Kirsten Jacobs, Author at Wedding ETC

In Advice

Get the look: Demi-Leigh’s wedding makeup

January 31, 2020 No Comments

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters has been serving us looks for years, but her latest one might just be our favourite. The former Miss Universe tied the knot to American footballer Tim Tebow in spectacular style recently, and her bridal makeup has captured our hearts.

Creating her own spin on soft glam, Demi-Leigh’s makeup artist, Renee De Wit, worked with the models stunning features to enhance her natural beauty on her big day. Here’s how to achieve Demi-Leigh’s soft glam face beat.

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Using a mix of Smashbox Studio Skin and Chanel Ultra le Teint foundation, De Wit created a dewy, flawless base. She completed the face with the Sensai highlighting concealer, Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in the shade Fresh Melon to give the cheeks a gentle flush of colour and the Dior Backstage Glow face palette to perfectly highlight Demi-Leigh’s cheekbones and the high points of her face.

Smashbox Studio Skin available at Foschini Beauty for R580.

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in the shade Fresh Melon available on Bobbi Brown.co.za for R490

The focus of this look is definitely the eye makeup. De Wit opted for a soft brown smokey eye, using the Urban Decay Born To Run Palette and Dior 5 Colours 757 palette to create a blended crease shade. Remember to diffuse the shadows outwards towards your eyebrows to create a catlike effect that is ultra feminine.

The lid shade comes from the Huda Beauty Rose Gold Palette. Chanel Waterproof eyeliner in Espresso smudged and layered with Bobbi Brown Long wear Gel liner pot mixed with Inglot Duraline sealer was used to achieve a soft angled liner.

Urban Decay Born To Run Palette available on Urban Decay.com for R800

Bobbi Brown Long wear Gel liner available on Superbalist R420

Line the lips with the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk lip liner before filling in the centre with a warm mid tone nude. De Wit opted for MAC Retro Matte lipstick in Lady Be Good and the Bobbi Brown Brownie Pink lipstick. Of course, don’t forget to lock the look in with a stronghold setting spray. De Wit chose the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray.

MAC retro matte in Lady be good available at MAC for R330.

Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray available at Foschini Beauty for R860.

Feature image: Instagram / Tim Tebow

In Celebs

Inside the extravagant Somhale white wedding

January 31, 2020 No Comments

Not one to be out done, Idols SA judge Somizi Mhlongo made sure his second wedding to husband Mohale Motaung was even more lavish than their traditional wedding of 2019. The couple, dubbed Somhale, threw an extravagant white wedding on Thursday, January 30.

The pair have been teasing details of the lavish celebration for months, and of course it was every bit as extraordinary as we would expect.

A host of celebrities were in attendance, including Minnie Dlamini-Jones, Casper Nyovest, Khanyi Mbau, DJ Zinhle, Shimza, Lerato Sengadi, Thando Thabethe, Ayanda Thabethe and Bonang Matheba. Guests were instructed to wear white and red-bottom shoes.

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Right after heading former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters wedding to Tim Tebow, celebrity planner Zavion Khotse headed this extravaganza. Their wedding flowers were imported from Colombia, Holland, Thailand, and Kenya.

According to reports, Somizi had three outfit changes, each of which were accessorised with different Christian Louboutin red-bottom shoes. Celebrity designer Gert-Johan Coetzee was at the helm of at least one of these looks.

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Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until next month to see more details. The wedding will exclusively be broadcast in a 4-part Showmax special from February 24, 2020.

“This is the final piece of the puzzle … the final celebration of our union … it’s been an amazing journey, so many events, so many friends, so much family and so much love. Thank you all for joining in via our social media,” writes Somizi on Instagram. “I’m very happy to announce that in weeks to come, you’ll get to see the 4part special of #SomhaleUnion exclusively on @showmaxonline from 24 February”

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Also read: Somizi and Mohale wed in lavish ceremony

Feature image: Instagram / Somizi

In Advice

Glamorous bridesmaid dresses for a formal affair

January 30, 2020 No Comments

If you’re planning a glamorous affair, you’ll want your bridesmaids to look the part. Complete the look with bridesmaid dresses full of wow-factor.

Regardless of your colour scheme, some well placed sequins and fancy fabrics will provide the ultimate sophistication. Your best girls will be feeling fancy with full-length gowns made of luxurious fabric like silk, satin and velvet. Or go full-glitz with sequins, embellishment or tulle.

Here are some ideas to inspire you:

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Feature image: Unsplash

In Guys

Bride shocks groom with surprise wedding

January 30, 2020 No Comments

Sometimes, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. After a 6-year long engagement, this Canadian bride decided to take matters into her own hands and surprise her husband-to-be with a wedding.

