Leaving the One and Only
There were many memorable moments from my wedding day, the one's that stand out to me the most was walking through the One and Only Hotel with my bridesmaids on the way the car that was going to take us to the yacht named the Mirage where we were having our wedding ceremony. All the staff were standing and waiting for me and really made me feel special as I made my way to the car at the front entrance. I will never forget the drive to the yacht, as I had mixed emotions. My dad was with me in the car and I could see he was quite emotional and I wanted to cry but I also felt excitement as I couldn't wait to see my fiancé's reaction when he saw me as I felt beautiful in my dress and hair and make-up.
Wedding Ceremony
Making my way towards my fiancé on the Mirage was a moment I will never forget, I could see he was very emotional as he had been crying when I arrived (which I told him was going to happen, we kind of made a bet before our wedding on who was going to cry first when they saw each other, I bet he was going to :). When I reached him, he told me I looked beautiful :)
I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous about the formalities of the ceremony but our marriage officer made us feel comfortable and was really engaging with us and our guests. He made us all laugh and really captured the essence of the type of wedding we wanted which was a relaxed and fun wedding.
The ride back
Our ride back to the One and Only in the Maybach Mercedes with my now husband was lots of fun, not only because we were now husband and wife which by the way still sounds weird saying but because we had the windows down in the car and we were waving to everyone while we were driving through the Waterfront, playing Bruno Mars song, "I think I want to marry you". We were also making a live Instagram video whilst driving back to the One and Only because of course a wedding is not a wedding without a Instagram post :)
Reception
I felt complete joy walking into the reception venue at Isola in the One and Only because it looked like everything had come together just how I had envisioned. The flowers, décor, it all looked beautiful and everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves.
We opted to have speeches by the groom and best man and let me tell you the speeches were very meaningful and entertaining. My sister who couldn't be there on the day as she lives in Spain, had the MC read out a letter she had written and of course fate would leave it up to my sister to make me cry on my wedding day :) I was a beautiful letter and one I will never forget.
For our wedding song we chose "love someone', by Lucas Graham. We decided on the day to for the original two step during our dance because he we had choreographed our own little number to the song but I hadn't realized that the straps of my dress wouldn't allow me to lift my arms too high, I know my husband was relieved about this because I could tell he had already forgotten the dance :) We were in our little bubble and just listening to the words and really caught up in each other, half way through the song our bridal party joined us and then when the song changed everyone was out on the dance floor just having an awesome time. At one point I was even spinning in the air above someone's head, staring at the ceiling hoping I wasn't going to hit my head or that my dress wasn't going to break. My gran mentioned that it was such good choreography and wanted to know if I rehearsed before the time hehe.
Don't get me started on my wedding cake, it was sooo beautiful. I hadn't seen it until the reception and what a great job LionHeart did. I don't eat cake not even on my birthday, sigh sad but true. I did promise I would eat my wedding cake and it didn't only look good but tasted sooo delicious.
Back to our room at the One and Only
The staff at the One and Only is all about making there guests feel special and they didn't hold back on our wedding night. It was a great way to end the night and return to the room that was made up so beautifully with petals, champagne by the bath with petals in it and a sticker on the bath that had our wedding date and Mr and Mrs Painczyk. They had even left us a gift which was a Reuben's recipe book and of course I had to take a slow motion video of my husband jumping onto the bed so that all the petals would go flying around :)
We opted to stay at the One and Only for 3 nights and just relax and do some touristy things around the Waterfront. We took the canal boat tour which was nice as we hadn't done it yet. We also went stand up paddle boarding, which I made my husband stand up and paddle while I sat in front and enjoyed the view. We are thinking of going to Thailand for a week on honeymoon when the time allows us.
The dress style I wore was a fitted dress, the other styles didn't really suit me as it looked like I was drowning in material. I found that a fitted dress really showed off my figure the best. I opted for a detailed back as I have always loved simplistic in the front and detailed at the back. I also opted to go for a long veil that would cascade down along my train which looked really beautiful. I bought my dress and veil from The Wedding Boutique in Woodstock.
I have always liked my hair down as appose to a up do. I opted for a classic Hollywood styled hairstyle with a wavy curl and my hair pinned back on one side with a hair accessory which was made by Bespoke Occasions by Kathleen Barry. I chose a make-up look that would highlight my features and still look natural. My hair and make-up were done by Lesley Solomons who works for L.A Makeup Artistry.
