{"id":637306,"date":"2017-08-01T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/?p=637306"},"modified":"2017-08-01T09:04:01","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T14:04:01","slug":"this-mountain-springs-lodge-wedding-is-inspired-by-the-african-safari-where-the-couple-met","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/this-mountain-springs-lodge-wedding-is-inspired-by-the-african-safari-where-the-couple-met\/","title":{"rendered":"This Mountain Springs Lodge Wedding is Inspired by the African Safari Where the Couple Met"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637607\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/1e\/0a\/1e0a2df0717b050d.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"899\"><\/p>\n<p>Marissa and Wessel first met each other while working on a game reserve together in Africa, so it&rsquo;s no wonder that&nbsp;Africa holds&nbsp;a very special place&nbsp;in both of their hearts.&nbsp;To honor the beginning&nbsp;of their relationship and the groom&rsquo;s South African roots, Marissa and Wessel channeled all of their favorite African details in their&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mtsprings.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mountain Springs Lodge<\/a>&nbsp;wedding with an African Safari theme! The couple beautifully incorporated the theme with table decor inspired by African animals, traditional African accessories for their bridal party, and a natural color palette of peacock feather hues. We think&nbsp;the windy couple portraits <a href=\"https:\/\/hinterlandstills.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hinterland Stills<\/a> captured of Marissa and Wessel&nbsp;perfectly documents the couple&rsquo;s adventurous love.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><em>The Couple:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Marissa and Wessel<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><em>The Wedding:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mtsprings.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mountain Springs Lodge<\/a>, Leavenworth, Washington<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637572\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/74\/c0\/74c00f15432a5812.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637573\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/e1\/fe\/e1fed42222fcb805.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>What what most important to us in planning was making sure that the wedding was fun, love-filled and that&nbsp;<span class=\"il\">Wessel<\/span>&nbsp;and I&rsquo;s personal story could be seen\/felt throughout the wedding. Having the moments captured by photographers you can trust and know are doing an amazing job really set us at ease.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637568\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/c2\/70\/c2705ac48c08f4a1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637582\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/78\/e9\/78e93d8bda54d200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"899\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637583\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/9b\/1a\/9b1ada1d288a033a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"758\"><\/p>\n<h2>SHOP THIS LOOK:<\/h2>\n<div class=\"shopthepost-widget\" data-widget-id=\"2763745\">\r\n                <script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\r\n                    !function(d,s,id){\r\n                        var e, p = \/^http:\/.test(d.location) ? 'http' : 'https';\r\n                        if(!d.getElementById(id)) {\r\n                            e     = d.createElement(s);\r\n                            e.id  = id;\r\n                            e.src = p + ':\/\/widgets.rewardstyle.com\/js\/shopthepost.js';\r\n                            d.body.appendChild(e);\r\n                        }\r\n                        if(typeof window.__stp === 'object') if(d.readyState === 'complete') {\r\n                            window.__stp.init();\r\n                        }\r\n                    }(document, 'script', 'shopthepost-script');\r\n                <\/script>\r\n                <div class=\"rs-adblock\">\r\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wedding-blog\/\/assets.rewardstyle.com\/images\/search\/350.gif\" style=\"width:15px;height:15px;\" onerror=\"this.parentNode.innerHTML='Turn off your ad blocker to view content'\">\r\n                    <noscript>Turn on your JavaScript to view content<\/noscript>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637584\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/d3\/3a\/d33aea2b9559a3da.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637569\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/c3\/bb\/c3bb8c8642d5e1b0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637570\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/4b\/60\/4b6013239520d268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637571\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/a6\/de\/a6de96a796426799.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"899\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637615\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/5e\/24\/5e24090a258670c8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"603\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637600\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/3a\/c8\/3ac8ade231fe3650.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>Coming down that aisle was the most memorable moment&hellip; it was a long windy aisle through a field, but once I was close enough to see him and hear the music, it was so real, so many emotion<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637601\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/2d\/91\/2d910e39f225a6e6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>Our ceremony was personalized by our family friend being our officiant, our tree planting instead of unity candle, my dog was a groomsman, bridesmaid who is VERY short acted as my flower girl, we spoke a few lines of our vows in an african language only we could understand, incorporated african music, we had huge giraffe statues at the altar with us.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637590\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/28\/9e\/289e0efc9d955294.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637603\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/bf\/5b\/bf5b07d0ef10df86.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>There are photos of us in a field after the ceremony and it&rsquo;s dusk out, Wess and I are facing each other having a moment and it was caught. It is so real and it just looks beautiful.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637605\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/2d\/8f\/2d8f90917c2a9151.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>I wanted to look natural, I didn&rsquo;t want to look back and not recognize myself on the day. My husband doesn&rsquo;t like a lot of makeup either, so we agreed on a more natural look. I didn&rsquo;t have an inspiration. I loved the floral crown my friend made me, she sells them on Etsy. I loved that I wore my bush boots that i wear when working in Africa. I added cap sleeves that hung off my arms to my dress and I think that was a great addition.