Aliverti Bridal, our preferred jewellery supplier in the Western Cape were kind enough to mention us and our sister company Travel Concepts on their blog recently.

Whether you’re getting engaged, married or celebrating your anniversary, we think Aliverti Bridal is the perfect choice for any couple interested in finding their perfect piece.  Ranging from classic to contemporary, their designs are created to outlast trends and transcend fashion, and can be easily customised to suit your individual taste.

Our latest photo shoot done in conjunction with Wedding Inspirations magazine titled, “What’s on trend for Spring: Coral and Aqua” and “5 nights on the water in Zambia, Botswana and Namibia” are our latest posts to be featured.

Click on the above links to read our latest posts live on their blog!

Last week one of our all-time favourite wedding venues, Stellenbosch’s Webersburg Wine Estate, invited us out to their exclusive farm for a day of relaxation, a personalised cellar tour and tasting of their latest vintages. Paired with a fun filled sushi-making experience and plenty of bubbly it was a generous “THANK YOU” from their wonderful team – for many exclusive weddings we have hosted, designed and enjoyed together at the scenic estate.

With incredible views across of the Helderberg mountains, Webersburg is known for its exclusivity, 5* hospitality and a premium Winelands wedding venue. Their boutique winery of course shines its own light wide & far – and at Wedding Concepts we believe that the estate offers the ultimate setting for chic, sophisticated celebrations – whether intimate receptions or big, extravagant affairs.

During our private cellar tour we were lucky to taste wine straight from the barrel, two of their renowned Cabernet Sauvignon’s, before we were lead to the professional kitchen where various “sushi making stations” had been carefully laid out for our team. Fully kitted out we also looked the part and after an introduction from talented in-house chef Nadia went on to “assemble” our very own Wedding Concepts sushi rolls. We were soon creating weird an wonderful varieties and as the bubbly leisurely flowed, so did our creativity. We even finished off the experience with “dessert sushi” made from coconut and condense milk, with the usual fillings being replaced with strawberries and liquorice with a decadent chocolate sauce!

A big thank you to the perfect hosts at Webersburg – Monique, Louwrens, Nadia and Kaley – for a delightful day spent out in the Winelands! It was a memorable experience for our team and although we now almost consider ourselves as Sushi Experts, we think we might leave the practical work to the real chefs and rather focus on what we do best: creating designer weddings for our clients from around the globe.

Our top bridal trend for your wedding: how about a live sushi station manned by a professional sushi chef to create the WOW factor during pre-drinks? For up-to date inspirations and exclusive design ideas – book your personal Wedding Concepts consultation with our expert team today: info@weddingconcepts.co.za p: +27 (0)21 426 57 83

Picture a sunny & blissfully wind free 30 degree celcius day on Cape Town’s scenic Noordhoek Beach.  Add to this a happy “almost married” couple, their family & friends from all over the globe, sumptuous South African delicacies, lots of fun and games and finally our Wedding Concepts design magic – and let the pictures speak for themselves!

We simply loved the attention to detail that Lindy and Jeremy requested for their pre-wedding festivities. From picnic baskets, individually labelled culinary nibbles (oh the stationery details!), to designing a photo booth in the right colours with complimentary cushions, lounge pockets and flowers to match the look. A Bedouin tent with flooring was setup on the beach to give shelter from the sun and also provided a great spot for live entertainment – beach dancing included!

Of course this just gave a small taste of what was to come the next day at their super stylish winelands wedding. Stay tuned for more…it’ll be colourful, trendsettingly stylish, involves one South Africa’s award winning chefs, world class music, an opulent 5* hidden gem estate and a very uniquely dressed groom!

