After experiencing a destination wedding about just over 5 years ago we decided that we would like our wedding to be just as special and memorable. We got married in Mauritius at Veranda Pointe Aux Biches Hotel and the most amazing part of everything is that our wedding day did not just feel like one day as we had a whole 10 days with all of our guests. Everyone was in such a laid back happy beachy mood that nothing could possibly have gone wrong.
My most memorable moments was firstly seeing my (then) Fiance start crying when I came walking down the aisle, a memory that is so irreplaceable and special! then the moment my dad saw me and gave me away, the feelings in my body was something I have never felt before. A funny moment was when my little 10 year old brother disappeared and when everyonr was looking for him we found him in his underwear at the main pool of the hotel swimming!!! He said he was hot and wanted to swim LOL. My mom was so angry but I just laughed and told the photographer to take a photo as this was a memory that we could show him one day when he gets married :)
We were in Mauritius with all our friends and family for the first 10 days after the wedding and stayed at Veranda Pointe Aux Biches Hotel. Our honeymoon was therefore slightly delayed but we would not have had it any other way. After the most amazing and memorable experiences with all our loved ones we planned the rest of our honeymoon as it came. we stayed at two different hotels and experienced so many of the local and tourist attractions in Mauritius. It was phenomenal!!
We had a beautiful beach wedding so I decided on a mermaid style wedding dress that had a beautiful sparkle in the material and slightly shone with the rays of the sun. My hair was long loose curls with flowers and my makeup was very out there with bright coral lipstick. As it was a beach wedding I did not wear any shoes but I did hand make pretty flower barefoot sandels.
I had small pearls in my accessories which also symbolizes the beauty of the ocean.
We used the hotels own makeup artist and hair stylist (Veranda Pointe Aux Biches).
My beautiful dress was hand made by Be Dazzled in Sunward Park and I couldn't have felt more beautiful on my special day.
We signed our wedding contract just before we left, at Dolphins Corner Wedding Venue but our wedding day took place on 7 September 2018 in Mauritius at Veranda Pointe Aux Biches Hotel.
Our guests made a holiday out of our destination wedding so majority of them stayed for about 10 days.
I tried as far as possible to lose some weight (as we all do hehe) but with all the celebrations this year from birthdays to weddings to bachelorettes etc. I did not really get to where I wanted to be but I definitely went to gym (Family Fitness in Kempton Park) everyday and tried my very best. I ate healthy where possible and went for massages with my fiancé at Cession Thai Spa in Kempton Park every now and again just to switch off and relax.
We hired a marquees which was set up on the beach with the sea as our view. We has lots of candles and a big boma fire outside to create a warm loving atmosphere. We had white chairs which looked very beachy and suited the setup perfectly. Our colours were rose gold and a combination of coral, peach and pink with lots of sparkle and flowers for the tropical vibe. We had beautiful white lanterns as our centre pieces surrounded by flowers and our table number were Perspex mirror sumbols. We used items that symbolize the ocean for the different table numbers e.g. starfish, lighthouse, shell, anchor etc.
All these were made by Kreyatif Lazer Works in Kempton Park and it looked absolutely stunning!!!
We had a dance floor with a DJ and lots of colourful lighting, the vibe was very lively from the start to the end of the night.
All the guys wore navy pants rolls up slightly, barefoot, white long sleeve shirts that were also rolled up with navy suspenders and a coral flower on the top left hand side. They also wore white straw hats which worked perfectly on the beach. Their attire was bought from oriental plaza in Johannesburg.
I originally wanted my bridesmaids to wear long elegant rose gold dresses but as we went shopping we found the perfect coral / peach cocktail dresses that all of them loved and felt comfortable in. Seeing all of them so hapy is exactly how I wanted it to be so we decided on these dresses instead. There were only 4 left as well and I had 4 bridesmaids so it felt like a sign :)
They has a messy side bun with a flower alice band in their hair. Their dresses had quite a lot of bling on so they decided not to wear any additional jewellery and it worked so beautifully. They also wore no shoes but instead wore barefoot sandels which we all made by hand. They looked like princesses!
Their dresses were also bought at Oriental Plaza.
Our marriage office in Mauritius was Avinash Bholah from Christian Family Church and the one in South Africa Was Pastor Mike.
All our breathtaking photos were taken by Andy from I Do Productions. They were so fun and friendly and made every photo so much fun. They took photos of so many real and unexpected moments without us even having to ask them to do so. They also had a drone with which a few photos were also taken and these came out spectacular. I was very worries to use a photographer in Mauritius whose work I have never seen before except for a few on their facebook page but WOW I was really impressed!
Oh yes, Veronique Boldrini the wedding and events coordinator for the Veranda Group in Mauritius. This lady is phenomenal... I honestly have no words to explain just how greatful I am for her excellent service. Planning a wedding from South Africa and just hoping when you arrive that everything will be ok really is much harder than I expected it to be. But Veronique spent so much time every week for about 8-9 months making sure she upadated me on everything, answers all my questions, sources all the suppliers I need, going out of her way to ensure that I am stress free. I was not even slightly stressed on my wedding day as she made everything such a breeze and everything that didn't go as planned she made it work and turn out perfect any way.
We did not make use of any transportation as we got married at the same hotel at which we were staying.
We had a big variety of food in a buffet style setup, everything was cooked in house at the hotel and everyone was complimenting the food! this is normally one of the downfalls of many weddings so I was so happy when I saw the variety, the presentation, the amount of food and then after tasting it as well. I could not stop eating!
Our cake was made by a local bakery called Coco Beanies. Again a cake is often a waste at a wedding as not everyone eats cake and so much of it often goes to waste. This cake was so moist and tasty that as soon as I turned around to get another piece it was all done! I was shocked. The cake was beautiful with layers of coral and white and two seahorses as Our cake topper. The top tier was almond and the bottom tier was chocolate brownie flavor... hmm delicious!
I did most of it myself but receive lost of help from Kreyatif Lazer Works in Kempton Park.
From my beautiful sea themed coasters as thank-you gifts for the ladies, to my mirror Perspex table numbers, to my save the dates and seating plan, from my bride tribe gift boxes to the engraving on my wedding glasses, champagne bottle and cake knife everything was personalized which made it even more special <3
We wanted a special and different type of dance for our first dance so we secretly took dancing lessons from Laeticia Daschner from Strictly Dancing Dance Studio in Impala Park (0832127776)
She made an interesting and fun routine for us with a mix of a hustle, rumba and fox trot. It was so much fun learning different styles from not knowing much about dancing at all. In about 6 or 7 lessons we had our perfect dance!!!
This acclaimed, multi award winning venue is where romance, beauty, old fashioned hospitality and excellence come together a mere 30 minutes from Sandton and Centurion.
