Weddings at Irene Country Lodge, South Africa

Good morning sweetheart, I hope you have had a lovely week so far.  Mine has been just wonderful, and very busy, which is why our Monday-post is now a Wednesday-post!  It is however one of my favourite posts to write until this very day, as we are visiting the divine Irene Country Lodge in South Africa:

The view that greets you as you enter the coutryard of Irene Country Lodge – the weddings are held at the far end in this photo, with a view of the lake ahead

You might remember that we briefly popped by the Lodge in last week’s post Wedding Fair at the Irene Country Lodge, and today we are looking closer at what the Lodge itself has to offer our lovely bridal couples:

We just loved the decorations here – just look at the hay bales on the left, so romantic…

With a peaceful and tranquil view of the lake in the background this is such a beautiful setting for a wedding ceremony 

My mum loved how the chairs had been decorated: with just a simple piece of fabric in your favourite colour the whole venue is transformed!

What a beautiful place for a wedding!  The guests will be overlooking this lovely lake and the meadows that surround the Lodge and we just loved how the venue had been decorated.  My mum got a lot of inspiration from the bows on the chairs, that really changed the look of the whole venue.  All you need to do is add the ribbons to the chairs closest to the isle – or to a few randomly selected chairs, to create a beautiful setting like the one above.

With Irene Farm just a short walk away, beautiful details that bring our thoughts to the farm are to be found in the most elegant and subtle details  

The Lodge is in close cooperation with The Irene Dairy Farm, which is just a few minutes walk away, and a place that we will visit in a future post.  This is reflected in the loveliest little details, like the hay bales in a photo a little further down:

One of their ideas for decorating the wedding tables 

Pearls, roses and and candleholders

Wedding table at Irene Country Lodge

Sweet little reminders of the adjoining Irene Farm

You can find out more about weddings at Irene Country Lodge by clicking here.

The wedding ceremony venue is overlooking one of the most beautiful lakes in Gauteng with the lovely meadow in the background

We had the pleasure of trying the Presidential Suite at the Lodge, and I can so warmly recommend a night there for the newly weds (and anyone else who wants to stay in the most luxurious hotel room!).  Before I had seen the suite, a friend told me that staying there feels like being in the jungle, and I completely understand what they meant!  The balcony opens up to a hidden away Camdeboo forest and offers the most serene setting for a relaxing morning coffee or chilled lunch:

A view of the balcony in the Camdeboo Forest

… and the hotel room is just so beautiful, with the tallest ceilings, wonderful underfloor heating in the luxurious bathroom, and your own kitchen and drawing room area:

The beautiful bedroom…

The kitchen and sitting room at the Presidential Suite at Irene Country Lodge

So, there we are good folks, a wonderful visit to Irene Country Lodge which is now my favourite place on earth.  I haven’t even mentioned the food there, and that was one of my absolute favourite parts of the stay!  We had scrumptious breakfasts in the restaurant where the chef was making us omelettes, scrambled eggs and pancakes to our hearts’ content – not to mention all the fresh fruit and juices.  The Library Bar saw far too much of us in the evenings, where we snacked away on sharing platters of hams and cheeses and had delicious cocktails and several bottles of bubbles!

My divine breakfast at the Lodge

Oh an I will take you to their glorious Camdeboo Spa next time…

The Camdeboo Day Spa at Irene Country Lodge

Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair

You guys!  I worked at the most wonderful antiques fair over the weekend, Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair, and I wish I had had time to tell you about it last week, so that you could have visited!  The good thing is that the fair was such a success that it will most likely run again next year, and I will of course keep you updated on that!  Now, let me show you what the days were like – and why you will love to visit next year:

Petworth House 

Petworth House

The entrance to the grounds of Petworth House

Petworth House 

The fair took place on the beautiful grounds of Petworth House – and if you haven’t yet been,  I can tell you that it is the most extraordinary 17th century mansion – think Downton Abbey!  They have a magnificent art collection with works by Turner, Van Dyck, Reynolds and Blake, ancient and Neo-classical sculpture, fine furniture and carvings by Grinling Gibbons.  The rooms are just breathtaking, and you wander through the Beauty Room – with paintings of all the fair ladies of the house hanging far above you and above the gilded mirrors that also adorn the room; the staircase room with the most beautiful curved staircase, a grand piano and sofas seated under the stairs, where you expect to see the Victorians kicking back and enjoying the music; not to mention the Carved Room with its extraordinary details on the walls – you just have to see it for yourself!

