Most brides ask their younger nieces, cousins or even siblings to be their flower girls. This is one fun adventure since they are usually quite young. So, no competition for you. Just cuteness overload. Make sure they look as stylish as you! Here’s what’s trending for the young ones.
Coloured waistbands
If you want the girls’ dresses to be white, why not add a splash of colour that ties in with the scheme? Waistbands are in, and the bow at the back is still a favourite.
Mullet tutus
How pretty is this? Ballerina meets modern. We love the fun feel it adds.
Sequins
Shine bright like a diamond with sequined dresses. Little girls love them (and grown-ups do too).
Open back
If you want your flower girls to look super stylish, go for open back designs. This will complete the theme nicely if your dress has one too.
Tea length
This is a great solution to prevent kids from tripping over long dresses on the aisle. Still elegant, just a tad more practical.
Picture: Pixabay
A woman who wanted to make a promise of commitment to herself, decided to make it official by marrying herself. Rita Woodall-Terblanche (63) from Vanderbijlpark says she knows…
We all know what the best part of the wedding is. Sure, the heartfelt moments were sweet, the vows made you teary and the food was absolutely to die for. Fast forward a few hours to you head banging on the dance floor. Now you’re in your happy place and having a blast.
But what do people want to hear? The music you choose will have a big affect on the overall mood. Not all DJ’s get your vibe, and creating your own playlist is loads of fun.
Here are some classic, all-time favourites that never get old, as well as the latest local tunes South Africans love. Scientifically proven to guarantee a good time.
- Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams
- Feeling you- MiCasa
- Don’t stop believing – Journey
- Can’t stop the feeling – Justin Timeberlake
- Mandoza – Nkalakatha
- I wanna dance with somebody – Whitney Houston
- Kaptein – Kurt Darren
- Thinking out loud – Ed Sheeran
- Dancing Queen – ABBA
- Going Back West- Boney M
- Footloose – Kenny Loggins
- Potbelly – Freshly Ground
- Cecilia – Simon & Garfunkel
- I do – Amanda Black
- Beautiful – The Parlotones
This list is bound to set the floor on fire and have guests rocking it out until the am. There’s only one rule on the dance floor: There are no rules on the dance floor.
Pictures: Pexels
A wedding is not complete without some delectable drinks. Whether you’re going big and boozy or alcohol-free, there are so many ways to have fun with your drink…
When you think of elopements, visions of secret romantic getaways spring to mind. A day of shared love with you and your partner is endlessly meaningful and simple. However, that doesn’t mean it will be effortless. While often marketed as the easy option, there are still a number of variables to consider when opting to elope. Here is what you need to know.
Legality in South Africa:
The solemnisation and registration of civil marriages, customary marriages and civil unions are all managed by South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs. As a South African citizen, your marriage has to go through the necessary paperwork in order to be legal.
In order to receive a marriage licence, you must:
– ensure that you are legally allowed to marry
– understand the legal consequences of a marriage, particularly that marriages in South Africa are automatically in community of property, unless a valid ante-nuptial contract has been entered into before the marriage, and
– make sure that your marriage will comply with all the legal requirements for a valid marriage.
Necessary documents:
On the day of your wedding, the following documents must be produced:
– Identity documents for each person getting married
– If a foreign national is marrying a South African citizen, they should both present their valid passports as well as well as a completed BI-31 Form (Declaration for the Purpose of Marriage, Letter of no impediment)
– If the wedding is for a minor (a person under the age of 18 years), the written consent of both parents/ legal guardian or the Commissioner of Child Welfare or a judge should be submitted on Form DHA-32 as well. If the minors getting married are under the ages of 18 for boys or 15 for girls, the written consent from the Minister of Home Affairs will also be required
– If any of the persons getting married are divorced, then the final decree of divorce should be furnished
– If any of the persons getting married are widowed, the deceased spouse’s death certificate must be submitted.
A Home Affairs-wedding requires at least two witnesses. These witnesses and the marriage officer must then sign the marriage register following the solemnisation of a marriage. The marriage officer will issue the parties with a handwritten marriage certificate (BI-27) free of charge. The marriage officer must then submit the marriage register to the nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs, where the marriage details will be recorded in the National Population Register (NPR).
Marrying abroad:
If you want to marry abroad, you will be subject to the laws of that particular country, so it is of utmost importance to research their specific requirements at their official embassy. In most cases, you will be required to submit a Letter of No Impediment (LNI). The LNI is a certificate issued by the Department of Home Affairs Head Office to confirm the current marital status of an individual and that they are free to marry.
Application forms can be submitted to the Department of Home Affairs or an SA High Commission office. If you are divorced, you will have to submit your decree of divorce along with your application. It can take up to six months to receive your letter depending on processing time, so the earlier you can apply, the better. The certificate is valid for six months from the date of issuing.
Importantly, it must be issued by the Department of Home Affairs Head Office, not a Regional Home Affairs Office, in order to ensure legality. The LNI can only be legalised if an original, official Home Affairs letterhead, signed and stamped by the authorised Home Affairs official (Head Office only) has been provided.
Image: Unsplash
Pranking the groom on his wedding day can be risky business. He is likely already on edge and any small thing could set him off. If you’re planning…
There are few things in life people will not give unsolicited advice on. From the way you should wear your hair to how to raise a child, strangers are always willing to offload their opinions on someone listening with half an ear. Anyone who has been a bride has experienced the earache of such opinions. This bride decided to give all these strangers what they so deeply want by letting them plan her wedding to the last detail.
Jen Glantz is no stranger to the wedding world. She is a professional bridesmaid and founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, the world’s first and only company where strangers can hire a bridesmaid to fulfill all necessary wedding-related duties. After being the bridesmaid in countless weddings, her time has finally come to walk down the aisle as a bride.
Glantz was inspired to put her wedding in the public’s hands whilst getting a manicure. Her manicurist noticed her engagement ring and immediately began listing wedding advice. A few days later, Glantz’s new website, Finally the Bride, was born, inviting strangers the world over to vote in polls categorised to represent every aspect of her wedding.
“Finally the Bride is an interactive book, released chapter-by-chapter, where you’re a part of the story,” reads the site. “You can vote on Jen’s biggest wedding decisions, share tips that can end up in the book, perhaps even find yourself as a main character in one of the stories (cough, cough, become her bridesmaid).
On the 15th of every month, new polls will open up in which strangers can decide how Glantz should go about planning her big day. From where to go for her bachelorette to how much she can spend on her dress, every aspect of her wedding is open for debate.
She has even invited people to vote on what her biggest wedding challenge should be. Options include “get a celebrity who she’s never met before to come to the wedding” and “invite all the people she’s been a bridesmaid for in the past and get them to come to the wedding wearing the bridesmaid dress they made her wear”.
Thus far, the public have decided that Glantz’s wedding budget must be between $15 000 – $30 000 and that she must get married in either July or October.
“When I check in on the results, I kind of panic a little bit, but then I think back to my commitment to this process,” Glantz told Insider. “I might have the most outrageous and most out-of-the-box wedding ever, and maybe the world is telling me, ‘Jen, this is what’s best for you.'”
Glantz hopes that this project encourages people to not sweat the small stuff and remember that a wedding does not make a marriage.
“In the end, our weddings signify two people coming together, plotting their future and everyone else around them, celebrating. That could be done in a warehouse. That can be done in a hotel banquet room. That can be done in your backyard. The meaning and the purpose still stay intact.”
Image: Instagram / Jen Glantz