SA Weddings celebrates 21 years of South Africa's best loved bridal competition in style!
Oh what a night we had celebrating the 21st birthday of this legendary bridal competition! In true SA Weddings style, we were joined by an excellent team of wedding professionals to help pull off the event of the season. This year, our Top 12 finalists were treated to an entire weekend of spoils, luxury accommodation and show-stopping gala event as we crowned our new queen! Keep reading to see just what we got up to.
A grand soiree indeed, the 21st SA Weddings Bride of the Year event was certainly one magical, sparkly affair! After an entire year of planning, we were elated to see the hard work of the SA Weddings team (better known as the SAWCY Girls) and our hand selected dream team of service providers come together to pull off the event of the season! Hosted at the iconic Winelands wedding venue, Nooitgedacht Estate, the estate was totally transformed! Bringing the best of the 2000s back, our dream team created pure unfiltered magic with the chic show and afterparty setup! As always, the event was world class and our finalists and guests were treated like the true VIP’s that they are.
When you enter this show-stopping property, you’ll immediately know why Nooitgedacht Estate was the venue of choice for this prestigious event. If the glorious grounds and artfully designed gardens don’t immediately grab you, then the incredible function venue with its high ceilings and grand Manor House certainly will! A perfect mix of old world charm and exclusivity, Nooitgedacht Estate certainly speaks to the discerning couple. The official event crowning was held in the function venue which totally transformed into a fringed fantasy on steroids. The after-party held on the grounds, showcased the Manor House in all her glory! From disco balls and lush florals to perfectly placed lounge pockets, delectable food and beverage stations to the best live entertainment, the event truly was out of this world!
Of course an event on this grand scale certainly needs a power-house team to help bring it all together and turn the vision into reality. When you think of the Trunk Events team, the first words that come to mind are visionaries, bridal bestie and bad-ass planners who always have time to make your life easier, push your concept further and to create meaningful celebrations that will be remembered for years to come! We caught up with Tracy, the beauty and brains behind Trunk Events on her Bride of the Year 2021 journey.
After being in the industry for 11 years and having survived the toughest time in 2020-2021, we have managed to grow our brand and to establish trust among the industry. As you know trust is earned and we have worked hard to position ourselves where we are in the market.This is such a huge honour for me personally as the owner, since it took me years and years of sacrificing every weekend away from my families and even though the calendar is still full and not much has changed, I am still never at home (giggle), I have an amazing team now who are as dedicated as I am to keeping Trunk Events a trusted preferred brand amongst our industry professionals.
Being part of the SA Weddings Bride of the Year event was just perfectly timed for us since we worked hard the past few years to keep our most loved vendors working and we continue to share the love amongst so many industry folk who have become our family. 2022 was the best time to be a part of this phenomenal event in our industry and I thank you again, on behalf of my team and I, that you trusted us with your annual event.
Wow, where do you even begin when it comes to the ultra luxurious styling and decor for the SA Weddings Bride of the Year event. An industry leader, icon and trend setter, Nico and the team behind NConcepts & Designs certainly brought the heat to the biggest Bride of the Year event yet! As guests entered the main function venue for the crowning, larger than life floral installations greeted you followed by iridescent hues of pink and purple dancing across the venue, drawing your eye up to the hand crafted fringed installations. A serious WOW moment, these fringed installations were hand dyed to create a striking visual effect. And striking it was! Perfectly complimented with stylish black and clear acrylic ghost chairs from Wilgenhof Estate, the ultra modern black ABS stage with full tech setup took the crowning to a whole new level! With Wilgenhof Estate, you can be rest assured that you will find the correct seating option for your special day. This dynamic company boasts a wide variety and their service delivery is always out of this world!
Guests were treated to an incredible after party setup will all the bells and whistles! No stone was left unturned and the devil was truly in the detail. The NConcepts team transformed the after party area into a disco diva’s dreams! From fabulous lounge pockets, disco balls and statement floral installations to the custom made panelled bars, pretty-in-pink statement dessert bar and stylish lighting solutions! When we say it was magnificent, we really mean it! Don’t even get us started on that dance floor! Guests razzled and dazzled the night way with the most epic view of the after party! A more perfect event partner we could not have imagined! To Nico, Annalize and the entire team, you truly are the bee’s knees!
