Janice & Martin's wedding

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We met in our 40s.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
I was a South African living in Luxembourg; he a German, living in Switzerland. Both of us had given up on love and marriage.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
Mutual friends had said we should meet up, but we both resisted for a long time because of the distance.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
We were blessed with a crisp, blue sky day after a week of mixed weather in this mountainous region.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
Paul, a dear friend and Pastor based in Luxembourg, married us. This made our ceremony very special and personal.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
It was a day filled with so much laughter and love.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
I never imagined myself in a full blown wedding dress with flowers in my hair – but loved the relaxed glamour of it all…

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
Friends rallied round with love and support – which including shopping with me in Paris for my dress! I loathe shopping, but they made sure this day was fun… and we found ‘the’ dress in one day (and 22 dresses later).

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
Being surrounded by family and friends from around the world in the spectacular surrounds of Chamonix, France was magical!

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
Martin and I couldn’t believe this day had come – better late than never!

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
We both have a passion for the mountains and it was such a privilege to have a moment to take in the majesty of the Mont Blanc region on our special day.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
We celebrated our marriage in mid winter in a rustic, but stylish wooden chalet – the atmosphere was incredible with log fires and amazing food and festivity.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
A German tradition includes wedding games. We had to demonstrate our knowledge of each other by answering a series of questions – and surprised everyone by how well we ‘knew’ each other after such a short time.

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
We also surprised family and friends when our first ‘waltz’ was actually a choreographed jive…to Smashmouth’s version of ‘I’m a Believer’!

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
Following our first dance, my mom had arranged a playing of Mama Thembu’s wedding – the South Africans took to the dance floor in delight! And the party was started…

Image credit: Erlend Haugen
We partied till 2am…Martin is my dream come true – which I thought I had given up on, but really it was always there, just waiting to be uncovered.

A special thanks goes out to my wedding planner, Monica Delevaux of Haute Wedding. She was phenomenal.
Image credit: Erlend Haugen

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