wedding concepts

One of our favourite wedding photographers and new bride-to-be Christine Meintjes, sent us this photo of Fran & Paul’s real-life wedding that has just been featured in this months issue of UK Bridal Magazine You & Your Wedding. She had the following to say,

“Dear Christina & Hannes & Team,

I hope you’re doing well and having some time to rest during the winter season. I just wanted to thank you for submitting Fran & Paul’s wedding to You and Your wedding Magazine in the UK. I’m in London at the moment and just bought the latest issue. I was so excited to see my pictures in the “extra floral insert”. It’s beautiful!

Thank you once again! Hope to work with you in the coming season!”

Thanks Christine! We loved everything about Fran & Paul’s wedding and you caught every detail :) To see this wedding in its entirety and more of our real-life weddings, click here

Last night the wedding team were invited to attend the official launch party of Roxanne Floquet Cake Designs, hosted by popular Kloof Street eatery, Manna Epicure. This particular cake designer is by no means a stranger to Wedding Concepts as we had the absolute pleasure of planning her exquisite garden marquee celebration just over a year ago. It was a wonderful evening where we got the opportunity to not only see some of her latest bespoke cake designs, but also taste 2 of her new, and totally original and absolutely delicious flavours: white chocolate and pistachio and white chocolate with Rooibos and Lime.

Roxanne discovered her passion for pastry at Rhubarb Food Design in London and then pursued this ambition whilst working for Peggy Porschen, one of the UK’s finest cake makers. It was here that she was able to enhance her skills in the field of cake design and decorating. Looking to further hone her pastry making skills, she ventured away from the decorative side of cake design to explore a more broad approach to pastry at world renowned Yauatcha restaurant in Soho, London, where the pastry chef, Stephan Sucheta, showcases one of the most impressive pastry displays in the world. It was here where she began learning the intricacies of pastry as a science. However, she has always been passionate about pastry as an art form, and had therefore no doubt she’d return to where her true passion lies – cake decorating.

Roxy truly offers a bespoke and designer service that specialises in the craftsmanship and detail that she puts into every project. Cakes and pastry are her passion & it is clear how much love & attention goes into each and every step of her process. We are extremely proud to have her listed as one of our preferred vendors and we wish her all the success that will no doubt come her way!

To celebrate our end of season and a busy FIFA World Cup month, the Wedding Concepts and Travel Concepts teams spent last weekend at The Robertson Small Hotel in the beautiful Robertson Valley, just two hours drive up the N1 from Cape Town.

We personally love the Robertson Small Hotel (and so do many of our customers) for its design, style, intimacy and food. We decided it was the right place this year for the team to kick back, relax and enjoy the exclusivity and the 5 star experiences.  So on a sunny winter’s day with a sprinkling of snow freshly covering the surrounding mountains the team made their way towards this scenic valley. Some stopped for wine tasting or tea along the way whilst others, like Hannes, spent some serious green to satisfy his “green fingers” at a nearby Nursery.

We arrived at the Small Hotel with partners in tow, mid afternoon to home-made chocolate cake, lemon meringue pie, apple crumble and several bottles of bubbly from the nearby Weltevrede wine farm. Like anyone who has ever stayed here, all the team and partners were blown away by the rich and stylish opulence of the rooms, especially Mandi who was lucky enough to have bagged the honeymoon suite and also those who were staying in the stunning poolside suites.

Despite the sun it was a bit chilly for a swim in the pool, so some of the team opted for calming massages, a scenic walk through the quaint Robertson streets, or a foamy and relaxing bubble bath before dinner.

Later on – all respectably suited and booted for dinner, we met for more champagne in the bar, where Richard presented the team with two bottles of sparkling Shiraz from Camberley. We toasted to a successful season,  past, present and future for both companies as well as to the individuals that make up these stirling wedding and travel teams!

After some hilarious games we then made our way through to Reuben’s restaurant where we had a truly fine dining experience alongside Springfield Life from Stone Sauvignon Blanc and Vruchtbaar Cabernet Sauvignon – both excellent wines from nearby wine estates.

Perhaps it was the serenity or the exclusive surroundings, but unlike previous outings the team all retired early to their King size beds and even Hannes, our renowned night owl resplendent in hat and resembling a French painter left early, no doubt to tend to his plants.

We are very proud to have another bespoke wedding featured on the wonderful wedding blog that is Cap Classique! Maguerite and Tom’s stunning winelands wedding with a twist is currently the latest Real Life wedding post on Cap Classique – and it looks gorgeous! A big thank you to the Editor, Gaby. We are proud to be a contriubutor to your blog.

Click here to view Maguerite and Tom’s wedding on Cap Classique.

Launched in October 2007, Elizabeth Anne Designs is a wedding and lifestyle site updated daily with tips and stories from real brides, newlyweds and wedding vendors.  The Elizabeth Anne Designs Wedding blog is dedicated to the details and inspirations that make a wedding beautiful. Editor and Publisher Ami Price who lives in Chicago in the US is passionate about all things beautiful and crafty and is also the author of the business and blogging resource site Edit and Post.

Stephanie and Richard’s stunning real-life wedding really impressed Ami and she chose to feature it on Elizabeth Anne Designs this week.  We love that American based brides are becoming more aware of bespoke South African destination weddings and the many stunning locations we have scattered around the Western Cape – we are truely spoilt!

Click here to view Stephanie and Richard’s real-life wedding on Elizabeth Anne Designs.

