Engagements Archives | Page 42 of 51

In Announcements

Lucky couple get engaged on Mzansi Super League field

December 9, 2019 No Comments

Who said romance at cricket matches is dead? Mzansi Super League (MSL) 2.0 is not just about bats and balls, but about love in action too.

SuperSport Park came to a standstill last Friday when one lucky couple’s dreams became a reality. They got engaged out on the field in front of thousands of spectators at their favourite venue during the Tshwane Spartans and Paarl Rocks clash last Friday evening.

There was probably no better backdrop than one of the most picturesque venues in the world when Jacques Storm (32) decided that it was time to “do the right thing” and ask his girlfriend of three years, Lizelle Smit (24), for her hand in marriage. What he might not have known was that his cameo inning would eclipse all cheers that might have been reserved for AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Tabraiz Shamsi on the night.

Storm, having given his idea to the tournament organisers, hoodwinked his soon-to-be fiancée into believing that they were lucky ticket winners and that they had to claim their ultimate prize out on the field during the interval break. Then as the live SABC cameras were rolling, he got on one knee to ask Smit for her hand in marriage.

“Let me tell you this – my mouth was so dry. I was so nervous that I battled to get the words out, but I think I she understood what I was trying to say!” said Storm as he recalls the most important day of his life. “Lizelle was also so nervous she almost started crying. I think it was seeing so many people sitting and cheering behind us.”

“I am a sporting person, having played SA Schools cricket when I was 19, so there was no other place for me to do what I considered the right thing to do, and to be with a person that has contributed immensely to me over the last two years. I didn’t want to do the obvious and go to a restaurant. I wanted to make it unique – so I am glad that I could get to do it in an MSL game.”

Smit also added: “I am not going to lie, I was definitely not expecting it, but it turned out to be a fantastic night. It turned out to be a really good shock.”

“I knew she was going to say yes…but my colleagues at work kept asking me, saying ‘what if she says no?’ in the days leading up to the event. I must confess, it did create some doubt. I was mostly convinced that she would say yes, because we had just moved in together the week before,” he said.

“The fans kept coming to congratulate us for the rest of the game. Even when we went out for drinks after the match, people recognised us. Let me put it this way: we have received plenty of venue suggestions for our marriage.”

“We have not thought of a venue, but even if it is behind the sightscreen at a cricket field, I am just glad that Lizelle said yes when I proposed to her.”

Image: Instagram / Mzansi Super League

In Advice

How to avoid family drama at your wedding

December 9, 2019 No Comments

Everything is organised: Your dress, your hair and make-up. The catering and photography are all systems go and you and your spouse-to-be are super excited for the big day. There’s just one issue left to tackle: the guests. You both love your families, but they can be a handful. This cousin is angry with that aunt, and that uncle hasn’t spoken to this one’s dad in years. Hopefully, you or your partner’s family members are mature enough to behave well at the wedding for your sakes and not ruin your day. But you never know!

So how do you handle family feuds on what’s supposed to be the happiest day of your life? Here are some things to keep in mind to help you prevent the much-dreaded drama:

1. Be smart with seating arrangements
When it comes to practical things like seating, be mindful of who sits next to whom. Of course, it might not be possible to keep everyone happy, but you can at least try to arrange it in a way that arguments will be least likely to break out.

2. Never get involved in the details
Remember, if it’s not your fight, it’s not your place to intervene. You have bigger things to worry about! For you to try and get in between will waste energy and emotional resources you’re supposed to save for joyous moments. Keep out of it as far as possible. When either of the parties involved try to drag you in, just calmly but firmly say something like “I understand that it’s tough for you, and I really appreciate that you’re here for me. I will not be able to talk to him/her about this, but why don’t you join me on the dance floor? I love this song!” This way, you move the attention away from the issue and hopefully remind them that you’re all there to enjoy the wedding.

