My granddaughter, Shannon, and her groom, Jordan, met while on holiday when they were teenagers in Grade 11 and Grade 12 respectively. But there was a problem. He lived in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape and she in Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape, so they could only see each other during school holidays. But distance did nothing to deter these two from forging a strong and loving relationship. They would move mountains to spend time together while never neglecting their studies. Shan worked on a teaching degree through UNISA while Jordan was apprenticed while studying to become a Millwright. He is now qualified and she has just a few months to go before her final exams. They are now 22 and 23 years old respectively. Young, you might think, but not too young. They both know exactly what they want and are truly committed to each other.

Because the two families are from different towns they decided to get married at The Woods, Humansdorp and all the wedding guests booked accommodation at nearby St Francis Bay.

For us, it was a six-hour road trip but the garden route drive is always beautiful.  We stopped for breakfast in Swellendam and then for a leg stretch at Bon Jour Petro Stop just before Mossel Bay.

We shared our awesome accommodation with our two daughters, Lisa and Lollz and our grandson, Josh. Our sister-in-law, Barbara, from Kokstad joined us too.

The weather for the whole weekend was awesome.  The entire weekend was wonderfully organised with something happening each day.

On Thursday evening we had sundowners at the bride’s accommodation and then walked to the restaurant where the entire wedding party had a section of the restaurant to themselves.  

On Friday we all gathered at Sunset Beach with our glasses and drinks.  Platters of delicious snacks were provided and we socialised and got to know each other while watching the sun go down.  What a perfect evening it was.  Not a breath of wind and no need for jackets or jerseys.

Saturday was Wedding Day and the festivities began at 3 pm and lasted well into the night.

The groom’s uncle is a pastor, and he married the happy couple under the canopy of a Bedouin Tent overlooking a beautiful dam.  It was a tad windy and at first, the bride’s veil blew into her face but she cleverly swapped places with the groom, her bridesmaid arranged her train and then all went smoothly.  What a beautiful ceremony, with the gentlest, wisest words on love being given by the pastor. The bride and groom wrote their own vows which were sincere and beautiful and most eloquently expressed to each other.

As the happy couple emerged from the tent a bell rang out its joyful noise.   We all showered the couple with natural leaves and the family members gathered for a group photograph.  A drone was involved in this and we all had to look up and say cheese!

While the wedding party was having photographs taken the rest of the guests were treated to snacks and drinks in another Bedouin tent.   This was followed by a dinner in a beautifully decorated venue next door.

Jeff the MC ensured everything ran smoothly from getting the guests to the right venues in time to introducing each speaker most eloquently.     The Father of the Bride brought tears to our eyes with his excellent speech, the best man and bridesmaid read out messages from absent friends and then both the bride and groom gave heartwarming speeches.  I was so proud of them both but especially my granddaughter. Who knew that she was so good at public speaking!  The groom, too, said that he had not spoken in public since doing English orals at school, yet they both spoke so confidently.

And then the dancing began.  We just loved watching the littlest members of the guests enjoying the music and dancing together.  

The weekend ended with breakfast at the Lighthouse at a restaurant called Nevermind! We packed up at Fig and Berries, drove to the venue, enjoyed a delicious brekkie on the veranda, and then said our farewells to the other guests.

After breakfast, we made our way to Plettenberg Bay where we spent the night with Lauren and Allan, A few of Shannon’s school friends were also accommodated on mattresses in the family room upstairs.   There were in fact 12 of us altogether.  The girls left very early the following morning but the rest of us left later that morning.

And the Happy Couple?  They flew to an island in Mozambique for a week-long romantic honeymoon!