Of course no incredible celebration is ever complete without gorgeous flowers to match! Partnering up with industry leader Alsmeer Flowers, the event truly levelled up! Providing us with the most incredible selection of fresh flowers, the event turned into the Garden of Eden! Carefully styled by the NConcepts Team, the flowers added a delightful burst of elegance to this already beautiful setup! From marvellous Anthuriums to lush roses and delightful Hydrangeas - Alsmeer certainly provided the very best selection to ensure we celebrated in style! Thank you so much to Christelle and her team for joining in on the fun!
Just when we thought Andy could not possibly top the incredible tent setup seen at Bride of the Year 2020, he did! A true pillar of strength and mastermind, Andy and the team from from Cape Tents joined the Bride of the Year dream team again and we could not be more excited. No stranger to the industry, Cape Tents is known as the ‘Smart Choice’ and with good reason! From day 1, this team were ready and willing to create magic. The tent setup was one impressive sight! The sheer scale and complexity is testament to their brilliance. Even though the event took place in winter, Andy ensured our guests were well shielded from any icy winds and provided heaters perfectly positioned to keep our guests of honour nice and toasty!
Joining us for another epic Bride of the Year event, Tech X is our preferred audio visual and tech partner and with good reason! This dynamic, multi-talented team know what it takes to make any SA Weddings event absolutely legendary. From the sound and lighting, to the epic stage setup and flawless execution, we adore working with this company! Professional, polite and perfect are just some of the words that come to mind!
The couples felt like VIP’s with their own customised slide shows so beautifully displayed on the larger than life LED screen courtesy of Apex LED!. For all of our viewers tuning in from the comfort of their living rooms, X-Stream, the latest addition to the Tech X family ensured our online viewers felt the magic of the live show! This epic live streaming company specialises in capturing all of the moments that matter as they happen with perfect audio and brilliant angles.
Crumb Cakes
You certainly couldn't miss the dessert bar of dreams created by the incredible Anmar from Crumb Cakes! Pretty-in-pink and larger than life, Anmar certainly pulled out all the stops to create a show-stopping edible art station.
We never hesitate getting involved with a creative collaboration organised by SA Weddings. When the opportunity arose for us to create a dessert display for this years SA Weddings Bride of the Year event, we didn’t even hesitate for a second. We're in! Whenever we collaborate with anyone it is important for us to feel that the event is going to blow people’s socks off. We knew without a doubt that this would be the case, so with theme in hand it was easy for us to dream up an incredible concept and play around with some new ideas. NConcepts & Designs created a bespoke dessert display station that was not only bang on trend and ultra stylish - it was absolutely perfect for the Crumb display! You couldn't miss it! I was blown away by the attention to detail and all of the effort put in to creating the display, exactly as I drew up in my initial design idea!
We complemented this incredible display with an over the top croquembouche, chocolate brownies, stacks of macarons, mini ring doughnuts, piles of meringue kisses, cute mini cupcakes and cookies embossed with the SA Weddings #SAWBOTY2021 logo on them. These are some of our most requested dessert display items - and we knew they would be super popular (and pretty.. and DELICIOUS!)
Its always important for us to stay ahead of what’s happening in the industry, and creating looks that are new, fresh and never seen before - and with the team involved in this year’s event it was a seamless experience that even blew our minds! WE DID THAT! Crumb strives to create beautiful and delicious cakes and treats, and when we get to match that with the suppliers involved at SA Weddings Bride of the Year - it just turns to magic.
Vondeling Wines
Of course no SA Weddings celebration is ever complete without delicious bubbles! When we partnered up with well known and loved wedding venue and wine estate Vondeling Wines, we knew we were in trusted hands. Vondeling knows exactly what it takes to make a fabulous soiree next level and boy-oh-boy did they deliver!
