Sonja & Alto’s wedding at Motozi Lodge

Sonja & Alto are two of those super nice and decent people. I am sure it was planned that they had to meet. Friends , family and myself just had an awesome day with these two lovebirds on their special day.

They got married at the beautiful Motozi Lodge, one of my firm favourites as a wedding venue.

I will always remember not only the special couple, but also Sonja’s extraordinary beautiful dress. She looked SO stunning in it.  That was definitely the right choice for her. Not ponly beautiful and elegant, but sexy as well.

Alto & Sonja. thanks for asking me to to be your wedding photographer. I had an awesome time with you guys.

JC Crafford

I asked Sonja a few questions about her wedding:

How did you meet?

Almost 7 years ago, we were both still at the university, living in the same apartment complex, unaware of each other. One day we walked past each other, Alto insists that I skipped as I walked and smiled at him. He wondered why I was so happy. A few weeks later, the same thing happened and me being me looked him up on Facebook. I send him a personal message :”Is jy die oulike ou van Dorpstraat?”. Alto calls it stalking, I just knew that I wanted to get to know this man, there was just something about him. After that our path together started and I have never looked back since.

Tell us about the proposal

It was in August, last year. Alto wanted us to go for a picnic cause I have been begging him for quite a while to go. He however insisted that we go to Kaia Manzi, a resort in Bronkhorstspruitdam. I couldn’t understand why but I just went with it. I should probably mention that this is where he first asked me to be his girlfriend in 2011. We started having our picnic and then I suggested a short walk. I turned my back to get some things and he got down on one knee as I turned back around and in the most simple words he said, “My liefie, sal jy met my trou”? I was a bit shocked but also extremely happy as I have been waiting for this day forever! That was his proposal , simple and personal and exactly the way I wanted it, no one around, just us having this special moment to ourselves.

Describe your wedding day, anything specific that you will always remember

My wedding day was everything I dreamed about, I will always remember how Alto looked at me when we were doing our vows, it is a look that one cannot explain but one that almost made me cry.

Also, I will probably remember how I almost fell during our dance and we “saved” it 😛

The dress

I am not a Cinderella-type of girl, I am more of a hands-on casual girl who also loves to dress up now and again. To suit my personality I had my dressed designed by Lezanne Chrisholm at Love Me Do Bridal Wear. It was a short dress with veil like material from the knees downward. It had the most exquisite detail on the dress and unlike many dresses it was very comfortable and made me feel beautiful in every way. It was and is without a doubt my dream wedding dress.

The Flowers

I used sunflowers as my bouquet and decor choice, I have always like them, they are just different than any other flower in the sense that they have the ability to light up a room and just gives a room a “happy”vibe, which I love.

Highlight of the wedding

I am going to give a quite personal answer to this question and those that know me well will most definitely understand the answer.

The highlight of my wedding was the fact that my mother could be there to see me get married and also see our first dance as these are the things she wished she could see. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to share it with her.

Was there any drama

Fortunately not, besides me running 5 minutes late all went as planned 🙂 🙂

The Honeymoon

We went to Thailand for 2 weeks, we spend a few days in Bangkok, shopping and experiencing the culture of the people and going to the Grand Palace. The rest of the trip we were at Koi Samui Island and it was an absolute amazing and unforgettable experience. We rode around on a scooter seeing all the main attractions such as Big Buddha, Wat Plai Laem, Buddha Gardens and also ate street food and at a few local places which was a very unique experience for me as I have never been overseas. We also went on a day trip doing snorkeling and sea kayaking, on the trip Alto and I lost each other, at that time it was not funny at all and quite scary but now I just can’t help myself imagining how alto tried to explain to everyone that “I lost my wife” 🙂 Further it was sipping on cocktails, sitting on the beach and experiencing the night life. It was a honeymoon to remember!!!

Tell us about your photographer.

JC Crafford is one of the best photographers. He made us feel comfortable in front of the camera which was a big bonus as we, especially Alto, is not exactly a photo person. He chatted with us while taking photos and he caught all the most important moments during the ceremony and reception, which is more than what one can hope for. Also his photos of us and our quests where we are just minding our own business and having fun is great. We just love him and the end result of our photos.

Who did your make-up and hair?

Teresa Lombaard – teresamoney@hotmail.com) / 084 292 7585

Any other suppliers that you want to mention?

Xclusive Events Decor (specifically Carina van Aarde) – vanaardecarina@yahoo.com /083 709 8813

Royalty Cakes – info@royaltycakes.co.za / 063 712 9959

Dress: Love me Do Bridal Wear (Lezanne Chrisholm) – lezanne@lovemedobridalwear.com / 061 157 8512

Do you have any advice for other brides/grooms-to-be?

Yes, on your wedding day, don’t stress about the small things that might go wrong because there is a small chance that something will, just embrace it and relax.

Also, even if just for a second, take a moment for yourselves to take everything in and enjoy it because in a blink of an eye the night is over.

Bride to be – take along an extra pair of comfortable shoes 🙂

What was your inspiration behind your overall wedding decor and colour choices?

Besides the fact that I absolutely love turquoise, the colors and flowers were chosen to give our wedding a more chilled and happy vibe and I must say with the sunflowers we definitely achieved this goal.