Thanks Lindy & Jeremy for making this a special experience for our team – we had so much fun! Special mention to all the suppliers who were part of this celebration:

Coordinator: Kim Werner

Photographers: welovepictures

Catering: Food Fanatics

Stationery: Lara’s Designs

Flowers & Decor: Lush

What is a bride to do if her fiancee is travelling around the world as part of an International Yacht race? Of course hosting an intimate wedding in one of the most picturesque stops along the way makes perfect sense! And that’s exactly what American’s Liz and Jeffrey decided to do. With just 14 international friends and family invited to witness their nuptials in Cape Town, South Africa, Liz and Jeffrey, with the help of Wedding Concepts, held their celebration at the stunning Hawksmoor House in Stellenbosch. Dressed in Vera Wang, Liz looked truly stunning when she walked down the aisle of petals to exchange vows with Jeremy under the majestic Oak Tree in front of the Manor House. Guests watched on on from comfy vintage inspired ottomans, chaise lounges and antique chairs whilst AmaAmbush Marimba Band provided light African inspired melodies in the background. The food for the day was inspired by country cooking creatively infused with recognisable South African ingredients and dishes. Guests were able to witness one of the most incredible African sunsets of the season as the sky changed to vibrant shades of pink and orange.

Dinner was held in the intimate Blue Barn which was lit with fairy lights and dozens of candles. The flowers that adorned the table were a variety of indigenous flora and fynbos mixed with an assortment of aloes and succulents, tulips and garden roses. An inviting fire was lit in the Barn’s fireplace to ensure the guests were kept warm and cosy throughout the evening. After a family style platter menu was served the guests were able to sit back and relax by the fireplace. The perfect ending to a romantic Intimate Wedding in Cape Town.

For more images from Liz and Jeffrey’s stunning country wedding, click here to view the full post on photographer Gavin Casey’s blog.

Credits:

Coordinator: Kate Rawbone

Venue: Hawksmoor House

Catering: Karen Dudley from The Kitchen

Flowers: Okasie

A well deserved supplier spot light is focusing on Vision on Fire today. Not new to the game, but definitely serving up some of the finest, artful and original wedding videography we’ve seen in a long time!

Covering Cape Town, the Boland, Overberg and surrounding areas, Vision on Fire provide stunning coverage of your celebration; from your preparation all the way through to the tossing of the bouquet. They manage to effortlessly capture all the special details and intimate moments that you might remember from your celebration, but now have to keep on high quality film for years to come. With the large expense that a wedding brings to any bridal couple it’s all too tempting to have a family member, or friend act as your wedding videographer. As professionals, we urge you to reinvest in what might be viewed in the past as an “old-school” tradition – but is making fresh waves in a creative and modern approach.

For your viewing pleasure, below are 3 video’s from 3 exclusive Wedding Concepts weddings from earlier this year. Enjoy!

Holly & Neil

Catherine & Mark

Deepanvita & Gaurav

The team at Wedding Concepts is super excited about our new luxurious Honeymoon Collection which will be launching live on our sister company, Travel Concepts website very soon! If you’re dreaming of spending your honeymoon on this side of the equator, we’ve scoured the whole of Southern Africa and beyond to bring you the lowdown on the most authentic, exciting and tucked away honeymoon hideaways.

Expect inspirational, stylish and highly customised itineraries in carefully chosen destinations to ensure you’ll never forget your first journey together as a married couple. Thinking of combining a stylish Cape escape with five star sophistication and safari in the African bush?  Maybe fine wine and cuisine is what makes your heart go boom-boom boom, or you could want to spend some time soaking up the sun on the ultimate romantic island. Our Honeymoon Collection is guaranteed to inspire your choices of where to go, where to stay and what to experience. So no matter whether you’re a local or from a far, we can get you where you want to be and make your wildest dreams come true!

Stay tuned for regular updates from our blog and the Travel Concepts Blog regarding the Collection’s launch date!

We are very proud to be associated with some of the most respected and creative suppliers in the industry; and innovative lighting, sound and structural experts  Something-Different are no different!

Kate Holt and the team from Something-Different believe that, like us, weddings need to be as unique and individual as the couple themselves. Kate explains, “Individuality and creative concepts don’t only come from interchanging table cloths and glassware. It can also be achieved in other décor features like customized and colourful dance floors, to personalised lighting solutions like lampshades and battery powered table lamps, stage sets, authentic daybed cabanas and to anything that can be suspended from a ceiling and lit! We aim to be inventive in every category of our expansive portfolio, and we work very hard to achieve this. Our new office is a small representation of our quirky, young and fresh take on the events industry. Visit us and experience our passion and pleasure in the creative side of life!”

