Elopement in a field of Proteas: Jaco & Kristin
The Celtic tradition of the bride and groom drinking out of a Quaiche includes a blessing that mentions heather. Here at Elope Cape Town, we have a thing for heather. Just look at it! (The photograph above). Perhaps this isn’t traditional heather as the Scottish referred to it but it’s our fynbos version, and isn’t it just so pretty?
When Jaco and Kristin reached out to us about a mountain elopement with just the two of them, we knew that it would be special and intimate. We didn’t know the heather would be in full bloom though. We had scouted the spot (where is it, you may be wondering? Well, that would be telling now, wouldn’t it?) We will say only this: Jaco and Kristin gave us a general area in the Western Cape, South Africa to scout within and our photographers had free reign. They chose well, if we do say so ourselves. When they scouted the area the heather hadn’t come into its own yet and so when we arrived for the elopement, the delicate purple came as the most beautiful surprise.
When we set out to write this blog, we decided that 10 photographs should be enough to showcase Kristin and Jaco’s elopement but when it came down to the choosing, we HAD to add way more. It was the perfect day! Now, some would call that luck – after after, no one can control the weather, especially in August in Cape Town (not quite winter but not quite spring). There was, however, another element (pun intended) responsible for ensuring Jaco and Kristin got the sunset they imagined for their wedding day: Spontaneity. Or flexibility, to be more accurate.
You see, Jaco and Kristin were initially going to elope on the 22nd of August. Kristin has a thing for even numbers and she liked the look of the double 2. Even though she had a penchant for those twos, somewhere in the back of her mind, she somehow knew they’d be married on the 23rd. And that’s what unfolded.
A storm hit on the 22nd. It rained and rained and rained and rained. Oh did it rain! And so, Lindi, co-founder of Elope Cape Town and our extraordinary planner, went into action, lining up all the vendors to ensure that we could shift the elopement out by a day. And what a dream of a day turned out to be. Cold, sure but, also, beautiful beyond belief!
Even though Jaco and Kristin didn’t drink from the Quaich during their ceremony (they’re not Scottish and we’re not sure how much they like whiskey), it still seems fitting to include the blessing here because they were surrounded by heather on their wedding day:
Strike hands with me, the glasses brim,
The dew is on the heather.
For love is good and life is long,
And two are best together.
Bless the union of these two,
Eager for marriage, eager for love.
May they begin life together,
Live that life together
And come to the end together.
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