Nicole Arnett and Daniel Knowlton from British Columbia, Canada, first became engaged in 2014. Since then, they’ve gone back and forth on what they wanted their wedding to be.

“We talked about so many different ideas and for one reason or another it never felt quite right when we got down to confirming it, or something happened and we pivoted away from the idea,” she explains. “We realised we didn’t actually want a wedding, which is why we put it off; we just wanted to be married to each other which were two very different things in our mind.”

The couple traditionally host an annual New Year’s Day beach party, and Arnett’s birthday is two days later so she figured this would be the perfect time to tie the knot since their friends and family would already be present. Within two weeks, she was able to plan the entire ceremony for less than $3 000 (about R40 000) – with the groom-to-be none the wiser.

“I never for a second worried that Daniel wouldn’t love this or be up for it,” she said. “I booked our wedding commissioner, which was necessary, booked a caterer and told Daniel, ‘I don’t want to be the one cooking today. It’s my 40th birthday the next day, so I’m just going to do this,’ and I just blamed anything out of the ordinary on that. I already had the dress from a friend’s wedding.”

“We just wanted to keep it [the wedding] really simple and unique to us so that was how I came up with: one, the surprise and two, making it a part of our favourite day of the year anyway, which felt very special and intimate.”

One New Year’s Day 2020, 35 of the couple’s closest friends and family gathered together on Bonnie Brook beach to celebrate love.

“I got up and said how happy I was that everyone was there and that I had a long to-do list this year for resolutions, and there was something that Daniel and I had been meaning to do for a long time but we’d never got around to, which was get married,” she explains. “He’d been filming me, and he just dropped his phone and he’s just staring at me with his mouth hanging open.”

After a quick outfit change, Arnett and Knowlton said ‘I do’ in front of their loved ones. Following their vow exchange, their guests serenaded them with Beatles ‘When I’m 64,’ and promptly sprang into the ocean.

Congrats to the happy couple!

Feature image: Instagram / daniel_d_knowlton

In Destination

Why do we go on honeymoon?

January 30, 2020 No Comments

First comes love, then comes marriage. Then comes an awesome week-long honeymoon in Greece that eventually results in a baby in a baby carriage.

Almost every newlywed couple today goes on honeymoon, whether its a staycation or overseas trip. The term as we know it today refers to an often costly post-wedding trip newly married couples take together to celebrate their nuptials. But, as with everything else in weddings, this term has an interesting history.

According to the New York Post, the concept of a honeymoon can be dated back to the 5th century. The word ‘honeymoon’ derives from the old english ‘honey moone’. In these times, moon cycles were a measurement of time that typically lasted a month. After a wedding, couples were gifted with a moon cycle’s worth of mead, an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water, and sometimes various fruits, spices, grains, or hops. This mead was meant to keep the couple happy, and also symbolised the sweetness of marriage. Mead was also said to be an aphrodisiac, so couples were encouraged to consume all of it within the moon cycle to heighten their sexual appetite and encourage fertility.

In 19th century England, newlyweds celebrated their honeymoon by going on a bridal tour to visit family and friends who were not able to attend the wedding. It was only by the late 19th century that honeymoons became how we know them today.

Of course, with time, things change. Today, couples go on honeymoon for a relaxing and romantic break together to ring in their commitment. This is considered the ‘honeymoon period’ when the couples is at their most loved-up.

Planning a honeymoon? Make sure to avoid these mistakes.

Feature image: Pexels

In Advice

Now trending: mountaintop marriages

January 30, 2020 No Comments

Your wedding day is considered the happiest day of your life, so why not spend it in a place you love? Churches, beaches and gardens are popular wedding venues for a reason. They fit with your theme, they’re easy and accessible. But, if you want to stray away from the norm, why not consider getting married on a mountain top?

Lovers of the outdoors will especially favour this trend. It’s easy and stunning. There is literally no decor required: the scenery is your backdrop. This way, you also save on decor costs.

Mountains and cliffs are also great locations for your wedding photoshoot if you still want a church wedding. To make your images extra special, wait until sundown to capture these memorable moments. Here are some ideas to inspire you.

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Feature image: Unsplash

In cake

A magical Harry Potter-themed wedding

January 30, 2020 No Comments

This is one wedding theme that’s sure to charm you. Carissa Rumps of Wild Rumpus Photography worked with a host of talented photographers and vendors to create a styled wedding photoshoot bringing the magical world of Harry Potter to life. From a real-life Hedwig to a Butterbeer cocktail, we solemnly swear that you will love it.

The whimsical shoot is an ode to a childhood favourite much loved by many. Potter-heads will recognise various references like a look-alike Hogwarts Express train, a sorting hat-esque cake, a live owl and of course, a Griffindor inspired colour scheme of reds and golds. Take a look at these stunning shots.

