Wow... Where do I begin?
The sweetest start to my day was my introvert husband sending me a message "WE ARE GETTING MARRIED". Not like him at all but he made my heart so happy xoxo...
I was ready at 5:30am and my wedding was at 11am...this bride was dressing everyone else because she had so much time to spare.
I had a mini Bhangra (Indian disco) in the car with my friend and mum on the way to the wedding venue. I recall the first song I played.. Stephanie Mills-Never knew love like this before, followed by Indian jams...it was a 45min epic drive to remember.
Walking down the aisle with my mum by my side, seeing my husband standing there waiting for me was a surreal moment. I just wanted to tell him "we finally here". My smile looking at him was epic❤️
I walked down the aisle with a pic of my dad and I when I was little. It's every girl's dream to be walked down the aisle by her father, and since he is late, it was my way of honouring him.
As we exchanged Garlands (Indian wedding ritual) my husband kissed my forehead whilst putting the garland over my head ( not the usual scene at a n Indian wedding), it was so special and heartwarming.
I have OCD and I'm generally well organized. We planned everything for our wedding, literally every detail and on the day I forgot our first dance moves! The nerves got to me, and all my husband said was "follow me, I got us". What a romantic guy, I chose the best!
We also had our pet rabbit our wedding. She plays an important part in our lives and it was special to have her there.
Oh and not to forget, my husband always wanted to drive himself to his wedding... And that's exactly what he did...
Overall the feeling of having your friends and family just as excited as the bridal couple will always be the best highlight. Everyone enjoying the celebrations is an amazing feeling❤️
Yes we did. Our first two nights as husband and wife was at the Beverly Hills, a gift from our friends. Thereafter we went to SunCity due to COVID 19 international travel restrictions. Irrespective of location, time alone with your spouse is always great❤️ we hoping for an international honeymoon...
I opted for a traditional 3 piece north Indian outfit known as a lehenga (skirt, blouse and scarf). It was red, adorned with intricate gold handmade beadwork. It's was heavy! I initially wanted a simple outfit but the bride in me came out and I wanted it all LOL. My bridal outfit was bought from Rosewood Boutique in Durban.
I had my dressmaker specially create a heart shaped tassel and embroid my husbands name and mine (I'm mushy like that), on the other side I had a Tweety bird motif because I remind him of Tweety bird.
My jewelery was bought from Bollywood Jewels, a store that specializes in Indian wedding jewelery located in the arcades of Central Durban. I was very sentimental with my wedding, a lot of the ideas and items chosen, used and bought had significant meaning. This particular store reminded of the days I used to shop with my late grandmother in Central Durban and it felt only right to go back there and find my perfect Jewelery. My shoes had "Mrs Naidoo" under it although we did not get to photograph this...the day just goes by so quickly.
Traditional Indian weddings are 3 days long (Mehendi, Hurdee/Nelengu and wedding) for brides and 2 days for grooms. Our styled looks are available in the gallery.
We got married at Relax Inn, Ballito. Our wedding venue changed two weeks before the wedding due to the previous service provider stating "weddings weren't allowed during that lockdown level". This wasn't true, nevertheless we had to change venues and it worked out perfectly. Our new wedding venue had a beautiful sheltered outdoor ceremoney area and and indoor reception area. There was a view of the stunning Dolphin Coast... It was just serene. Due to traditional rituals that needed to be performed we could not stay the night however the venue does accommodate for stay overs.
A hidden gem situated in Chaka's Rock, offers a peaceful sanctuary in the middle of the hub of Ballito and its surrounds.
I had a facial done a week before the wedding, that was it. I had no time to exercise, planning a wedding from Jhb in Durban is a task on its own. Couple that with COVID 19 restrictions and a demanding job it's quite a lot to tackle.
My husband and I were specific, we wanted everything as white as possible with a hint of gold and greens. We had white draping in the indoor and outdoor areas. The centrepieces and religious statues were gold. Outdoor seating was white Wimbledon chairs and indoor was gold and white Dior chairs with glass top tables.
My husband wore a Sherwani (coat like garment, cream in colour with gold handwork), maroon/red pants, beige kurtha shoes and a custom made scarf that went over his shoulder. Funny story, he doesn't like shopping and the day we found his bridal outfit he actually did not want to go into the store. Eventually when the store assistant showed him this outfit, he was entrigued and was happy to try it on and create his look.
We did not have bridesmaids
We had a traditional wedding, our priest was Guru Perumal. He was absolutely patient with us considering we asked him a lot of questions as we wanted to understand the significance of our wedding rituals. He was a great advisor to us and still is.
Yajur Chotai Photo and Film captured our wedding and pre wedding functions. Yet again we had a service provider cancel on us 2 days before our wedding. Our close friends, my husband and I were circled up on my Mehendi (henna application) night trying to find someone to replace the service provider that let us down at the last minute. Yajur was available and was willing to help us out. We booked him in less than an hour. He did a brilliant job especially considering that we had not met him before and he did not know our requests well in advance. He also assisted us with livestreaming our wedding. Great work from him and his team.
Yes.... It was my husband and I. We wanted to do this on our own. It was a special time in our lives and we wanted to manage everything and it was a great team effort. You appreciate more this way... It was tough but worth it. On the actual day the venue and caterers managed the day itself
My husband drove himself and his good friend drove me. The transport was my husband's department, you know men. We had matching cars, it was awesome.
We had two service providers....Maharajas Caterers for the food and decor and SK Delights made our wedding cake.
We had our families prep a lot of snacks, sweetmeats and other treats like caramel popcorn (1703 Kitchen) and cakesickles for our pre-wedding functions. It's always a combined effort, just an amazing mood to be in!
My husband and I designed our wedding invites. My aunt who is connected with many people had it printed for us (I do not know who they were).
Our souvenirs were wooden boxes personalized with our intials and wedding date. It included some lovely sweet treats for our guests.
Our first dance was choreographed by my husband and I. We danced to Jess Glynn-Take me Home (absolutely relatable to out journey). The MC and Dj was Naren Maharajh, he also sang live at the reception.
A hidden gem situated in Chaka's Rock, offers a peaceful sanctuary in the middle of the hub of Ballito and its surrounds.
