Almost two years ago, I (Filipa) was lucky enough to attend the beautiful wedding of Shan and Nic Hanafey. I'd known this couple for a few years through my bestest friend in the whole world, Sam (Shan and Sam are sisters) and from the get go, they made me feel loved and part of the family. Shan and Nic are such a great couple to look up to - they're energetic, lovable and humorous with one another (well Nic tries to be and Shan just nods and smiles). Most of all, they just get each other - and that is what is so great to witness. Their wedding happened on a perfect day, and was a mix of tradition and glamour. Collisheen was a picturesque venue, and so different from the usual game farm or beach venues we get here in Durbs. The sugar cane was a stunning backdrop and the chapel and venue weren't even 10 metres apart - so no driving around from place to place. So sit back and admire the celebration of this beautiful couple. Oh! And before I forget: the best news of all? Little Baby Hanafey is on the way!! :)
THE BASICS:
The Bride and Groom: Nicholas John Hanafey and Shan Pamela Hanafey (Scott)
Wedding Date: 1st May 2010
Colour and/or Theme: Aqua-Blue
THE DETAILS:
So what's your love story?
Nic was very good friends with the
ex-boyfriend of one of my best friends. He moved into a room in the house where
my best friend and her boyfriend at the time were living. I used to visit the
house often as my best friend and I were at varsity together and went out all the time. Nic was a gym bunny at the time, very popular and
used to party a lot. Everytime I went over, Nic was either doing pull ups on
the door frame or frying something (shirtless) in the kitchen. It was
definitely a sight I didn’t mind getting used to. One night, we all went out to Home in Innes
road and Nic and I hit it off. We chatted all night, laughed and had a really
good time. From there we started spending a lot of time together. He came to
braai's at my home with my family and spent many Saturday mornings coming with
me to watch my brother play rugby at College Rovers. At first he was very quiet (my family is
very loud) but slowly he became one of us. At my 21st birthday (6 months
into our relationship) he sang me the most beautiful song - yes he's a singer
and plays guitar! My mom told my family that night that she knew I had met the
man I was going to marry. He and I were perfect together and five years later we got married.
How did he propose?
By now both my parents had passed away.
They left me, my sister and brother, a small plett home in Happy Wanderers in
Kelso. While my parents were alive, my father and mother had
cleared a section of the garden around our plett and turned it into a fairy garden. There were
fairy castles and fairy lights galore. People from the camp site would come
every night just to sit in and visit the fairy garden. Nic used this area to
propose to me. He told me that he wanted it to be there so as to include my
parents in the proposal. There were hundreds of balloons and more fairy lights.
He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. For me, he couldn’t have
made it any more perfect.
What was the best lesson you learnt through your planning?
What will be, will be. Planning is so
important when trying to make the evening special BUT when it comes to the
night just relax and enjoy it. It only happens once. Things might go wrong but I had the
best night of my life. I wouldn't change a thing!
Any tips for brides to be?
Its your day. Invite
who you want to invite. Do the things that make you happy.
How did you decide on the colour or theme of your wedding?
It was my mother's colour theme.
How involved was your husband and family in the wedding planning?
Nic was basically involved with all the major decisions like where, when etc. The little things
he left to me. Nic's mom and dad were amazing in helping out. Nic's mom and I
planned almost everything together. Nics dad helped with all the printing and
making of the menus and programs etc.
What would you change about your wedding day if you could?
Nothing
Where there any elements of your wedding that you did yourself?
We had a tree that
held all the table numbers and names. We physically put branches together and
painted the tree. We also decorated everything ourselves on the tree and made
the strings of names for each table. We also glued the
table numbers to the frames and stuck all the décor on the programs, menus etc.
Did anything unexpected or extra special happen on
your wedding day that surprised you and your husband? (Or just you!)
Besides getting stung by a bee, my wedding cake didn't arrive! No one told me that it hadn't arrived and my maid of honour
realised at 5pm when we got back from the photos that it wasn't there. So, all unknown to me, they put together the most
amazing wedding cake for me while the wedding was going on. They organised the
chef to make a small cake while at the same time one friend drove to Mugg and Bean to
get a large cake and another friend organised 12 cupcakes from her mother. She was
making cupcakes in my same colour for another wedding as well. So I ended up with a
3-tier wedding cake that was amazing!
What was your wedding song?
Amazing by Lonestar. Listen to it here.
What was the flavour of your cake?
Well it was supposed to be a traditional white cake, but it ended up being chocolate and then the cupcakes were vanilla with blue icing!
Did you go on Honeymoon? And if so, where did you go?
Yes, we went to Mauritius. It was amazing!
SERVICE PROVIDERS:
Coordinator: Shalain 032 9470198 / 083 4605754
Dress
(including bridesmaids dresses): Bride to be Brides - Isie Blackbeard 031 332 6321
All photography: Copyrighted to Stuart Dods
Labels: Collisheen Estate, Durban Weddings, Love Story, realweddings, weddings