Once in a while a wedding comes along that from the moment the sun rises on the day – you know deep down that it’s going to be magical! Lynne and Gavin’s storybook wedding was no exception. A young and trendy couple based in Cape Town, Lynne & Gavin were blessed with one of the most beautiful autumn days in May and their celebration was full of personal, unique and totally fun details that completely reflected their personalities and sense of style.

continue reading "Portraits of An Autumn Romance"

Once a month we put aside a couple of hours for the Wedding Concepts coordinators to get together around our boardroom table and have a relaxed creative session. This gives us the oppertunity to bounce ideas off each other, chat about trends and interesting concepts we might have seen out and about. We of course tied this meeting in with our usual Vida E coffee run and a cake tasting from a promising new supplier – perks of the job! Conversation quickly turned to relfection and before we knew it, we were sharing our “favourites” from last season. It was interesting to see what moment, trend or individual stood out for each coordinator. So interesting in fact, we thought we’d share this small part of our meeting with you, enjoy!

Christina’s take on Marquee Magnificence!

There’s no question, if I had to get married again it would be in a clear span marquee – with all the trimmings – no expense spared!  Even though a tented wedding comes with a more complicated set-up, it offers many amazing rewards: A uniquely tailored reception space created from a blank canvass; unblocked 360˚ views of the surroundings; chill areas inside and out and, of course, the unmistakable boutique-style signature one can give it through luxurious lighting and sumptuous décor.  Khanyi and Chinezi’s breathtaking wedding at Allée Bleue is a prime example.  I’d say going “all out” is in – if you can.  And if you do, go the extra mile by involving a wedding professional who can meet the logistic challenges to make the planning and final result a truly memorable occurrence.

Hannes reckons it’s all about the timing

I love turning convention on its head.  There’s nothing that thrills me as much as creating a wedding celebration with tacit elements of unpredictability. Maggie and Tom showed courage by heeding our advice to opt for a casual countryside lunch, followed by a sunset ceremony and, thereafter, dancing and lounging late into night.  We threw the traditional order of events to the wind and instead decided to mould the timing around the setting, the season, and a sense of surprise.  For the bride it means two outfits.  For the groom, spectacular food twice during the day.  Guests can savour a multi-faceted fête that spans from midday to midnight.  And for us, there’s nothing better than seeing all these people enthralled by the fact that adventurous wedding planning these days is creating a new set of rules.

Kim’s clients take – and make – the cake

It is always exciting to find and work with new talent in the industry and discovering Roxanne Floquet Cake Design has been an exceptional highlight.  My favourite new supplier, Roxy has become a good friend after I coordinated her and Craig’s gorgeous garden marquee wedding in October last year.  Roxy started her cake making business shortly after the wedding and it has been a pleasure to offer her creations to our clients ever since.  She trained in London under the very well known and successful Peggy Porschen, learning all the tricks of the trade and perfecting the intricate art of bespoke cake design before bringing it to Cape Town.  We cherish our blossoming working relationship and wish her all the best for the future.

Size matters, says Kate

The intimate weddings we’ve coordinated at Wedding Concepts – those with fewer than 10 guests – have harbored some of my most memorable moments.  A true romantic at heart, I can’t think of a more special way for couples to celebrate their matrimonial promise to one another – be it on a secluded beach, in a romantic garden, or on a private wine estate.  Intimate weddings provide couples with the unique privilege of sharing one of the most important moments in their lives surrounded by the people who love them the most – or simply with just each other.  Pair this occasion, detailed in the same way as larger weddings, with a tailored honeymoon and you can bargain on the experience of a lifetime!

The Wedding Album Magazine, considered the Vogue of South African wedding magazines, called on our creative minds to assist them with their current edition. For each issue we give our support in the form of expert advice on all things wedding related and our brief was to produce a details section, a decor page, flowers, stationary and food for each theme. The Details fall into The Album, which is the bulk of the magazine and where readers will find the most valuable go-to information for dresses, decor, flowers, catering and other wedding service providers. The details pages are very visual and their intention is to translate the mood and theme of the fashion editorials into their practical application. For a bride, these pages are invaluable because they are able to be inspired by exact table settings, flower arrangements, invitation ideas and so on for each theme.

We are not only very proud to have been a part of this exciting and creative magazine shoot but also to have had so many of our valued suppliers involved! A big thank you to those who made such an effort for this shoot – your efforts have contributed to an absolutely gorgeous magazine spread! Congratulations! Be sure to buy the latest issue of The Wedding Album to see this wonderful feature.

The “Alice in Wonderland” Theme

Contributing suppliers:

Flowers: Aspen & Co

Stationery: lovely.things

Food: Roxanne Floquet Cake Design

The “Blushing Bride” Theme

Contributing suppliers:

Flowers: Leipzig Floral Design

Stationery: Lara’s Designs

Food: The Gourmet Chef

Chandelier: Delos

The “New Moon” Theme

Contributing suppliers:

Flowers: Lush

Stationery: Elsje Designs

Food: The Gourmet Chef

Another one of our bespoke destination weddings has been featured on Junebug! Created by 3 former wedding photographers, Kim, Blair & Christy, who now spend their time creating this stunning blog and website promoting the work of other wedding photographers and wedding professionals from around the world. By sharing their passion and mutual love for fashion, beauty, and all things wedding related, Junebug is the go-to source for all brides looking to be inspired.

The Junebug ladies have honoured the work of one of our favourite photogs, Jean-Pierre Uys and have featured one of our gorgeous weddings – Rachel and Jeremy. Click here to view this stunning 45-image post!

There is a new blog out in the “blogger-sphere” that we’re very excited about! Cap Classique is a blog for the Cape Bride, both local and international. Created by the very inspired South African ex-pat, Gaby Frescura, who currently resides in London. She adds,

We are very proud to be a contributor to this wonderful new blog and look forward to building top quality content for brides inspired by and looking to get married in the Western Cape, and South Africa! Our first joint feature with Gaby and Cap Classique is now live – click here to read more about Beach Weddings and the logistics involved when considering this as a ceremony option.