Two days before Christmas in December of 2015, Matthew Owens and Michael Lindenberg struck up a conversation while working out at Equinox in New York City’s West Village. “Matthew had previously committed to a number of plans that night, but he jumped at the chance to have dinner that evening when I asked,” Michael, who works as an investment banker, remembers. They ended up closing down the restaurant and then saying their goodnights as Matthew had an early-morning flight home to Michigan for the holiday.
The next morning Matthew – who is the associate vice president of retail and fashion at a creative marketing and communications agency – woke up to a nuisance that would ultimately change his life when, on Christmas Eve, he discovered that his flight home had been cancelled and there was no hope of getting out that day. Michael wasn’t leaving the city until late in the evening on Christmas Day, so they arranged to meet for brunch at Morandi, one of Matthew’s favourite restaurants in the city.
“We had the entire city to ourselves as everyone was home for the holidays and ended up spending all of Christmas Eve together, walking around and popping into places we’d never tried before,” Matthew says. “We spent Christmas morning at Michael’s apartment in the West Village, and later that evening I flew home. When I got to Michigan, I remember telling my entire family that I’d met someone and that he was the one, and well, we’ve been together ever since.”
The two got engaged while on vacation with friends in the South of France in August of 2018. “Michael planned the entire moment and only consulted one of our friends to ensure secrecy,” Matthew says. “We spent that day relaxing poolside at our hotel, the beautiful Château de la Chèvre d’Or in the village of Eze, and as golden hour approached, our friend – Michael’s confidant – suggested we get photos on one of the decks overlooking the Mediterranean. We made our way down the stairs, and at the very last deck, a bottle of Champagne and a small box sat on top of a table. We all naturally made our way to the bubbly, at which point Michael got on one knee and proposed in front of our friends.” After many tears and all of the necessary phone calls to family in the United States and South Africa, the couple celebrated with an evening out in Monte Carlo.
Shortly thereafter they started planning their wedding for 5 February 2022, in Stellenbosch, in the winelands of Cape Town. “Anyone who has planned a wedding knows it’s a lot of work, but we loved it and had ample time due to having to postpone multiple times over two years due to the pandemic,” Matthew says. “We even made some new, and now very close, friends over the two years that we had to postpone and couldn’t have imagined our wedding without them. In the end, it was well worth the wait.”
Where to host the wedding was an easy decision as Michael grew up in Pretoria, a suburban city near Johannesburg, and attended the University of Stellenbosch. He and Matthew had been to Stellenbosch on vacation together, so both had a clear vision. “As soon as we were engaged, we decided that we wanted our wedding to be an opportunity for our friends and family from the States to plan an adventure they’d never forget, so Cape Town and the Winelands made for the perfect destination,” Michael says. The couple held all of the weekend festivities at one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms in the area, Babylonstoren.
With unforgettable views of mountain ranges and a number of activities, the farm made for the perfect backdrop. Clarise le Grange at Babylonstoren made planning the wedding weekend very easy for the couple. “There wasn’t much we had to do, or even could do, to make the weekend more beautiful,” Matthew says. “It was already done for us.”
“We always wanted our wedding to be about our friends and family,” Michael says. “The past two years have been difficult for so many, and this was the first trip a lot of our guests were taking since the start of Covid. Because of this, we wanted everyone to be included in everything, so we decided not to have a wedding party because everyone that attended was just as near and dear to our hearts as the next.”
The couple also opted out of hosting a rehearsal dinner on the Friday before the wedding for the same reason. Instead, they welcomed guests with a braai – an informal but traditional South African barbecue. The evening took place outside, and the group dined family-style at one long picnic table, where they had local dishes, including lamb, chicken and beef straight from the grill, as well as farm-fresh fruit and vegetables. The evening ended with nightcaps and lots of laughs in the pool.
The next day, the ceremony was set in the House of Shadows, an airy greenhouse that overlooks the vineyards on the property and has a view of the mountains. The space is used to grow flowers, cacti and other indigenous plants, which gave the ceremony a natural, green aesthetic. “We actually didn’t bring in any additional decor outside of a handmade wreath that hung above where we stood for the ceremony,” Matthew says.
The grooms wore custom tuxes by Suit Supply. “We, of course, wanted a little individuality, so Matthew wore a black, slim-fit cut with a shawl lapel on the jacket, while I went with a navy, slim fit with a peak lapel on the jacket,” Michael says. “Our wedding was black-tie, so to stand out from our guests, we chose white matching bow ties and finished off the looks with classic patent-leather oxfords.”
Matthew and Michael both wanted to forgo a religious ceremony, and instead they focused the service on their love and community. Their officiant, Jana Van Den Munckhof, also managed to deliver moments of levity. Family was incorporated throughout, and Michael’s sister, Christine Joubert, gave a speech. “During our vows, Michael – no surprise! – kept it together, while I – also to no surprise – let the tears flow,” Matthew says. “Soon after there wasn’t a dry eye in the greenhouse.”
Following the ceremony, guests moved to cocktails, which took place on grand lawns between two classic Cape Dutch barns. There, guests lounged on vintage furniture while a string quartet played in the background.
Dinner was served at one long table situated beneath a stunning floral arrangement suspended from the ceiling inside one of the barns. (The barn doors were kept open so the farm’s donkeys could pop their heads in.)
Just as the meal wrapped, the newlyweds snuck out to the adjacent barn, where they prepared to meet their guests in the White Studio. Within an all-white room, the farm’s catering team had arranged an artful display of desserts. Guests were escorted to the adjoining barn doors, which slowly opened, and the grooms watched as friends and family cheered with excitement and the DJ began to play. “Following dessert, we trickled onto the dance floor,” Matthew remembers. “And since we had the entire farm to ourselves, the DJ then took us dancing until late in the night – or morning, we should say!”