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saweddings.co.za

SA Weddings

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Alessandra Ricci

Married on Dec 11, 2021 in Gauteng

 

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Magical Moments

 

Every little girl dreams a dream about her wedding day. I must say our wedding day was a fairy tale dream come true.

We absolutely loved every second of our wedding day. The calm relaxed atmosphere while getting ready to the most meaningful and spiritual nuptial mass and to the reception that allowed everyone to eat,dance and be merry.

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

The Honeymoon

 

Yes we went on Honeymoon.

We had an incredible 5 night stay at the Simbambili Lodge, in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve.

Wedding Gallery

 

My Special Day

I was going for a classic fairytale bridal look, one that said wow she looks like a princess. Vonvè Bridal Couture really hit the ball out of the park.

My wedding dress certainly resembled that of a princess, it had a tight corset type bodice with embellishments. Beaded straps and off the shoulder sleeves too. The floor length gown had many layers with the top most layer having shimmers of sparkle.

When considering my Bridal shoes I wanted a comfortable shoe and a shoe that I would feel confident when dancing. I opted for a short heel purchased at Bride&Co.

My bridal make up consisted of a natural yet classic look. My make up artist Antonia Gregoriou did a fantastic job understand what I wanted and putting her own unique touch on my make up.

My bridal hair was an up style embellished with a small dainty tiara. My hairdresser Marcel from @Chapter One really did an outstanding job and it looked better than it turned out in the Trial.

My accessories:
My earings came from an American Bridal Box Subscription called Something New Bridal Box.

I had 2 garters. One I kept from Smooches Bridal and one I threw from Little Lace. Both Proudly South African brands.

Bride&co

Bride&co

Bride&co is your one-stop wedding and evening wear retail store.

The Venue

Our ceremony took place at Nazareth House Chapel in Waterkloof, Pretoria.

Our reception took place at Rolling Waters Country Estate.
The venue was able to accommodate the capacity of 10 guests. My husband and I occupied the honeymoon suite. Rooms were provided for both sets of parents to stay over as well as some siblings and out of town family guests.A hearty breakfast was prepared for all the following morning.

For guests that would have liked to have made a weekend away event. The venue did provide alternative accommodation close the the venue.

My Bridal Beauty Regime

I organised for my Bridesmaids and I to get our nails and toes done at Sorbet.

My husband and I got gifted a Swedish massage at Soulstice Day Spa to relax before the big day.

Wedding Elements

We outsourced a decor company to beautify our beautiful venue even more.

We wanted our decor to be very classy and elegant.

Our colour scheme was black,grey and white.

We wanted more candles than flowers.

Our wedding flowers consisted of Arum Lillies,white Roses,white Tulips and hints of greenery.

Our decor lady and her team did a fantastic job it was everything we envisioned and more.

My Groom And His Groomsmen

My groom looked absolutely handsome. He wore a black Carducci suit with black satin lapels. A white Woolworths Studio shirt with black buttons accompanied by a black bow tie.He wore black and silver Montblanc cufflinks. He wore black shiney shoes and black socks with the word "groom" on them from Box Boutique.

The groomsmen wore black suits from Woolworths Studio with a white shirt accompanied by a black tie. They also wore black socks with the word "groomsmen" on them from Box Boutique.

Our ring bearer had his suit hired from Bride&Co. It matched the grooms. He wore a white shirt from Woolworths Studio and was also accompanied by a black Boe tie.He looked absolutely adorable.He also wore shiney shoes and black socks.

Eurosuit

Eurosuit

Eurosuit has established itself as the leading brand in men’s formal wear hire and sale.

Beautiful Bridesmaids

My Bridesmaids looked stunning. Their dresses were handmade but a family tailor called Lecia.
My Bridesmaids dresses were inspired by a Pinterest image.

The black dresses were a floor length with lace detailing on the bodice. A slim fit that went into a trumpet style.
The back of their dresses had buttons all along the back.

My little flower girl's dress was also handmade by Lecia. It was a knee length white dress with white shiny tule on the top almost resembling My dress. The dress had a silver and white delicate flower belt sewn into the dress.

