Your Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wedding - October/November 2020 (Issue 85)

REAL WEDDINGS 39  I didn’t have a clear idea about what flower varieties I wanted, only that I wanted to have a Protea (the national flower of South Africa) in my bouquet, so we used that as a starting point for the colour scheme. We had Amarula chocolate truffles made by the sister of a friend of mine as our favours. It’s a South African liqueur made from the fruit of the Marula tree, which is known as the wedding tree in Zulu culture. It’s loved by elephants who get drunk eating the fruit! It was just one of the ways that we added another South African touch to our wedding. While we signed the register, the Rodolfus Choir performed two African songs in place of traditional anthems. They sang so beautifully which made me cry - it was wonderful to add a touch of South Africa to the service. Buddy, the groom’s family golden retriever, came to our drinks reception and was a hit with the guests! We had fun collecting different champagne bottles to display the names for each of our tables. The cards were printed by our brilliant stationery designer to fit in with the theme of our invitations and menus. Each table was named after a location in New York. The names themselves were displayed on glass in gold frames with each one hand-scripted in gold by our florist. Our centrepieces were low-level gold vases of flowers in pale pink and cream with lots of greenery that reflected our colour scheme