There’s something magical about a beautifully lit space filled with towering trees and the smell of pine. Nature always has a way of calming the mind and rejuvenating the soul, so it’s no surprise that basking in the glow of a few sparkly fairy lights and the delights of Mother Nature makes for an incredible wedding venue.

There is an array of mesmerising wedding spots in South Africa that make for the perfect forest wedding. If you’re in love with the idea of donning your bohemian wedding dress, grabbing your groom and getting married while being surrounded by a sea of tall trees, here are a few incredible forest wedding venues around South Africa to add to your list:

Die Woud – Caledon, Western Cape

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Die Woud (@diewoud)

The Forest Walk Venue – Johannesburg, Gauteng

Smitsfield Farm Venue – Lothair, Mpumalanga

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Smitsfield Venue (@smitsfieldvenue)

Winery Road Forest – Cape Winelands, Western Cape

De Uijlenes – Overberg, Western Cape 

Beloftebos – Stanford, Western Cape 

Picture: Instagram Bridgette Wuest

 

Former Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green and her fiancé Zesimdumise Nxumalo, better known as ‘Ze’, have shared snaps from their traditional Zulu ‘umembeso’ ceremony, which took place last weekend.

The ceremony came seven months after the couple got engaged in the Kruger National Park while on baecation in April, according to Times Live.

Umembeso is a Zulu traditional wedding ceremony in which the groom’s relatives bring gifts to the bride’s family. The ceremony occurs after the lobola negotiations but prior to the official Zulu traditional wedding.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CU15k5ZI-Vl/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CU10MoHj5qq/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CU1tnxcon93/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CU1x5sKIYXX/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CU4ej9SoxuV/

Originally Posted: African Insider

 

Weddings are stressful. Throw family into the mix, and sometimes you find a recipe for disaster. However, one wedding couple found that a few family members were ready to douse the traditional disaster recipe in petrol, set it alight and watch the flames burn it to smithereens. 

A bit dramatic, but we can only imagine that that’s exactly how it must have felt for the couple on their wedding day when all of the groom’s female family members showed up to the ceremony dressed in white. 

A 33-year-old groom recently took to Reddit to share his story of the wedding “prank,” which hadn’t exactly gone down too well. In an AITA (that stands for ’Am I the A-hole’) post, the groom explained that the women in his family are a very close-knit bunch which he explained is similar to a “unit” that is rather “toxic.” He went on to explain that the women in his family “tease and roast every new woman that enters the family by marriage” as a way to “test” to see if the women deserve to be a part of the family. 

Everything from the look and style of the women is roasted as they spend months teasing her before announcing that she has finally been welcomed into the family. Unfortunately, the cycle continues with every new woman that attempts to enter.

According to the groom, his brother warned him of the impending mess that was about to ensue as the “unit” planned to wear white on the wedding day. Despite the group vehemently denying the rumours, the day of the nuptials saw the women sporting white as the “ultimate test.”

The result? The groom asked them to leave, which resulted in a scene being made. His aunts and mother refused to leave, forcing the groom to threaten “harsher action.” Thankfully, they eventually all left, but not without his cousins blasting him on social media. 

“My cousin blasted me on social media later, saying I excluded all the women from the wedding because my wife was insecure that she couldn’t handle another woman’s presence at the wedding.”

However, things didn’t end there. The groom had an argument with his mother who states that she simply wanted to see if his future wife was a “bridezilla.”

“I haven’t seen the lot of them in two weeks and they’ve excluded me from everything.”

Picture: Unsplash

There’s nothing more romantic than popping the question on a wholesome beat. It’s also a great way to personalise a moment since music enhances emotions, and emotions enhance our memory processes. Long story short, we’ll remember them going down on one knee and the associated feeling every time you hit play.

One study took the time to sift through over 60 Spotify proposal playlists with 10 epic love songs coming out on top. Some of these hits you might know for being uber-romantic, while others may surprise you.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 songs to propose to, according to Spotify.

1. All of me, by John Legend 

Because we all love romance!

2. Perfect, by Ed Sheeran 

The perfect lyrics: “When I saw you in that dress/Looking so beautiful/I don’t deserve this/Darling, you look perfect tonight”

3. Thinking Out Loud, by Ed Sheeran

And who wouldn’t want to be proposed to or kissed under a thousand stars?

4. A thousand years, by Christina Perri

A beautiful ode to love everlasting.

5. Make you feel my love, by Adele

There’s no Adele song that we don’t love.

6. Marry You, by Bruno Mars 

Uhm … it’s literally a song about wanting to get married – perfect!

7. Marry me, by Train 

“You wear white and I’ll wear out the words I love you”

8. On bended knee, by Boys II Men 

Get ready to ball your eyes out because Boys II Men will always be our go-to love crooners.

9. Just say yes, by Snow Patrol 

Just say yes!

10. I swear, by All-4-One

The lyrics say it all: “For better or worse/Till death do us part/I’ll love you with every beat of my heart/And I swear/I’ll give you everything I can”

Picture: @breeannalasher