This beautiful same sex wedding felt like such a precious one to prepare to share with you. Leoni and Mishel’s joyful, intimate wedding was held in the glorious city of Manchester on 4th August last year.
This lovely couple are planning a bigger wedding this year, back home in South Africa, where most of their family and friends reside, but wanted to formalise their love and commitment through a registry office ceremony and celebration afterwards at Sangam Manchester and Banyan Corn Exchange.
Leoni chose a short dress, long veil and Jeffrey Campbell statement heels, and Mishel opted for a Zara suit. I think you’ll agree their photographer, Valentina of Daniel Mice, sensitively and lovingly captured all the laid-back joy and emotion of the day, as these two darling brides strolled though the city streets after exchanging vows. Leoni’s words follow.
First Look & Fashion
My dress was from Club L London. I knew I didn’t want to wear a long dress and I knew I wanted to have a statement piece. I loved the contrast between the short dress and the cathedral length veil.
I also wore a horse hair veil from The Wedding Boutique in Cape Town, South Africa, and my shoes were by Jeffrey Campbell. I did my make up myself.
Mishel’s suit and shoes were both from Zara – and her makeup was styled by Neha Gohil. We both had our hair done at La Femme Hair & Beauty in Manchester.
An Emotional Lesbian Wedding Ceremony
We were married at the Manchester Register Office. Seeing as though my family do not support my our relationship as a same sex couple, I asked my cousin to walk me down the aisle.
Mishel was walked down the aisle by her mother and uncle. We both walked in to our ceremony to ‘Anyone’, by Justin Bieber.
We both got our wedding bands from Pandora. We didn’t want to spend loads on this wedding band as we wanted to keep them simple. We are also planning on getting another set of wedding bands for the wedding back in South Africa.
Photography by Daniel Mice
I came across Daniel Mice Photography through another photographer. Valentina, who works with Daniel, was definitely a God-send. We could not be more happy and grateful to have met and worked with her. We could not meet Daniel on our wedding day but we are looking forward to meeting and working with him soon.
I would recommend them to everyone till the day I die. (not to be dramatic, but we are obsessed with our photographs!)
Our favourite part of the day was our photoshoot with Valentina. We walked around Manchester taking photos and just being in the moment as wives for the first time. It was a truly special time. Leonie & Misha
How They Met
A Long Distance Relationship
We met in March 2017 in South Africa. As I left my room, Mishel was sleeping on my couch after a night out with my flatmate and some mutual friends. There was an instant connection and we were inseparable from that day forward.
I was due to move to Dubai within eight days after meeting. We started off getting to know each other despite the long distance. After a month, Mishel came to Dubai for a five day holiday, where my manager offered her a job.
Three months later, Mishel made the move to Dubai where we worked together for a few months. She then had to move back home (Durban, South Africa) to help her father with his new business, while I started working for Emirates as a cabin crew member.
Our long distance relationship was made easier by the fact that I could visit around once a month thanks to my job.
In 2019, Mishel moved to Manchester, UK to build a better life for us. When Covid happened, it meant we weren’t able to see each other for nine months! I proposed in December 2020 – the day after we saw each other again in Cape Town, after which we again couldn’t see each other for another nine months!
In September 2021, Mishel proposed to me a few days before my birhtday in Dubai. After almost four and a half years of long distance, I quit my job and moved over to the UK in April 2022 and we finally got married on the 4th of August.
We had to have an intimate wedding in Manchester as most of our family and friends are back home in South Africa. We are planning on having a bigger wedding when we’ve managed to save up for it.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Make sure to plan a wedding unique to you as a couple and incorporate people and things you love. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by what others expect from you, but you should always stay true to yourselves.
I used Dancing With Her to process the fact that my family choose not to approve or attend our wedding.
