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In Engagements

Six of the best wedding reality shows

March 9, 2020 No Comments

While they may not always end in Happily Ever After, these wedding reality shows are guaranteed to keep you entertained in the run up to your big day. They might also make you feel happier about your own wedding plans when you see what a disaster these can be by comparison.

Here are the best wedding reality TV shows we love to watch:

– Love is Blind

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The recently released Netflix series follows a few single people as they enter the ‘experiment.’ In 10 days, they date a host of people from within ‘pods’ that only let them hear each others voices. By the end of the 10 days, six couples came out engaged without ever having seen each other. This might seem wild enough on it’s own but the series goes even further. The couples then move in together and meet each others families before walking down the aisle to be asked whether “love is truly blind” and they commit to the partner they have known for about a month. As expected, the drama is high as the couples find out who the other person really is.

-Married at First Sight

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Married at First Sight has been around since 2014 and is still going strong on TLC. The premise of the show is that couples are chosen and paired up and meet for the first time at the end of the aisle. After getting married, the couple are filmed settling into their new life and after six to eight weeks, they decide whether to stay married or get divorced. Despite being criticised for being a westernised version of arranged marriage for entertainment purposes, it is addictive and keeps you hooked trying to guess who will make it.

– The Wedding Bashers

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Wedding Bashers combines the voting fun of Idols with the high stakes pressure of a wedding. Four wedding experts go to different couples weddings and judge them on the entire event. They vote on the weddings, with their vote counting 50% with the South African audience voting from home. If you’re in the middle of planning your wedding, rewatching the first two seasons might be a great way to pick up some ideas, or realise what not to do.

-Our Perfect Wedding

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Another South African wedding show, Our Perfect Wedding airs on Mzansi Magic and follows a couple planning their “perfect wedding” as they check off the items on their wish list. It’s a simple show that follows all the drama going into planning a wedding, with the couple declaring at the end whether or not their wedding was truly perfect. On top of being entertaining, watching other couples go through the entire wedding process might help you realise that your wedding will always have some stumbling blocks but in the end can still be perfect.

-Extreme Engagement

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Unlike the others, this show doesn’t hop straight into marriage. An engaged couple travels the world to experience marriage customs from a variety of cultures. The main goal is to see whether these extremely differing styles of marriage will bring out the best or the worst in their relationship. While it has been criticised for its problematic depictions of other cultures, it is interesting to witness the ways marriage is different all over the world. It might just give you a little time to think what marriage means for you.

– Kom ons trou, nou! (Let’s get married, now!)

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Although it’s in Afrikaans, this show has subtitles so you can follow on this wild ride. In every episode, a woman who is tired of waiting for her partner to propose secretly plans their wedding and then proposes to them in front of all their surprised guests. There really isn’t much to learn from this series, since you’ve already got the proposal and are planning the wedding but it’s pure reality TV entertainment.

Feature image: Instagram / Love is Blind

In Engagements

5 unusual wedding proposals

October 10, 2019 No Comments

The way your partner asks you to get married will probably stay with you forever. From extra-terrestrial visits to swimming with mermaids, these guys made sure their proposals were unforgettable.

1. Our love is timeless

On their second anniversary of dating, Steve and Amanda buried a time capsule that contained a few sentimental items and letters they wrote to each other in a forest they love to walk in. One Saturday, about six years later, Steve casually suggested they dig up the capsule just for fun. Inside was one letter he specifically urged her to read. It was a beautiful letter asking her to marry him. He had snuck it in there all those years ago, already knowing then that she is the One. His genius not ending there, he made sure a photographer caught it all on camera!

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2. Will you be my player 2?

Retro Shanerator and his girlfriend are avid gamers. Rather than creating one of the insanely challenging Super Mario levels that have been making waves on the internet, he decided to create a fully playable level with his proposal written out via game blocks. He then set the proposal in motion, having his girlfriend play through the level he’d just created. This guy’s not playing around.

