From meeting their soulmates to finding the perfect venues, these brides open up about their romantic beginnings, dream weddings, and cherished moments.
Leigh & Mark
How did you and your husband meet?
We met at university while studying law. It was one of those classic “we were meant to be” moments, and the rest, as they say, is history!
Which venue did you choose and why?
We chose The Grand Exotic in Ballito. My best friend of 35 years recommended the venue, and after visiting, we fell in love with its authentic charm and stunning beauty. It felt like the perfect place to celebrate our love.
How did you go about planning your wedding?
We started by getting a wedding guide from a close friend and then enlisted the help of Penny from For The Table, a brilliant wedding décor specialist. She truly brought our vision to life with her incredible taste and attention to detail.
What was your favourite moment?
My favourite moment was seeing my husband, Mark, at the end of the aisle, especially after we had to postpone our wedding twice due to COVID-19. It was a moment we had waited so long for, and it felt absolutely magical.
Is there something you wish you knew before the big day?
I wish I had known that, despite all the planning and preparation, the day would unfold exactly as it was meant to. No matter how much you try to control, you just have to embrace the moment and let everything flow.
What was your first dance song and why?
We chose “All of Me” by John Legend. The song perfectly captures our love and devotion to one another. Plus, it holds a special place in our hearts because it’s one of the songs we sang together on countless nights, often until the early hours of the morning doing karaoke at home alone.
Photo Credit: Stephen Michael
Alishka & Adrian
How did you and your husband meet?
We met on the first day of Grade 8 in high school, and spent the next five years in the same class with the exception of him choosing IT and me choosing Biology. We went on to university together where we both studied the same course, Chartered Accountancy. For over 10 years, we were best friends before things took a romantic turn. After Adrian moved away for studies, I started missing our daily interactions. We eventually qualified together in 2022, got engaged in 2023, and married in 2024.
Which venue did choose and why?
We chose The Boathouse in Ballito for our pre-wedding ceremonies (hurdhee and sangeet), our wedding ceremony, and reception. They have a stunning beach view and the team was quite accommodating as we were planning from so far away. They were very also helpful in curating the ideas I had for the different functions and provided us with fantastic recommendations for other wedding vendors.
How did you go about planning your wedding?
I planned the wedding in under a year. I know what I like, and everyone around me helped me achieve that. I had many lists and many phone calls between my mother and my aunt. My family really supported me throughout the entire process, from ideas and shopping to outfits.
What was your favourite moment?
I don’t think we could pick just one moment. We had three days of functions with so many special moments. It was just lovely having our families come together to celebrate us.
Is there something you wish you knew before the big day?
Wedding planning is no joke, wedding planning from 600km away is insane. Things can and will go wrong, you need to just roll with it.
What was your first dance song and why?
“Maan Meri Jaan” by King ft. Nick Jonas. We chose this song because it represented us both: English mixed with Hindi and a good beat. My husband likes the lyrics too.
Photo credit: NVV Weddings
Roxanne & Warren
How did you and your husband meet?
I am sure you’ve heard married couples tell you throughout your life when you ask them the secret recipe to finding the one, “when you know, you know” and I always thought, LOL. Like what on earth does that mean? I have way too many questions to live my life simply waiting to meet my husband on a feeling of ominous “knowing”. And then one day, you match with a man on Bumble (online dating for those born before online anything), he takes you on a date and suddenly it clicks and “you know.”
Which venue did you choose and why?
We chose Haycroft because we found that they could accommodate our wedding guests. Also, it had a very pretty FOREST CHAPEL, which was a wish list item from Warren so, win.
How did you go about planning your wedding?
A lot of internet searching – and then last minute we got a wedding planner – Mandy was a life saver!
What was your favourite moment?
It goes without saying that there were so many moments, some we simply wish to keep as our own, and others that simply wouldn’t do the moment justice by typing it out and so to pick one moment that was my favourite is quite literally impossible. Every moment leading up to the day and on the day made it a day that I will cherish forever.
Is there something you wish you knew before the big day?
NONE of the details I spent a year worrying about would actually matter, like if the flowers were wrong, the only thing that mattered at all was everyone that was there with us on the day.
What was your first dance song and why?
I remember when Warren and I were sitting on the couch in Amsterdam, and listening to country music when we decided that “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton would be our wedding song because we both loved it so much and no other song would even come close to being as perfect.
Tell us a bit about your décor
When we were in Texas, Mom and I sat on the couch for hours going through Pinterest, talking, laughing, and finding everything we loved from colours and runners to baby’s breath flowers.
Photo credit: Skye Kyra Photography