3. Try to give everyone equal attention
Again, don’t choose sides. It’s important that you show everyone you are happy for them to be there for you and that you appreciate and love them all equally. Avoid spending too much time with any particular person or table so as not to create more friction.

4. Communicate beforehand
If things are that serious and you’re worried it might actually get out of hand, it might be wise to talk to each of the parties involved separately before the wedding day. Schedule a coffee date or write them a personal email explaining that you are looking forward to spend time with them but that you also expect them to behave a certain way on the day out of respect for you. Make it clear that you want them to be comfortable, but that you can’t control everything. Ask them to consider you and your partner during the day and set their differences aside.

5. Enjoy your day – regardless
At the end of the day, you have to choose whether you will allow other people’s behaviour to upset you or not. We know this isn’t always easy, but for one day you are allowed to focus on you and your own joy. Focus on the happy moments and the well wishes, the delightful food and beautiful surroundings. This is meant to be a celebration of love and all you should really be concerned about is the fact that your partner can’t stop smiling at you.

Picture: Pexels

In Announcements

Couple propose to each other simultaneously

December 6, 2019 No Comments

We’ve heard of couples being in sync, but this one takes the cake. This beautiful couple both felt it was time to get hitched, and ended up proposing to each other at the same time!

Caitlin Mullins and Annie Fox from Georgia have been together for years, and each spent weeks planning separate proposals for the other without their partner knowing. During a romantic hike to the highest peak in Georgia, Brasstown Bald, Caitlin got down on one knee to propose to her girlfriend. Little did she know, Annie had the same exact idea.

“I had absolutely no idea,” Caitlin told Metro UK. “I’d been planning the proposal for a while. I thought I was been sneaky, going out on a hike to see the sunset. I was incredibly shocked when Annie pulled out a ring too. She had no idea.”

They plan on saying ‘I do’ in 2020 at the same place they got engaged. Congrats to the happy couple!

Image: Metro UK

In Announcements

Emma Stone engaged to SNL writer Dave McCrary

December 5, 2019 No Comments

One of Hollywood’s favourite actresses, Emma Stone, is ending the decade an engaged woman. The Oscar-winning actress recently said yes to her Saturday Night Live (SNL) writer boyfriend, Dave McCrary.

The pair first met on set of SNL when Emma was hosting the show back in 2016. They have been together for about two years. The couple is quite private, keeping their relationship under wraps from the beginning, and have been spotted together publicly only a handful of times.

Taking to Instagram, Dave announced their engagement. Stone’s antique-style engagement ring, one of 2020s biggest ring trends, is in full view.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5q8jCvBv7O/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Congrats to the happy couple!

Image: Instagram / Dave McCrary

In Advice

Dresses we love: Mermaid shape

December 5, 2019 No Comments

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.

Picture: Pexels

In Announcements

Biggest celebrity engagements of 2019

December 5, 2019 No Comments

The year of 2019 has been a wild ride. We’ve seen ‘Old Town Road’ claim the charts for far too many weeks, Game of Thrones finally came to an end (and ruined the entire show but we’re not talking about that), and a host of our favourite celebrities got engaged.

Before we usher in the new decade, let’s take a look back at some of the biggest, most exciting celebrity engagements of 2019.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez

Back in March, the baseball star proposed to Jenny from the Block with a whopping 16-carat diamond ring estimated to cost somewhere between $1 million and $4.5 million.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Buzz2LMg92D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom

The Pirates of the Carribbean actor proposed to his California Girl On Valentines Day, presenting her with a unique flower-shaped diamond ring.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt5gRBDHNZl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Tim Tebow and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters

South Africa’s very own Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters captured the heart of American footballer Tim Tebow, and they got engaged in January 2019. Zavion Khotze will be planning the wedding, so you know it’s going to be stunning.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsdzW9AB3Xx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

Who doesn’t love a royal wedding? Back in September, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Princess Beatrice is engaged to property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. The wedding will take place in 2020.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B23uLfvn8Y3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Cassie and Alex Fine

