So many body shapes, so many dress designs. What works for one might not work for all. One dress shape we do love, is the mermaid design. You might think you need to be tall and slender to pull it off, but you don’t. If you love the style, find one that you fall in love with and go for it. Remember, a pair of heels never hurts and will complement this shape especially well.
You can glam it up or play it down, any way you like. Cream and champagne colours are very hot right now, as well as sequins and gems.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium married on December 4, 1999 and are now celebrating the huge milestone of 20 married years.
Before meeting Prince Philippe, Mathilde was a countess but led a more civilian life as a qualified speech therapist with her own practice in Brussels. When she first met Philippe, he was still only heir to the Belgian throne, with a lot of pressure and eyes on him. Being a very private couple, they managed to keep their relationship a secret right until they announced their engagement and surprised everyone.
Things were not easy for them, but true love conquers all and made them stronger than ever. We look back on their marriage over the past years, and congratulate them on how far they’ve come.
The royal couple have four children and are known to be very fond of their two dogs living with them at the Belgian Royal Palace. We wish them another happy 20 years!
Would you marry someone for a day? Apparently, many tourists and locals in Amsterdam would!
As part of an initiative to create meaningful tourism, Untourist Guide Amsterdam launched a project that allows tourists to ‘marry’ a local, but just for a day. You provide the company with a few details about yourself, pay a hefty sum of 100 Euros (R1 620) and off you go. This includes the ceremony, outfits, a wedding set, speech, picture and rings to keep.
Some may think it strange, others might like the idea of getting to know someone in a foreign place and make new friends. After the ‘wedding’ (which, of course, is not legally binding), the new couple explore the city and you get shown around by a true Amsterdammer.
Untourist Guide Amsterdam also make it very clear that they are not a matchmaking site, nor will they allow any inappropriate requests. This is purely for sincere adventure-seekers!
Oh, we love love! This couple completely stole our hearts. Capetonians Joey and Jane had been acquaintances for almost 10 years but nothing had come of it. In fact, Joey had actually invited her to coffee before, but she forgot to respond to his message and they never went!
Then, one day, Joey decided to go salsa dancing, and there she was. They got to chatting. Both being fitness professionals that used to work at the same gym, they had so much in common. She asked him to dance, and the rest, as they say, is history …
However, the couple faced a small problem: Jane was busy with immigration plans, adamant on relocating to the UK! Poor Joey was at his wit’s end. But with new love blooming, he managed to persuade her to stay a little while longer to see where it would lead. Knowing he had to change her mind while he had the chance, Joey took her hiking in Newlands forest to a spot they both loved to celebrate one year since they met at the dance. There he proposed and she said yes!
Credit: Joey KoffmanCredit: Joey Koffman
“Three weeks prior, I went on a two hour mission to find the exact same spot where we had our very first picnic,” Joey said on his Facebook post to the popular group #I’mstaying. He set it up with arrows pointing toward the spot and there he read Jane a story he wrote of the events of that first night they danced.
Being an interracial couple in a race-sensitive country, the two are not unaware of the challenges. “But I believe it’s up to us,” Joey said in an interview. When asked why they decided to stay in South Africa, he said that they both love the diversity and nature, and especially the kindness of South Africans.
“We are happy and feel eternally blessed,” he added. “We love Cape Town. We love South Africa.”
They plan to get started on the wedding arrangements soon.
Wedding photographers are having to get more creative year by year, because competition is tough. Some couples like to keep it subtle and simple, others want to go way out and do something different. The latest trend is smoke bombs, and we’re here for it.
Smoke bombs are made using potassium nitrate and sugar, which are both non-toxic. However, be careful when you handle them, as the smoke may irritate some people’s eyes and throats. If you use coloured ones, also make sure whether the colour dye is organic and if it will stain your clothes- it shouldn’t. Here are some photo ideas:
It’s almost Christmas and then before you can say ‘Happy New Year,’ It will be January. We’re super excited for the Oakfield Farm’s Bridal Exhibition in Krugersdorp coming up soon. There will be exciting prizes to win (including a honeymoon in Mauritius!), a free fashion show and loads of advice, ideas and inspiration to make your dream wedding a reality.
The team from WeddingETC will also be there on January 25 and 26, 2020 at Stand BB B54. If you’re attending the event, come say hi!
