Ruby + Swallow: Real Wedding: Tammy + Lee

Soft peach, gray and hessian formed the base for this rustic farm wedding oozing with love and charm. Tammy and Lee got married at Killarney Farmhouse in Nelspruit but planned their big day all the way from London. The result is a wedding packed with simple details that make it one that we won't ever forget!

Full names of the bride and groom: Lee Spurgeon and Tammy Glendinning (now Spurgeon)

Date and year of your wedding: 28 September 2013

Venue: Killarney Farm House , Nelspruit

Colour and/or Theme: Peach, natural, grey / Rustic & Farm Wedding

So what’s your love story?

Lee and I are the very few lucky ones who met online. In 2008, we went for coffee on our first date, my very good friends Adriana and Jason were sitting next to us, I was obviously so nervous I did not see them, so they witnessed our entire first date. I only noticed them when they were driving off and waving which Lee pointed out to me. Since that night we have been in-separable. Real love at first sight.

How did he propose?

In August 2012, after a fun day at the beach, he asked me to get ready quickly as he wanted to go out for dinner, after I got out the shower, I noticed the cooler box and some bags were packed at the door, after questioning him, and him finally getting me into the car, we were on the way. We arrived at our favourite forest, just outside of London. He left me in the car and told me he would be back in 5 minutes. Once he came back for me, we walked up to the little picnic spot he had set up under a massive tree. He had drinks, amazing food and music all set up.

After dinner, he stood up and asked me to carry on looking away from the tree above us, he switched on all these fairy lights which he had set up the day before in the tree above us, asked me to come stand next to him and admire the lights, I noticed at the end of a string of lights was a ring, when I looked back at him, he was on one knee asking me to marry him, I cried and said YES YES YES!

What was the best lesson you learnt through planning your wedding?

Don’t be scared to ask for help especially those who are involved in the wedding – they want to help. Prepare for things to go wrong, because they will, even the most simple things. Remember none of the guests will even notice. Enjoy every second, as everyone is right – it goes by so quick.

Any tips for brides to be?

How did you decide on the colour or theme of your wedding?

I have always loved pastel colours and it was a toss up between peach, mint or pastel blue. My mom’s favourite flower is a peach rose, so that helped me make the decision. For Lee and the bestmen, we decided on grey as it’s a classic colour and goes with everything, I told the boys to put their own style into what they were wearing so they didn’t look like soldiers.

How involved was your husband or family in the wedding planning?

I did all the planning throughout the year. Lee added his input on everything which helped me make decisions (being an indecisive Libra) he also did all the major DIY work which I could never of done. My family and friends definitely helped through all the planning and I could not have done it without them.

What would you change about your wedding day if you could?

I would definitely hire a Videographer.

Were there any elements of your wedding that you did yourself?

Pretty much our whole wedding was DIY, we made the chalk name tags, meal tags, guest seating tags, bought all our own décor (which can be used in our home one day), my mom made all the Pom Pom’s, we had Pimms and homemade lemonade for cocktail hour, we had a Photobooth which my cousin took photos of the guests to keep them entertained while we were off taking photos. Our cake was also homemade. Wooden signs - Ceremony, Photobooth, Games, Reception etc. My very pregnant Maid of Honour helped a lot, planning the wedding from the UK was difficult, so having someone at “Ground Zero” was amazing. The wedding would not have been possible without Kerri.

Did anything unexpected or extra special happen on your wedding day that surprised you and your husband? (Or just you!)

As we got out the car to walk down the aisle, there was hectic thunder and the clouds went really dark, the DJ had to move his equipment under cover, so the Bridesmaids had to walk down the aisle in silence and we couldn’t wait for the DJ as we were all worried about the rain and all the guests were standing already.

Once I started walking, the DJ managed to play the beginning part of the song I had chosen, which was an instrumental version of Turning Page – Sleeping at Last. My Aunt ran and stuck a knife in the ground (family superstition) and the rain held out but the thunder was amazing and made the whole ceremony extra special – it just felt like we were surrounded by everyone who loves and cares for us.

When asked by the Minister who gives this bride away, my flower-girl Jenna said, "I Do", it was really cute and funny, then my dad stood up and said he does. After all the speeches were done, our ring bearer - James (who is 8 years old!) - asked if he could say a few words. He stood on a chair and said the cutest speech.

Just me – My husband’s ssshhexy dance before he took off my garter for the garter toss! :)

What was your wedding song? We kind of had 3 songs, as music plays such a big part of our lives. We both love the Foo Fighters, so we found our favourite song and had it slightly edited which was the Foo Fighters – Everlong (Acoustic), followed by some romance in the form of Otis Redding – These arms of mine and then lastly a little folk by Van Morrison – Into the Mystic. It was nice to spend a little extra time on the dance floor in my Husbands arms.

What was the flavour of your cake?

3 tier carrot cake with cream cheese icing.

Did you go on Honeymoon? And if so, where did you go? Paradise Sun on Praslin Island, Seychelles

SERVICE PROVIDERS:

Venue: Killarney Farm House

Photographer: Laura Jane Photography – I found Laura on Facebook, I instantly fell in love with her photos and her style.

Decor: Everyone helped, it was so amazing to be surrounded by family and friends, I was and still am so overwhelmed by everyone who helped and worked so hard – the day before the Wedding was so chaotic but it all came together, doing all your own décor is not for the faint hearted.

Fairy Lights - My Maid of Honour’s Mom supplied all her personal fairy lights for the whole reception area.

Tables - We bought all the vases and ceramic pots from Mr Price We also made the little chalkboard name tags for each wine glass as well as on each fork there was a little stamp and tag letting the guests and waiters know what the guests ordered on their RSVP.

We hired all chairs, tables, table cloths, tableware, hessian, pillows from Easy Hire in Nelspruit

We had a Bedouin tent over the wooden deck at Killarney, we hired from Gecko Tents

Stationary: I did our own invitations, I took a template off Wedding Chicks, personalised it and printed them on pretty cardboard, used some twine and cute rubber stamps.

Dress (including bridesmaids dresses): I got my Wedding Dress from Love Bridal in London, I had this idea in my head of what I wanted, I saw my dress and knew it was the one.

Bridesmaids – As we were keeping an eye on our budget, I asked all my bridesmaids to buy their own dresses to suit their own style and taste, so that way they can wear those dresses again, I really wasn’t too fussed that the colours matched, I actually wanted the colours not to match – all the different shades of peach came together so beautifully.

Hair: One of my Husband’s best friends and one of the bestmen – Henri Kotze – Henri works for @Hair.com, he did 5 Bridemaids, flowergirl, myself and a last minute style on my Mom. 079 327 9095.

Make-up: One of my best friends and bridesmaid – Sherri Grunthal - is an amazing makeup artist, she did 5 Bridesmaids including herself, my Mom, my Maid of Honour’s Mom’s and my face in the short amount of time we had. You can reach her on 082 820 5766.

Spray Tan: Candi Makeup - Candi is a brilliant makeup artist and her spraytan’s are amazing, she made me feel comfortable even though it was my very first spraytan and I was very nervous. I had my tan done on the Tuesday before the Wedding, and my tan lasted beyond the Wedding.

Flowers: My Mom and Aunt bought all the flowers from Multiflora, transported them up to Nelspruit and decorated and placed all the flowers in the vases and jars – it was a lot of work but they did an amazing job and I wouldn’t of had it any other way, they knew what I wanted and I love them both for doing a brilliant job.