Thato & Richard
Where and how did you meet?
We met on Tinder! Our first date was at Mezepoli in Melrose Arch.
How did he propose?
He took me to this amazing boutique hotel in Houghton, the Residence, after ensuring I’d had a manicure. He even packed two of my favourite dresses (the whole thing was a surprise). We were waiting for dinner to be served in this beautiful, private open-plan dining room overlooking the pool and he told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me while Ed Sheeran played in the background. He got on his knee and everything – it was so special!
Please provide a short description of your wedding day?
We got married at Florence Guest Farm in Mpumalanga. The weather was perfect, which was lucky as it had been cold and rainy the day before. The ceremony was held in a ‘forest church’ and we had around 80 guests. It was a very beautiful, intimate and emotional day – a lot of tears were shed. We surprised guests with an entrance dance, which everyone found entertaining! Everyone cried through all of the speeches and one of my favourite moments was when I surprised Richard by singing him the song he proposed to me with. It was the perfect day spent with the perfect group of people.
If you could change one thing about your wedding day, what would it be?
I almost want to say nothing, but there was one annoying thing – the DJ played the wrong version of my entrance song! I wanted to kill him, but in 10 minutes all was forgotten because it really was such a magical day.
What was the highlight of your day?
The reception was amazing, but I think highlights were our entrance dance, Richard’s speech (I cried) and my surprise song to him.
How did it feel to finally stand next to each other as husband and wife?
It felt weird for a split second – a wonderful sort of weird and then I forgot and had to keep reminding myself over the course of the night!
Where did you go on honeymoon?
We went to LUX Belle Mare in Mauritius – absolutely amazing! Best resort I’ve ever been to; I had the time of my life and would go back in a heartbeat.
What advice would you give to a bride-to-be?
Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s okay not to be too stressed out (I was stressing that I wasn’t stressed). It’s going to be the perfect day no matter what happens, so take it all in – you may not be present the whole way through, but try to remind yourself to stop and take it in occasionally. Trust your gut with all your suppliers – we changed venues three months before the wedding because we trusted our intuition. Be good to each other during the process and remember to take a moment to celebrate yourselves on the day.
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