3. Hold your breath for this one

Now, this proposal was straight out of a fairytale. Literally. Eric Martinez popped the question to Cammy Cuoco in the middle of a photo shoot during their vacation in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Cammy had always been obsessed with mermaids and her favourite princess is Ariel from the popular Disney movie The Little Mermaid. Coincidentally, their photographer (who was in on the whole thing) had previously been a fashion designer and made the bride-to-be a spectacular mermaid outfit to surprise her with for the shoot. Magical indeed.

4. Love you to the moon and back

Varun Bhanot told his girlfriend, Anisha Seth, that they would be going up in a helicopter to celebrate his birthday. Anisha, who loves all things sci-fi and space related, got into the helicopter expecting to fly over the Cheshire, England countryside. Unbeknownst to her, Varun had spent nearly three months calling farmers asking if they could accommodate a crop circle on their land and eventually found someone willing to help set up a proposal that’s out of this world. While up in the air, at just the right moment, Varun made a heart-felt speech and told Anisha to look out the window. When she looked back at him, he had the ring ready. We’re pretty sure it wasn’t too outlandish for her.

5. I love you in every language there is

Niriksha and Michael have been besties for years, and even went to school together from Kindergarten. One weekend, he told her they were going on a surprise breakaway. They are both from the US, but Niriksha had studied in Paris (her favourite city in the world) and that’s where they were headed. He took her to a wall called Le murs de je t’aime, which has the words “I love you” in all the different languages written on it. Pretending to want a picture on impulse, he gave his phone to a stranger (who was, in fact, the hired photographer) and got down on his knee. Luckily, she said “oui”.

Featured image: Unsplash

In Accessories

Honeymoon roadtripping

July 15, 2014 No Comments

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of freedom from the open road – and there’s no one better to do it with than your new spouse. Just married, bound to adventure with great tunes and blissful conversation, we can’t think of anything better. If you’re choosing to take a roadtrip for your honeymoon, keep these few things in mind.

Avoid break downs and break outs

Before you embark, make sure your car is serviced – especially filters, fluid levels, and belts, and of course the oil and water. Check your tire pressure and the condition of your wiper blades, turn signals, brake lights, and high and low beams. Examine your tire treads and make sure your car is prepared for any kind of weather. Importantly, recharge the air conditioner – you don’t want the African sun to get the better of your trip.

Clean up, stock up

There’s no better way to start the journey than in a fresh, newly cleaned car. Have a fun car wash together before you leave. Stock up on padkos and lots of water, bearing in mind that it’ll be cheaper to buy from a grocery store than at convenience stops. Pile in blankets and pillows in case one of you needs to get some shut eye. Finally, pack an emergency kit, including a battery-powered radio and extra batteries, flashlight, jumper cables, first aid kit, spare tire, tire repair kit and pump, and flares. TIA after all.

If you’re renting

If you are renting, agencies like Hertz, Avis, Budget and Thrifty have lots of locations. Look out for rental deals (often in conjunction with booking a hotel and flight).

If you need to rent a car abroad, you’ll need to get an international driving permit (IDP) at your local AA. Click here to apply for your IDP. If you’re renting a car overseas, keep in mind that most models come with a manual transmission. If you’re used to automatic, call and book an automatic well in advance and be prepared to pay more. If you book online, print out a copy of your confirmation number and all the particulars.

Are We There Yet?

Planning for the time spent in the car together can be just as important as packing your essentials. The last thing you want is to ruin your romantic adventure with road trip boredom, so prepare some on-road entertainment. Include games and music, or even a few audio books. If you find yourself in a lull during your journey, here are some highway hints to keep the long drive interesting.

Car games They’re not just for kids! No road trip is complete without a round of ‘I spy’ or ‘the license plate game.’
Story time Instead of curling up in a corner and reading to yourself, share the story and read aloud.
Create an on-the-road scrapbook Take pictures of the funny sites you see from the car window.
Tunes for the trail If you’re addicted to your iPod, buy an FM transmitter to play your collection through your car radio. The Griffins iTrip will ensure you won’t be without your favorite tunes.

Adapted from The Knot