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637606\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/d4\/51\/d4511f5a3a3c8103.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"899\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>Our advice:&nbsp;Have fun! There were moments when I thought I&rsquo;d just give up, they can eat off paper plates for all I care! haha! But I had great friends that helped push me through it, and now, I miss it -go figure! Enjoy the process, don&rsquo;t get lost in the unimportant things and don&rsquo;t spend money on silly things you and most of your guests won&rsquo;t even notice the day of.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637608\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/57\/5e\/575e0927f3ca4cd6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637609\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/d8\/da\/d8dafb567eac7c6e.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>We wanted it to be relaxed, natural chic, fun. Outdoor, lots of lights, fun foods, great beers and wine, open spaces, chilled. Our theme was African Safari because that is where my husband is from and that is how we met, while working in Africa on a game reserve, it&rsquo;s the most important part of our lives. Each table was a different animal and we brought tons of decorations from Africa to fill all the spaces.&nbsp;We did a peacock\/dark turquoise color palette with gold and blush. Our wedding was African Safari themed, but we didn&rsquo;t want harsh oranges and reds. It was another natural palette that was more romantic and soft.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637614\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/05\/9f\/059f4d3d549d9511.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"1467\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637613\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/24\/fd\/24fd620f77aa79b8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"401\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637604\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/f6\/35\/f6352b19877eb951.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637589\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/fe\/5f\/fe5f4c8441f66df3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>Processional: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6nZGv8VTBVE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Book of Love &ndash; Peter Gabriel&nbsp;<\/a><\/em><br>\n<em>Recessional: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TIR2c77iEcE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Afrika Sonsak &ndash; Robbie&nbsp;<span class=\"il\">Wessels<\/span><\/a><\/em><br>\n<em>First Dance: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5LdSZc0kdCY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kan ek met jou dans &ndash; Bouwer Bosch feat. Almarie du Preez<\/a><\/em><br>\n<em>Bridal Party Entrance: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GibiNy4d4gc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Circle of Life (Lion King)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637610\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/5e\/ec\/5eec8e93432727ef.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"899\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637602\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/4c\/52\/4c52d0168218aecb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>Kyle and Stephen of <a href=\"https:\/\/hinterlandstills.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hinterland Stills<\/a> are THE best! They made us feel right at ease and as if we were doing so good, when we know if was them making us look good&hellip; My husband is pretty shy and he really felt good having them there and really liked them a lot. I wish we would have had more time, but lighting\/wind wasn&rsquo;t on our side. I am so glad that we had met up and shot our engagement photos with them, bc already knowing how it was going to go made it so much more fun and easy. I&rsquo;d recommend them to anyone for any photo occasion. I know so many people that regret their photographer choice and I can honestly say I don&rsquo;t for a second.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-637612\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/32\/6b\/326bf044ef675bc8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"goldbox\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><em>The Wedding Team:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Photography &ndash; <a href=\"https:\/\/hinterlandstills.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hinterland Stills<\/a><br>\nVenue &amp; Catering &ndash; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mtsprings.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mountain Springs Lodge<\/a><br>\nFloral Design &ndash; <a href=\"http:\/\/wenatcheefloral.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Full Bloom Flowers and Plants<\/a><br>\nBridal Accessories &ndash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.etsy.com\/shop\/EmeraldDoveDesigns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Emerald Dove Designs<\/a><br>\nBridesmaids&rsquo; Apparel &ndash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azazie.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Azazie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A huge congratulations to Marissa and Wessel, and a special thanks to Junebug member <a href=\"http:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/best-wedding-photographers\/Seattle-photography\/Hinterland-Stills\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hinterland Stills<\/a> for sharing the newlyweds&rsquo;&nbsp;gorgeous day with us. Love this wedding&rsquo;s adventurous vibes? Take a look at <a href=\"http:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/free-spirited-cape-kiwanda-elopement-inspiration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this free-spirited Cape Kiwanda elopement inspiration, also shot by Hinterland Stills!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"xoxo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.junebugweddings.com\/blog\/xoxo\/xo-gabby.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"97\" height=\"47\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marissa and Wessel first met each other while working on a game reserve together in Africa, so it&rsquo;s no wonder that&nbsp;Africa holds&nbsp;a very special place&nbsp;in both of their hearts.&nbsp;To honor the beginning&nbsp;of their relationship and the groom&rsquo;s South African roots, Marissa and Wessel channeled all of their favorite African details in their&nbsp;Mountain Springs Lodge&nbsp;wedding with an African Safari theme! The couple beautifully incorporated the theme with table decor inspired by African animals, traditional African accessories [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"kia_subtitle":"","footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1070,1380,1074,1081,1005,1201,1093],"tags":[1102,1120,1115,1104,1099],"class_list":["post-637306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bohemian-wedding","category-countryside-wedding","category-cultural-traditions","category-intimate-wedding","category-real-weddings","category-washington-wedding","category-whimsical-wedding","tag-aqua","tag-brown","tag-champagne","tag-dark-blue","tag-sage-green"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}