Our marble-inspired wedding stationery featured these words painted across it, as well as touches of gold, sequins and duck egg. The combination of rich gold and sparkly bling with a serene shade of duck egg was perfect to create the look that we wanted – glamour and opulence plus fairytale charm and a pop of colour.
A picture says a thousand words, but sometimes a few perfect words are all you need. To summarize a day you have been rehearsing since Barbie and Ken seems almost impossible to do, when everything about my wedding day seemed so surreal. My wedding was absolute perfection. A fairytale dream brought to life. If I have to bring up a highlight or two, hearing the words "I do" would definitely take first prize. Another highlight would be seeing my dad’s face, as he tried holding back the tears, but not being very successful.
In years to come, the 24th of September 2017 will always be my favorite day as I’ll remember what butterflies really felt like, and how sore my cheeks were from not being able to stop smiling and laughing. I’ll remember how the crowd faded as I danced the night away with my soulmate and how fast my heart was beating. I’ll remember how my husband held my hand and looked at me and kissed me; that all the senses of my entire body felt alive, like I was Sleeping Beauty waiting for her one true love’s kiss to wake her up.
Myself and my husband (love saying that now) got to experience the oh-so-romantic sun-kissed turquoise beaches and explore the adventurous water activities in Thailand. We got to see secluded caves, coral reefs, waterfalls - all while enjoying the liveliest beach nightlife. We did it all. Island hopped to and from Phuket to Phi-Phi island and Krabi and back. We took it all in. We partied together, got tattoos together, scuba dived and even went to watch all the infamous shows-all while shopping till we dropped. This was THE most romantic place I have ever been to. We had massages and watched the fire dancers and saw the famous James Bond island together. This serene beachfront honeymoon was one I will never forget.
I closed my eyes and envisioned myself as a bride and what my dress would look like, and Zita Contente designed it just as I had imagined it in my head. My wedding dress was gorgeous! I felt like an absolute princess in this dress. It fitted my body like a glove. Guests said (and showed) that my wedding gown’s haute couture design and bespoke style was literally jaw-dropping. It was just the effect that I had hoped for! I had crystal details and hand beaded finishes all over my dress. The lace was embedded with its own sparkle and the crystal and pearl sleeve were all major ingredients in the perfect bridal gown. I loved that my dress was tight fitted and then fuller at the bottom; this really made me feel beautiful and confident. I love my bling, but still kept it classy, elegant and of course bold. Wedding dresses for me, need to be a statement. My hair was done by the brilliant Reds, it was done in loose curls that were shades of dark and light brown with a beautiful crystal head piece. My hair dresser was brilliant, so brilliant that my brother even decided to marry her ;) I used Blink by Candz & Cheri to do my make up, my bridesmaids makeup and hair as well as the flower girls hair and of course all the mommies got their hair and make up done too. My jewellery was from Lovisa. Because my weakness is shoes, I had to buy two pairs, one from Steve Madden and another (in case my feet got sore) from a boutique in Eastgate. Both pairs of shoes were covered with rhinestones and had just enough sparkle to get me to buy them. My lingere was incredible ! My twin sister was my maid of honor, and she knows how to bring the sexy side out of the conservative me. She bought my wedding lingere from La Senza. My something blue was an evil eye and a cross that I put on my garter (Lebanese superstition). My perfume was Christian Dior that my husband bought me specially to wear on my wedding day, and shewwee I smelt like royalty! My something old was a pair of booties my mom gave me, these were apparently part of my outfit that I left hospital in.
We got married at exclusive venue Memoire in Muldersdrift. This exquisite venue was my first choice as it had everything I had envisioned. From the chandeliers to the mirrors in the bridal suite, to the stairs leading up to the reception, I was completely had at hello. This venue was absolutely breath taking and I couldn't have been happier with it. Some of our guests stayed the night, mostly the bridal party and close family as the rooms were limited-especially for a Lebanese wedding. After the clock struck 12, this bride had to make her way to put some comfortable clothes on and enjoy an hour or two at the bonfire area with the rest of the crew!
Well, this is the part of the wedding preparations that I could get used to. I went full out on the spa treatments, and a dedicated beauty regime morning and night. I used kiehls face products to give my skin that natural glow and keep it feeling radiant. I exercised every day religiously and ate a health balanced diet to maintain my weight. I had a teeth whitening home kit that I would use while catching up on my series.