The shoes I wore were ivory Badgley Mishka shoes which I bought online as I couldn't find a shoe in Cape Town that was my style and would match my dress.
I paired my look with silver studded Swarovski earrings which I bought from the Swarovski store at Canal Walk, I didn't want to go with dangling earrings as my dress was very detailed and I didn't want to distract from dress. I also decided not have a necklace as I had lace added to the front of my dress and it would be too busy.
My bridal bouquet consisted of pink roses and white hydrangeas that were kept together by a ivory ribbon
I wore a beautiful lace robe while getting ready which was made by Mrs Rose who is based in Johannesburg, she also made a garter for me which matched the lace of the train of my dress.
My dress being tight fitting, gave me the only option of wearing underwear which was not lined and my dress being ivory, I went for beige underwear so that you couldn't see the colour through the dress. I bought this from CottonOn at Canal Walk.
I chose a Versace perfume as I really liked the smell and the bottle had a regal look to it.
My wedding dress hanger was made by, 'Wedding Hangers". It looked beautiful, it was white and bride was written in black lettering and the date of our wedding.
Our studios based in Cape Town and Johannesburg are fresh, vibrant and above all modern.
"The newest addition to Badgley Mischka's bridal collections, Belle Badgley Mischka features all the signature high quality, high fashion elements of the couture line but with ...
My wedding ceremony was in the Mirage which is a yacht and our wedding ceremony was a the Isola at the One and Only Hotel. I guests didn't need to stay the night as the location was close enough for everyone to go back home.
I always try to live a healthy lifestyle with nutrition and exercise therefore nothing changed in that aspect.
I had a spray tan done by Lauren Bruyns who works for, "go brown mobile tanning".
I had eyelash extensions done by Sheri Bosman who owns, "Bliss Skin and Body".
My facial treatments were done at the Cape Medical Aesthetics Centre.
My teeth whitening was done at Restore Dental Studio.
I had gel toes done at Sorbet and crystals added by Nail Fantasy.
I had acrylic nails done at sorbet and polish and crystals added at Nail Fantasy.
Ceremony
We had a cream carpet on the walk way of the dock that led up to the Mirage (yacht), we hired this from Grandstyle Hiring. We had two white tiffany chairs that my husband and I sat on the Mirage that we hired from Daring Events. The tables had mini bouquets of loose greenery with soft pink, blue & cream flower combo in square glass vases. The yacht is beautiful in and of itself that we felt it didn't need any other décor or flowers. After the ceremony, everyone retreated upstairs onto the deck of the boat and we had the throwing of petals upstairs.
Reception
Our wedding was a cocktail style themed wedding, therefore we didn't have a sit down dinner as we were going for a more relaxed atmosphere. We had 6 cocktail tables that were provided by the One and Only Hotel. They were covered with cream satin tablecloths that we hired from the table cloth hiring company. These were tied together by artificial leaves giving the island style look because the Isola restaurant is situated on the Island a the One and Only. The cocktail tables had the bouquets on them that we used on the tables on the Mirage.
We had a chill area with two white coffee tables, one large ottoman, 4 small round white ottomans and a white bella sofa which we hired from Daring Events.
The bride and groom table had two cream coloured sequined table cloths on it, I bought the material from Occasions at Canal Walk. The table had an XL oasis tray on top of the table and x3 smaller trays on the
floor - loose greenery with soft blue, pink & cream flower combo. We also had tea light candles on the table in clear glass holders.
Behind the bride and groom table is a oven which we had covered using cream draping and fairy lights which was done by The Events Draping Co.
We had cream cushion covers made to put on the cushions that went on the window sill for guests to sit on.
We used the remaining small bouquets of flowers for the coffee tables and cake table.
Our cake table was a clear cake table that was provided by the One and Only Hotel.
Outside by the pool area we had 6 tables that we put silver lanterns on each table and used pillar candles inside the lanterns. We chose silver as it matched the outside tables the best.
All the flowers, candles, vases, votives, buttonholes, wrist corsages, lanterns were organized by New Vintage Events.
The groom wore a pastel blue suit and a white open collared shirt which was made by The Modernist Taylor.
