Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Splendid Affairs is a free bridal publication packed with inspirational ideas, wedding planning tips and real life weddings.

This month’s bridal fashion shoot took place at Shepstone Gardens, featuring bridal wear by Dimity and Wedding Connexion. Sam Scaife of Lashline exercised her make-up artistry on our models, whilst  Kat Forsyth’s photographic talent can be seen throughout the pages of this digital magazine.

This wedding magazine is put together by Evegenia Poplett of Splendid Affairs Wedding Planning Company.

Click here to read it.

I don’t think so… Seems to me beauty is very much in the eye of the photographer, brilliant editing, and a little gift called Photoshop…

So I’m super excited, have all my bridal magazines with post-it’s sticking out at every venue with a view, and I am ready to start clicking my way to my perfect venue… Or so I thought.

The first page opens with scenes of dewdrops, glistening on a leaf, the sun behind it, getting ready to burst from its cocoon of night… And I’m thinking, yes but where would we have the reception? Surely they don’t expect me to fly all the way to Cape Town, for a more serious look, based on a beautifully decorated biscuit, sitting snuggly next to its teacup? I get it, you serve tea in pretty nice cups, but what does the room look like where we will spend our first night as Mr. & Mrs. together? Read the rest of this entry »

So, the guy has been met. Love has happened, and the engagement ring is shimmering oh so proudly on my finger. Bliss.

But now what? Where do you start with something so big? I mean, movies have been made, books have been written, fairy tales have been told and retold a million times over. Someone feeling a little bit of pressure? I mean, it is, after all, my wedding day! The day little girls across the world dream of, the day I get to be a queen the entire day, and in my books, the 3 weeks leading up to it as well, I mean you have to milk it a bit… The day I have to plan? Read the rest of this entry »

I love “Toadbury Hall”, not only for it’s breathtaking beauty and magnificent grounds. I love “Toadbury Hall” for its creative, talented and attentive staff. “Toadbury Hall” is renown for their service excellence.

Everyone works harmoniously together to allow the bride to have a quality wedding that is stress-free. The staff at “Toadbury Hall” will work hard at making a bride and her family feel like a royal family, whist making sure their guests are well taken care off.

“Toadbury Hall” is the perfect country wedding venue.
Located on the Beyers Naude extension just beyond Muldersdrift, in the world renowned Cradle of Humankind lies this spectacular venue on the banks of the Crocodile river.

Founded in 1997, Toadbury hall was developed to provide an exclusive country house which offered the finest cuisine and outstanding service in an immaculate country garden setting. It was not long thereafter that the venue became sought after as an exclusive and intimate venue for wedding celebrations.

“Toadbury Hall” has since established itself as Gauteng’s finest wedding venue with a continued focus on exclusivity and high service standards- their five star rating is a proof of this.

Come and meet the incredible team of “Toadbury Hall” at the Wedding Expo 2009. You can find out more about their services, rates and special offers.

www.toadbury.co.za

“Shepstone Gardens” is Johannesburg’s best kept secret.

If you are getting married and desire something original, different but elegant, stylish and upmarket, then “Shepstone Gardens” is the venue for you!

“Shepstone Gardens” is Johannesburg’s best kept secret.

The eclectic mix of architectural styles juxtaposed against the established Houghton gardens exudes an air of nostalgia, mystery and a very swanky New York like style setting (particularly reminiscent of the 1998 movie version of Great Expectations). This exclusive venue is a spectacular setting for a wedding that is magical, beautiful and absolutely unique. (“Shepstone Garden”  caters for functions from 30-120 guests).

If you choose to host your wedding at “Shepstone Gardens” you will have the privilege of saying your vows under the magnificent glass roof of the chapel. As the sun shines through the beautifully painted windows, and gently envelopes the guests with its glow,  you will feel as though the presence of the Holy Spirit is blessing your union.

The post ceremony drinks are served amongst the lush gardens. Your guests will be able to relax and unwind, having a cocktail and a snack whilst you and your husband are taking stunning wedding photographs. If it rains, the back up venue is a colonial style library which has a warm and inviting atmosphere.

The photographs, which you will treasure forever, will be breathtaking, and striking as there are so many wonderful photographic opportunities at “Shepstone Gardens”, that the venue if often hired out for the magazine photo-shoots, and even bridal couple who desire stunning wedding photos (without hosting their weddings at Shepstone).

The Ball Room is simply magnificent, boasting wood paneling, mirrors, columns  and arches. Subtle gold finishes add a touch of opulence and glamour.

The newly built honeymoon suite provides a great way to end a splendid wedding.

The great thing about this venue is that you have great freedom to design your own wedding. Since the venue only provides tables and chairs, everything has to be hired in. Therefore, there is a great opportunity to create an original and a fairy tale event. The possibilities here are endless!

My only suggestion is to hire a wedding planner who will be able to plan a wedding with you, whilst providing the necessary knowledge and expertise of organizing a wedding at this venue.

If you would like to view this venue, give me a call on 0834081698 for an arranged viewing.

