Garden Wedding, Den Buiten, Belgium | Sofie + Jeroen

Today’s Belgium garden wedding blog is extra special to me as I have known Sofie for over 9 years now. We met while attending a language school in France and were even roommates for a minute. Over the past 9 years, we have somehow managed to remain very close friends – despite living across the world from each other. I’ve visited her in Belgium, she’s come to live with us in CA, we’ve met in different parts of the world (she’s even flown to 2 different countries to surprise me while I was traveling) and even did a cruise to the Bahamas together.

Sofie was there for me during one of the toughest periods in my life and her friendship is something I will always cherish and be grateful for. So, all these years later, to be the one standing beside her and capturing one of the most important days of her life was incredibly special and I couldn’t have been more honored.

Their Story

Sofie and Jeroen first met several years ago at a Fry Shop that Jeroen was temporarily working at. One day at work, her co-workers mentioned that there was a special going on at the fry shop around the corner, so Sofie offered to go pick up food for everyone. When it was her turn to order, she realized she was suddenly face-to-face with a very handsome, blue-eyed, dark-haired man. She was instantly captivated by him. After placing her order, he asked about her work and mentioned that she might be able to help him as he had recently gotten his Master’s in Engineering and was currently looking for a job. As Sofie left, she wished him good luck and said if he needed any help with his applications that he could find her on the 13th floor of that building.

When she returned to the office, she told the story to her co-workers who immediately encouraged her to go back and give him her number. Sofie is not the type to give out her number to strangers but this felt different. So she decided to leave it up to fate. She knew that she would pass by the fry shop on her way home that evening, so, if he were there alone, she’d give him her number. If the place were busy, she’d walk by and forget about it.

It seemed as though fate had decided against them… until a week later when Jeroen showed up on the 13th floor of Sofie’s building searching for her and her “job application tips”. And the rest, as they say, is history!

The Proposal

In March 2018, they took a weekend trip to Paris where Jeroen surprised Sofie by proposing atop the Eiffel Tower. After a few heartfelt words, tears were shed and Sofie said yes!! Talk about a romantic moment to remember!

The Wedding Day – Belgium Garden Wedding

These two got married at Den Buiten, a beautiful estate in Sint–Niklaas, Belgium. This private venue was truly gorgeous. Surrounded by lush green gardens, big beautiful trees, a pond, 2 indoor options for ceremony and reception spaces and even a playground for the kids. I don’t think Sofie could have found a more picturesque place for her fairytale wedding.

It was a very long day and there are so many things I could say about this wedding, but I’ll just stick to a few of my personal favorite moments:

1. Jeroen’s reaction to seeing Sofie during the first look. After the biggest and sweetest smile on his face he said: “Yeah, I’ll marry that” haha!
2. The cute ring bearers entering the ceremony like spies to the Mission Impossible theme song… they were hilariously adorable.
3. The amount of color at this wedding. Sofie wanted bright summer colors and people listened! Everyone looked amazing!
4. The ceremony. This wasn’t your traditional ceremony, but it was really special. They had their closest friends and family get up and speak. From funny or sweet stories to advice, the speeches were very heartfelt. And in between each speech, they would have a live performance of a song by their friends. There was lots of laughter and a few tears. It was a beautiful ceremony.
5. Sofie’s thank you speech. During the reception, she thanked everyone for being part of the wedding and gave a special thank you to her parents and sister – after which her sister broke down into tears. It was the sweetest and most raw sisterly-love moment.

Again, there is much more I could write about this wedding. But I think I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Sofie, I am so happy that you found your knight in shining armor. And I hope that your wedding was the fairytale you’d always dreamed of!

Congratulations again, you two!! I wish you two all the love and happiness in the world!

Belgium Garden Wedding Photos

Below are a few of my personal favorites from their wedding day. I hope you enjoy!

If you enjoyed this Belgium garden wedding, you may also love this one or this one!

Vendors
Ceremony + Reception Venue // Den Buiten, Belgium
Videographer // Joran Ruttens
Makeup Artist // Shari Parmentier
Hair Artist // Elke Van Mele
Wedding Dress // Farah Love
DJ // Glenn with Den Buiten
Catering // Bart Dekimpe
Cake // Het Cakehuisje