Along with an evening full of fun, belly laughs and a whole lot of sparkle, Vondeling Wines provided some of their vibrant Little Sparkle Sparkling Brut to add to this special occasion! "This endearing wine will wash away the mundane and bring out the fabulous in you". A more fitting MCC for the event of the season could not be found. Accompanying their Little Sparkle was a special selection of Vondeling’s delicious premium wines, specifically curated for the event of the season. Needless to say but Vondeling Wines certainly quenched the thirst of our gorgeous guests! Those attending enjoyed Vondeling’s Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Baldrick Shiraz and Methode Ancestrale Rurale 2018 (the first M.A. in South Africa & the perfect bubbly to celebrate your incredibly special day). What fun it was having Vondeling Wines getting us all ready for a night full of festivities.
Fairview
Adding to the celebrations, Fairview Estate joined the SA Weddings Bride of the Year 2021 dream team and created the most incredible, show-stopping, moreish cheese station. A sight to behold, this delectable cheese station certainly was a highlight for this legendary event. We caught up with Maryke from Fairview on their Bride of the Year 2021 journey.
The goal behind our participation at this year's SA Weddings Bride of the Year event was planting a seed and encouraging ideas amongst the attendees. Ingenuity, innovation and creativity are celebrated at Fairview and form a massive part of how we approach our business and we wanted to bring that to the event. Our chosen vehicle to achieve this was our famous cheese-cakes! Fairview has long been the go-to for brides and events planners wanting a cheese-cake but this year we wanted to showcase a few alternative ideas that can be accomplished with the broad range of products that we produce.
We exhibited three different variations, each with their own unique take on a cheese-cake, namely a "Meat Cake", a tiered cheese-cake dressed with biltong, droëwors and other cured meats all produced on the farm; a "Fruit Cake", a tiered cheese-cake dressed with a variety of fresh seasonal fruits; and a "Traditional Flower Cake", a tiered cheese cake dressed with fresh seasonal flowers. These are three variations that we chose to exhibit but the possibilities stretch as far as your imagination and our product range allows! With a wide range of artisanal cheeses, preserves, confectionaries, breads, pastries and cured meats, there's something for everyone.
Frisky Goat
Is there anything better than spotting a coffee truck on a chilly winters evening? Nothing like getting those caffeine kicks in before hitting the dance floor. Say hello to the amazing, the incredible Frisky Goat! Guests were queueing and boy oh boy did the baristas deliver. We caught up with the team to tell us a little more about this event must-have!
Frisky Goat Coffee Roastery offers a full service coffee station bringing the café experience to your event. Our own freshly roasted artisan coffee is served by passionate and expertly trained baristas. We are available for any event in Cape Town and surrounding areas.
Six Dogs
Is it even a party without the fun and fabulous Six Dogs Distillery team at your event?! From the minute we got in touch with Nicole, it was all systems go and we gelled together like PB&J. Guests were treated to expertly mixed and (mind you), tasty gin cocktails on arrival! The perfect partner to open up the event of the season! We caught up with the team on their epic Bride of the Year 2021 experience:
SA Weddings!! What a legendary show and event to be part of. Six Dogs Distillery is one of South Africa’s top craft gin brands and it began, as so many good things do, in the most humble way: a shed normally used to house our six dogs and an old copper geyser converted into a still. From there the dream unfolded to make a gin that would make a difference in the South African craft distillery industry and abroad.
We are truly honoured to have been chosen as the preferred and exclusive gin partner for the event and we cannot express how amazing the journey has been working with the SA Weddings team – WHAT A COOL BUNCH!!! From the initial interactions to the final festivities, we have felt part of the overall team which highlights the values of both businesses and the synergy that we share. Our gin bar and hardworking Six Dogs barmen pumped out classy gin cocktails as welcome drinks for the evening and need I mention that Six Dogs gin did not fail to touch the lips of every attendee. Our Six Dogs Blue Gin naturally changes colour when tonic is added, bringing honest sparkles to the eyes of the consumer. Talk about being on theme! It was a classy and glamorous event and a huge thank you to SA Weddings for choosing us as their gin partner of choice!
