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If you're a lover of vintage wedding style, then today's giveaway is for you! The fabulous Mari of Bel Canto Designs (one of our Real Wedding sponsors, and an artist whose work we adore) is giving away a pair of these vintage-inspired rhinestone and pearl chandelier earrings to one lucky Junebug reader! (See the stunners in the photo above.) To enter to win, simply head over to the brand new Bel Canto Designs online shop, browse through the collections of necklaces, hair combs, head bands, bracelets, and earrings that have been lovingly created with both modern and refurbished vintage materials, and leave a comment here letting us know which are your favorites. We'll choose a winner on Wednesday afternoon, and if there are other items you simply can't live without, Mari is offering all Junebug readers a 10% discount through Feb. 14th - just use the discount code wellwed10 as you check out. Lots of luck everyone!
Today's Real Wedding, shot by Jean-Pierre Uys Photography, will take your breath away with its style and elegance, not to mention the romantic and breathtaking South African scenery. On a perfectly warm and sunny day in October, Shelley and Nkululeko tied the knot at the MolenVliet Wine and Guest Estate in South Africa, surrounded by friends and family from across the globe. When asked what the most romantic moment of the joyful celebration was, Shelley couldn't choose just one - "from the proposal in Spain, to going to bed with a new surname that night, and every moment in between, it was all romantic". 
The bride chose a dramatic wedding gown from Malcolm Kluk and Christiaan Gabriel Du Toit, and canary yellow dresses by the same designer for her bridesmaids. Her incredible five-meter-long veil even got its own moment in the sun, taking full advantage of a brief and sudden gust of wind during the ceremony, to delight the guests and spread its wings! In a modern fairytale detail that we simply can't get enough of, Shelley's godfather, the acclaimed Malaysian cobbler, Jimmy Choo (yes, THAT Jimmy Choo), handcrafted her wedding shoes for the big day - any bride's dream come true! While getting ready she attached a 1965 six-pence to them for an extra bit of luck, and then rode to the ceremony in style in a 1958 Bentley.  Shelley and Nkululeko's goal for their wedding was to savor every single moment. They were calm and relaxed throughout their big day, enjoying every last detail as they committed their lives to each other, surrounded by their family and friends, in this gorgeous natural setting. Can't you just feel their joy and ease in these stunning portraits by Jean-Pierre Uys as they took time to themselves to walk throughout the vineyards?
Using a wedding color palette of cream, gray-silver, off-white and black, Shelley and Nkululeko created an event that felt both sophisticated and relaxed. Mirrors, crystals and green foliage were used on the tabletops to accent the neutral colors, and there were plenty of candles and subdued sparkling lighting to set a romantic mood. The couple's first dance was to Al Green's "Let's Stay Together", and from the looks of joy and love on their faces, we have no doubt in our minds that's exactly what these two will do! To learn more about this wedding and all of the businesses that contributed, be sure to visit our Real Weddings library! 
Thank you so much for sharing this incredible adventure with us Shelley and Nkululeko! It was so beautiful! Readers, for help planning a Seattle or Southern California wedding, don't miss the trusted recommendations in our Plan Your Wedding hot list!
Ok, we just couldn't resist. We love this mock movie trailer save the date video from YouTube!
Pulling off a surprise proposal and
engagement party is quite a feat, but the results can be amazing! One of our dear friends and member photographers, GH Kim Photography, recently captured one
such surprise proposal (from their very own nephew, David) and the results were, naturally, nothing short of adorable. Throughout their relationship, David and Christina had been crossing the
US-Canadian border to see each other, so it was fitting that the
proposal happened on middle ground at the Peace Arch border crossing. The surprise didn't end at the
proposal though. Back at home, all of the the couple's friends and
family were waiting, unbeknownst to Christina, to help them celebrate
their special occasion. Check out how it all unfolded, straight from the
couple themselves...
 How it all happened... David:
I had told Christina
that we were taking a day trip to Canada with my
family (including my brother, sister-in-law, and Grace and Hun of GH Kim Photography) for my
brothers birthday.
