. That is, until I gave him the task of building me a book shelf. And, here we are. With something that not only looks really awesome, but is able to hold everything! 






I will post the final product soon!


Now, if only I had more cupboard space...

Planning a Location Wedding...{4 months before}

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{Image Source}
One of the greatest hurdles when planning a location wedding (a location wedding being a wedding not held at a specified venue that would organize the catering side of the event) is getting a caterer that can do the following:

a) cater for your number of guests (in our case 160- 180)

b) specializes in your particular food style

c) is able/happy to cater for your function at your location

d) is available!

Let me tell you something, to find someone who does all of the above is no easy feat! I spent many hours trawling the internet to find 'the one' and, after much frustration and anguish, was referred to Sarah from Harris and Homes in Durban.

Sarah has been incredible to work with so far, with a menu that includes the likes of "cream cheese stuffed dates skewered with parma ham" and "marinated lamb cutlets with coriander and honey" I am hoping that I have enough time in between greeting guests to fill my tummy!

Farmboy and I met with Sarah last weekend when she came to see the farm and chat to us about the logisitics of catering for the number of guests we are having. She was amazing at giving us loads of practical advice when it came to the many bumps and niggles we came across, while also giving us idea's for things we hadn't even thought about yet.

 Sarah, Farmboy and I are happy that you will be catering for us for our wedding, and we are so looking forward to the food!

The Harris & Homes website is under construction, but in the mean time you can contact Sarah direct on 074 183 8745

A Farmboy in Ethiopia...

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Farmboy got back from Ethiopia last week where he was away on business for 16 days  (he was in Sierra Leone 3 weeks ago, click here to see those photo's of his trip).

There aren't many words to aptly describe his trip to you, so I am rather leaving you with the following photographs.

Enjoy
 xxx















A Farmboy in North Africa

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My dear fiance has been working as an environmental consultant for a company here in KZN for the last few months, and recently got back from a trip to Senegal, Sierra Leone and Gambia. At this moment he is in Ethiopia doing research for another project there. Here are a few of his photographs from his trip. I'm really missing him, and am desperate to go on adventures with him to these incredible places!

 Enjoy :)













Farmboy, I miss you xxx

Our Wedding Mood Board...

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I've found a lot of my inspiration from Pinterest (you can follow my boards here) and thought I'd pop a few of them together to give you a little idea. I think a lot of people are quoting Pinterest as the source of their images, which isn't actually correct (I read a rather interesting blog post a little while ago which stated that whatever content is uploaded onto Pinterest becomes the property of Pinterest itself...a little scary really! So if you are uploading images that you have taken yourself, try and put a watermark on your photo's and attach a link back to your site! And if you are using images from Pinterest on your blog/facebook/twitter account, try and link it back to the oringinal artist, it's the polite thing to do!).

Anyway, here is a little mood board filled with prettiness and inspiration.
Enjoy!

xxx


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