It is no secret that a beautiful event is never complete without beautiful event stationery! Not only does it tie your look and feel together but adds a welcome pop of WOW to the overall fabulousness of the event. Cue JP Design - the highly talented, brilliant business woman and visionary behind the stylish and perfectly executed event stationery. An absolute dream to work with, we couldn't have partnered up with any one better to celebrate the crowning. Jax shares her #SAWBOTY2021 experience with us below:
JPDesign is a passionately owned one-woman business based in Johannesburg. By blending bespoke and custom design work, premium quality papers, materials, printing and production methods, JPDesign is all about taking a clients vision and creating contemporary stand-out stationery for their weddings and events. ‘JP’ refers to Jax Pougnet, the owner and designer behind the brand, who went from assisting projects on the side of a corporate job a few years ago, to taking the leap into doing this full time, and what a rewarding leap it was! With a personal love for simplicity, elegance, and the value of ‘making it personal’, all projects that are dealt with endless creative passion and an OCD eye for detail.
I have admired the brand and platform of SA Weddings ever since I step foot into this industry, so when the creative director got in touch with this incredible opportunity to collaborate with SA Weddings for their annual Bride of the Year 2021 event, I had to keep pinching myself that this opportunity was in-fact real. The brief was sensational and allowed me to contribute creative elements from the digital assets shared before the event, through to on-the-day items such as a chrome acrylic welcome sign, food bar signage, order of events board and tent-fold cards, large format vinyl signage, frosted acrylic arch menus, frosted acrylic name tags that the brides could keep as well as the judges booklets for the event.
This really was a dream come true to be able to work with such a fabulous and renowned brand and platform, not to mention being able to meeting and working with the most incredible team behind the scenes. A huge Thank you goes to SA Weddings for allowing JPDesign to contribute to such a dazzling day!
Needing no introduction, this is the second Bride of the Year event where we have partnered up with the incredible Get Lucky Entertainment group. Providing the perfect line up, Get Lucky Entertainment ensured our guests were entertained and ready for a night full of festivities. With over 10 years of entertainment industry experience, Get Lucky Entertainment is your complete solution to music, entertainment and epic technical requirements. We caught up with Tim, one of the founders on their Bride of the Year journey:
One of the many privileges of working in the wedding entertainment industry is being able to contribute to special occasions that celebrate the human spirit. SA Weddings Bride of the Year 2021 was no exception with the event bringing joy to all lucky enough to have attended. Watching our talented artists represent us performing their hearts out for the guests left us with immense pride. There is something special about watching a performer you represent have as much fun on stage as the audience in the crowd and we would like to thank SA weddings for giving us the opportunity to curate the live entertainment from start to finish of their event.
"Wow-factors" are something we are constantly on the lookout for. Be it in a performing artist or a special effect to elevate a moment. We can't help ourselves but have a cheeky grin when we see planning and preparation become a reality. To say that our team had their ultra-focused blue steel faces on when all eight of our sparkler machines were triggered during the announcement of the winning couple would be a complete lie, as the smiles on the team's faces were as cheesy as our resident DJ dropping Sweet Caroline at midnight to a packed dance floor. Timeless!!
A final thank you must go to our super talented performers Felicity and the Trumpets, Ellani De Jager and Jean-Marc Meyer, James Harrison, and DJ Cosher for sharing their talents. Juliet Harding lead singer of GoodLuck and co-owner of Get Lucky Entertainment for representing us as an official judge and last but not least to the SA Weddings team for putting on a spectacular event.
DJ Cosher
If you were in attendance, you would know that you could not keep us off the dance floor. DJ Cosher certainly brought down the house with his epic set. When the crowning officially ended, guests were treated to the most romantic sight of our winning couple enjoying their first dance followed by a night of serious boogying! DJ Cosher read the crowd like a dream and with the epic appearance of James Harrison on the saxophone, it took the dance floor to a whole new level! Guests absolutely loved it and as you can see by these images, our guests certainly dazzled on the dance floor.
Fire Tribe
Adding the literal heat to the event of the year, Fire Tribe welcomed our guests in style with the most incredible fire dancing. Joining us for yet another epic Bride of the Year event, Fire Tribe always knows how to add the wow factor. Known and loved for their insanely impressive performances, brilliant handling and guest interaction, this talented bunch certainly added a welcome spark to our guests arriving and signalled the start to an incredible evening.