So as you can see, our big day is getting closer by the minute.  It’s quite unbelievable how time has flown by and the nerves are setting in.  I’ve never understood why, if we have everything sorted and planned, the nerves hit brides-to-be – but now I’m understanding it.  I’m also not so sure it’s nerves as much as anticipation (and of course hope that all goes off without a hitch).  So far I have (almost) everything under control.  Almost half of the guest list has RSVP’d on our wedding webiste which saved us rushing around getting official invites out.  What’s left is the bridesmaids dress fittings, my final fittings,  paying the decor company, hair and makeup trials, finalizing the suits …. and then the bachelor and bachelorette parties which will take place the weekend before our wedding.  Oh, I must also mention the stunning ostrich feather confetti we’re ordering and the suppliers who give great service.  The are in the Klein Karoo but delivery is effected within 4 days.  I got their details from the florist we are using and she swears by them.

www.kleinkaroo.com/showroom

I will however fill you in on a problem with the venue which is persisting and that I am very concerned about. Read the rest of this entry »

We met our photographer at our venue, Ingwenya Country Estate, on Sunday to walk through the grounds and go over the lighting that we’ll have in the reception hall.  Highly recommended that you do this because your photographer won’t waste time on the day trying to find appealing spots to take photos and he/she would have prepared for any bad lighting in the hall or on the grounds.  Going to the venue and viewing the hall again put alot in place for us because it’s easy to forget the specifics of the venue after your first visit.   As mentioned in my previous blog, we’re moving the ceremony into the gardens and viewing the actual spot was so exciting and gave us a great indication of how we’re going to have everything set up.  It makes the rest of the planning much easier.  I suggest you go to the venue a few times if you’re not sure about the table layouts, DJ spot, main table area, decor ideas, etc.  It falls into place nicely once you’ve been a few times.

I also previously mentioned that we would visit the Oriental Market opposite Bruma Lake.  I recommend a visit there if you’re looking at DIY projects and saving cash.  They have EVERYTHING!  I just love the Chinese!  They are so creative and supply so much for you to choose from.  I’m using string beads in the centrepieces and there is a huge ‘florist’ and accessory shop there which is completely affordable.  A huge variety of  creative items, that if you haven’t wanted to use before, you’ll be using once you see them! 

We have also decided to scrap the decor ……

Read the rest of this entry »

Planning a wedding in Durban? The new Durban Wedding Directory – Durban Bride launched last year has seen a surge in suppliers registering with them since their relaunch in June 2009!

Read the rest of this entry »

Its been a while since my last blog post (had to study for exams) and oh my word……have plans changed.

It all started a few weeks before I had to really start focusing on the studying. Wedding plans were going great, on track, till a certain phone call sent me into a fluttery panic. Our budget had – due to unexpected reasons – been cut by more than half now you can imagine how a bride that has done most of her planning feels when told that the budget is almost all gone. After a few days of being a bit depro and contemplating getting married in court, I pulled myself together and started re-planning a really budget wise wedding. I still wanted to use the colour scheme and the flowers I had in mind but the venue was going to have to change to something well, more affordable for the Average Joe.

I started looking for almost unheard-of venues, looked for places that don’t normally cater for weddings but that can on request. Eventually I found one or two quaint little places but still my budget would be too high (I’m pretty much working with a non existent budget here).

Mmmmm….I could get married in my church’s hall and then find a banqueting hall for the reception, which would work in well with the budget. Searched a bit and found a hall not too far from the church and not expensive at all (it’s on a plot and if you are looking for a nice, informal, ‘almal kuier saam’ reception then this would be the place for you). By this time budgeting was my main priority and planning became very tiring and stressful. Even though we had found this place on the plot it wasn’t quite what Mr Daisy-to-be had in mind….

Back to the flippen drawing board…aaaaaarrrrgghhhh!
Read the rest of this entry »

I wasn’t aware of the questions the venue will ask until we went to visit them with the decor people.  I thought my check list had it all covered!  In order to help some of you that may not have a wedding planner, here are some things to think about that the venue may ask (this obviously depends on the venue as they all differ in size, options, etc):

1. Be certain about the number of guests! Don’t give them an estimate until you have an actual draft guest list. The Wine Garden at our venue was booked for us as we estimated around 60 to 70 people but we were then told it only holds around 60 guests and we ended up with 120 on our list! Luckily they have the garden wedding option and the River Chapel and because they only do one wedding a day we can move the ceremony to any of the 3 locations.  Be sure of your facts before you make the bookings as some venues may not have an alternative option for you and if you’ve paid the deposit you’re stuck.

2. Do you want to serve welcome drinks to the guests while they wait for your photos to be taken? If so, what do you want served and where do you want the guests to be served?

3. If you have an outside decor company coming in they will conflict with the venue setting up the tables. Our decor people need a good 3 to 4 hours to set up and so does the venue so we’ve had a bit of a debate on this and hopefully the venue has nothing on the Friday before and the decor people can go and set up or the venue will have to let them in earlier than they usually would allow on the actual day.  The last thing the venue wants is to spend 3 hours setting up tables only for the decor people to come in and stand on chairs they’ve just covered to set up lighting or mess up the tables they’ve done.  They’ll both get in each others way, so give both parties advanced notice and try and get them to co-ordinate without it turning nasty. Read the rest of this entry »