We got married in Paris, right next to the Eiffel tower on 10 April 2022. Our wedding ceremony was intimate with only our Paris officiant, Paris photographer and immediate family members, maid of honor who is my sister and the best man with us. A month later and a part of me is still there, reliving what I can truly say was the most wonderful day of my existence. I am a realistic person, someone who generally doesn’t get swept away by notions that a wedding day can be life changing, however that day was something else. It was magical and whimsical and fairytale like and it could only have been that way because it was meant to be.
When we arrived in Paris it was snowing but two days later when our wedding day arrived suddenly the sun started to follow me as I walked to Raphael, my husband, waiting for me at the Eiffel Tower.
I couldn’t have asked for a better way to marry the man of my dreams.
Our wedding ceremony was performed by a Paris officiant who took the time to get to know us before the day and incorporated our 10 year love story into our ceremony so organically while also repeating most of the ceremony in French which made it feel even more romantic.
Paris in the spring time, at the Eiffel Tower, with our closest and dearest to us, when we say I DO. It was the best moment and one I will never forget.
We went honeymooning in the French Riviera. We also visited Monaco and Monte Carlo during our trip. It was the perfect honeymoon and one of the most wonderful places to visit.
My dress was created and made by De La Vida bridal couture, based in Fourways.
The lace on my dress was imported from Italy and WOW, it is such a beautiful dress and was made to fit me perfectly.
https://delavida.co.za/
My wedding look was created by a hair and make up stylist based in Paris, her name is Katia Ren and she is absolutely amazing. The best.
We didn't have a chance to do a make up trial as she is based in Paris and I am in SA so when the wedding day came she arrived fully prepared and created the exact look I had sent to her digitally in prep for the wedding day.
https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/katia_ren_makeuphair/
My look was a classic french look, not a lot of make up but accentuate my features. My hair style was old vintage curls and when she was done I was amazed. It was more than I asked for.
Shoes were from YDE and jewelry I managed to actually find online at Shein. The dress didn't require much and so I only wore pearl earrings.
We also hosted a wedding reception with all our friends and family when we got back to SA and had our wedding reception at The Garden Venue in Randburg, JHB.
I got married in Paris, at an intimate wedding ceremony at the Eiffel Tower.
We stayed at a hotel in Paris.
I planned to do alot but when it came closer to the time (in a blink of an eye) I realised it was really too late to do the face peels etc that I planned to do.
In the end I continued my normal skin care routine, which involves only using Korean Skin care products that I buy online from https://glowtheory.com/
The night before the wedding I used a Hyaluronic acid face mask.
I also took some dance classes before the wedding to get into shape but more to be prepared for all the walking that is required in Europe compared to SA where we just use our cars.
We only had the wedding ceremony in Paris and thereafter had an intimate dinner with our immediate family at a restaurant in Paris.
However when we got back to SA and had our wedding reception, it was at The Garden Venue in Randburg. They arrange all the decor, lighting, dj etc and we also got KMS Functions as another service provider for the remainder of our decor items.
https://thegardenvenue.co.za/
https://www.kmsfunctionhire.co.za/
The Garden Venue in Randburg is an award winning wedding venue offering bespoke wedding packages.
Groom wore a tux purchased from a store in sandton and best man, who is from Dubai and met us in Paris, purchased his suit from Dubai.
My sister is my maid of honour and she had her outfit made by a tailor in Randburg.
All wedding guests who attended the ceremony in Paris wore black.
The Paris officiant
https://theparisofficiant.com/
Timeless Paris was our photographer in Paris and she was exceptional.
https://timelessparis.net/
Our photographer and videographer for our wedding reception in SA are glow worm photography.
A husband and wife duo and they are amazing.
https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fglowwormphotoandvideo
Kind of, we had our Paris Officiant based in Paris who arranged all our suppliers including transport, photographer, hair, make up etc.
At the Garden venue based in Randburg, we had a team from the venue who helped us create the day. It was important for us to recreate the Paris feeling at our reception.
Arranged by our Paris Officiant
Food catered at our wedding reception was created by a well known family friend of ours who was able to also create food to appeal to our primarily Indian guests.
Dessert was prepared by the venue.
The wedding cake and guest favours were created by Nataliia from Baked Stuff. Nataliia was able to create our guest favours as personalized macarons in boxes for each guest and create a french themed macaron cake for us.
We worked with two service providers for our wedding reception.
studio A - Aaliya Laher
The other service provider is a family friend who designs wedding stationary part time but was able to print the most amazing welcome boards, table numbers etc all of which had the image backgrounds from our photos at the Eiffel Tower when we got married.
I took dance classes prior and surprised my new groom with a surprised solo dance at our wedding reception.
The Garden venue arranged all the lighting and the DJ.
The Garden Venue in Randburg is an award winning wedding venue offering bespoke wedding packages.