Marnel Toerien
The entire aim of the SA Weddings Bride of the Year competition is to allow our beautiful finalists to relive the magic of their special day. From wearing their wedding gowns again to having their hair and makeup professionally done, we want to ensure our gorgeous brides look and feel their absolute best. Needing no introduction, Marnel Toerien and her team were the ultimate glam squad and ensured our Top 12 brides looked sensational before gracing the stage. Each bride was assigned to an artist who then worked their magic and ensured that each of finalists looked like a million bucks!
Our leading ladies and panel of celebrity judges were also spoilt rotten! To ensure our VIP judging panel consisting of renowned model and tv talk show host Minki van Der Westhuizen, fitness guru Julie Meintjes and GOODLUCK lead singer and Get Lucky Entertainment co-owner Julz Harding enjoyed the event to the fullest, our amazing prize and accommodation sponsors also pulled out all the stops to ensure our guests of honour were treated in true SA Weddings style!
Our judges and their partners were treated to an ultra luxurious stay at Lanzerac Hotel and Spa ! A more fitting and idealistic property could not be found! Nestled in the Cape Winelands, Lanzerac Hotel and Spa oozes elegance and sophistication - just like our gorgeous judges. Our lucky panel were also treated to beautifully packaged prize hampers which included some of the most incredible Proudly South African products. Of course, as all ladies love to look and feel absolutely fabulous, our friends at Cosmetix SA gifted our gorgeous gals with the most incredible makeup hamper filled with the latest, on trend, must have cosmetic items to ensure they were stage and camera ready all night long. How lucky could a girl get?!
Ah where does one even begin when it comes to our incredible, multi-talented and girl boss goals media team. Joining us for another Bride of the Year event, the talented Bronwyn Tod Photography assisted by Savannah Greeff Photography and The Wedding Crashers brought the literal heat, vibes and epic dance moves to the event of the season. An absolute pleasure to work with, these dynamic and multi-talented girls exceed your expectations every single time. Just when you think they cannot WOW you anymore, they do! It is no secret that capturing the entire #SAWBOTY2021 weekend is a monumental task and these 4 power houses have done it so incredibly well! Catch the epic highlight reel from the event of the season below and show our incredible dream team some serious love.
FireTribe is South Africa’s leading FIRE PERFORMANCE troupe with over 16 years of professional experience creating beautiful fire dancing shows for all types of events.
Las Paletas will stun guests with their selection of gourmet ice cream on your special day!
Being a part of your celebration in some small way makes my work so much more rewarding.
JPDesign blends bespoke and custom design work, quality papers, print and production methods to bring your wedding stationery vision to life.
Founded by the ever creative and forward-thinking Nico Laubscher, who celebrated 26 years in the wedding and event planning industry.
We shoot documentary style wedding videos that capture the natural feel of your day.
Cape Tents is a small but dynamic Bedouin tent rental company located in the northern suburbs of Cape Town
Organic, nostalgic and soulful are just some of the words that have been used to describe my photography.
Maison du Cap offers you the perfect romantic base to explore the beautiful valley that is Franschhoek.
Grandeur is back in vogue. Nooitgedacht Estate has specialized in exquisite, hand-crafted weddings for over 35 years.
Cape Town based photographer specializing in Weddings, couples and all things LOVE!
Frisky Goat offer a full service coffee station bringing the café experience to your event.
Get Lucky Entertainment is a complete solution to music, entertainment & technical requirements.
Step through the doors of the true-to-history exterior and into the stylish interior with modern finishes and eclectic design.
Lanzerac is a true Stellenbosch icon – steeped in history and luxury, the grande dame is synonymous with old-world charm and rich Cape heritage.
We are a furniture hiring company where you can rent beautiful items for your special event.
Tracy Branford of Trunk Events offers a very personal service and plans all the weddings of her couples with a very hands-on and loving approach.
Crumb specializes in bespoke wedding and celebration cakes, highly creative dessert displays and edible sweet treats & gifts.