He had dark brown leather dress shoes on which he bought from Aldo and a dark brown belt from Markhams. He paired this with a puma watch which the strap matched his shoes and belt. To create a little fun he wore happy socks from Total Sports.
The groomsmen wore pastel blue suit pants which was made by The Modernist Taylor with white collared shirts and a pastel pink tie. The tie was bought at Woolworths. They wore dark brown leather dress shoes to go with the outfit as well as happy socks.
The groom and groomsmen had buttonholes which were made up of a pink rose with blue hydrangeas. The buttonholes were made by New Vintage Events.
New Vintage Events specialises in outstanding service and creating exquisite flowers and styling for a variety of occasions from functions to weddings.
My bridesmaids wore pastel pink dresses which were bought from Bridal Allure. I had them try on a few dresses and this dress suited everyone's body shape. The dress was paired with sandals which showed a hint of pink along the ankle strap and back of the shoe which went nicely with the dress. The sandals had 4 straps going along the width of the shoe that had diamantes on them and gave it a elegant look. The shoes were bought from Forever New.
All hair and make up was done by L.A Makeup Artistry, because of the open back of the dress, the bridesmaids wore there hair down in curls with the front pieces of there air pulled away from the face by braids or a twist knot, depending on what the preferred. My maid of honor had short hair and had her hair done with a wave effect to give volume.
My bridesmaid wore silver studded earrings and my made of honor also wore silver studded earrings but were slightly different. These were bought from Lovisa.
The bridesmaids bouquets were made up of white and pink roses with long green stems. They were tied together with a pink ribbon.
Whilst getting ready on the day, my bridesmaids wore robes which I purchased from CottonOn.
Bridal Allure is one of Cape Town’s largest & most respected wedding stores with a reputation for professional, personal service and individual attention.
Troy Goldie
Our photographer was Kim Mitchell. We chose her because she is a family friend and because of the intimate occasion, we knew she would be able to capture our moments as well as make us feel comfortable.
Our videographer was Nate Buttner, he works for We Are NAB. He really captured the emotions of the wedding through his videoing and we are overjoyed with the result.
We did have a photo booth area with props, our photographer for the photo booth, Hennie Rudman took the pictures of our guests and immediately printed the pictures for them which they stuck in a Guestbook and wrote a note. The guestbook was made by, BusyLizzyCreations.
Between my husband and I and my mom and dad, we planned the wedding.
We did however have an events co-ordinator that was available to us on the Mirage, Warren pierce, who helped us co-ordinate everything on the yacht.
The One and Only have a on site co-ordinator,Rene Bridges who together with her banqueting team organized everything for us at the One and Only Hotel.
I travelled in a black Mercedes Maybach from the One and Only Hotel to the Mirage and from the Mirage back to the One and Only Hotel. My bridesmaids travelled from the hotel to the Mirage and back in a black Mercedes. This was organised through Jarat Tours.
Our wedding guests were transported from the Mirage to the One and Only via a boat called, The Dawn.
Because we had a cocktail style wedding we decided to go with the finger fork menu, the food was prepared by Reuben's restaurant at the One and Only Hotel.
Our wedding cake was designed and made by Natalie Pinto who works for Sweet LionHeart.
My husband and I made our own save the dates which we sent to everyone, we used a app called Canva.
Our wedding invite we did online and sent the link via e-mail to our wedding guests.
We had a DJ at our wedding, DJ Joe who works for Elite Wedding Concepts.
He provided colour lights and all his own equipment.
We opted to not hire a dance floor because the floor was sooo pretty in Isola we had a area in front of the bridal table for dancing.
My husband and I choregraphed our own dance for our wedding but on the day we opted not to do it, for one my dress straps wouldn't allow me to and two I think he forgot the dance :)
Our studios based in Cape Town and Johannesburg are fresh, vibrant and above all modern.
"The newest addition to Badgley Mischka's bridal collections, Belle Badgley Mischka features all the signature high quality, high fashion elements of the couture line but with ...
New Vintage Events specialises in outstanding service and creating exquisite flowers and styling for a variety of occasions from functions to weddings.
Bridal Allure is one of Cape Town’s largest & most respected wedding stores with a reputation for professional, personal service and individual attention.
