When I sat down to write the wedding vows for this styled shoot that I was so lucky to be a part of, I had no idea who the couple would be. So I did the only thing that made sense: I created fictional characters. (How fun!)
What perhaps didn’t make as much sense was the level of backstory I went into (mildly embarrassing). I can only imagine the reactions of the creative director (the wonderful Jax from Marriage Meander) and photographer and videographer (supremely talented Stephen Michael) when they read my thoughts on where the couple had met, how they got engaged, what their jobs were. What their favourite songs were (I know…).
“I am already picturing the full-length feature film about Mia and Guy’s love story! ” said Jax with her trademark generosity.
But here’s the thing. When I started to think about the kind of people who would choose to elope in the Drakensberg against a backdrop of some of the most exquisite mountains in the world, their story just unfolded in front of my eyes.
So, I thought, what better way to show you how much I love love than to share my (fairly unhinged) background thinking about this fictional couple, along with the vows that I wrote for them.
This incredible behind-the-scenes look at the styled shoot shows the real couple, newlyweds Michaela and Liam, who read the vows so beautifully. My favourite part of the BTS clips the team shared on the day of the shoot was one of Michaela unable to hold in a belly laugh as Liam read Guy’s vows to her. “We don’t hike!” she said. (This will become funnier as you read on…)
Who They Are
Guy
Kayaker. Hiker. Traveller. Loves watching the stars in faraway places away from city lights. Into podcasts about real survival stories of people beating the elements, doing things that may sound crazy to those who don’t share their passion for adventure.
Job: Biokineticist, specialises in rehabilitation of sports injuries – helping people get back to doing what they love.
Favourite book: Into Thin Air (true story of the 1996 Mt. Everest Disaster)
Favourite song: The Mountain Song, Tophouse – which became their song the moment he played it for her and watched her face light up
Mia
Reader. Hiker. Dog enthusiast. Loves the long conversations you have on a walk (or a hike) – how the forward motion and beautiful views seem to unlock something in your relational depth.
Job: High school geography teacher. Loves her job, partly because of the kids and how she’s able to watch their journey through teenage life, but also because she is continuously amazed by what things like layers in a rock face can tell us about the earth, and how small we are in the grand scheme of things.
Favourite book: You Are Here (David Nicholls’ latest novel about an epic walk – and a high school geography teacher)
Favourite song: The Mountain Song, Tophouse – ever since Guy played it for her and it felt like “them” (she loves the slow, romantic part in the middle, which surprised her the first time she heard it)
How They Met
When Mia moved to Pietermaritzburg six years ago to start a new teaching job, she didn’t know anyone. She decided that a good way to make friends was through one of her biggest passions – so she joined a local hiking club. She arrived at the meeting point for her first club hike feeling a bit nervous, but was relieved to find that everyone was friendly and welcoming. Especially this one guy… called Guy, it turned out. They found themselves next to one another as the hike progressed, and chatted the whole way, discovering uncanny similarities about their lives. It was at a river crossing, when Guy held out his hand to Mia to help her across, and she took it, that they both felt the shift. They stood, ankle-deep in clear, icy water, looking at one another, both knowing in that way that you sometimes do, that life would never be the same.
The proposal
It didn’t take long for the Drakensberg to become their favourite weekend getaway spot. On each hike, they felt themselves fall more in love – with the rolling landscape, with each other. Whenever they stopped for a water break, Mia would marvel at the view while Guy reached into his pack and handed her her favourite hiking snack – salted cashews.
On one spring weekend, they set off on one of their favourite hikes. Stopping at a viewpoint to catch her breath, Mia stood on a ledge looking out over the valley below. Guy reached into his pack and extended his hand to her, but instead of cashews, he held a small velvet box… And that’s when he got down on one knee.
After a long while, when they had dried happy tears, taken a few selfies, and felt ready to continue, Mia noticed a smooth, palm-sized stone near Guy’s pack. She picked it up and pocketed it. She had heard about an old Scottish ritual with an “oathing stone” and she had an idea for their one-day wedding ceremony, now suddenly so real to her with a ring on her finger and Guy’s beautiful words fresh in her mind.
Vows
Including the Oathing Stone Ritual
The oathing stone ritual is an old Scottish tradition that really resonates with Mia and Guy, largely because of their mutual love of the Berg, and the connection they feel to the landscape. As they say their joint promises, they will take turns holding a stone from the spot where they got engaged, symbolising that their promises are “set in stone”, enduring as the earth itself.
Guy
Mia – some people talk about falling in love as a gradual process, a slow fire building steadily. But that wasn’t my experience. With you, it happened in the space of a few seconds.
I’ve never told you this before, but standing here today with you, in this place that’s so much a part of our story, I want you to know that it happened that first day I met you when you joined our club hike. When we set off, I found myself near the back of the group, while you were at the front. I have never walked so fast to catch up, and would like to formally apologise to anyone I may have elbowed out the way that day.
When we finally crested the peak and stood looking at the incredible view below us, you went all still. You didn’t take your eyes off the mountains as you said, “Doesn’t this make you feel so… tiny? But aren’t we so lucky to be a tiny part of a world this beautiful?”
And that was it. I knew that I was completely in love with you. With the way you see the world. The way you think. The way you live with such an open heart, appreciating every small moment as much as the big ones.
I know there will be mountains to climb in our life together. And not all in the fun sense. But I know so deeply in my bones that I want to do it all with you.
Mia
Guy – I’m pretty sure that the best piece of relationship advice I’ve heard was something that my gran said to me when I was 10 years old: “The goal in life, baby girl, is to laugh forever with someone you take seriously.”
I thought about that a lot as I got to know you. Every time you hugged me tight after a tough day; every time I told you one of my crazy life philosophies and you looked at me like I was actual magic.
It’s not surprising that I fell in love with you so fast. You are everything I always wanted in a partner – and so much more I didn’t even know to dream.
I love that we have so much in common but are still so different. I love that when you proposed that day in the mountains, and you saw me picking up this smooth stone, you knew immediately that I was thinking of that old Scottish tradition I’d mentioned in passing years ago.
I didn’t even have to pitch it to you before you said, “Let’s do it.”
Do you know why an oathing stone means so much to me? Yes, it symbolises that our promises are set in stone, enduring as the earth. But, more than that, it reminds me of the day I met you. When we stood and looked out over the valley together, I had the strangest feeling that I was looking at the rest of my life.
Turns out – I was.
Huge thanks to the incredible team that made Whispers of the Berg possible – and a special thank you to Jax for inviting me to be part of it, but for believing in me and the work that I do. Your support means the absolute world to me. x
VENDOR CREDITS
Location: Cathedral Peak Hotel
Photo & Film: Stephen Michael Photography
Florals: Petals Fine Flowers
Dress & Veil: Bella Bride KZN
Suit: Suit Up Suit Hire
Vows: Something True
Stationery: Aurora Designs
Hair & Makeup: Pro Makeup DBN
Cake: Whisked Cakery
Satin PJs: Tehillah Clothing
Couple: Michaela-Skye Parry + WithInfluence
Creative Direction & Coordination: Marriage Meander
