We had a traditional Hindu wedding and so it was a wedding weekend. Everything was perfect, until the night before the wedding when everything seemed to fall apart. The desserts got ruined, there was a gas tanker blocking the highway, and it was raining cats and dogs. I had to be up at 3AM on the morning of the wedding, for hair to begin at 4am. Everything was perfectly planned - Hair at 4am, Make up at 6am - Photoshoot at 8am and the wedding begins at 10am. Alas, the rain continued throughout the night and into the morning, my hair stylist was late by an hour. Anyway, everything was going well, until my make up artist unfortunately had car trouble and arrived 2 hours late. This meant that we had to skip the morning photoshoot. It was a stressful morning, but when I looked at myself in the mirror, all the stress fell away and I was like "Oh my God, I am getting married"; and so everything was perfect. The most memorable moment of my wedding day was my grooms reaction as I walked down the aisle - he cried like a baby and it melted my heart. Other memorable moments were the tying of the sacred Thali and Mangulsutra, the application of the Sindoor and the Seven Steps around the holy fire. Also, the heartfelt and emotional speeches during the reception; and everyone just enjoying themselves on the dance floor. It is a day that was perfect and one that we will never forget.
We initially planned to go to Mauritius, however, due to Covid restrictions, we had to cancel the trip.
We went to Clifftop Exclusive Safari Hideaway in Welgevonden Game Reserve. It was amazing. Breathtaking views; delicious food and zero signal. It was serene.
My wedding look summarised in one word was 'Sabyasachi". I wanted to look sophisticated, regal and beautiful. But most of all, I wanted to look like myself. Therefore, I chose a traditional red wedding lehenga and paired it with a cream veil. I love jewellery and so I went for statement pieces and a lot of bangles. I went for intricate bridal henna up to my elbows and needs detailing floral, peacocks and "jhumki" motifs to match my outfit. I wanted my hair to be modern using Georgy Kot hair techniques. My hair was adorned with red roses which my fiance (at the time) sent to me the day before the wedding (no, this was not planned) I wanted my make up to be natural in terms of foundation but with a killer bold eye and bold lip. I got it all thanks to my amazing service providers.
We got married at Usambara Wedding Venue is Muldersdrift. The moment we walked into the venue, we knew we could not get married anywhere else.
Our guests did not spend the nights, however, we stayed the night and got dressed at the venue at the Usambara lodge,
The Covid 19 pandemic really impacted the build up to the wedding, we were not sure if we were going to have a wedding this year. In addition, work was extremely busy which sometimes left me with no time to do anything else. Therefore, throughout the year, I tried to work out as much as possible and continued to eat healthy. I did not do anything extra ordinary.
Due to our ceremony venue and reception hall being so beautiful (It had hundreds of lightbulbs dropping from the ceiling), we wanted our decor to be minimal and sophisticated. We focused on fresh flowers and a mauve/purple/pink/peach colour palette that carried out throughout the event and wedding stationery.
The stage set up for the wedding included a "mandap" with a fresh flower running along the front of the mandap with bouquets on either side. We had fresh flower strings dropping on the backdrop with a beautiful lazer cut Ganesha. We also have mother of pearl Ganesha's on either side of the stage resting on lotus flowers. For the aisle, we have flowers balls along it. We provided Maverick & Jane popcorn and hand sanitisers on every chair as well as sweetmeats and drinks at the entrance.
My groom wore a traditional gold and red "Sherwani". This complimented my outfit beautifully.
For the reception, he changed into a grey checkered three piece suit with a mauve tie and white checkered suit to match my reception look.
I did not have any bridesmaids as it was a traditional Hindu wedding.
A hindu priest; Guru Prakash; performed the marriage ceremony.
Family.
A & I Caterers prepared the food for our wedding. We also had sweetmeats; savories and Maverick & Jane popcorn.
Our wedding cake was made by Bakerboys - It was a three tire cake with fresh flowers and the same color palette as mentioned above. The bottom tier was Chocolate hazelnut, the middle tier was Passion Fruit and White Chocolate and the top tier was Italian Nougat. It was the best cake we ever tasted.
Baker boys is a boutique style bakery based in Pretoria east, supplying Pretoria and the Gauteng area, stretching to different game lodges and wedding venues in the vicinity.
Our wedding invitations as well as stationery (welcome board, hand sanitizer labels, "thank you" labels, personalised ribbon for souvenirs and a dance floor vinyl) was designed and printed by Ishk.
For the reception, we carried the fresh flower theme through. We have a runner on the main table. For centrepieces on the guest tables, we had a silver hoop with fresh flower bouquets at the bottom. We alternated having greenery around the hoop and crystals hanging down. On each plate, we have a white and silver petite Maverick & Jane popcorn box with a "Thank you for sharing our special day with us". The dance floor had a vinyl with our monogram and floral motifs. Fresh Flava provided sound and lighting.
The reception consisted of 4 speeches (Groom's brother; Bride's sister (in law); Groom and Bride). This was very emotional and the audience was in tears. We then had the toast, cutting of the cake and first dance to Flying without wings. My husband is not a dancer but I am. We winged it. It was fun. Our guests together with us danced and simply enjoyed each others company. The room was filled with love and happiness and a sense of family.
Baker boys is a boutique style bakery based in Pretoria east, supplying Pretoria and the Gauteng area, stretching to different game lodges and wedding venues in the vicinity.