Images from vendors: Wild Rumpus Collective, Crystal Vision Events, Liza Spurlock Photography, Write This Way Calligraphy.

Feature image: Instagram / Crystal Vision events

In Advice

Colourful cakes for your something blue

January 29, 2020 No Comments

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. For decades, couples have been following this age old tradition to usher in their nuptials. When it comes to ‘something blue’ why not get creative and incorporate it into your cake?

Blue is said to represent purity, love and fidelity, and as such has become a highly symbolic colour for weddings. It also has the bonus of warding off the Evil Eye, according to legend. Incorporating blue into your wedding thus acts as a means of protection and good luck.

Beyond tradition, blue is super on trend at the minute. The 2020 Pantone Colour of the Year is PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue.

“A timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity,” explains the company. “Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities of the thought-provoking PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.”

With all this in mind, it seems a natural choice to use the blue hue in your big day. Here are some ideas to use it in your confectionary treat.

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Feature image: Pexels

In Destination

Get married for free in this luxury department store

January 29, 2020 No Comments

Take your love of shopping to new heights by literally getting married in a luxury London-based department store.

Luxury department store Fortnum & Mason is one of London’s most iconic landmarks. After its 313 years of business, they are now offering couples the chance to say their ‘I do’s’ in their store.

The exclusive offer is running for the month of February only in honour of Valentines Day. Couples can get married in their newly erected pop-up ‘Chapel of Love’ for free. The chapel instillation will feature the iconic Fortnum’s clock, illuminated stained-glass windows and a chiming wedding bell, as well as a neon pink ‘Chapel of Love’ sign.

The 14-metre installation will be on the lower ground floor of the department store, and is also a perfect place to propose.

“For us, Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romance – we want all of our customers to share in the joy-giving gifts and unforgettable experiences that Fortnum’s has become synonymous with,” explains Fortnum & Mason’s customer experience director Zia Zareem-Slade. “That’s why, this year, we are celebrating our friends, loved ones and everything in-between by launching The Chapel of Love.”

“We hope this will bring joy to all of our customers, no matter who they love this February.”

Those wanting to get married here will have to book ahead of time and will have to obtain a marriage licence and a registrar beforehand.

The chapel is also open to the public, so anyone may swing by and capture some cute images.

Feature image: Instagram / Fortnum & Mason

In Engagements

Say ‘I do’ to tantalising Tanzanite

January 29, 2020 No Comments

Those wanting to bring a little colour to their life are skipping the traditional diamond in favour of a unique stone to centre their engagement ring. With so many stones to choose from, one stands above the rest.

Tanzanite is a variety of the mineral zoisite and varies in hues from blue, to violet, or purple. According to Shimansky, this gemstone is a ‘geological phenomenon’, making it 1000 times more valuable than a diamond.

One of the world’s rarest gemstones comes from a 4km strip of land at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. It is estimated to have been created more than 550 million years ago when Mount Kilimanjaro was first formed. However, it was only discovered in 1967 by a prospector named Manuel d’Souza and a Maasai tribesman named Ali Juuyawatu whilst hunting for sapphire.

Tanzanite has only ever been found in Tanzania. The gem is believed to have been created in a unique process called regional metamorphism, in which tectonic plates collide with one another and the igneous rocks morph into one another through extreme pressure. These rocks reach near melting-point and result in beautiful crystal structures. As tectonic plates contain a variety of different minerals, the crystal structures will vary in appearance. This particular mix has never been discovered anywhere else in the world.

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Scientists believe the chances of these conditions being replicated to produce another batch of tanzanite is about one in a million. Once the mines have been emptied, there will be no more tanzanite unless a new source is found. It is predicted that within 10-15 years, gem-quality tanzanite stones will no longer exist. As such, as the years progress, this stone will continue to become more and more valuable.

Tanzanite rose in popularity when Tiffany & Co. founder Louis Comfort Tiffany’s great grandson, Henry Platt, fell in love with the precious gem. Platt renamed the stone ‘tanzanite’ after its country of origin, and considered it to be the most important gemstone discovery in over 2 000 years. Tanzanite quickly became one of the most coveted gems in the world.

Tanzanite is the official birthstone of December, and is considered to symbolise good luck and prosperity, typically associated with celebrations of new life and new beginnings. This stone is particularly meaningful for the Maasai, who believe the colour blue is sacred and spiritual. The Maasai even have a tradition in which they gift new mothers a tanzanite as an offering of health, positivity and prosperity for the child.

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Being extremely valuable and rare, tanzanite jewellery is in high demand. As such, they are considered investment pieces. Celebrities like Kate Middleton, Beyonce and and Cate Blanchett have all turned heads in this gorgeous gem.

Feature image: Instagram / @patonsplacejewellers_