Below is only a teaser of Something-Different’s creative portfolio featured at our handcrafted real-life weddings.

There’s something stirring in the beautiful and peaceful Elgin Valley just an hour outside Cape Town and its something that’s causing style conscious and trendy Capetonians to flock there in droves to spend weekends “down on the farm”.

We like to keep in touch “with the scene” as much as the next guy, so true to form we decided to join this designer pilgrimage and spent a night at the new Old Mac Daddy Trailer Hotel.

continue reading "The Old Mac Daddy Trailer Park: A Wedding Venue with a Difference!"

This week we are proud to present the first of many contributing articles relating to wedding style from our Style Guru, Pippa J. This week our focus is personalisation, and ensuring your wedding is a meaningful and unique experience, this takes time and inspiration. Special touches throughout the day are imperative and make the occasion more than memorable – they make it unforgettable! The same amount of effort and thought should be put into your wedding attire as this is the one of the main areas to reflect your true personal style and chic. For brides, one of the easiest and most fashionable ways of achieving this is by wearing a Fascinator.

Pippa explains, “Fascinators are quickly becoming a trend for those brides wanting to express their individuality further than just “the dress”. A fascinator is more than just another accessory – it is a statement piece.” The word fascinator originally referred to a fine, lacy head covering and was made from either wool or lace. They were used as accessories to draw attention to ladies’ hairstyles or to accent their look.

“Nowadays, fascinators are delicate and elaborate being fashioned from all sorts of materials like flowers, feathers, beading, satin and lace. For any bride wanting to demonstrate her sense of personal style at her wedding, wearing a fascinator does just that.

For those brides looking to wear a veil but realizing that the dress just doesn’t work with it, then a fascinator is the ideal option. I personally think fascinators are taking over the traditional veil as they are that much more creative and unique – never mind the comfort factor – let’s face it – wearing a veil is not the most practical and comfortable option!

If one is looking to create a dramatic look then a fascinator in a bright colour – contrasting with the brides hair colour, (see below how well the blue & green feathers work for both brunette brides) or alternatively an oversized fascinator can be gorgeous! If you’re aiming to achieve a vintage look and feel at your wedding then fascinators can work really well – take a look at the below references for inspiration around this approach. The brides’ hairstyles are typically vintage inspired as well.

Bear in mind that a fascinator basically serves as a piece of jewellery, so you then need to keep your earrings or necklace very simple. Below are examples of brides who kept it simple and chic. For example, wear plain pearl or diamond studs to avoid looking like a smorgasbord of accessories. I also think that the simpler the bodice/upper portion of your dress is – the more it complements a fascinator and enhances the effect of a fascinator.”

Part 3 of our exciting new suppliers features sees us introducing two up and coming photographers making waves in the local industry. One of the most important decisions a couple will need to take is to involve the right photographer  on their wedding day as they play a crucial part in preserving your special memories. We are blessed with the most amazing photographic talent in Cape Town and over the years, have hand selected a few that really impressed us and other couples. We are very pleased to welcome Jani B and Annemari Ruthven to our exclusive vendor portfolio.

Jani B

Jani B’s photographic style is fresh, soft and unstaged. She ensures that she uses every oppertunity in life to become a better photographer, always trying new effects and angles to improve her craft. Jani B describes her passion for us,

“Photography keeps me on my toes, because you can’t sit back and rest on your laurels. I do all kinds of photography, but I absolutely adore taking wedding photos. The real emotions, facial expressions and special moments make it so appealing. I love being part of a couple’s happiest day, being part of the inner circle and being able to create memories that will last beyond the frosting on the cake and the bubbles in the champagne.”

Annemari Ruthven

Annemari Ruthven is a talented photographer who likes to observe people, their interactions and their emotions and she aims to document these real moments – everything that goes could possibly go wrong, everything that goes blissfully right and all the small details and moments in between that make a couple’s day unique and special. Her approach is unobtrusive, subtle and artistic and is all about capturing those sensitive moments.

“For me, it’s very important to tell the whole story of the day. I believe that one truly appreciates their wedding photos ten years later, when you can look through them and relive the day. “

A big welcome to Jani B and Annemari – we look forward to working with you in the future!