Michael & Anri
A beautiful May wedding at Portland Manor. The wedding was down to earth, romantic, exceptional and inspirational – very much like Michael and Anri themselves.
Photos are by Christelle Rall of iCandy Visual Productions – and so true to the vintage feeling of the day and the style of the couple.
Wouter & Anke
Some beautiful photos by Anel Smit of an amazing couple.
“>Wouter & Anke – Part i
“>Wouter & Anke – Part ii
“>Best Men & Bridesmaids
Picture Perfect
Choosing the perfect photographer is not always as easy as it sounds. They play a big part in your big day…so choose carefully.
Things to keep in mind:
Know your style – there are 2 main styles naming traditional and reportage. Traditional consist of mainly formal group shots while reportage is more laid back and will catch you unawares. The ideal is to choose a photographer that will give you a mix of both types in one package.
Look at their work – By browsing through your photographers recent albums you’ll get an idea of the sort of pictures you can expect.
Ensure they’re flexible – Find a photographer who will let you select the pictures that go in your album, rather than choosing them for you. Also ensure you recieve all images copyright-free so you can use them without restriction.
Select the right package - Choosing a very expensive package might cause financial strain and stress, so choose wisely.
Be prepared – Try to visit your venue several times prior to the wedding to find particular places where you want to be photographed.
Keep it natural – When it comes to posing, its best not to try too hard or your pictures will look unnatural. Just relax, smile and take direction from your photographer.
Get what you want – If editing techniques are not your thing, make sure you tell your photographer.
Ask about Timings – Make sure you are clear about turnaround times, albums should take 6-8 weeks, while prints should only take around a fortnight to order.
Make sure you choose a photographer that makes you feel comfortable and someone that can reflect your style.
Brilliant Bachelorette’s
Ideas for out of the ordinary bachelorette parties:
THE GREAT OUTDOORS Looking for adventure? Go for a hike to your favourite waterfall, book a quad bike ride over some really rough terrain, go for a surf lesson or do some deep sea fishing. Try your local tourism office for ideas and contact details for operators.
SPA DAY For smaller groups of girls book massages and manicures at your local day spa – followed by a healthy lunch by the poolside.
ITALIAN COOKING Arrange a night at a local Italian restaurant where you can learn to make your favourite pasta the traditional way, while sipping fine wine. Each person can go home with a copy of the recipe for future use (or an Italian recipe book if you are feeling flush)
GET CRAFTY – Contact your local craft shop for classes. You can try candle or jewellery making, scrap booking, mosaic or embroidery just to name a few. Or everyone can work on one project – like a quilt – which can be given to the bride-to-be at the end of the class. If you are making jewellery why not co-ordinate the colours to those of the wedding – that way each lady can wear her signature piece to the wedding.
DANCE LESSONS Book a dance instructor to come to your home and teach everyone some moves. The whole evening can be themed around the style of dance – like belly dancing and a Moroccan vibe.
KARAOKE Belt it out for old time’s sake, to some of your favourite tracks for your single days (think It’s raining men & Single ladies). Record your serenades and give everyone a CD to take home & recall the great memories.
SLEEPOVER For some serious sisterly bonding get some of your favourite flicks and have a sleepover. Take out The Notebook and make sure you have loads of popcorn and tissues. Don’t forget to include a few light hearted RomComs in your selection.
CUPCAKE DECORATING Contact your local patisserie to bring ready made cupcakes which can be frosted, decorated and munched. Mmmm…
Standout Stationary
Stationary can really communicates who you are as a couple. Great stationary can also add a unique look to your décor. Be daring and different; go with quirky, unique and funky stationary designed just for you.
Aisle Style
As the bride-to-be one of your most important choices (and perhaps one of the most overwhelming) is deciding on your wedding dress. With the many websites, magazines, dressmakers, designers and bridal wear shops available you may literally have to choose your one perfect dress from hundreds of options, if not thousands.
The first thing to do, before you hit the streets, is to imagine yourself on you wedding day. Do you see yourself in a big ball gown or a simple sheath? Think about the style or theme of your wedding, how will a ball gown fit in at an informal beach wedding?
Now think about your own preferences, do you want a rich heavy fabric or something more lightweight and natural? With shimmer or without? Do you prefer embroidery or beads or decorative flowers or lace details or none of these?
Think about which colour suits your complexion, do you look better in brilliant white or shades of cream or ivory? Also consider if you want a dress with sleeves, a bolero, straps or without?
Once you have answered these questions make a note of your choices – so when you do go shopping you can tell the people assisting you exactly what you like and what you don’t.
If you can’t find the perfect dress in a store and opt instead to have one made, try on a few dressed in a similar style first, this way you will be sure if the silhouette of the dress will work with your figure.
Another suggestion is to try on accessories while trying on the dresses, or if you already have accessories take them with you.
Lastly, make sure that you are comfortable in your dress. You will be dancing, posing, laughing, eating, drinking, sitting and standing in this dress. It had better keep up it’s side of the bargain: By staying in position and looking gorgeous all day long!!
Flower Power
How to choose the perfect bouquet:
Each bouquet has it’s own shape and uniqueness.
Consider three things when choosing your bouquet:
- the size of your body
- your wedding gown
- and the look that you want to create
If you would like to look slimmer on your wedding day, choose a bouquet that is rounder on top and pointy at the bottom.
If you are tall, never go for round. Considering the fact that you might be wearing heels, you will look extra tall. Remember that there must be a perfect balance between you and your husband to be.
If you want to hide hips, do not go for round, this will make your hips appear bigger. A round bouquet will be perfect if you have a small posture.
The latest trend is to go for the hand tied bouquet, this is gaining popularity everyday. You will look slimmer and more elegant, fresh and natural.
Whatever wedding bouquet style you choose, you should also know how to carry it. Around your waistline near your hip bones. The elegance of the flowers and also your wedding dress will now come through.
It’s always a good idea to go for something with a bit more color if your dress is white, so that your bouquet will stand out on your photos.
Anine’s 1st Blog
LoL…so it’ s essential to Blog…I found that out today! So I would like you to raise your glasses and toast with me for losing my Blog virginity…Hip Hip!!!
Mostly everyone’s focus when planning a wedding is enjoying the special day, but what happens after the wedding? Well, the honeymoon of course, but after that?
You and your partner will now share a house and home, a room and most importantly a life. And even your income, with another person, and this last part cannot be easy.
Financial decisions need to be made all the time (also while planning you wedding) and you will need to be able to communicate with each other so that the planning is enjoyable. A financial planner can also assist you to save yourself years and years of worry and frustration.
Do not allow printed paper to get in the way of something as beautiful as true love.
Simple & Elegant
A few photos from a function that we did this past December.
Proving that sometimes it is the simplest things that look the most stylish!
Personal Touches
Ideas to personalize your wedding:
For your welcome drinks at the reception create your own cocktails and start a new trend!
Have a CD made up for each couple attending the wedding with songs that you both love. You can also use songs played at your wedding ceremony, reception or at the party afterwards.
Another way to personalize your wedding is with a few great photos of the two of you – these can be incorporated into your invites, programs and menus or even on personalized wine labels.
Instead of table numbers, personalize each table by naming it something relevant to you, it could be places you have visited together, restaurants you love to eat at, your favourite wine, flowers or animals – or little even names you have for one another – like Sweetie Pie, Honey Bunch & Sugar Lump…