This couple has had a whirlwind romance. They began dating in late 2018, announced that they are expecting a child in June 2019, and got engaged in August. Their engagement, however, was short lived, and they wed in an intimate ceremony on September 25, a month and one day after they got engaged.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1rHTYnJ6q9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams

The Modern Family actress and Bachelorette alum have been giving us ultimate #couplegoals ever since they got together back in 2017 through the power of social media. They became engaged in July, proving that there is indeed love after The Bachelorette.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_tCLjlAM1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost

The traditionally private couple got engaged back in May when the Saturday Night Live writer and actor proposed to the Black Widow star with an 11-carat diamond engagement ring worth approximately $400,000.

https://www.instagram.com/p/By00y6TpVNn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma

She’ll always be Lizzie McGuire to us, but now she’s all grown up and getting married! Duff became engaged to her singer-songwriter boyfriend, Matthew Koma, in May. The pair became parents to their first child together (and Duff’s second) in October 2018.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxPrPNtAazt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger

After just a few months of dating, one of Hollywood’s favourite Chris’s popped the question to Katherine, daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. Of course, she said yes. The couple surprised us yet again by getting married in June in an intimate ceremony in Montecito, California.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsmy0gUFIt7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Image: Instagram / Jennifer Lopez

In Emotional

Woman about to immigrate, then meets the love of her life

December 2, 2019 No Comments

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!

“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.

Picture: Supplied

In Advice

How to keep your (soon-to-be) family-in-law happy

November 29, 2019 No Comments

So you’re engaged, and although it’s an exciting and thrilling time for both you and your significant other, conflict is bound to arise, often in the form of your soon-to-be family-in-law. Some cases may be worse than others, but we’d like to help you lessen the load. Read on for some practical tips and thoughts on how to keep them happy, and, appropriately involved.

Acceptance

First of all, you need to make peace with the fact that your wedding planning journey will come with a fair share of stress, drama and mishaps, but all of this could be managed easily by not stressing about the things you cannot change. That goes for the family you’re marrying into as well. If you’ve known the person you’re marrying for a good amount of time, you probably know their family too – including their habits and preferences. Just because you’re getting married doesn’t mean those things will change, so make it easier for yourself by making peace with it – you’d want your S.O to do the same for you.

You marry the family, too.

That said, your new spouse’s family is accepting a new member into theirs, as your family is too, so be mindful about including them in the planning process. Your wedding is a celebration of not only two people coming together, but two families uniting, so they need to feel that their opinions matter too. This doesn’t mean that you have to take every suggestion they make to heart, but they’ll feel much more included if you make an effort to hear them out and make some compromises.

Take a stand

Sometimes, keeping the peace means taking a stand. It’s extremely difficult to avoid hurting the feelings of someone who simply wants to help, but sometimes their need to help is greater than your need for it. Don’t allow yourself to get into a situation too deep before realising that you’re allowing things to happen that will ultimately make you unhappy. Say no when you need to, but explain your feelings and reasoning behind it so that a mutual understanding can be reached.

Same page

You and your S.O absolutely need to be on the same page when it comes to making the decisions in your planning process. This will allow you to adequately explain your reasoning to your families, without throwing anyone under the bus. However, if your parents are paying for some parts of the wedding, you need to be on the same page with them too. Be open about what you want, your visions and expectations to avoid unnecessary conflict, especially if you’re not the one paying for it.

Lessen the load

Just because it’s your wedding doesn’t mean you have to plan, take care of and do everything. Make your vision clear and allow your mother-in-law, father-in-law or whoever-in-law to help you out with making calls, DIY projects, collections or whatever it is you may need. This will allow them to feel involved, but not in an overwhelming way where they have the ability to make decisions for you. However, looking at the other side of the spectrum could be just as tricky. Maybe your father-in-law is great at building things with his hands, but up until now you haven’t been getting along that well. Take the plunge and ask him for help with your DIY projects – it might be the starting point for the relationship you’ve been looking for.