Cafe Fleur did my wedding decor and my dads friend Dave did my lighting which was incredible! The dance floor had lighting around it and in the reception hall was full of colorful lighting that really complimented the decor. My back drop was almost like a lit up waterfall and my table had so many candles and orchids that it was impossible not to stand out. We also hires a lit up life size sign that said MR & MRS and the reflection of this on my white gloss dance floor looked like a movie scene! The venue had cocktail tables so we were all good to go on those! My center pieces and tables were decorated using tow different themes and two different colors. Duck egg, gold and gold sequence runners. One the one table I had candelabras that were wrapped around with flowers and on the other I had crystal candelabras that held the boutique of flowers and had clear hollow balls that were filled with roses. My decor company went all out for me. Cafe fleur was also able to design my wedding stationary, one in specific was my personalized menus that were designed to fit my guests lazor cut names that were placed on top of them. I also had custom made table numbers and my guests names were printed on a huge mirror before they entered the hall. I had also made fans for the wedding program-just incase it got really hot. My guests gifts were miniature gourmet cupcakes that I designed to say "A sweet ending to a new begging".
My husband wore the most gorgeous grey and white suit, it really made his blue eyes stand out from all the way down the isle. He bought his suit from Zara and got it tailored by own of his own people. As for the grooms men, they wore grey blazors- just a darker shade and the pants and shirts were all black -no tie, and wow they were all looking so handsome! My husband bought himself a Daniel Klein black watch with a rose gold face. Super smart!
My chickas! These gorgeous ladies and my best friends who I had to honor of asking to walk me down the bridezilla path with me on my special day, were simply the best! All of them had such amazing bodies that I could have literally put them in anything and they would have rocked it! Their dresses were Duck egg and were low at the back and had a slit at the back that a piece of gorgeous lace with crystals were put in place of the slit. This same lace crystal was put over the dress strategically to enhance their curves. Their shoes were all from Steve Madden which were rose gold and silver rhinestone. They all honestly looked so amazing, classy and sexy! My twin sister was of course my maid of honor and she was dressed to kill. Her full sequence dress was full gold/rose gold. All the ladies had rose gold accessories to make their dress pop. Because I had 7 bridesmaids, every second one had her hair in a different style-thank you Pinterest!
My marriage officer was a lady-yes you do get lady marriage officers. She was amazing. She was also super modern and was open to being more adventurous in her approach to affiliating our marriage, which really was the reason I wanted her to do our service.
Lightburst were my photographers and actually the first people to ever take professional photos of me. Their technical skills and creative abilities truly are something to envy. I really enjoyed our videographer and his sense of humour - he really knew how to get people to laugh and feel comfortable.
I was privileged enough to have 7 wedding planners-my bridesmaids! All with their own amazing ideas. My sister and myself being in the creative industry was also an advantage.
Because we stayed at the venue, no transport was needed as the rooms were close to the chapel and the reception. My very patient bridesmaids, who were wearing 6 inch Steve Madden heels, helped walk me down to the chapel in an ever so "graceful manor". lol
Our venue took care of all the food. Our guests were super impressed by the way the food looked and tasted. It was almost as if the chef was an artist himself and the plates were his canvas. Amazing food from the canapés to dessert-everything was perfect! As for my wedding cake, I was speechless I couldn't believe how these people managed to pull off this wedding cake! It was marble in its design and has a piece open in the middle that looked like a crystal volcano erupted. Around it was gold leaf foiling and the most gorgeous hand made flowers. The cake topper was also made of diamontes and had been personalized with our surname on it. All of this curtsy of Jayne's Cakes
Cafe Fleur handled all of my wedding stationery, except the cup cake boxes, that I designed myself. I sent them references of ideas I liked as inspiration and they basically put my mind of paper and printed! It was so creative and beautiful, I couldn't have done it without them.
A man who can dance is super sexy! My husband has always been the man inside the circle at parties, and the first time I saw him dancing I was like those snakes you see getting hypnotized. He sure knows how to move, and when we dance together I feel like Baby from dirty dancing. So no, dance lessons were one thing we gladly ticked off on the list.
As for the party...Well when you put Porras, Lebanese and very well known cultural music on, you know its going to be a party. Everyone was dancing the night away, showing off the skills to Samsara, and the older people were also showing us youngsters how to really shake, rattle and roll.
We hired lighting professionals to give us the ambience we wanted and wow, it was something! They even set up our dance floor with lighting around it and gave us the spot light for our first dance. Everything in the hall was brought to life by the lighting. #Incredible.
We had a live band during canapés and a Dj during the reception. The music the Dj played made sure everyone was stiff the next day. He made sure everyone was having a good time and on their feet.
Café Fleur & Cor de Rosa is no ordinary flower shop – it is a hub of bridal activity & event planning.
This amazing mother and daughter duo have been featured in many magazines and have won prestigious awards like 1st place in the 2014 Good Food And Wine Show Wedding Cake Challe...
