Nine years in the making…

So, after nine years of living together, GV finally decided to ask me to get married! On our 3 day long December ‘holiday’ he went down on one knee after a fabulously romantic three course dinner on our private deck and made a speech that would melt anyone’s heart. I said yes, of course. Actually, I made him sweat a little first (after all, he did make me wait 9 years!).

So after letting the parents know the good news immediately and all our friends the next day (sms is SUCH a wonderful invention…) we started talking about what kind of wedding we would like.

Now, one would think that after 9 years together we would have discussed these kind of things before… But no, we had not ventured into those murky waters ever before. Most girls (and I do generalise, I know…) have thought about their wedding day and have it all planned out even before they meet the man. I am not one of those girls. Don’t get me wrong, I have thought about a few things over the years; for instance that I never want pink or orange anywhere NEAR my wedding (except in a sunset, maybe..) and that there are certain family members I would never invite. Oh, and that I would like tulips as my flowers. But as to the actual details of the decor and proceedings of the day? Not really.I must confess that I am an event planner… I do organise functions and the like for a living, and I love throwing a party, so organising our wedding should not be a problem, or what? And in truth, so far all has been rather plain sailing. Except that the venue we both fell in love with has been ‘provisionally’ booked (I am still praying that it will be ours!). Also the guest list… This is where, I think, most problems pop up in most wedding arrangements. Let’s face it, weddings are expensive. Feeding 200 people good food, affording a venue with enough space for a decent sized dance floor and getting the photographer you want (post to follow….) equates to a pretty penny (there’s a euphemism if ever I saw one).So naturally you start looking at cutting the guest list slightly. Now GV’s parents immigrated to South Africa in 1971. Two years before he was born. Thus his only family that will be attending are his parents, two brothers and their wives. That makes, count them… six family members! His friends and work mates make up the rest of his 50 odd guests. I, on the other hand, am a born and bred Souf Efriken, with family pouring out of my ears. My mother has 4 siblings. They have 11 children between them (my cousins). Each of them has some kind of significant other. Where are we now… 30 people. Then my parents, my sisters, their partners. Oh, and my fathers side of the family as well. The magic number comes to… 44. And that’s just family! That means that I need to seriously think about who I can (possibly) cut from the list.

I know there will be trouble if I leave someone off. But I feel I’ve waited long enough for my wedding day, and that I will not get intimidated by guilt and emotional blackmail (which this will inevitably lead to…) Will keep you posted!