Today's beautiful Miss Bush wedding comes to us all the way from South Africa! Sammy and Mathieu were married in early November in Tulbugh, in the South African winelands at the wine farm, Montepellier.

Sammy wore Jesus Peiro's 2232 dress with a customised neckline based on the square neck from style 2214. For the ceremony and portraits, she added the boxy 268 top, trimmed with glamorous feather shoulders. To style her look, Sammy added gold strappy sandals from Immacle, which were the perfect balance of glam and comfort - perfect for dancing the night away!

Read on to find out more about the day and her dress in Sammy's own words.

Jesus Peiro 2232 wedding dress

I wore a Jesus Piero dress with the feather bolero jacket. It was the 2nd dress I tried on and as soon as I put it on I knew it was my dress. I felt so comfortable in it but it made me feel a million dollars. It was a dress I knew would look amazing in the small chapel but also on the dance floor!

Dress Shopping

My Mum came to Miss bush back in the day to try on a dress so it was a really special occasion when I went to choose something. It was the first shop I went to in the UK as I had tried to find a dress in South Africa and had no luck. I had 5 different appointments booked the following week in London as I only had a week to find a dress before flying back to South Africa. We cancelled every appointment as I knew I wanted this dress. I didn't want to look any further. My Granny walked out when she saw me. She was lost for words.

Emma really made the dress experience so special for me. She made me feel so comfortable. She picked out dresses suitable for my wedding in sunny South Africa, she gave me tips on what would work and what wouldn't. The church space is so warming and romantic. I didn't want my appointment to end!

Prior to this, I had a nasty dress experience in South Africa and walked out in tears! So I was nervous about my appointment but I instantly felt comfortable with Emma.

Styling

I had the most amazing Immacle shoes that I literally danced in all night. the most gorgeous but comfortable shoes EVER and super affordable. Most of the jewellery I wore was vintage family heirlooms or wedding gifts. My grandmother had a necklace made by the same jeweller that made my engagement ring and I wore it with a lot of pride. Nick Martin from Christopher Reid in Cape Town made my ring and necklace.

About the Day

I married a Frenchman so I knew when we found our venue Montpellier, a wine farm previously owned by a Frenchman living in South Africa it was going to be perfect. We stumbled across the venue one weekend as we drove past it on a road trip and saw they were doing pizza and beer for Sunday lunch. We drove past the chapel on the hill and I had to go and look inside. When I stepped inside I knew that is where I wanted to get married (this was two years before we got engaged!)The most important thing to me was that the wedding was authentic to us. Although we were getting married in a chapel, I wanted a spiritual service where we spoke about two families coming together and the joining and acceptance of each of us into each other family. We had a Bob Marley quote that talked about not being perfect, but accepting each other for who we are. Our parents lit candles to symbolise the two families coming together and we sung The Beatles 'All You Need Is Love' as we walked out the chapel.

The most important thing to us was that everyone was comfortable and had a good time. We sat on the grass at the drinks and everyone took their shoes off and enjoyed the sunshine and canapes on the lawn. We then went into the dome cellar for dinner and dancing. There was a sense of movement and fluidity that our photographer captured so beautifully on the day. When I look back at the pictures all I see is joy and love on people's faces.

We took the different cultures chapters from our lives and that is what inspired us. I am British, but was born and raised in Hong Kong. My husband is French and we now live in South Africa so for example we had Springbok and Ostrich spring rolls for canapes!

The best bits

The ceremony felt like magic. So much of weddings now are focussed on the party and although that was a huge part of the fun, I wanted the ceremony to be really really special. Every word that was spoken was truth. The chapel on the hill was everything - it was surrounded with a 360 degree view of the mountains and we squeezed 120 people into this chapel. I almost felt like it was an out of body experience. I will forever go back to that chapel and see myself with my Father in front of my wonderful husband, surrounded by the most special people in my life who have flown in from all over the world to witness our love.

Sammy's Advice

Get a coordinator on the day.
Don't sweat the small stuff, focus on what is really important to you and get rid of the rest. Make sure you choose a team of people on the day who you really like. I chose my photographer, make up artist, videographer, wedding planner, all on their personalities. I knew I would feel a little overwhelmed on the day and I wanted the people around me to be people I liked and who helped me stay calm, it really worked!!ALSO - when you find the dress you love, don't look at ANY other dresses because you can always convince yourself there is a better dress out there!  Go with your initial gut choice and it will always be right. ALSO - ALWAYS CHOOSE COMFORT!!!

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