The premise was that GH Kim offered to take pictures of my brother and
sister-in-law
somewhere cool and different. They also
"offered" to take pictures of Christina and myself. I emphasized that
no
one ever declines an offer from GH Kim, and that was the story that got
her
to the border. When she arrived, we had GH Kim strategically
pretending to take photos of Paul and Gloria.
Standing off at a distance, I motioned Christina to come over to me
and that's when I sang to her, confessed my love for her, and proposed
as GH Kim captured every moment!
Christina:
That
day, I was expecting to meet David and his family at the Peace Arch
border as the first stop to our day celebrating his brother's birthday. I knew they were going to take a couple shots of
me and David as well but didn’t expect us to be the main focus of the
day. When I got to the Peace Arch, the scene looked pretty normal - Paul
and Gloria had their “photo shoot” going on, off on the side, and David
was in front of the arch with his guitar in his hands. I thought to
myself "oh boy, of course David would bring a prop to a photo shoot". He told me he wanted to play the song he wrote
for me, and he started singing and playing. It was really
sweet but I felt confused as to why he was doing it in front of
everyone. After the song, he took my hand and gave a very genuine and thoughtful speech, and as soon as I heard
the words “so I talked to your parents...” I knew right away and was
unbelievably shocked that this was really happening. I faced the others
and even had to ask them if this was “real”. I was so overwhelmed by
joy that I felt like I was walking on clouds the whole day.  Looking back, what stood out most that day was...
David:
I
remember her walking toward me at the border and thinking
that my heart couldn't have pounded any harder. I
remember singing to her with everything I had in me. I vividly recall her
taking - precisely - up to 3 minutes to answer my 'will you marry me?'
question. After she realized I was serious (knee covered in mud), I
remember the look on her face when she said yes and when I placed the
ring on her finger. Also, the moments as I was guiding Christina up to
the front door (blind-folded) and feeling the level of excitement of
her friends who were watching was something I'll never forget.
Christina:
I
remember most vividly how surprised I felt to see my close friends
gathered in one place to surprise me and congratulate us. I remember
their happy faces - some with tears of joy.  After what we are sure was a joyous whirlwind of a day, the couple
can now look back on these sweet photos and reminisce about all the moments the GH Kim captured. And of course, they each have their favorites. David loves the photos that show him, as he says, "singing to the
love of my life, a song I wrote, and confessing that I wanted to grow
old with her". Christina's favorite is the one where she can see the exact moment that she "realized David was asking
me to spend the rest of my life with him and it completely overwhelmed
me with joy". Love it! Check out GH Kim Photography's blog for more darling images and information on this creative surprise proposal.
 Fine and Dandy is right! I'm smitten with this online shop called FineandDandyShop.com for their seriously stylish men's fashion and accessories. What a fabulous resources for finding those special touches that will make your groom and groomsmen feel dapper and dashing on your wedding day. Bow ties, neck ties, cuff links, hats, scarves, handkerchiefs, suspenders, socks, tie pins, pocket squares and even ascots; Fine and Dandy has it all, and they share it with the world like true gentlemen. Check it out!
 Red, pink, plum, nude, sheer, matte, gloss, lacquer- when you start thinking about lipstick for your wedding day suddenly there are sooo many options! One product I'm loving right now is a lip stain, for lips that look like you've been eating summer strawberries or happily smooching your fiance. Not too dark, not too saturated, not too glossy, just a slightly-richer-than-your-natural-lip-color stain that soaks in and sticks around through kisses and smiles and sips of champagne! Take a look at some great current lip options below...
 Wedding lipstains clockwise from top left: Stila Lip and Cheek Stain in Pomegranate Crush from Beauty.com
NARS Lip Lacquer from Nordstrom.com
NARS Lip Duo Lip Gloss/Lip Stain from Nordstrom.com
LORAC Sheer Wash Travel Size Lip and Cheek Tint from Beauty.com
Laura Mercier Lip Stain from Nordstrom.com
Trish McEvoy 'Instant Pick-Me-Up' Lip Stain from Nordstrom.com
Jemma Kidd Make Up Lip and Cheek Tint from Beauty.com
Top beauty images photographed by Will Whipple via SarahKaye.com
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