Beach bliss

Gallery Video

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - It was as if multiple blessings and grace were poured out on two families as they enjoyed a beautiful wedding and 21st birthday party in perfect conditions at Santos Beach on 25 January.

Bride Robin-Lee Janse and groom JC Adendorf were joined in holy matrimony and Robin-Lee's sister, Logan Janse, celebrated her 21st.

See picture gallery here: Beach bliss

Robin-Lee chose to glide in a little yacht from the sea to her guests, who were waiting for her on the beach.

The yacht beached perfectly and she stepped off gracefully as a welcome party rallied around her and her father, Riaan, who had accompanied her.
(See videos below this article.)

The skipper, Oliver Holden, was the only other person on the boat.

Idea

Robin-Lee said: "My mom came up with the idea, because 25 years ago her whole wedding was on a boat, the Romonza, in Mossel Bay.

"We didn't really have a back-up plan," Robin-Lee admits.

"We just prayed and watched the weather."

She made regular calls to Elfie Holden, founder and owner of The Skipper Foundation, which provided the boat.

"If the weather was bad we would have used a rubber duck with an engine," Robin-Lee says.

Two days before the wedding she had a practice run, "to get a feel for the sea", but that day the weather was too bad to beach at Santos.

Oliver, Elfie's son, was an expert skipper, Robin-Lee noted.

She said her wedding day turned out to be just what she had always wanted and dreamt about.

Decorations

Chairs were set out on the beach. The floral and other decorations were in white and pastel marine colours. All the guests were asked to wear pastel blue in keeping with the beach theme.

Robin-Lee was extremely touched that everyone kept to the dress code.

A worship team sang Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe's The Blessing.

The words include: “May His favour be upon you and a thousand generations, and your family and your children, and their children and their children.”

Guests enjoyed canapes and a welcome drink on the beach while Robin-Lee and JC had their photographs taken at scenic Pinnacle Point, with breathtaking ocean views from the clifftops.

The wedding ceremony and reception were at the Santos Express Conference Venue.

After the wedding, which ended at 14:00, the hall was transformed into a Barbie doll wonderland for Logan's 21st party, which started at 17:30.

White

Guests wore white, except for Logan, her mother, Carmelita and the master of ceremonies, who wore fuchsia pink.

The master of ceremonies for the 21st was celebrity Moses Williams, the creator and star of the Ouma Sarie series on television, acclaimed as the best Afrikaans comedy on TV.

In usual Ouma Sarie style, he wore a dressing gown and socks and flip-flops.

Robin-Lee said: "We had a fantastic weekend. Our guests of both events said they had never experienced anything like them before. They were like a story book."

Many of the guests, a large number of whom were from the Cape Town area, stayed at the Santos Express train, including the wedding couple.

There were complaints on social media that plastic confetti was left on the beach after the wedding.

The couple apologised for this on social media, saying it was a mistake using this and sent someone to use a blower to gather the confetti together and then rake it up on Wednesday.

Moses Williams (Ouma Sarie) and Logan Janse. From left: Luke Raubenheimer, Renier Delie, Somoleze Gqwangu
and Axolele Jonas from The Skipper Foundation, assisting. At the back, right, is Geandre Shahied Gelderbloem, who was part of the wedding party. Robin-Lee Adendorf and her father, Riaan, are in the boat.