Image: Pexels

In Advice

What to know before you get engaged

November 28, 2019 No Comments

Getting married is a big step. When you enter into a union with someone, you promise to be with them, for better of for worse, for the rest of your lives. Unfortunately, almost of half of marriages today end in divorce.

Marriage is hard, and many walk into it not understanding that reality. While you cannot always be 100% ready, there are many things you can do to prepare yourself for this new life you plan to enter. If you’re thinking of getting engaged, make sure you know these things about your partner beforehand.

Financial situation and spending habits:

Money is a major stress in relationships. Ideally, you need to have a general idea of your significant others financial situation before getting engaged. If someone is in debt or has bad credit, that could impact their partner in the future. You should ideally also know your partners spending habits, so that you’re on the same page about budgeting. This will particularly come in handy when you start planning your wedding.

How you feel about kids:

This is the all-important question. As much as many people dream of one day being a parent, there are others who don’t. Wanting or not wanting kids is an important conversation to have with your partner and can cause big problems in your marriage if you’re not on the same page. If you do want kids, also make sure to discuss how many you want, how you would want them to be raised and the kind of parent you want to be.

Religion/faith/belief systems:

The topic of religion can sometimes be tricky. Whether you’re Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, or Athiest, the important thing is that your partner knows about your belief system. Its not the particular faith system that is of importance, just how that will impact your relationship. For example, if you follow different faiths and want children, which faith will you raise them in? Will someone be expected to convert?

Their beliefs can also shape how they see things in the world and their stance on issues such as abortion, same-sex relationships, and gender roles. If these causes are important to you and your partner feels differently, that could cause big issues. While you don’t have to agree, you do have to be tolerant of each others beliefs.

Living habits:

If you don’t already live together, you might be in for a shock when you do join homes. It is important to know each others living habits beforehand to prevent future issues. What if your partner loves having people around all the time but you enjoy solitude? Or they’re neat and cannot leave the house in the morning if it’s in a mess while you’re more of a ‘I’ll clean it later’ type of person? Small issues like these can grow into massive arguments if you’re not aware of them beforehand and have established a middle ground.

Love languages:

Love is about more than just lust. It’s about making your partner feel seen. Your love language, or how you express love towards others, can cause issues if your partner cannot identify it. If your love is shown through physical affection but your partners is words of affirmation, they could feel overwhelmed by your constant PDA and long for you to use your words more than your body. When you understand each others love language, you understand the meaning behind each others actions, making your actions that much more impactful.

How to effectively communicate:

Communication is the cornerstone of any successful relationship. If you cannot speak and listen to each other well, your relationship will be fraught with issues. Fore example, If your partner bottles their feelings, that could cause them to build up resentment towards you because they cannot effectively communicate their needs. You, in turn, could end up feeling guilty about something you didn’t even know was an issue. You need to know how to discuss and resolve conflicts in a healthy way that won’t exacerbate issues.

Family and friend dynamics:

Hopefully, if you’re at the point of getting engaged, you’ve met your significant others’ family and friends. These people have known your partner longer than you, and can thus give you greater insights that you might not have known.

While you might be used to your specific family dynamic, your partner might have a completely different one. For example, if you’re family is the overbearing type, your partner needs to be prepared for them most likely having lots of opinions on your marriage. Understanding family dynamics will allow you to place boundaries on what is acceptable behaviour and what isn’t, making family gatherings much easier.

Your goals for the future:

While we can’t predict the future, we can be honest about our desires. If you have specific goals that could make considerable changes to your life, your partner needs to be aware of them. Popular grounds for divorce is that couples want different things. What if you’ve got dreams of relocating to the city while your partner wants a quiet life in the suburbs? Or you want to be a career woman but your partner expects you to become a stay-at-home mom? These differences in life goals can breed resentment if not discussed beforehand in a healthy manner.

Image: Pexels

In Advice

Meet us at the Bridal Expo 2020

November 28, 2019 No Comments

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!

Picture: Pexels