Hear us out: Having your wedding invitations only electronic can be special. In fact, there are many reasons why it’s actually way better than paper invites. It’s economic, has no effect on the environment and has no chance of getting lost in the mail (South Africans will understand). You can also add great features, like an RSVP button and an option for guests to synchronise it with their calenders.
In creating your e-vites, you can either approach a professional graphic designer or create it yourself with various paid or free online tools. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Proposing to your partner can be a daunting task, and coming up with the perfect way can be stressful. Fret not, brave warrior. We have rounded up the most romantic ways to propose, complete with practical tips on how to avoid disaster. However, we strongly recommend weighing up our suggestions to your knowledge of your partner, as not everyone will appreciate the same things. At the end of the day, there is no substitution for the personal touch.
Include the furry friends
Who can resist the cuteness? Tie a card around your (or someone you know) dog or cat, and casually say you want your partner to check out something on their neck.
If you’re an avid musician, writing your loved one a song is the obvious choice. If not, you can hire a band to serenade them or play them a romantic song that conveys your feelings perfectly.
If your fiancé-to-be likes pictures, why not take them on a trip down memory lane? Create a collection of photos of the two of you, with a soundtrack to match an end off with the words popping the question.
Not only is it beautiful and has a tranquil atmosphere, you can go one step further and ask the aquarium to send divers into the tank and hold up signs asking the big question through the window.
From under water to up in the air, this one’s an oldie but a goodie. Hire someone to write the question in the sky, and point towards the sky at just the right moment.
If your almost-spouse is not into grand gestures, keep it simple and surprise them with a dinner. Opt for a home-cooked meal, picnic or their favourite restaurant.
These days, wedding photographers are semi-celebs and couples pay big bucks to have them at their wedding. The photoshoot and post-shoot editing can take hours to get the perfect pictures. However, one couple decided that’s not for them.
Holly Eeles and James Sherris had a classic winter wedding for 70 guests in the UK. Their photographer, Ian Weldon, had no fuss with big cameras and lenses. All he used was a smartphone!
“In most instances, photographers would have at least two cameras, multiple lenses, and lighting equipment. But having shot Holly and James’s wedding exclusively on the (Huawei) P30 Pro, I can safely say it is also possible to capture an entire wedding on a smartphone,” Weldon told The Mirror.
“We were nervous about swapping a professional camera for a smartphone to capture our wedding. But we were totally blown away by the quality of the photos – we couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. Being photographed by a smartphone also felt so natural,” the couple added.
Weldon was able to get around to his signature move, getting candid snaps of unaware moments, easily. According to research done by technology giant Huawei, more than a third (35%) of people in England felt their wedding photos were too staged, and 13% reckon it looks like none of their guests were having any fun in the snaps. As a result, 46% of married Brits wish they’d asked friends and family to take more candid shots on the day.
Now we find ourselves asking, should you even bother with fancy cameras? Take a look at how it turned out:
Credit: The Mirror/Ian WeldonCredit: The Mirror/Ian WeldonCredit: The Mirror/Ian Weldon
One excited groom-to-be took his girlfriend surfing, got on one knee mid-ocean on the surfboard, then lost his grip and dropped the ring into the sea. Luckily, though, it wasn’t the real one, and it all ended well. The real ring was waiting safely on shore and she said yes!
Christopher Garth and his girlfriend, Lauren Oiye from Honolulu, Hawaii have been dating eight years and both love surfing. When he decided it’s time to pop the question, Christopher took Lauren to the surf spot they went surfing on their first date. She had no idea what was about to happen.
Lauren took to Instagram to share their love story, as photographers nearby got some snaps:
“Story time: we caught a wave together at the surf break we met at and had many of our first dates. I turn back to make sure he was on the wave with me and he was on one knee with a ring box and screamed out “Lauren, I love you! Will you marry me?!” At first I thought it was a joke and then realized it clearly wasn’t. And of course I am beside myself that I get to spend the rest of my life with this man that I LOVE from the depths of my entire being, is a bigger feminist than I am, and makes me laugh everyday and reminds me how simple and beautiful life is. Christopher Garth, I love you and am so grateful the stars aligned and our ancestors that came before us so beautifully orchestrated this for us! Here’s to a lifetime of laughter and keeping things simple and authentic!
I said YES”
