Venue : Bellwood Cottages KZNSA
Photographer and Videographer : The Shank Tank
Caterers : CHC Catering
Flowers : Gail Cornhill from Spotted Owl
Decor : Michelle Mann from Hire Standards
Cake : Cynthia Laybutt
DJ : Tyrone Smith
The Venue
We searched for a venue that could offer a row of trees (my dream aisle) that would be green in Winter (The only month Shannon has off every year is June) and Bellwood completely had our attention. The accommodation for family and friends really caught our eye. We had a Braai (a South African version of a Barbecue) the friday night in order to see the people that we would not yet have seen, with everyone staying at the venue and the Bride and her ‘Tribe’ relocating to a house in the morning in order to get ready. We really wanted to have our friends and family close to us all weekend. Quality time with everyone was important to us as we live so far away and hardly ever get to see any of our loved ones.
The dresses! What a story.... So my mom came to Paris in the hopes of finding the dress with me. We didn't find 'The One' unfortunately but I did find the style that I potentially wanted. I found my first dress in a small boutique in Paris (Metal Flaque) and ended up buying a simple dress with plans to have it changed to fit the picture I had in my mind. I enquired at Lido if there were any dressers who were qualified to work with wedding gowns that could potentially alter and add to it for me at a reasonable cost.
This is when I met Angeline. She is a sweet, timid lady who kindly offered to give me a quote to help change it (although she speaks not a word of english ). When I asked to look at her previous work I was blown away to see Beyonce on the red carpet in her see-through diamanté show stopper that I am sure everyone remembers. Followed by Cara Delevingne and numerous other singers, actors and actresses in outfits I had only dreamed of and read about in the magazines. I was sold, thus Angeline helped me with my dress and showed me how to hand stitch my chosen lace to cover it in a fashion I preferred, and then started making my second dress... which I intended on wearing at the reception only so that I could ‘break it down’ on the dance floor without a worry over spills and rips.
With the first dress I went for a very simple and relaxed dress, with a beautiful lace finish and covered in a few ‘bijouxed’ lace highlights. The Lace I handpicked at a fabric store in Montmartre next to the Sacré Cœur. It was a mermaid shaped dress with thin straps, a low back and a hand beaded belt I made myself (after many hours of backstage stitching between dance numbers). I also hand beaded flower crowns for the flower girls and made a few gifts for my bridesmaids to wear on the day. I loved the fact that nearly everything on my wedding day was touched by my hands (handmade or altered).
The second dress was a very comfortable tight fit beige number, covered in a very expensive Indian lace that I found in South Africa (keeping the Fun Alive) ... I unfortunately didnt get the chance to finish this dress off the way that I had hoped to but I plan on finishing it for our one year anniversary shoot ;) A friend of mine from South Africa who is a make up artist and hair stylist helped change my hair for the reception to better suit the more relaxed feel.
The Ceremony
I walked down the aisle to the music that was specifically composed for Lido, I have obtained the rights to use it for the ceremony and should it be used in any screening, mention of this would be necessary. This particular piece of music is used to perform the pas de deux to. I am one of a few dancers that is privileged enough to dance a duet on pointe during “Paris Merveilles”, Shannon suggested the use of this particular piece of music to walk down the aisle to (after seeing Kayla in the show numerous times). At first, seeing as though I am performing to the same music twice a night six nights a week, this idea seemed strange and not enticing. Then after listening closely and envisioning what the day would look like, I asked permission to use this piece and it will be kept as a special momentum of both the dancer in me and the special day. Shannon handmade the arch that we stood under between the trees... We had a pastor that I grew up with as a family friend, doing the ceremony.. So it was a very comfortable ‘homey’ feeling throughout the ceremony. We are both Christian so the ceremony was religious yet ‘hymnless' and modern.. We ended off the ceremony with a symbolic moment of pouring soil from ‘Two Worlds’ into a jar with an olive tree, symbolizing how we will bring our grounds together to grow our family and reap the rewards of our hard work to come in the years.
The Food
The guests were served with a choice of cheeses and aperitifs as a starter outside on the harvest table. There were cocktails provided and soft drinks for the less party inclined. We cut the cake outside after we had finished having photos with our bridal party. Kayla’s grandfather just recently remarried after her grandmother passed away a few years ago. His new wife (Cynthia) once a proffessional wedding cake maker, offered to do the wedding cake making Kayla and Shannon excited for them to play a role like this in the wedding. The cake was beautiful and delicious (Chocolate, Vanilla and Carrot layers).
Once all the guests had moved indoors, we started with speeches as the waiters brought out ice cold champagne bottles decorated with heavy duty sparklers and set them out at each table. We had a lamb and chicken spit out back (as we expected with a large number of rugby boys to feed, this the best option) to be served with a buffet of salads and vegetables.
Spit roast rolled leg of lamb with teriyaki marinade and a red wine demi place mint sauce, spit roast chicken with sosatie marinade and she style gravy will be presented with potato dauphinoise, roasted potatoes, roasted medley of seasonal vegetables with balsamic and olive oil, French beans and mange tout with hazelnut and orange roasted butternut and red onion with tahini and za’atar spice. Also greek salad with danish feta, olives and a yoghurt dressing all to be served with soft knotted rolls and butter. Dessert will be made up of a cheeseboard and then sweet treats on the side (lemon meringue tartlets, baklava, date balls, chocolate brownies, chocolate dipped fruit and koeksisters).
The Decor
Growing up in Durban meant that Kayla was a Sharkette (the local rugby cheerleading squad). One of the other Sharkette's mothers, Michelle, is an Event Planner and owns her own decor hire. Using Michelle's recommendations, they used Gail Cornhill who set everything up on the day.
The decor was kept simple yet chaotically bohemian and classy. The colors we decided to keep throughout are whites, cremes, rose gold and dusty pinks, with purples with a hint of deep red. A romantic picnic feel was setup infront of the venue for people to relax and play lawn games while snacking on the harvest table and drinking the cocktails or refreshments provided. The reception hall was warm with a big fire place at the centre infront of the dance floor and main table. Long wooden tables running down each side of the dance floor were covered in greenery, a mixture of flowers and rose gold candelabras with a few rose gold touches here and there. The bridal table had a hanging trellis of flowers and lightbulbs over it and an array of greenery and flowers covering the table. Bags of lavender were dotted around the venue hall and the buffet at one end of the room.
I had no set restriction as to which flowers were used, as long as they adhered to a soft nude color. A small Starbucks hint in the wedding favors and seat names is due to the fact that starbucks symbolizes our reuniting every once in a while and waiting at train stations for the other to arrive mostly carrying a cup of starbucks coffee to welcome them with. So we thought we could add that personal touch for the wedding favours, also considering the cold weather we were expecting, there's nothing wrong with a take away coffee.
The party was one of endless dance moves and lots of laughs thanks to the Gin and Tonic on tap that we served... Our wedding was one to remember forever and we both loved every second... People came from far and definitely made the most of it!
