Weddings Galore

We recently attended two very special weddings. Special weddings because people very dear to our hearts got married. And I don’t know about you but I love weddings. I love everything about weddings.

Here are my top 4 reasons why (there are many more reasons but I do have a life so it’s compacted!):

1. Weddings are awesome because I get to dress up, nicely. Heels and everything.

One of the big let down of South Africa has been the lack of opportunities to dress up. You would think that Christmas, New Year’s eve, and birthday party dinners are all events where we dress nicely…Well, you’d be wrong. Here in SA, they are only another excuse to braai more meat. Back in France, a Sunday lunch is good enough to take out your sexy blouse and your stilettos. Fortunately, weddings managed to pull through even in laid-back-SA and people still dress up. So in the space of 2 weekends, the husband and I (and the kids!!!) could clean up good and look like this:

Léa as a flower girl and me, a happy woman, all dressed up.

The really handsome boys, tie and all.

The nervous groom and the best man aka my beaaaauutiful husband.

 

2. I love weddings because it challenges you to think about the promises of love that were made however many years ago. Those sweet promises are staring at you in the face and asking ‘So??!! How is that selfish behaviour of yours doing??’ and there is no escape! Weddings are a great place to ask yourself how you’ve loved your spouse lately, and while you might shift uncomfortably in your seat, there are two love birds up front saying ‘I do’ thinking that the hard work was planning the wedding. Mwahahahah!!!!

Matty, already pondering the meaning of marriage (not really, I just love this pic)

 

3. Weddings are also exciting because it’s good food, that not only is for free but it has also been prepared for you!! Life – As good as it gets! Any food that I don’t have to prepare myself is fantastic food. I’m not going to add a picture to illustrate because, really, who takes pictures of food!!! As for this blog, you can just imagine the ‘filet’, the ‘lamb stew’ and the ‘chocolat fondant’. It speaks louder than any photos. But if you do need a picture of the food, contact Lauren. She takes great pics of the food she makes 😉 (Lauren, I love you and the picture of your bobotie. Really I do!!)

4. Finally, weddings are an easy way to spend time with some of your favourite people without having to plan anything. Okay, that might not apply to everyone but most weddings that I’ve been to, are people from my church. That means that the biggest part of the invitees are cool cats that I really enjoy seeing!  I get to hang around these cool cats (whether they like it or not!) for a whole evening.

Great friends!

Precious Melies!!

My silly Andy Pandy…

Basically all the girls of our Bible study!!!! Great girls all around! (Notice how Lauren and I, the shortest girls are the ones crouching. We are basically the crouching tigers)

 

And those are 4 great reasons to love weddings!! There are no more weddings that we’ve been invited to for now, but we’re always happy to gate-crush. That’s how servant-hearted we are 🙂

 

 

Becoming Mrs Craye…

This had to be the most beautiful wedding.

Not because it was the most expensive! It was a morning wedding.

Not because it was the most advertised one on Facebook with daily love messages! Some people barely knew she was engaged.

Not because it was the wedding awaited for years and years! They met last year on a mission to Namibia, got engaged and got married

Lisa and Johan tied the knot on this beautiful autumnal morning at the N.G. Kerk in Wynberg, a beautiful little church on top of a hill. If there was a price for the ‘most smiley’ bride, Lisa would have won it. Lisa is always smiling – that is true, but on Saturday 10 April, she was beaming. She has been waiting for 30 odd years, for the right guy that God would send her way. She has remained pure, she has remained faithful and if getting married was something we deserved, Lisa would have deserved it.

The wedding was filled with emotions as the loss of her parents was recalled. To see all 4 siblings looking after each other, loving each other so much and protecting their younger sister (Lisa) was a beautiful picture, even if tainted with sadness. I do not know Johan much – in fact almost not at all – but I trust Lisa’s judgment on him and he seems like a great man who will love and cherish her just as Christ loved the church (Much less perfectly of course being sinful and all!).

I am so overjoyed and thrilled for my sweet Lisa.And I wish both of them a very blessed marriage.

The groom anticipating his bride,

The beautiful little flower girl,

Lisa led to the altar by her brother,

Leaving as Mr and Mrs Craye!!

Another flower girl, called Happiness 🙂

The married couple leaving in the Land Rover!

This is such a Lisa-expression!!

Two becoming one…

Stunning wedding…. I won’t elaborate too much, because most weddings tend to follow the same pattern.

One thing that I found very special was how the whole ceremony and celebration were completely infiltrated by the love of God, love that He has poured out on us, and a total thankfulness for all the blessings that He has showered  on both families over the years.

Yes the bride was beautiful, and the groom was handsome, and yes the decor was out of a fairy tale, the venue was idyllic, and the food was good. But more importantly the love between Sarah-Jane and her dad Ross was so precious, the care that Lindy took of Sarah-Jane was so beautiful, the humble pride of Leon and Mary-Ann (Leon’s parents) towards Leon (Junior) was unusual and of course the genuine love between Sarah-Jane and Leon was evident too. A very sweet and funny speech of Ross demonstrated how much he loves Lindy, and even after making Leon blush for his slip-ups (really Leon? Stroking your father-in-law’s leg???), he’s shown that Leon was dearly loved and appreciated.

Above all, their love of Christ was what made the wedding so special. Both the Venters and the Andersons live a life that reflects the love of Christ and this was made obvious in many ways, not least of all the legacy of personal acceptance of Christ as Lord AND Saviour that they passed onto their own children. A real example of complete submission to Christ,  deep humility among men and grace from God in their lives paved the way for the faith that both SJ and Leon share in our Lord Jesus.

I will pray  that Leon and Sarah-Jane’s marriage will also be a reflection of God’s love for His bride  – His church – a reflection where God comes first, others come second and yourself  the very last.

This was the outstanding decor… there was some little wired hearts on each table, that you could take with you – which I did 😉

  The ceremony took place at Christ church Kenilworth. It’s such a beautiful church! Little Poppy Honey walked first down the aisle, with the help of Daddy Ross, and she did so well. Apparently at the rehearsal she refused to walk so a double ‘yeah!’ for Poppy!!

Justin Mote led the ceremony and married the two birds. He is an amazing christian guy and I thoroughly enjoy him, and his preaching. I think weddings are an excellent reminder for married couple of how we are supposed to love our spouses, as a daily denial of ourselves…

 

The flower girls were very cute, and so were the bridemaids!

Now it seems that this collage is out of place, but no! This is Jesse and her mum Bonnie, holding a little 3 months old little girl. This little one has been abandoned and is in need of foster parents and ultimately adoptive parents. She is very cute…

Our table rocked!

SJ and her bridemaids had prepared a little Mamamia show, to the surprise of Leon, but not too his dislike 😉

And so the dancing began, first with the dad. Very special moment!

And the throwing of the bouquet with a crowd of very expectant maids, and the throwing of the garter band to a wild guy crowd! But you can see that SJ takes no nonsense – bottom pic right 😉

    

That’s us, on the day!!