We met a very highly recommended photographer at the Somerset Mall this evening over a cup of coffee. Him and his wife are a very nice couple and are both photographers. He showed us a couple of his photo sets, and they really are spectacular. He also does tons of photo shoots for magazines, brochures, venues, models etc.

Both Karina and I like his work and can really see our photos turning out to be a success. He also recommended some really good make-up artists for Karina, and funny enough, Karina has already phoned both of them before! So step 2 seems all but wrapped up!

Next up is the camera / video people. (What do you call them? Videographer?)

and its not the one Karina and I had agreed to yesterday! We even went as far as confirming with Delvera, but today, after visiting both venue’s again, we now have gone with Stellenrust. Taking Karina’s parents with today was very interesting. Mr P’s mind changes every 5 minutes. He almost thinks out aloud when negotiating with us about the pro’s and con’s of each venue. Karina and Mae almost lost their cool with Mr P in the car, but, my excellent negotiation skills, all has been sorted out.

The jokes Mr P cracked after we got home about other venues had us in stiches. I whipped out one of those small bottle’s of champagne to celebrate when Mr P chirps, “That champagne is vrot! There is no expiry date, so its must be vrot!”

Well, the venue now is officially done and dusted. Stellenrust it is, and both of us, as well as Mae and I am sure Mr P, are happy with the venue. Here are a few photo’s of the venue I took yesterday.

(Click on the photo’s for a larger version) From the photo’s you will be able to see the hall, the lounge & bar area – which is great for socialising and pre-drinks, and then the venue from the outside. The photo of the hall had a banquet style wedding setup, which is a very novel idea, but…. not for us, thanks.

Step 1, find a venue. Check.

So it looks like we have narrowed it down to 2 venues. Stellenrust and Delvera. Both are really beautiful, but have their very own style to them. There really isn’t a clear winner between the 2, so both Karina and I would be very happy with either one. Both the venues are situated on wine farms in the Stellebosch area. They both have amazing views and surrounds, so we don’t have to worry about finding somewhere to take photographs. So thats 1 less thing to worry about!

Yesterday (Saturday the 8th December), we visited the 5 potential venues that could host our wedding. I have noticed that if you have more than 120-150, the number of venues that can accommodate you drops by two thirds! And with that in mind, our favourite venue on paper, was already booked! So, the bigger the wedding, the earlier you have to book the venue. (Tip 1, newly engaged couples!)

Today, we are taking Karina’s parents out to see both venues, and to see what they think of them. We both have a feeling which one they would prefer, but you never know with Mr. P and Mae.

I’ll be posting some photo’s of the venues up later, so stay tuned for that.

Glad you could make it to our website and blog – jasonandkarina.co.za.

I started this blog to document my entire wedding experience here, mostly for memories, but also to keep everyone in the loop on how things are progressing. Oh, not just that, information about how to go about organising a wedding is valuable information, I tell you! I have a couple of friends that I’m sure need some tips etc.

I’m hoping I can convince Karina to blog here soon, so stay tuned for that!