The French chef

Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you about the French chef, David Thomas, now in Walvis Bay, Namibia, who came to !Uris to prepare delicacies for us.  Oh, my goodness!!!  Thursday evening for 8 or 10 or 12 of us and, then, the feast on Saturday evening for 60 or so.  http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g298358-d1493429-Reviews-Lyon_des_sable-Walvis_Bay.html

Recognized by all of the world.

So there you have it.  Because the officiant for the wedding is from South African and not licensed to perform the legalities in Namibia, P & L went before a judge in Tsumeb on Friday morning to sign the legal contract.  They are well and truly married~~~the government says so, as does the church.  May they grow old together.

At the reception desk

Table arrangements

The morning after---

Now officially married!

Alana, Rory, Pieter, Lieschen, JP Levy, Ian and Sandra Johnston-Rory's parents, Neil Cronje-Lieschen's stepfather, Pieter Pretorius, Sr.

More Saturday preparations

Elsabe, Lieschen's mom; Maria, Herman's traveling companion; Robert, Lieschen's younger brother; and the beautiful bride.

Ben

Here is wonderful, 2 year old Ben, helping out.  He would have dragged the box all the way to Tsumeb, if his dad had not stopped him.   I think that I have this right--Ben's dad and Pieter are first cousins.  Their moms are sisters.

Just because I like this quote

“You don’t need to be an artist to be able to appreciate the beauty in art. Art is everywhere, in every form.” - Anonymous

Ever upward!

Still on the upward climb on the learning curve of a blog.  Helping to keep my brain as nimble as possible, I hope! 

An edited version--even better, I think!

The bridal pair on Saturday morning, 8 May.

Marinda Pretorius

The crystals on ribbons---one of the many exquisite details, from the minds of Irma and Marinda, that made this wedding such a beautiful occasion.

Danelle Pretorius

Pieter's youngest sister, Danelle, hanging the crystals from the light bar.

Romanda

Hello, again

Friends, I think that now would be a good time to tell you that I have lots of pictures of the preparations and events before the wedding, but none of the actual ceremony or of the post wedding party. When that time came, I was a guest and not the reporter from the Daily Planet.  And, as was expected, I had no alone time with P & L.  It was not the time nor the place for private conversations.  If you are still interested in further pics and musings on my trip, I welcome your company.



 

The koi pool, a guck and a piece of mining equipment.  A beautiful sky, also.

Would you look at the size of this Marula tree??  What a beautiful tree.  Lieschen made preserves from the fruit.

A little reminder to the guests that the chapel is off-limits until tomorrow!

And then Lieschen and Pieter discuss table settings!

Pieter and his step-mother, Marinda, discuss table arrangements for the wedding feast.  I want to note here that I have Pieter's permission to post these photos and details.

Some more examples of Irma's artistry.  Note the autumn leaves used in these arrangements as, of course, it is autumn in Namibia.

The preparations for the grand wedding event continued on Friday, 7 May.  Here, Irma Neethling continues with her all day flower arranging.  Irma and her husband, Andre, and Marinda and Pieter Pretorius, Sr. are the owners of !Uris Safari Lodge.  Irma and Marinda are women of immense talent and charm.  I feel so blessed to know them!

By Saturday afternoon, at 4 PM, with the addition of flowers and lighted candles and the late afternoon sun through the orange panels, the sight was splendid!

After a day's work, things were taking shape.

The panels being hung on the left openings.  Bird music to entertain us and a couple of cows stopped by to take a look.

I volunteered to clean the lanterns that can be seen against the wall.  Eventually we rounded up 9 of them.  In the back right is one of the pair of organdy panels that were draped on the wall openings.  An open to the air chapel---how groovy!

And there were boxes full of stuff and bakkies full of stuff and it was all a wonderful time.

More photos

The chapel as the festooning started on Thursday morning, 6 May.

In the dining room at !Uris Lodge on Saturday morning, as the table setting and decorating was on-going.  I just love this picture!!

Steeper

I know that this is not difficult

Teaching an old dog a new trick

I am at the bottom of the learning curve regarding blogging. Let us see how steep this curve really is!