Entrance to the Servants’ Quarters at Petworth House

You can also visit the servants’ quarters, where you get the feeling of having stepped 200 years back in time!  The kitchen looks like it is about to be filled with cooks and maids, who any second will continue to stir the soup and cut the onions.

Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair

At the fair there were around 40 exhibitors, predominantly members of the British Antique Dealers’ Association and LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers, showcasing furniture, jewellery, sculpture, glass, objets d’art and silver to oriental carpets, paintings, drawings and many other decorative and unique works.  This was our stand:

Richard Ogden at Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair

… and boy had we brought along some extraordinary pieces!

Here is just a small selection of what we brought along from Richard Ogden and Moira Fine Jewels…

I am hopelessly in love with this Padparadscha Sapphire bracelet from Moira!  How stunning it would look with a white summer’s dress, or a black dress for that matter!  You can view it at Richard Ogden in the Burlington Arcade 

Padparadscha sapphires are the orange/pink ones that you can see above.  They are just so rare and absolutely beautiful, that I couldn’t take my eyes off it during the fair!

We also brought along this beautiful aquamarine and diamond necklace, the aquamarine and diamond ring and a stunning amethyst and diamond ring – with a Siberian amethyst, which is distinguished by a tint of red in the purple.  And little Piggy Cufflinks on the fair right 

I was wearing this beautiful Bird of Paradise in yellow gold, set with rubies and sapphires from Richard Ogden

So next year I recommend that you come by the fair, then continue on to Petworth House for a wander through this extraordinary mansion.  You can then finish off your trip with lunch in Petworth village, just a few minute walk Petworth House entrance, as it is the most quaint little historic market town, with picturesque streets and of course a wide range of shops and antique centres.

Spriggs Florist in Petworth – just one of the lovely little shops in the village

Wedding Fair at the Irene Country Lodge

Hello my lovely and welcome back to the blog after three long weeks!  I have had the most wonderful time in South Africa and seen so many beautiful things that I want to share with you, so let’s start straight away:

A view of the restaurant at the back of Irene Country Lodge, with the lake in the background

We stayed in a small town outside Pretoria called Irene, at Irene Country Lodge.  I would move into this hotel forever if I could – it is the most amazing place that I have every stayed at, and so many of my friends said the same thing.  We were served the most delicious food (a breakfast buffet to die for every morning); the rooms were big and spacious with glorious lake views and chickens roaming around freely on the grounds; not to mention their heavenly Camdeboo Spa where I spent far too many hours!

We will look closer at all of these, but first I want to invite you to the Wedding Fair that took place at the Lodge on 27th April:

Absolutely adore this Wedding Cheese Cake from The Cheese Cake

Nothing has been overlooked, and the cakes are accompanied by seasonal fruits, breads, crackers, jams and chutneys

Beautiful displays of the scrumptious selections 

Cranberry and cheese – one of my favourite combinations – and we love the display with the cheese dome and sign here

Beautifully presented Wedding Cheese Cakes from The Cheese Cake, where they have a sea of different cheese cake options for you wedding.  We are loving the presentation and the little quirky details that make it so special – and that will have your guests reminiscing for years to come!

Just a few of the beautiful dresses that you can find at Diamond Love Bridal Couture

Diamond Love Bridal Couture at the Irene Country Lodge Wedding Fair

Some lovely beadwork and beautiful fabric on this wedding dress

It is all about the lace and the pearls my friend

We also had a quick chat with the lady running Diamond Love Bridal Couture, and found out that they are an exclusive bridal boutique store elegant wedding dresses and accessories – stocking all the beautiful brands, like Enzoani, Kitty Chen Couture and Ivoire Los Angeles.

A retro VW van from All About Photography

Hats, wigs, umbrellas… everything you could possibly think of to make the wedding photos as fun as possible!

We then very much enjoyed meeting the guys behind All About Photography, who supply your wedding with an old VW van that caters as a retro photo booth!  They also had all kinds of wonderful props that you can use to make the pictures funny and crazy – I have seen these at weddings before, and believe me, after a few glasses of wine those photos get very interesting!  Such a wonderful idea though and if you are planning a wedding I do recommend checking these guys out for some unforgettable photos!

Okay we have some more stalls to visit, so I will save that until Wednesday… hopefully this gave you some ideas, for those of you who are planning weddings over in Pretoria!