After a wonderful, cold and productive weekend away we have chosen our venue! It turned out to be a fairly simple choice.
Experience always wins
Linwood Guest Farm has held a significant number of weddings on their property. When we arrived the owner and staff where knowledgeable, had answers to all our questions and could talk through options of what other brides have done. The further into this process I get, the more I realise that most brides are the same. We all like to think of ourselves as having very unique taste, but after your man pops sparkles on your finger we all seem to become one bridal mass!
Living the fairytale but with a plan B
The forest setting for a ceremony at Linwood is spectacular. With neither of us being religious, we had no need for a church or even to be in doors. Although the forest was dry when we were there the vision of how it could look convinced us that this was where we wanted to say our vows. More accurately where Chris will say his vows and I will have an ugly cry in front of the 80 people closest to me!
Despite the beauty of the setting, rain is a real threat for the day. Linwood has a beautiful, non-denominational, chapel on site. Interestingly it is one of the few wedding venues I've seen that hasn't put crosses in the ceremony areas, making it suitable for all religions.
Having vision
Despite my fiance's numerous strong points, the vision of what something could look like often fails him. I fear a career in wedding planning or interior decorating would not be a winning choice.
Linwood were great at showing us pictures of what other brides had done. I have also done quite a bit of research looking for wedding photo's of other couples at the venue on their photographers blog/facebook page. I highly recommend this, parts of a venue you wish to highlight/disguise are often similar to other brides (again, we are one mass!) and their methods can spark great ideas in you.
Experience always wins
Linwood Guest Farm has held a significant number of weddings on their property. When we arrived the owner and staff where knowledgeable, had answers to all our questions and could talk through options of what other brides have done. The further into this process I get, the more I realise that most brides are the same. We all like to think of ourselves as having very unique taste, but after your man pops sparkles on your finger we all seem to become one bridal mass!
Living the fairytale but with a plan B
The forest setting for a ceremony at Linwood is spectacular. With neither of us being religious, we had no need for a church or even to be in doors. Although the forest was dry when we were there the vision of how it could look convinced us that this was where we wanted to say our vows. More accurately where Chris will say his vows and I will have an ugly cry in front of the 80 people closest to me!
Despite the beauty of the setting, rain is a real threat for the day. Linwood has a beautiful, non-denominational, chapel on site. Interestingly it is one of the few wedding venues I've seen that hasn't put crosses in the ceremony areas, making it suitable for all religions.
Having vision
Despite my fiance's numerous strong points, the vision of what something could look like often fails him. I fear a career in wedding planning or interior decorating would not be a winning choice.
Linwood were great at showing us pictures of what other brides had done. I have also done quite a bit of research looking for wedding photo's of other couples at the venue on their photographers blog/facebook page. I highly recommend this, parts of a venue you wish to highlight/disguise are often similar to other brides (again, we are one mass!) and their methods can spark great ideas in you.
Easy escape
The last thing that really sold us on Linwood was the onsite accommodation. The accommodation style isn't what we would usually go for, its very farm/country chic, but the availability of 9 rooms so that all of our bridal party can choose to stay with us and ample space for both of us to get ready on the day without spotting each other was a serious selling point. I have found weddings where guests are not concerned with driving to be the most enjoyable and we plan to shuttle the remainder of our guests the 5 kilometres back into Clarens so no driving is required!
With two major aspects down the wedding feels like it is starting to take shape. Next up is hiring a wedding planner, finding an officiant (not as easy as it sounds since we want a non-denominational service in the Free-state), sending out Save-the-dates, planning the engagement party (better late than never) and investigating if I want to buy an off-the-rack dress or get one made.
More to follow
xxxx
Bride Maczar
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