All jewelry and hair accessories were bought from Lovisa.

Marriage Officer

My husband and I are both Roman Catholic. Our priest was one that we have grown up with. His name is Father Peter Switala. He presented such a beautiful nuptial mass.

My Captured Moments

We used Arline Photography and Videography. They captured all our beautiful moments.They also captured our Engagement Shoot.

André and his team were amazing they took photos with such ease and precision. They kept to our time schedule like clock work.

We received a few sneak peaks of our wedding day basically the next day and a full sneak peak consisting of 89 photos the following week.

It was wonderful working with them.
Definitely value for money.

The Wedding Planner

No we didn't have a specific planner or coordinator. My husband and I did most of the planning together.

We did have Louise from the venue ensure that everything ran smoothly and according to our time schedule on the day.

Wedding Transport

We used our family's cars to get us to the venue to get ready,then to the church and back again to the venue.

Food & Cake

Our three tired Vanilla Nougat Cake was made by Melissa from Lay-Licious Cakes.

Our canapés and three course meal was prepared and made by Esrida from Laughing Chefs.

A platter of snacks was prepared for each bridal room while we were all getting ready.

Our Canapés and Harvest Table consisted of:
Focaccia, assorted pizzas
Served with:
Marrow bones, roosterkoek
with cheese and syrup, wors
Traditional meze selection
(olives, pickled cucumbers,
pickled onions, roasted
peppers, spreads and dips,
etc.)
Biltong or cold meat
Carpaccio, bobotie sliders,
mini individual quiches, fresh
fruit, triangles with assorted
fillings (waiter served).

Our starter consisted of:
•Roulade with sundried tomatoes, basil pesto and cream cheese.

Our main meal consisted of:
•220g beef fillet, done medium,
with a savoury umami sauce,
topped with crispy onions and
garlic and a marrow bone.
•Smashed potatoes with rosemary salt.
•Green beans with red onions
and garlic.
•Carrots with honey.
Waiter-served salad:
•garden salad
•a red salad (roasted
beetroot, lightly pickled, with
radishes on a bed of white
bean puree, with crispy
chickpeas, seeds and a
balsamic drizzle)

Our dessert table consisted of:
•Our wedding cake
•Macaroons in black
•Chocolate truffles
•Eton mess with berries

Everything was delicious and even bigger and better than the tasting we had a few weeks prior to the big day.

Wedding Stationery

We had Fuchsia Designs a service provider from KwaZulu-Natal.

Janet was very helpful and managed to take our inspirations and turn them into a reality.

Janet designed and printed all our envelopes and wedding invitations for the big day.
We had her design and print all our wedding Stationery aswell, namely , our seating chart, welcome board, menus,name place tags, thank you tags for our Bonbonniere. She even made our take away cake boxes for the guests.

All her work was beautiful and really added to our overall decor.

The Reception and Entertainment

Once we arrived back to the venue from the church. We had a dedicated area for our guests to have canapés help themselves to a fully stocked gin bar and listen to the smooth jazzy sounds of Shorty on Sax. While the bride and groom took off to take photos.

Once photos had concluded and all the guests were welcomed into the reception hall,they were encouraged to take a champagne glass from the champagne wall and make their way to their seat.

The parents,bridal party and bride and groom entered the reception venue to an upbeat song.

Our MC was amazing he presented the evening like a show. It really made the evening.

After a prayer and a speech from the Father of the bride all the starters were served and the evening commenced.

A speech from the bridesmaids later on the groomsmen and groom divided the evening quite nicely.

We opened up the dance floor with a choreographed dance, choreographed by Michaela from Rhythmic Beats.

We had a father daughter dance which also invited the groom and his mother to dance aswell as any other fathers and daughters to join in aswell. Needless to say there was not one dry eye in the room.

A traditional garter toss and bouquet toss put an end to all the formalities.

The night was danced away.

Wedding Services Used

 
Eurosuit

Eurosuit

Eurosuit has established itself as the leading brand in men’s formal wear hire and sale.

Bride&co

Bride&co

Bride&co is your one-stop wedding and evening wear retail store.