Koue Troue - A Winter Wedding

Nobody told the weather to behave — and honestly, it made everything more magical. Lodewyk and Lorraine had been watching the forecast for weeks. The days leading up to their wedding sat comfortably between 27 and 30 degrees. Then the morning of their wedding arrived, and Dullstroom did what Dullstroom does: the temperature dropped to 4°C, mist rolled in off the mountains, and the whole world turned grey and still and breathtakingly beautiful. Lorraine had already chosen her hashtag — #kouetroue — almost as a joke. By the time the ceremony began, it felt like prophecy. The ceremony was held outdoors in the forest, and the cold only deepened the atmosphere. Bare branches, misty air, the sound of vows carried on a winter wind — there was a rawness to it that no amount of planning could manufacture. The photographs speak for themselves. Inside the clear marquee, warmth waited. Long banquet tables were dressed in crisp white linen, anchored by dramatic arrangements of deep crimson roses, blush blooms, and tropical touches in shades of maroon, pink and emerald green. Tall black tapers rose from gold geometric vessels, their flames steady against the cold just beyond the canvas walls. Bistro lights strung overhead turned the marquee into a lantern, glowing gold against the Dullstroom dark. It was, in every sense, a winter wedding — and it was perfect.